Advice needed migrate from MP to 5k iMac

[mintakax]

I've been around Macs long enough that I should know the answer to this question, but every time I research it I get confusing results.

My wife is currently running an older MP on Mountain Lion on an internal SSD which contains only OS and apps. She will soon be getting a new 5K iMac which I assume will have Yosemite. I know one option is a fresh reinstall of all apps, but is there an easier option that is just as bulletproof ? I've never used migration assistant .... Is it recommended ?

 

[ElectronGuru]

She's changing OSs so reinstalling is the only good option. Migration assistant is great, but is best used for documents, preferences, and settings. It sounds like all the docs are external and will just get connected, so how important are the prefs?

 

[pasadena]

I would upgrade to Yosemite first, then use the Migration Assistant.

BUT for Mig Asst, be sure to use Ethernet or TB, not Wifi. For Ethernet you can connect both Macs directly with the cable, no need to go through your router.

 

[mintakax]

Thanks all.
I'm thinking fresh instalation of apps will be safest. That way she can still have old machine in original working state if she needs to compare anything or retrieve prefs, etc.

 

[tillsbury]

Yes. Although migration assistant would be easy, I am intending to do a clean install of everything on my due-in-a-couple-of-days iMac. My rMBP was an early one that came with Lion, so has already done three OS upgrades. Dragging that over could easily be a mess, so it will be worth the extra work of digging out the activation keys and remembering where I put everything.

But I will also make an image copy of the entire old machine on to my NAS, so that if I forget anything I can go and find it. I always do this with significant hardware upgrades, then I can wipe my rMBP and it will be going up for sale...