Backing Up and Moving On

[tmricks]

I have recently set my eyes on the quad-core i5 iMac and I am going to upgrade from my MacBook Pro 13".

I was wondering if it is possible to just back up my macbook pro and then restore from that back up on the iMac when I get it? Most importantly, will I have all of my applications (final cut, after effects, etc.) restored or will I have to reinstall them?

Also, can you back up with just any external hard drive?

 

[iBookG4user]

You can use a Time Machine backup. Although, what might be easier is booting your MacBook Pro into Target Disk Mode and then connecting it to your new iMac, then use Migration Assistant.

 

[tmricks]

That's cool. I didn't know that you could do that. So using migration assistant will also copy over my Applications? I

 

[iBookG4user]

That's cool. I didn't know that you could do that. So using migration assistant will also copy over my Applications? I

Yeah, migration assistant will copy over everything

 

[paulyras]

The other way you can do it is just with a firewire or ethernet cable. You'll use the migration assistant to walk you through setting the Macbook Pro into Target Disk mode. Essentially then, your macbook pro will act as an external hard drive, and the iMac will essentially clone the drive.

 

[xi mezmerize ix]

When you boot up for the first time it'll ask you if you want to transfer your stuff from another computer and then it'll walk you through the steps. I used an ethernet cable to transfer my iMac G3 data to my MBP. Talk about a ghetto way to start off such a huge upgrade.