Best way to setup up new iMac ?

[Ecoh]

My late 2009 iMac hard disk died, I have a time machine backup on an external hd, iTunes on an external hd, Aperture library backup on an external drive. My new iMac will have 3 tb drive so I can now put iTunes on the internal drive.

What is the best and easiest way to setup the new iMac ? Should I restore from the time machine backup during initial setup or use migration assistant after initial setup ? Some other method ?

Please help .

 

[kbutler84]

My late 2009 iMac hard disk died, I have a time machine backup on an external hd, iTunes on an external hd, Aperture library backup on an external drive. My new iMac will have 3 tb drive so I can now put iTunes on the internal drive.

What is the best and easiest way to setup the new iMac ? Should I restore from the time machine backup during initial setup or use migration assistant after initial setup ? Some other method ?

Please help .

Don't have an answer for you, but look forward to seeing one. I'm in the same situation and will be ordering my new iMac soon. Good luck

 

[Crazy Badger]

Don't think it makes much difference, but I'd restore from the Time Machine backup during the installation. Once everything is OK, than copy iTunes and Aperture data onto HDD.

 

[hfg]

If you use Migration Assistant to restore your backup after you have completed the "new Mac startup initialization", you will end up with 2 logins unless you use a "dummy" name during the startup account creation. It is fairly easy to get rid of the unwanted first login ID, but you can avoid that by doing the restore from backup during the startup procedure.

You can then simply copy your iTunes and Aperture libraries from their respective external disks to the appropriate location in your user folder as per a standard OS X setup.

-howard

 

[TyPod]

If you use Migration Assistant to restore your backup after you have completed the "new Mac startup initialization", you will end up with 2 logins unless you use a "dummy" name during the startup account creation. It is fairly easy to get rid of the unwanted first login ID, but you can avoid that by doing the restore from backup during the startup procedure.

If you restore from backup does it still have the latest OS? For example, if his 2009 is running ML and his new rig will be running Mavericks.

 

[hfg]

If you restore from backup does it still have the latest OS? For example, if his 2009 is running ML and his new rig will be running Mavericks.

No, if he uses the migration option during the startup routine, everything will be restored except the old version of OS X. That is what it is there for.

 

[Ecoh]

Thanks for the help ! I am just very nervous about this. The 2009 was upgraded to Mavericks and I was worried about getting corrupted files on the new iMac, but it seems I am safe if I restore during initial set up.

 

[cammyg123]

Agreed.

Don't think it makes much difference, but I'd restore from the Time Machine backup during the installation. Once everything is OK, than copy iTunes and Aperture data onto HDD.

I agree with this person 100%. I'd do that as the most smart decision.

 

[petvas]

My late 2009 iMac hard disk died, I have a time machine backup on an external hd, iTunes on an external hd, Aperture library backup on an external drive. My new iMac will have 3 tb drive so I can now put iTunes on the internal drive.

What is the best and easiest way to setup the new iMac ? Should I restore from the time machine backup during initial setup or use migration assistant after initial setup ? Some other method ?

Please help .

I change computers very often and I always use Time Machine to migrate my installations. I would use Time Machine to restore everything on the new iMac. When the wizard starts you will be asked if you would like to restore from a time machine backup. Just select the latest backup available and you are good to go.