CCC question

[V6Pony]

I'm looking at doing a clean install on a new XT Hybrid drive. If I have a clone of my current OS X on a external drive in CCC. Can I access the the clone and retrieve files that I might want. Like files from the Library folder. Or files from my home dir and move these to the new install?

If the clean install is ML would I still be able to access the clone if it was Lion?

Never done a clean install before. Just trying to get the procedure right so I don't mess things up.

 

[diazj3]

Q 1 and 2 - yes, no problem.

You can also migrate files, user accounts, preferences and apps from the clone during the install process.

cheers!

 

[V6Pony]

Thanks

Thanks diazj3. Can you have the new install up and running and move the files from the clone backup? I guess you could use the migration assistant to do this. Guess I need to do some reading on how CCC works.

 

[diazj3]

Correct - you can migrate the accounts, files and apps you wish during the clean install, or later, using migration assistant. It's the same process.

If the clone is a different OS version from the one you are installing, personally I would do the apps/accounts/file migration after the clean install, including all OS updates, using migration assistant. Most apps should work, since Lion/MountainLion already exclude legacy/rosetta apps (although there's never a full warranty on all apps)... but doing the migration after the clean install and update should also rule out some specific bugs.

And unless you are looking to do some freaky migration stuff, CCC and migration assistant are pretty straight forward. If anything goes wrong, you'll always have your clone to go back to.

Good luck!

 

[V6Pony]

Thanks

diazj3 your making me feel warm and cozy about doing this. I may try it with Lion now and then do it again with ML.

 

[robgendreau]

Do yourself a favor and use Migration Ass't. If you are asking these questions then manually copying stuff from your clone to the new system is gonna be a real PITA for you. No need to do a clean install.

Rob

 

[diazj3]

no problem....

I failed to mention that it'd also be a good idea to (before doing the clean install) make sure your current setup has all updates installed. Not only OS updates, but also make sure all apps are up to date, including 3rd party apps - this might require to launch every non-apple/non-appstore app and check for updates individually. For apple and app store apps, software update and the mac app store will do the updating for you.

Also, I'd also run Onyx to clear and rebuild all caches, indexes, etc data on your current setup... Once that's done, update the clone, start up from it and see if everything runs ok.

Once all is updated and running smoothly, clean install, update OS X to it's latest version (using the combo updates is faster/better), run Migration Assistant, migrate... and presto!

All this ads an extra layer of security for the migration process, which is not always 100% fail proof. But- if you didn't do these extra steps, don't worry too much about it either: if all's working fine afterwards, forget it. It's not a huge risk as long as you have your backup/clone.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!