Imac installed with Lion - can I use TM to MBP and MB?

[TheDane]

I have installed Lion on my iMac - from scratch. Nice to have gotten all programs and settings in place.

Now the MBP and MB needs the make over - but I can not just use a Time Machine backup and then restore everything during install of Lion on the laptops? AND ... get all my programs and settings?

Thanks for the answer!

 

[robgendreau]

You could do just the usual install, since you have backups. If anything goes wrong you could erase, reformat, and migrate from another machine or Time Machine, or restore from Time Machine and go back to SL.

Any of those would NOT get all your programs and settings; it's a new OS so some stuff would be left behind, of course. But all your data and compatible programs would be there. Some might be specific to portables, so a Time Machine backup off your iMac might not have them, and there would be nothing to migrate over.

Do you have separate backups of the portables? Now might be a good time to figure out a method of keeping your data in sync.

Rob

 

[TheDane]

Thanks a lot for your reply Rob!

Actually I had already upgraded both iMac, MBP and MB - but then I decided to format the iMac and clean install Lion. And after having installed the relevant apps and made adjustments - hope to get everything over on the laptops...

I would make a TM of my iMac first - simultaneously i would clean install Lion on MB and MBP?

Then i would restore the iMac TM onto MB and MBP (and rename them)...

Would that work?

 

[matwue]

I would make a TM of my iMac first - simultaneously i would clean install Lion on MB and MBP?

Then i would restore the iMac TM onto MB and MBP (and rename them)...

Would that work?

Should work just fine.

 

[TheDane]

Should work just fine.

Great - I will give it a shot. Perhaps this could be done without TM (that will take a long time to complete) - can the whole be transferred? (all machines are on the same wired network)

Update: Just saw the option is possible...I have the danish version and i do not remember its english name. Transfer something under Utilities

 

[TheDane]

Just wanted to update on this - it worked perfectly. And maybe I should not be surprised. No tweaks or anything - the transfer is just standard OSX functionality

Made a format and clean install of the MBP - update everything via software update (on both machines) - did the transfer.

EVERYTHING is installed and configured as it should be...this will make any upgrades and/or re-install much easier in the future.

Thanks Apple