Time Machine Restore?

[Daniel97]

Hi Guys,

Bit confused here - but i have an external HD running as my time machine on my iMac running SL.

If i bought another mac for example a MBP - could i plug in the time machine and restore it so it looks identical to my mac and has all the same applications etc etc etc installed?

I will upgrade to Lion on release but i would like to sell the iMac for a MBP.

Thanks guys

Danny

 

[DJHack]

Hi Guys,

Bit confused here - but i have an external HD running as my time machine on my iMac running SL.

If i bought another mac for example a MBP - could i plug in the time machine and restore it so it looks identical to my mac and has all the same applications etc etc etc installed?

I will upgrade to Lion on release but i would like to sell the iMac for a MBP.

Thanks guys

Danny

Yes - I would think that should work fine

You can also sync some settings via MobileMe - if you have it.

 

[Daniel97]

i dont have mobile me but just curious how on earth it would work .. if at all

 

[wrldwzrd89]

i dont have mobile me but just curious how on earth it would work .. if at all

Though Time Machine backs up your entire system, the full system restore option is smart enough to NOT migrate system files that would cause your new Mac to fail to boot. It will migrate your applications, settings, and documents though.

 

[Daniel97]

So I could just plug in my hd to a brand new mac and do a full restore using that data?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

So I could just plug in my hd to a brand new mac and do a full restore using that data?

Yes, you can! I've done this procedure, going from a Rev. D iMac to a Rev. H iMac. Process worked flawlessly - except that my Dock configuration wasn't migrated. No big deal - I just added the applications I use back to the Dock.

 

[rkaufmann87]

Danny 133,

Yes you would use Setup Assistant to do that. When you initially turn on a new Mac one of the questions it asks is "Do you already own a Mac?" and then asks "Would you like to transfer your information?", next you simply select your Time Machine Backup. I have located an article that will walk you through all the steps, it's really really easy though. Here is the article:

http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/SetupAsst.html

Roger

 

[selahvie]

Any opinions about using this method as opposed to a FireWire 800 cable link and using Migration Assistant? Seems like the results would be the same, but the FireWire 800 method would be faster (at least for me since my time machine drive is USB 2.0). Is that true, or would the results be different? I have a new iMac coming on Monday that I will want to transfer settings from a MBP to and want to use the best (and fastest) method. Thoughts?