Difference Between Migration Assistant and Time Machine Restore on a New Mac?

[rekhyt]

What's the difference between using Migration Assistant and Time Machine Restore for moving the settings, files, and configuration of your old Mac to a new one?

I know Time Machine restores absolutely everything, but what about Migration Assistant?

 

[MacDawg]

With Migration Assistant you can choose what you want to bring over to a separate fresh install of the OS

 

[rekhyt]

With Migration Assistant you can choose what you want to bring over to a separate fresh install of the OS

What are the options? What if I want to have every setting the same as before?

 

[Mac Skeleton]

If you want everything exactly the same as before, just go ahead and do a time machine restore and it will be virtually the same as it was.

The other way is to use a program like SuperDuper and make an exact clone copy of your HD.

It depends on what your purpose is. If it is to just restore to exactly how it was, Time Machine is the simplest bet.

 

[rekhyt]

If you want everything exactly the same as before, just go ahead and do a time machine restore and it will be virtually the same as it was.

The other way is to use a program like SuperDuper and make an exact clone copy of your HD.

It depends on what your purpose is. If it is to just restore to exactly how it was, Time Machine is the simplest bet.

I've heard that Time Machining the image of an older MacBook Pro (Mine is the 2008) would have problems with a new one; drivers wouldn't get updated, ...

 

[Mal]

I've heard that Time Machining the image of an older MacBook Pro (Mine is the 2008) would have problems with a new one; drivers wouldn't get updated, ...

Migration Assistant (whether from a Time Machine backup or directly from your other machine) won't overwrite the OS that's already installed on the new computer, so no issues there. It will copy over preference files, etc, so any problems from those will carry over, but drivers are not an issue.

jW