Migration or Clean Start?

[dubhe]

I have decided to not migrate automatically across to my new rMBP, but use the opportunity (and Easter holiday) to spring clean my files.

So far I have archived 10000 emails and reduced 15000 photos down a third, with a lot more to go.

Those of you with a new machine, do you blindly migrate from your previous Mac, or try and keep just what you need?

 

[simonsi]

Option 6 - Carbon Copy Cloner.

 

[duervo]

I do a selective migration to rid myself of any cruft. So, more in the middle between a total migration and a clean start.

 

[maflynn]

I use the opportunity of a new computer to start fresh, though I do use iCloud to pull my settings and information.

 

[illusionx]

I tend to migrate over, but usually end up doing a new setup, but i never delete any photos or documents or emails. I do that mainly to get rid of different systems settings and apps.

 

[SWD]

I'm in this camp too. I tried a full migration, which took 24hrs and I noticed a lot of junk that I didn't need. I actually returned 15" for the new 13" so I'll have the opportunity to do it again.

What sort of things do you selectively migrate?

 

[mattopotamus]

I think it depends on how you use your laptop. I use mine at work, so a full migration is a necessity.

 

[dubhe]

I'm in this camp too. I tried a full migration, which took 24hrs and I noticed a lot of junk that I didn't need. I actually returned 15" for the new 13" so I'll have the opportunity to do it again.

What sort of things do you selectively migrate?

I transfer my photos, my emails, and the last year or so of documents. Everything else is still available on my time machine backup, but I'll rately need to go to it.

I also only download/install apps as I need them, so far only MS Office and Aperture have been installed...

 

[Agent-P]

Option 6 - Carbon Copy Cloner.

Another vote for cloning. Clean starts are overrated IMO (unless you're having issues with your install). Plus I'm the type of person that doesn't let much "cruft" build up because I regularly go through my files and clean out unnecessary stuff.

 

[cambookpro]

I did my first 'clean start' (well, I manually transferred files and apps which I needed) for about 15 years last month. I've habitually migrated from every OS and computer I've owned since OS 9, and I did end up clearing out a fair few files. I had Library files and caches from apps I hadn't used since 2001, so I thought it was probably time.

Has it dramatically increased performance? It's hard to tell, as I installed an SSD at the same time and think that the performance increase is probably solely down to that. I did manage to reclaim 30GBs or so though.

I would recommend keeping your old hard drive in a caddy for a while though, as you never know what you've missed when transferring files. For example, I forgot about transferring old emails and my fonts.

 

[ZBoater]

This 13" rMBP is my third Mac. I've used Migration Assistant twice. This time around I used a Thunderbolt cable. 37 minutes, BAM! Done. I've never had any problems or weirdness "bringing over" bad stuff. Worked both time like a charm.

 

[Traverse]

For whatever reason, when i used Migration Assistant from a FV2 encrypted drive during the initial set up, I couldn't activate FV2 on my new computer. I had to reinstall the OS again.

Now I just use time machine to manually drag my Home Folder's contents onto a new system.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

I did a full migration from my mid-2009 MBP to my late-2013 rMBP. MS Office did not like selective migration and didn't want to install properly. I usually offload past semester's work onto an external drive though. My pictures don't take up a ton of room, and I like having my music too. I did move my iTunes movies to an external drive though. I take advantage of Disney and Marvel's digital copies from iTunes a lot.