Preparations for new MBP 2012

[Milfin]

I've had my macbook pro for over 4 years now will be upgrading to the new model when it comes out. This computer has been really good to me and is a true work horse. Throughout the years I have only added software and never bothered to take old stuff out. The only deleting that I have done is removing windows image for parallels/fusion software.

I've read that I can time machine my entire computer and when I get my new machine I can put that time machine image on my new computer. I really want to avoid this because I want to start over. I want to only install specific software like MS Office, QuickBooks, VM Ware Fusion, my keychain, etc.,

Is there any tools out there that will help with this type of transitioning? For instance if I install quickbooks I want the tool to grab my specific user file information to the new computer. iphoto (iphoto library), etc..,

 

[ayzee]

Mobile me used to be great for this ad it would sync all your user preferences, for use on any machine u sign in on. Now that feature has been retired and not included in iCloud , I'm not sure what I'm going to do anymore once I purchase the new MBP.


Only way I can think is to physically copy and paste the user preferences library from the old to new mac

 

[Milfin]

Help a guy out that has experienced nothing but bliss with his Macbook Pro.
ReInstallations, hard drive crashes, or upgrades was never a thought for me in the last four years.

I always felt that time machine was taking up too much space on my Drobo..

I'll start looking into Time Machine Functionality maybe its not a all or nothing backup option.

 

[alwaysaangel]

I'm doing the same thing. I'm on year 5 of my June 2007 MBP and am so excited to be buying a new one this June.

I thought about backing up the entire thing with time machine but I'd really rather start from scratch. I've started going through and placing files I want to keep into specific folders and making notes to myself about which folders to copy and which programs I want to copy/buy/reinstall/redownload. I just plan to do it all manually.

 

[Sti-R]

You can backup using time machine then use Migration assistant on the new computer to move over the files you want from your TM drive. Simple as that.

 

[Milfin]

I knew Apple thought of everything.

Thanks for the reply.

Now the only major issue is determining if the optional upgrades cost is worth me putting the new macbook pro under the knife to do some techno surgery. SSD and maxing out memory.

 

[samac92]

I've done it a few of times and I always do it manually. Settings don't take that long to put back to how you want them, and I just re download any applications. I copy my documents/photos/music over so my iTunes library stays intact though.

 

[macbwizard]

So you can do this with just an ethernet cable or firewire cable between your old MBP and your new MBP by using Migration Assistant. There's no reason to use time machine to for the migration (although I have in the past and it has gone very smoothly).

 

[Mak47]

I'd suggest not overlooking time machine. You've got time before the upgrade, go through the current machine, delete the junk you don't want, then run time machine. When you get the new machine it will restore from your backup and you'll have everything exactly as you left it.

It requires a little legwork now, but it's a pretty seamless transition when you get the new machine.

I always do this, and my results have been excellent.

 

[comatory]

Guys just use Setup Assistant (you don't want to use Migration Assistant) and ethernet cable, I did it recently.

Migration Assistant is used once the system is installed - this can cause problems when transferring your old data to new machine - for example if you put a same name of the account on your new machine, it won't be able to "merge" with the backup.

Setup Assistant is basically the same thing but it is part of the installation process/setting up new machine. You just connect the machines with ethernet cable and then you have couple of options.

If you want to have "clean" system, you can transfer only the account and system settings (including keychain, passwords etc.) You can also select to transfer applications and moreover, you can select/deselect specific top level folders. That's all, once the files are transferred (takes couple of hours) your brand new computer contains everything that your old did.

I did this transfer when I lost my Macbook Pro recently. I plugged ethernet cable to my Time Capsule that contained the backups of my lost MBP - the other and was plugged to Macbook Air via USB Ethernet adapter. Worked like a charm.

I am just wondering if I could use Thunderbolt cable next time when I'll be moving from my current 11" Air to new MBP (once they come out). Should be a lot faster (the transfer took around 6 hours when copying from Time Capsule, probably because of the ethernet adapter on my Air).

 

[ayzee]

Guys just use Setup Assistant (you don't want to use Migration Assistant) and ethernet cable, I did it recently.

Migration Assistant is used once the system is installed - this can cause problems when transferring your old data to new machine - for example if you put a same name of the account on your new machine, it won't be able to "merge" with the backup.

Setup Assistant is basically the same thing but it is part of the installation process/setting up new machine. You just connect the machines with ethernet cable and then you have couple of options.

If you want to have "clean" system, you can transfer only the account and system settings (including keychain, passwords etc.) You can also select to transfer applications and moreover, you can select/deselect specific top level folders. That's all, once the files are transferred (takes couple of hours) your brand new computer contains everything that your old did.

I did this transfer when I lost my Macbook Pro recently. I plugged ethernet cable to my Time Capsule that contained the backups of my lost MBP - the other and was plugged to Macbook Air via USB Ethernet adapter. Worked like a charm.

I am just wondering if I could use Thunderbolt cable next time when I'll be moving from my current 11" Air to new MBP (once they come out). Should be a lot faster (the transfer took around 6 hours when copying from Time Capsule, probably because of the ethernet adapter on my Air).

Thanks this is exactly what I wanted to achieve once I get a new mac

 

[Cyclones]

I'm curious about my situation. I had a 2007 MBP that died a couple months ago (graphics card died). I managed to get a time machine backup to save my files. I'm waiting for the new 2012 MBP to upgrade. My 2007 MBP was running Leopard, can I still use the time machine backup on my new 2012 MBP running Lion or Mountain Lion(if it's out)? Does using a time machine back up cause any problems that just moving files manually doesn't(slow downs from old machine etc.)?

Thanks for the input

 

[comatory]

I'm curious about my situation. I had a 2007 MBP that died a couple months ago (graphics card died). I managed to get a time machine backup to save my files. I'm waiting for the new 2012 MBP to upgrade. My 2007 MBP was running Leopard, can I still use the time machine backup on my new 2012 MBP running Lion or Mountain Lion(if it's out)? Does using a time machine back up cause any problems that just moving files manually doesn't(slow downs from old machine etc.)?

Thanks for the input

No,this shouldn't be a problem and it should work as it's supposed to. Problem would be if it were the other way around (restoring Lion backup to Leopard) as it's not supported.

I just want to give everyone a little warning. If you decide to restore only part of the backup from time machine disk or time capsule,such as user account and settings and you want to restore other files later (or perhaps move them to another location), after the system on your new computer boots up,immediately turn off time machine. Because if you don't, your new computer might rewrite the old backups because it treats restored new computer as the old one.
If you turn off temporarily TM you can manually drag files from TM disk or Capsule to your desired location. Once you're done you can turn TM again.

What I advise,before restoring anything create a copy of your disk using Carbon Copy Cloner on external HDD (takes only about an hour). This is a good failsafe in case you accidentaly delete something along the way.