Transfering entire system from Macbook Pro to an iMac

[DeusNovus]

Hello there!

I am new here, I joined your forums to ask for some advice! I hope I'm in the right section!

Ok, so I own a MacBook Pro for the past 3 years. The thing is that, since I mix and produce music on a daily basis, I would have liked to have a stationary Mac so I decided to buy an iMac.

I have a lot of softwares installed, along with VSTs, many files, and in general many heavy interface modifications, that involve third-party programs like CandyBar, black menubar, GeekTool etc etc (to make it a more cozy enviroment to work in, 15 hours a day!) so it would be a HUGE hassle to buy the iMac and reinstall everything, I do not physically have the time to do that. Now I read in an Apple article that Time Machine "allows the user to restore the whole system, multiple files, or a single file."

So my question is:

So would it be possible to just transfer the whole system to my new iMac, to be basically like opening my MacBook Pro, just like any other day? I'm mostly worried about reinstalling softwares that my college gave me (therefore, I don't have the installation DVDs) or not being able to recognize the licences anymore (I could fix that, but still), and if possible, keeping all modifications I've done on my MacBook Pro.

Would a good 2nd option be to take my MacBook on an Apple Retail Store and maybe they could do it for me? I think, when I asked 2 years ago, they said that they could, but maybe he was referring that they could just backup my files, I don't really remember.

So yes, this is it!

Any advice and suggestions would be welcome!

Thank you for your time!

DeusNovus

 

[spinnerlys]

No need to pay for something, that is widely documented and can be done by yourself in simple steps (unless you don't know anything about computers and can't even turn them on ...).


Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6: How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac

Pro Tip of the Week: Move All Your Stuff to a New Mac — Quick​

Migration Assistant - Use Migration Assistant to Copy Data from a Previous OS​

6 easy steps to migrate your Mac using Time Machine​

Target Disk Mode​

 

[DeusNovus]

Oh! Fantastic!

So with Migration Assistant, I will open my new iMac, and after the transfer, it'll look exactly like my MacBook Pro right? With all things intact and installed?

Thank you so much for the quick response!
It will help a lot!

 

[stridemat]

^ Yes.

You could also use a Time Machine backup to restore with. The choice is totally up to you .

 

[spinnerlys]

Oh! Fantastic!

So with Migration Assistant, I will open my new iMac, and after the transfer, it'll look exactly like my MacBook Pro right? With all things intact and installed?

Thank you so much for the quick response!
It will help a lot!

Yes, but some applications not compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 might not run, so make sure you have compatible software titles.

 

[DeusNovus]

I currently use 10.5 so if I used the Time Machine, wouldn't it automatically switch to 10.5?
Sounds like I should have a Leopard installation disk...

 

[spinnerlys]

I currently use 10.5 so if I used the Time Machine, wouldn't it automatically switch to 10.5?
Sounds like I should have a Leopard installation disk...

No, Mac OS X 10.6 can restore and migrate data from a TM backup made using Mac OS 10.5, so no need for any Leopard installation routines.

 

[DeusNovus]

Excellent! Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Consultant]

Test all apps before using it live / for production.

Some apps might need SL update.