How to use a HD Image?

[Reno404]

A couple of weeks ago my MacBook heavily crashed but the guy at the apple store managed to back-up the content of my HD on an external HD. He said he made an "image" of it or something like that. Now my macbook is being replaced and I'll have to transfer the files again.

I'm new to mac and i'm wondering how I should do it.
- Will I have to re-install all the programs that were on my previous MacBook?
- Are there certain folders I shouldn't copy (firmware or something)?
- Is it easy to do?
- Any other comments/pointers?

Thanks to anyone who'll help me out here

 

[thewhitehart]

Use Disk Utility. Click the drive or partition you want to restore, and go to the 'Restore' tab button. Specify the source image (the disk image given to you by the Apple genius) and specify the mac's destination volume (the startup disk of your replacement macbook). You have the option to erase the destination disk too via a checkbox.

EDIT: Clean install OS X on the replacement macbook. Then mount the disk image on the new macbook (just get it on the macbook in whatever way you want (firewire, wireless, etc.)) Pull the stuff that you need off the image into your new home folder.

I'm assuming, taking this second scenario, that the Apple genius backed up your home directory stuff and possibly applications, not your whole hard drive, onto an image, right?

 

[emptyCup]

If the image is of your entire disk drive then you won't have to reinstall anything. Attach the external drive to your working computer. Run Disk Utilities. Click on the Restore tab. It will ask for the location of the image to restore from. Good luck.

Computers are educational: they teach you to back-up.

 

[Reno404]

I don't know what he made the Image of, cuz I'm still waiting for that replacement BlackBook. I sure hope he copied the whole thing, so i only have to double-click it and everything will be back like it was before.
Wait and see. I should get my replacement "last week". Eh

 

[thewhitehart]

Whatever he made it of, it should definitely be a .dmg file, if not an .iso. Either will mount and can be used to restore via disk utility, or just to pull the files you want out of.

Maybe he/she already restored the image to the external drive. Maybe you can just plug it in to the macbook? What kind of drive is it? USB or Firewire? Intel macs can mount both.

 

[Reno404]

It's a Western Digital USB external disk. Now I'm just frustrated as hell not to get the call from the shop to announce me it's arrived... damn I hate waiting! I don't even have a tracking number, so I could get a call in 10 seconds or in 10 days