Restoring from backup to new iMac questions

[wlow3]

I bought one of the new iMacs to replace a 2008 iMac. It won't arrive for a couple of weeks; in the meantime I have a few questions:

1) If I do a restore from backup from a Time Machine backup to transfer data to the new iMac, will older Mac apps like iDVD still work? (I know. The new one doesn't have a DVD player built in, but if I had their external DVD drive, etc. - it was the first app I thought of. )

2) My old iMac was not encrypted. If I want to do a restore from backup, do I encrypt the new one with FileVault 2 before or after the Time Machine restore?

3) After a restore, can I continue to use the old backup drive on the new machine (and does encrypting the new one matter in this situation?). Or, related question, can I copy over the old backup data to a larger backup drive and then use the larger one normally as a backup drive to the new iMac (after having done a restore)?

Thanks.

 

[Fishrrman]

What I would suggest (and this is my opinion only).

1. Get CarbonCopyCloner (or SuperDuper). Either one is free to download and use for 30 days.
2. Use CCC (or SD) to create a clone of your internal drive onto an external drive. This will be used for transfer purposes only. DO NOT use filevault or ANY encryption.
3. When the new Mac comes, connect the cloned backup BEFORE you boot it for the first time (so it's "there and ready")
4. Boot the new Mac, run the initial setup. At the appropriate moment, setup assistant will ask if you wish to transfer stuff from another drive.
5. Point setup assistant to the clone, and let it do its thing.

Afterwards, you can erase the cloned backup if you wish.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

I bought one of the new iMacs to replace a 2008 iMac. It won't arrive for a couple of weeks; in the meantime I have a few questions:

1) If I do a restore from backup from a Time Machine backup to transfer data to the new iMac, will older Mac apps like iDVD still work? (I know. The new one doesn't have a DVD player built in, but if I had their external DVD drive, etc. - it was the first app I thought of. )

2) My old iMac was not encrypted. If I want to do a restore from backup, do I encrypt the new one with FileVault 2 before or after the Time Machine restore?

3) After a restore, can I continue to use the old backup drive on the new machine (and does encrypting the new one matter in this situation?). Or, related question, can I copy over the old backup data to a larger backup drive and then use the larger one normally as a backup drive to the new iMac (after having done a restore)?

Thanks.

1) iDVD will work. I can't speak for other apps with any certainty, as I don't know what you have, or what OS you're currently running.
2) You can turn on FileVault2 afterwards, or before, since it applies only to the new drive. I can't say whether there's a speed/performance benefit of doing one rather than the other.
3) Encrypted backup is a separate option from encrypting the internal drive, chosen in Time Machine preferences. Yes, there is a procedure for moving Time Machine backups to a new drive. There's an article about that at Apple Support.

 

[Audit13]

I have never restored from a 2008 machine to newer machine but the 2008 backup may not have the proper drivers for the new machine.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

I have never restored from a 2008 machine to newer machine but the 2008 backup may not have the proper drivers for the new machine.

What you'd normally do is migrate your data from the old backup to the new. That can be done when you initially setup the new Mac, in Setup Assistant. You're asked if you want to migrate your data and apps from the old Mac (or from a Time Machine backup). If you don't migrate at time of setup, you can do it later using Migration Assistant. See https://support.apple.com/HT204350

Neither method copies the OS or drivers - it keeps the OS that was already installed on the new machine.

 

[Audit13]

@ApfelKuchen , thank you for the clarification.

 

[jzuena]

I got my new iMac last night and for the first time thought I'd try Setup Assistant. I pointed the iMac to my Time Machine backup of my 2009 mini that was still on El Capitan. Things didn't go well. Our accounts ended up owned by root:wheel. I fixed that, but there are multiple directories for each account (which I thought would only happen with Migration Assistant if I already had accounts set up). The system is also pausing a lot with beach balls. I'm going to nuke the SSD and reinstall macOS and do what I've been doing for the last 11 years: start over, reinstall all apps and just drag data files I want back from the TM or from a drive clone I also made with Super Duper. I'm not sure why I decided to try Setup Assistant this time, but it wasn't worth it. Now I get to try out macOS recovery over the Internet and if that doesn't work, I have the installer downloaded from the app store and can make a USB installer. My "time saver" is going to end up taking the weekend to undo!

 

[Fishrrman]

RE:
"I got my new iMac last night and for the first time thought I'd try Setup Assistant. I pointed the iMac to my Time Machine backup of my 2009 mini that was still on El Capitan. Things didn't go well."

And that's the reason why -- as I pointed out in reply 2 above -- that "the better way" is to create a cloned backup using either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper -just before- you set up the new Mac.

Then connect the "fresh" cloned backup, and let Setup Assistant use that as the source, instead.

Things go VERY smoothly when you do it that way!