Transfer applications from 1 mac to another

[ajwells1]

I am new on here, so I hope that someone can help me out with this question.

I have an iMac g4 I have Adobe CS3 on it, and I want to transfer the applications to the new macbook pro I will be getting soon. Unfortunitely I "misplaced" the original disks so all I have is what is currently on my computer.

Is there any way to do this? I have an external hard drive and thought maybe I could some how get the apps on there and then put them on the macbook, but I don't know if that is realistic.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help.

 

[jzuena]

I am new on here, so I hope that someone can help me out with this question.

I have an iMac g4 I have Adobe CS3 on it, and I want to transfer the applications to the new macbook pro I will be getting soon. Unfortunitely I "misplaced" the original disks so all I have is what is currently on my computer.

Is there any way to do this? I have an external hard drive and thought maybe I could some how get the apps on there and then put them on the macbook, but I don't know if that is realistic.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help.

That sounds like exactly what the Migration Assistant is supposed to do for you. You just need to hook both the old and new machine on the same network or connect them via a FireWire cable and run the migration assistant.

 

[ajwells1]

Does that come standard on the new macs? Or is that a program that needs to be purchsed.

This should work even if I don't have the disks? Will I be able to use the Adobe applications on both computers?

 

[GGJstudios]

Does that come standard on the new macs? Or is that a program that needs to be purchsed.

This should work even if I don't have the disks? Will I be able to use the Adobe applications on both computers?

Standard with Mac OS X. No discs required. It would probably violate the EULA for you to run the same app on two computers. That's up to you.

 

[ajwells1]

do you get to pick and choose what is put on the new computer, or does it do a generic copy of everything?

 

[GGJstudios]

do you get to pick and choose what is put on the new computer, or does it do a generic copy of everything?

http://www.apple.com/pro/tips/migration.html

 

[Buzz Bumble]

You would have to read the licence agreement to know if you can install the software on both computers. I know some Adobe software does say you can install it on a desktop and a laptop, as long as only one is being used at a time (i.e. you can't install it on both and then you use one and your work colleague / wife / etc. use the other).

Adobe has officially dropped support for CS3 under Snow Leopard (some people say it works fine, others say there are problems), but it should work fine if you leave the laptop running Leopard and download the relevant Adobe updates.

Another hiccup could be that the original install is on a PowerPC G4 and the new laptop will be an Intel one. I don't know if CS3 installs for the particular chip or as a "fat" version for both chip types.

Also, although Migration Assistant will copy files from one Mac to another, it may not copy all the extra bits that Adobe software installs in all the system folders.

It may be better to hunt out those original install discs or buy some more (maybe from somewhere like eBay, but be careful of scammer scum).

 

[jzuena]

do you get to pick and choose what is put on the new computer, or does it do a generic copy of everything?

Its an assistant, so it will ask questions about what you want to migrate over and what you don't want to migrate over.

You would have to read the licence agreement to know if you can install the software on both computers. I know some Adobe software does say you can install it on a desktop and a laptop, as long as only one is being used at a time (i.e. you can't install it on both and then you use one and your work colleague / wife / etc. use the other).

Adobe has officially dropped support for CS3 under Snow Leopard (some people say it works fine, others say there are problems), but it should work fine if you leave the laptop running Leopard and download the relevant Adobe updates.

Another hiccup could be that the original install is on a PowerPC G4 and the new laptop will be an Intel one. I don't know if CS3 installs for the particular chip or as a "fat" version for both chip types.

Also, although Migration Assistant will copy files from one Mac to another, it may not copy all the extra bits that Adobe software installs in all the system folders.

It may be better to hunt out those original install discs or buy some more (maybe from somewhere like eBay, but be careful of scammer scum).

This is a good point. Data files don't care if your Mac is PPC or Intel, but applications do. Two options are either have software that is new enough to know that Macs use Intel now, too, and work on either system. The other option is Rosetta which comes with Intel Macs and runs PPC applications in an emulator. Rosetta isn't the fastest solution, but may be enough to keep a PPC install of CS3 running on an Intel Mac. If the new MBP has Snow Leopard installed, Rosetta isn't installed automatically but you will be asked if you want it when you open your first PPC binary.

 

[ajwells1]

Thanks for all the help. I guess I will give it a shot and hope for the best.