How much work is it going to be to migrate to a new Mini?

[MR_Boogy]

My beloved 2012 Mac Mini has been having issues for some time but today it has black-screened and restarted twice for the first time, and I can't have unreliable kit for work so I think I need to bite the bullet and upgrade.

I don't think I'm ready for the jump to M1 yet. The obvious options seem to be an Intel Mac Mini or, surprisingly, a 21.5" iMac - for the same price the specs don't differ too much and a 2nd screen could be nice.

My big concern is how long is it going to take to get things migrated from one machine to the other? There's plenty of junk on the old machine but also loads of things I would rather not lose or have to re-aquire from the web. Important files are backed up but I don't* use Time Machine or anything and few of my apps are from the AppStore.. Does MacOS come with migration tools like the phones do or am I on my own here? What's the process?
*I have been planning for ages to get a NAS and understand many of these can be used for TimeMachine? Would adding the extra step of getting a NAS set up for TM on my current Mac make setting the new one up substantially easier?

Thanks.

 

[ipsedixit]

There is Migration Assistant, but I think you need your 20212 Mac Mini to be running the same MacOS as the new system.

 

[MR_Boogy]

There is Migration Assistant, but I think you need your 20212 Mac Mini to be running the same MacOS as the new system.

That poses a problem because I'm pretty sure the 2012 doesn't go any more recent, at least officially.

 

[Jack Neill]

You can be on different OS X/macOS.

Transfer to a new Mac with Migration Assistant - Apple Support

Use Migration Assistant to copy your files from another computer.

support.apple.com

 

[nothingtoseehere]

Migration Assistant is a wonderful tool. I migrated from MBP 2015/Mojave to M1 mini/Big Sur without any issues.

 

[DFWHD]

In June I moved from a 2013 MBP to a refurbed i7/2TB/32GB 2018 mini purchased from Apple. Started moving stuff via migration assistant on a Friday night and spent a few hours on Saturday consolidating some external drives and cleaning up/tweaking and was done by Saturday night. I've got several Windows VMs that I still need, so couldn't jump to an M1. Honestly, the 2018 mini is rocking everything I have thrown at it and am really enjoying the machine.

 

[MacCheetah3]

There is Migration Assistant, but I think you need your 20212 Mac Mini to be running the same MacOS as the new system.

You can be on different OS X/macOS.

Transfer to a new Mac with Migration Assistant - Apple Support

Use Migration Assistant to copy your files from another computer.

support.apple.com

That poses a problem because I'm pretty sure the 2012 doesn't go any more recent, at least officially.

You may encounter anything from small annoyances to some very noticeable incompatibilities dependent upon the release year gap between OS and app versions (e.g., apps no longer launching, preference files not recognized, features no longer available — for example, Apple has significantly changed the widgets system at least twice).

The real blockade would be attempting to migrate from a newer OS to an older OS (i.e., downgrade).

Lastly, Migration Assistant works with more than just Time Machine. You can migrate from another Mac or even an external drive with an OS install, including cloned.

 

[MacCheetah3]

My big concern is how long is it going to take to get things migrated from one machine to the other?

Unless you have very few files on your Mac’s internal drive, the process will probably require hours. Obviously, the amount in general (i.e., whether you have dozens or hundreds of gigabytes or terabytes) and speed of the drives involved are factors, but the task generally moves slow because there are a lot of tiny files included beyond what is stored in your visible user data directories (Desktop, Documents, Movies, etc).

My suggestion is to clean up the data on the 2012 Mac mini (i.e., delete or move anything unwanted/unnecessary to external storage) before the migration. The best would be to also go through the Application Support and Preference files — they pile up quite a bit over the years of adding and removing apps -- however, it is a manual, tedious task not desirable for most users.

If you look near the bottom of the Apple Support document @Jack Neill linked, you’ll see Migration Assistant does allow being somewhat selective in what you transfer.

 

[macsound1]

Don't forget about Target Disk Mode too!

 

[MR_Boogy]

Yeah the one downside of migrating is all that crud can get migrated too. I've been running my Mac over 3 maybe 4 major OSX/MacOS versions including the 32->64 bit switch. A lot of detritus I'm sure

 

[MacCheetah3]

Yeah the one downside of migrating is all that crud can get migrated too. I've been running my Mac over 3 maybe 4 major OSX/MacOS versions including the 32->64 bit switch. A lot of detritus I'm sure

Indeed. Of course, you can skip the migration, reinstall apps, redo all of your OS and app settings/preferences, and manually move documents, photos, etc. Both that and cleaning up the invisible folders are tedious. It comes down to which you feel is better, seemingly less tedious for your case. I chose the clean up route because than I can still do the migration. Sadly, there’s no one-click, pretty method to move forward properly.

 

[teohyc]

Another option is not to migrate. That's what I did.

I have a Microsoft 365 plan which comes with 1TB of OneDrive online storage. I have all my files on OneDrive with just a shortcut to those files on my Mac.

When I upgraded from 2018 to 2020 M1 Mac Mini, I didn't have to migrate anything. All I had to do was to reinstall the apps. If you need your online files locally, just right-click to download them from your shortcut on your Mac desktop.

 

[Fishrrman]

You don't need the same OS to run migration assistant.

I've attached my pre-written instructions that guarantee an easy migration to the end of this post.

Having said that, YOUR BEST APPROACH to the migration will be to use CarbonCopyCloner to create a cloned backup of the 2012 Mini BEFORE you unpack and turn on the new Mac for the first time.

CCC is FREE to download and use for 30 days. Doing it "my way" costs you nothing. The cloned drive will be an EXACT COPY of the internal drive, mountable in the finder. It will look and behave like any other drive.

With this sitting next to you (while still using the older Mini), now it's time to "go through it" and GET RID of "the junk" -- again, just before you do the actual migration.

WHY take this step?
Because if you leave the junk on it, some of that will be migrated, too.
So clean it off first.

Now, when you connect the cloned drive to the new Mac, it will have [pretty much] "just the stuff you want migrated".

OK, here's my instructions:
====================
Fishrrman's "you can do it!" routine for migrating to a new Mac:

If you follow my instructions below, I guarantee a success rate of 98%:
PRINT OUT these instructions and check them off as you go along.

1. BEFORE you do anything else, run a "final" backup on your old Mac. Use an external drive for this. It can be either TM or a cloned backup using CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper. I prefer CCC.
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO NOT USE TM AS YOUR "MIGRATION EXTERNAL DRIVE". INSTEAD, USE EITHER CCC OR SD. Things will go better this way!
2. Shut down the old Mac and disconnect the external drive
3. Take the new Mac out of the box and set it up on the table. DO NOT PRESS THE POWER ON BUTTON until step 8 (read on). You don't want to begin setup until "the right moment".
4. If you're using an external display, connect the display using the usb-c/VGA adapter/cable that you have
5. Connect the keyboard and mouse if you use them. I STRONGLY SUGGEST that you connect them DIRECTLY to the Mac.
6. If you use a hub, leave it DISCONNECTED for now
7. Connect your backup drive -- use a usb-c adapter if needed.

OK, we're ready-to-go, so let's get goin':
8. Press the power on button for the first time.
9. The new Mac may ask for help "finding" the keyboard, just follow instructions.
10. Begin setup. At the appropriate moment, setup assistant will ask if you wish to migrate from another Mac or drive. YES, you want to do this.
11. "Aim" setup assistant at the external backup. Setup assistant will need a little time to "digest it all". BE PATIENT and give setup assistant the time it needs.
12. You will now see a list of things that can be migrated, such as applications, accounts, settings and data.
13. I suggest that you select ALL of them.
14. Let setup assistant "do its thing". It's going to TAKE A WHILE to move things over. Again, be patient. If you have a lot "of stuff", it will take a lot of time!
15. When done, you should see the login screen. Go ahead and login.
16. Once logged in, things should look pretty much as they looked on your old Mac.
17. You should check all your apps. Some may not run, and may require upgrading.
18. You can set aside the old backup, or ... "repurpose it" to become the backup for the new Mac. I'd keep the old one around for a week or so, at least.

 

[hirsthirst]

Another option is not to migrate. That's what I did.

I have a Microsoft 365 plan which comes with 1TB of OneDrive online storage. I have all my files on OneDrive with just a shortcut to those files on my Mac.

When I upgraded from 2018 to 2020 M1 Mac Mini, I didn't have to migrate anything. All I had to do was to reinstall the apps. If you need your online files locally, just right-click to download them from your shortcut on your Mac desktop.

that's what I've done with my last few work-only MacBooks provided by my employer on a three year replacement cycle - everything kept on OneDrive & a handful of important folders I might need 'in an emergency' replicated locally.

machine itself is then just glass & some black plastic keys ...

 

[MR_Boogy]

As a software developer it's wonderful that these days, I can get everything up and running on a clean machine with as little as one line after installing some apps.
And that my photos and music are automatically backed up.
And that my critical documents (a few MB really) are in a Dropbox folder I can get on any new PC/Mac as long as I can remember my password.
Even without time machine and so on, we really don't know we're born compared to 20 years back. It's good to reflect how amazing all this stuff IS from time to time

 

[Chicago Keri]

My method that works reliably is to get an external drive, Time Machine backup to it, then direct the new Mac to Time Machine Backup during the initial setup.
Has worked perfectly every time that I either replaced my system with a newer one or upgraded the boot drive.

Recently I went from a Mojave-bound cMP5.1 to an M1 Mini with Big Sur. Everything is right where it was and works perfectly except for apps that are no longer supported on Catalina or Big Sur, which are there but no longer launch. Stuff from the App Store just works, from free games to Final Cut Pro with no hassles whatever. All of my photos, videos and projects are there also. In my case I had to get an external drive enclosure for the cMP's 4 internal SATA drives I use for storage and backup, which operate exactly as before. Final Cut finds the file libraries without a hitch.


With a system that is becoming unreliable, a backup is drastically more important, and Time Machine is the easiest and most convenient. At the very least, immediately copy your personal, irreplaceable files like photos to a thumb drive or iCloud while it still runs at all!

Especially going from Mini to Mini, I recommend the M1 over an Intel. The only issue might be older 32-bit apps no longer working, which you can check for before committing.

 

[N9JIG]

After a dozen or so years of using Time Machine to migrate all my stuff to new Mac's (almost annually as I replace my laptop and desktop's in alternate years) I realized I was probably keeping tons of junk I did not need. As I had recently bought my Mac Mini 2018 less than 6 months before it had programs and files from a dozen older computers, many of which I had not used in most of that time. My 2TB SSD was almost 90% full and I had to do something. (I had had a 3 TB Fusion drive in the iMac 5K that the Mini replaced and had to trim the fat to migrate things then.)

I made 2 separate TimeMachine backups and set those aside. I then use a third external drive and started copying files and documenting any programs on the computer that I actually used. I made sure I had recent downloads of the installers for any non-Apple programs or could find them online. Things like Office, Parallels and Final Cut were no problem but there were a few utilities and Windows programs that I needed to be sure I had. I then went thru the Files and deleted some of the crap I hadn't used in years that I figured I would not need and also ran a duplication check. The results was that the 1.2TB of files was reduced to less than 400GB, less than a third the size of my Documents folder of the past. Since I had 2 Time Machine backups available I could find and restore anything I forgot about down the road.

I went thru the Mac Mini's drive with a fine-tooth comb and made sure I had everything I needed documented. I made sure I had product keys and passwords for all the applications and websites/accounts that I would need. I then went thru the bookmarks for for all 4 browsers I used (3 for work and one for me). I deleted the stuff I did not need or were no longer working and then save them to my working drive.

After this I waited until Friday after work (I WFH) and used my TimeMachine backup from my Mini to restore to my MBP and checked to make sure all my work and personal stuff worked. This way, if I totally borked my Mac Mini I could still work Monday morning off my MBP. I then erased and ran First Aid then restored MacOS to my Mini. After that I started to reinstall my applications and signed in to those that needed it (like Office and Parallels). For the Apple applications like Final Cut I installed and tested all those.

I then copied over my Documents folder, recreated my shortcuts and off I went. I kept available one of the Time Machine drives in my desk drawer in case I needed it, the other still resides in the fire safe. It turns out I did not need to recover anything after a couple months so I must have crossed all the "i"s and dotted all the "t"'s. My 2TG SSD is less than half full so i was able to halve the space needed by getting rid of fluff, dupes etc.

All that means for you is that, while Migration via a Time Machine drive is quick and easy, eventually you are going to want to have a total do-over. Done right, you can reduce the space needed by a remarkable amount.