Clean install, what to copy and what not?

[toke lahti]

I'm upgrading my mini2018 from Ventura to Sequoia.
From external sata-ssd to tb-connected blade-ssd.

I've dragged the same account from 2007.

I believe that I should try clean install.
Although Apple does not provide in-depth info on how much you can specify what to move and not to move in Migration Assistant and if there is any changes from Ventura to Sequoia.

Dragging homefolder folders like Documents, Music and Photo's is of course no problem.

But how to transfer Mail, Messages, Whatsup, etc.
I've got 235 folders in "Application Support".
And of course there is more in Library outside Application Support.
My ~/Library has 134 folders.
Size is 162 GB.
(Half of that is MobileSync backups.)

Since the old System disk will stay "as it is", I can always copy old stuff from there in the future.
The problem is that when I overwrite new data with old one, the time between these snapshots will be erased.
What apps might be the biggest problems?

In Migration assistant, where the Library is copied? In "User Accounts"? Or is Application Support copied on basis of what Applications are copied?

It's sad how Apple's own apps cypher their data in Mail, Photos and Messages. Just random characters in all folders and files. All or nothing for them.

 

[avkills]

Whenever I do "clean" installs, I also install all my Apps from scratch and then just log into my email and let it sync.

For stuff like Photo libraries, well I handle my own organization with that on an external drive.

 

[toke lahti]

Whenever I do "clean" installs, I also install all my Apps from scratch and then just log into my email and let it sync.

For stuff like Photo libraries, well I handle my own organization with that on an external drive.

And what do you do with Messages?
My History goes to the times of iChat...

I guess Mail is doable, if you tweak every of those about a hundred settings as they were...
I have 41k mails "On my mac".
Since they are all TimeMachined, I wouldn't waste my iCloud with them...

 

[avkills]

I don't really care about saving or retaining chat messages.

Mail is kind of a pain, but in my experience copying plist files from old OS apps into new ones isn't the best thing to do. But my mail setup is pretty simple.

It has actually been a pretty long time since I have done a fresh install, mostly because macOS now has the OS part in it's own partition on the drive (at least that is what it looks like, could be just a virtual partition), so the need for fresh installs is not what it used to be.

With that said, if Apple does not pooch screw macOS 27 then more than likely I will be doing a fresh install; but by that time I may have a new laptop so it will not matter, and I will be installing everything fresh on the new kit.

 

[toke lahti]

Most of my personal memories are in skype and iMessages.
I've already kind of lost the former one.

It's a puzzle to me why Apple does not want us to archive or export or to do any kind of sorting of those messages.

I guess I'm in very small niche, just trying to keep all my digital footprint, when most of people feel good, when they empty all their mailboxes...

 

[eyoungren]

I have 41k mails "On my mac".

Aside from various other reasons, this is in large part why all of my email is IMAP. I want everything to be the same on every device, so the only way to do that is having my emails stored on the provider's servers. I have one account that goes back to 1999.

Now, if your email that has this 41k is an iCloud email then I can't really help there. I have three of those Apple types of emails, but none of them have ever been used as primary accounts.

But I'd rather have my email provider store this stuff. They have data centers where THEY worry about the backup - not me. And since those accounts aren't iCloud, nothing counts against iCloud storage.

 

[avkills]

Yeah my mail is all IMAP also. Google and work.

 

[!!!]

In Migration assistant, where the Library is copied? In "User Accounts"? Or is Application Support copied on basis of what Applications are copied?

It's copied into the user folder, the goal of MA is to make the new system exactly like the old system, so it copies everything it can. It will exclude certain things like Cache and Logs, I believe.

Neither MA or macOS knows the relationship between the Application Support folder and the app. It could know the relation between the app and its associated ~/Library/Containers folder, but Apple shys away from things that could lead to unexpected data loss. Just because someone decides not to copy a particular app over doesn't necessarily mean they don't still want that data around. Maybe they're going to install the app separately.

I believe that I should try clean install.

Is there a particular reason?

I've got 235 folders in "Application Support".

Most of them will have the names of the app you use. If you don't understand what it is, then you can probably leave it if you're copying folders over manually.

My ~/Library has 134 folders.
Size is 162 GB.
(Half of that is MobileSync backups.)

MobileSync backups are for iOS devices. You can choose not to copy them. You can also put them on a different drive and symlink it back.

It's a puzzle to me why Apple does not want us to archive or export or to do any kind of sorting of those messages.

I believe this is a part of Apple's effort to keep users inside the ecosystem, unfortunately.

Fortunately for you, there exists programs that can export all the messages to a text file. The one I have used in the past is Baskup. I haven't used it for a while, but I believe it should still work. Maybe there are newer alternatives.

In the end, all your chats are stored in a standard sqlite database inside the Messages folder

It's sad how Apple's own apps cypher their data in Mail, Photos and Messages. Just random characters in all folders and files. All or nothing for them.

These are UUIDs for Mail, it's helpful from a development point of view so that you don't have issues with people renaming things and having issues. For Photos, yes, it's quite sad how Apple chooses overly complex folder structures when YYYY/MM/DD was right there. There are third party tools for manipulating Photo Libraries though.

 

[toke lahti]

Aside from various other reasons, this is in large part why all of my email is IMAP. I want everything to be the same on every device, so the only way to do that is having my emails stored on the provider's servers. I have one account that goes back to 1999.

Now, if your email that has this 41k is an iCloud email then I can't really help there. I have three of those Apple types of emails, but none of them have ever been used as primary accounts.

But I'd rather have my email provider store this stuff. They have data centers where THEY worry about the backup - not me. And since those accounts aren't iCloud, nothing counts against iCloud storage.

I repeat: the Mail is not a problem here, I believe.

I have saved my spam, if I need to sometime teach may client (or service provider), half of local mail is that.
Then there is a lot of mail with big attachments. And other less important stuff.
Mainly all from time when size of IMAP boxes used to measured in megabytes.

I could upload those to iCloud, but should I do that just to get them to new clean install?

 

[toke lahti]

Is there a particular reason?

Many. I haven't made a list.
One would be that it takes over 3 minutes to boot.

 

[toke lahti]

In the end, all your chats are stored in a standard sqlite database inside the Messages folder

I have iCloud on for Messages.
Does this mean that ALL my iMessages are there? Also those I had before iCloud existed?

I don't want them to be in text file. I want them to be in Messages. With pictures, other files in their place and openable.

 

[toke lahti]

Hey all,
Do you think it would be useful fro other in the future, to make a list of all this that can / would / should be copied (manually) to clean install.

I think I would have over 100 settings in System Settings.
Again, how nice would it be, if all those settings could be exported and then imported to clean install...

To be more precise:
1.
What ACTUALLY Migration Assistant copies when "Documents and files from apps" is selected?
Everything in the homedir is copied when "User account" is selected? Or not all is copied?
Maybe something from root Library?

2.
"

• Computer settings: Select the System & Network checkbox.
  
  Your desktop picture, network settings, and more will be transferred.
  
  Click the arrow
  
  next to the checkbox to select which system or network settings to transfer."

If you select "System" does that mean ALL of System Settings EXCEPT Network settings?

 

[toke lahti]

1.
What ACTUALLY Migration Assistant copies when "Documents and files from apps" is selected?
Everything in the homedir is copied when "User account" is selected? Or not all is copied?
Maybe something from root Library?

Gemini says:
"Other files & folders") in Migration Assistant, you are telling the tool to copy files located outside of the standard, predefined user folders (like Desktop, Pictures, Documents)."

Does this mean that when you choose "User accounts", it copies only "standard" pre-existing folders, like "Documents", "Music", etc., but does NOT copy any folders user has created in homedir?