2019 iMac to M1 Mac mini?

[Fritzables]

I have a 2019 iMac with Montery 12.6 on it.
I am about to purchase the M1 Mac mini.
If I 'Carbon Copy Cloner' the iMac, can I use this to place on the M1?

Pete

 

[Fishrrman]

No. You can't.
You can't "clone the OS" over from an Intel-based Mac to an m1 Mac (any kind of m-series).

What you CAN do:
- use CCC to create a cloned backup of the 2019 iMac
- take the new Mini out of the box, get it set up on the table. DO NOT press the power on button yet.
- update the CCC clone so that it's "the latest".
- connect the cloned backup to the new Mini.
- NOW press the power-on button on the Mini for the first time.
- begin setup. setup assistant will ask if you wish to migrate from another drive. YES, you do
- "point the way" for setup assistant so it finds the CCC backup.
- give SA time to "digest everything". It takes a while, be patient.
- SA will present a list of stuff to migrate. I suggest you just migrate everything.
- Again, be patient. When done, you should see your old login screen, just as before.

 

[macguru9999]

No. You can't.
You can't "clone the OS" over from an Intel-based Mac to an m1 Mac (any kind of m-series).

What you CAN do:

You can also open the imac in target mode and connect it to the new one with a usb c data cable and transfer directly. (with migration assistant) (Hold down the T key on the target machine)

 

[Fritzables]

No. You can't.
You can't "clone the OS" over from an Intel-based Mac to an m1 Mac (any kind of m-series).

What you CAN do:
- use CCC to create a cloned backup of the 2019 iMac
- take the new Mini out of the box, get it set up on the table. DO NOT press the power on button yet.
- update the CCC clone so that it's "the latest".
- connect the cloned backup to the new Mini.
- NOW press the power-on button on the Mini for the first time.
- begin setup. setup assistant will ask if you wish to migrate from another drive. YES, you do
- "point the way" for setup assistant so it finds the CCC backup.
- give SA time to "digest everything". It takes a while, be patient.
- SA will present a list of stuff to migrate. I suggest you just migrate everything.
- Again, be patient. When done, you should see your old login screen, just as before.

Thanks Guys. Fishrrman, thanks for the finer detail - awesome.