Best Way to Transfer HD 2 Macs

[zachlegomaniac]

Hi All,

I want to transfer everything on my iMac to my MacBook Pro so the information on the hard drives is identical. Is my best bet to wipe the MacBook first and then simply migrate everything from either my iMac or my external hard drive? Is there a more preferred way?

I wish there was an easy way to keep the two current with one another, but this will work for starters.

Thank you for your help.

Zach

 

[simsaladimbamba]

There is ChronoSync to synch two Macs daily, and you can use Migrate Assistant of course, but it is not meant for daily synching.

Migration Assistant / Setup Assistant information:

Setting-up a new Mac from an old one, its Backups, or a PC
which includes:

• Using Setup Assistant on Snow Leopard or Leopard
• Using Setup Assistant on Lion
• Using Migration Assistant on Snow Leopard or Leopard
• Using Migration Assistant on Lion
• Transferring files from one User Account to another
• Transferring Home Folders not on a Startup volume
• Transferring Applications
• Problems after using Migration Assistant

more information: Apple OSX and Time Machine Tips
​

 

[hotgrease]

Use Carbon Copy Cloner with an external hard drive. Plug it in to the first Mac, clone all data, then plug into second Mac, boot from the cloned hard drive, and copy to second Mac's hard drive. Very easy and free.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Use Carbon Copy Cloner with an external hard drive. Plug it in to the first Mac, clone all data, then plug into second Mac, boot from the cloned hard drive, and copy to second Mac's hard drive. Very easy and free.

If one were to do that, Target Disk Mode is faster.

 

[hotgrease]

If one were to do that, Target Disk Mode is faster.

I guess I prefer the slow route? Works perfectly for me!

 

[zachlegomaniac]

If one were to do that, Target Disk Mode is faster.

I do have a thunderbolt cable. Should I look into target disk mode?

Thank you everyone for the input.