Should I migrate files or start fresh on a new MacBook Pro?

[InsertNicname]

Hello all,

I’m getting a new MacBook Pro next week with 500GB storage and 16GB RAM.

I currently have a 2015 MacBook Pro with 128GB storage and 8GB RAM.

Recently my current MacBook has been using up RAM like crazy. I use CleanMyMac to check it all the time, and all the time I have about 300mb remaining. Thankfully it doesn’t really affect the performance all that much.

But here’s the other thing. When I check Activity Monitor to see what’s using all the memory, there a bunch of stuff in their that I don’t even know what it is.

Because of this, I’m debating not using Migration Tool when I get my new MacBook to avoid sending all the clutter over.

Does it even work like that? Will the excess clutter get transferred if I use Migration Tool?

I’d love to get some opinions about what everyone else does when getting a new MacBook. Specifically those of you who are coming from a cluttered Mac.

Thanks in advance!

 

[tomscott1988]

TBH 8gbs is almost the cusp of what usable for the OS. The OS uses a lot of unfamiliar items that run in the background, throw a couple of apps in like safari chrome itunes etc it soon chews through it. The SSD swaps memory out when it gets full and thankfully its very fast so many users dont notice but if your SSD is small or getting toward capacity it slows down considerably.

Migration tool is good for what it is. Back in the day it was easy to self migrate and you dont get all of the bloat that you have accumulated over the years although its fairly easy to get rid of this manually. Things like browser caches etc.

It used to be easy to transfer email over until El cap not sure if they have improved this but I remember hitting a wall with moving it over so have used the migration assistant since.

Apple has made it easy to do the simple migration now with signing into icloud it moves your fav bar in safari icloud email etc etc

TBH I would just set it up fresh and move your files over manually and if you end up struggling then you can always start migration after you have set it up using migration assistant.

Just as a note, the newer macbooks should be announced in 6-8 weeks which will hopefully solve a lot of issues with the current one and move over to 4 and 6 core processors so you will get more bang for you buck, might be worth waiting if you can.

 

[leman]

In your situation, I wouldn’t use migration. It’s possible that the RAM usage is caused by some app or setting and migrating would introduce the unwanted behavior on the new machine as well. I’d copy/install things one by one and see how it’s going.

 

[maflynn]

Personally, I prefer starting off fresh, and then manually restoring my data. It takes more work, but it provides a nice setup, with less crap and cruft from years of usage.

 

[robvas]

Mac OS will use all the memory it can for caching, etc - unused memory is wasted.

If an app wants it, it will give some up. That's why you don't notice performance issues, it's running as expected. Do you have a large pagefile? That's when you need more RAM

 

[jerryk]

I don't migrate. I use the changing to a new system as a way of getting rid of all the stuff that you use a few times and forget about. Same as when you move homes and throw stuff in the trash.

 

[Fishrrman]

TomScott wrote:
"TBH 8gbs is almost the cusp of what usable for the OS. The OS uses a lot of unfamiliar items that run in the background, throw a couple of apps in like safari chrome itunes etc it soon chews through it. The SSD swaps memory out when it gets full and thankfully its very fast so many users dont notice but if your SSD is small or getting toward capacity it slows down considerably."

No. INCORRECT.
8gb is -fine- for most day-to-day usage.

I have a 2015 MBPro and NEVER have memory issues with 8gb.
You can even turn off VM disk swapping if you wish.

To the OP:
I DO NOT recommend "clean my mac". I suggest you REMOVE IT immediately.
Just use common sense to "clean things yourself". I predict that will do much better.

If you want to skip a "normal migration" (using either setup assistant or migration assistant), this can be done, but it takes "more care" than if you let the Mac do it for you.

Here's what you should do for a "manual migration".
First, and MOST IMPORTANTLY:
DO NOT use Time Machine to prepare you backup drive.
You need a "cloned copy" of your internal drive.
You can mount this in the finder, then "pick and choose" what you wish to bring over.

To create a cloned copy, use either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper.
Both are FREE to download and use for 30 days.

Either of them creates AN EXACT COPY of your internal drive, which you can then "mount in the finder" on your NEW Mac.

When you get the new Mac, set it up as you wish.
BUT REMEMBER -- you cannot just copy the "old account from the old Mac" to the new one (once you have created a NEW account on the NEW Mac). There will be problems, particularly with permissions.

Connect your cloned backup to the new Mac, and then do this:
1. Click the icon of the cloned backup ONE time to select it
2. Type "command-i" (eye) to bring up get info
3. At the bottom of get info, click the lock icon and enter your (new) password
4. In sharing and permissions, put a check in the box "ignore ownership on this volume".
Now you can copy ANYTHING from the old drive to your new account, and whatever you copy will "come under the ownership" of your NEW account. (leaving the old one behind)

Something else you must be aware of:
You CANNOT COPY the "main sub-folders" from one home folder to another.
By "main sub-folders" I mean the ones named documents, music, movies, pictures, etc.
However...
You CAN COPY items that are INSIDE these folders. One files, several files, a folder, etc.

So -- if you want to move pics from the old account to the new, you must:
1. OPEN the "pictures" folder in your old account
2. Select the items you wish to move
3. Copy them into the pictures folder on your new account.
This should even work with the iTunes music folder, Photos library, etc.

KEEP HANDWRITTEN NOTES as you go along, so you don't go in circles.

Save or print out this post -- it will help later on.

 

[leman]

First, and MOST IMPORTANTLY:
DO NOT use Time Machine to prepare you backup drive.
You need a "cloned copy" of your internal drive.
You can mount this in the finder, then "pick and choose" what you wish to bring over.

This doesn't make any sense. Of course you can mount a time machine backup in Finder and then pick and choose whatever you want. Time machine creates versioned snapshots which appear as folders containing exact copies of your drive at the time of the backup.

 

[MSastre]

CleanMyMac causes more problems than it fixes.

 

[maflynn]

You can mount this in the finder, then "pick and choose" what you wish to bring over.

You can do this Time Machine as well

 

[InsertNicname]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! It sounds like most of your support the “starting fresh” idea, which is what I was hoping for. Creating a time machine backup as a just-in-case option is a good idea too.

A couple of you have said that Clean My Mac causes more problems than it helps. Could you elaborate on this?

 

[deepakvrao]

Mac OS will use all the memory it can for caching, etc - unused memory is wasted.

If an app wants it, it will give some up. That's why you don't notice performance issues, it's running as expected. Do you have a large pagefile? That's when you need more RAM

Where can I check that 'page file'? Not shown in activity monitor.

 

[maflynn]

Creating a time machine backup as a just-in-case option is a good idea too.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS create a backup. I use two types of backups.
1. Cloned image, via Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Time Machine

CCC gives me the ability to quickly restore large quantities of data, where as TM provides some level of versioning. you know those oh crap times where you over-wrote a file, or made updates that were all wrong.

 

[robvas]

Where can I check that 'page file'? Not shown in activity monitor.

It’s called “swap used”

 

[deepakvrao]

It’s called “swap used”

So, I get swap used as 1 plus gb mostly, but I face no lag, and the RAM 'pressure' is always green. Would I do better with more RAM? Using a 2015 MBPro 8gb but just switching to a 12" MB.