iMac to Macbook hard drive switch, URGENT.

[etchagoetsch]

Hello,
I currently have a 27in iMac that is going to be sold on ebay and i plan on purchasing a macbook. Could you tell me how to take the entire contents of my hard drive (itunes, documents, photos, movies) and put it on an external hard drive? Then, when my new macbook comes in the mail how to put it all back onto the new macbook. I am running the Lion OS and i was also curious if i could transfer the Microsoft Office suit i put on my iMac on to my macbook too. Help!

Thanks so much,
Eric M Goetsch

 

[DWBurke811]

Time machine? I think that would do what you're looking for. I don't know how carbon copy cloner or super duper would work since it's a different type of computer, but those might be options as well.

And yes, if you still have the serial you won't have any problems with office.

 

[ReanimationN]

Buy an external hard drive and set up Time Machine with it. Let it create a Time Machine backup on the external drive, then when you buy the new MacBook, when setting up for the first time, attach your external hard drive and when you reach the transfer information step of the first setup, select transfer from a Time Machine backup. Your new MacBook will now have all the files and settings from your old iMac.

 

[yusukeaoki]

Get external HDD, run Time Machine, and it will do the rest for you

 

[Fishrrman]

I disagree about using Time Machine.

Instead, create a bootable clone using CarbonCopyCloner. It will be an exact replica of your existing drive, and you can use it as a second "boot source".

And you don't necessarily need "an external hard drive".

Instead consider getting one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=usb+sata+dock&x=0&y=0
(many items shown, they all work the same, just pick one you like that's cheap)

...and, then add a "bare hard drive" from the vendor of your choice.

You can even boot from the "docked drive".

Having a USB/SATA dock around will become very handy if you ever encounter another bare drive that you'd like to test, backup to, etc.

 

[DWBurke811]

Will a cloned image (CCC or what have you) of a HDD that has been running in an iMac boot when being used with a MBP? I assumed the iMac would have different drivers (or different something) from the MacBook? or no?

 

[talmy]

You can do a migration from a cloned drive (CCC or SuperDuper!) much more quickly than using a TimeMachine drive. You don't need to boot the cloned drive on the new machine.

See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889

 

[JamesGorman]

Will a cloned image (CCC or what have you) of a HDD that has been running in an iMac boot when being used with a MBP? I assumed the iMac would have different drivers (or different something) from the MacBook? or no?

It would work, but you may encounter a few problems. Usually addressed with a software update. But it can become tedious.