Two Macs running a Clone

[xArtx]

Hi Guys,

So the new Mini is on the way, and it's number 2

I understand when you buy a Mini you get an OS license,
and the latest update for me was approx $20 Au.
Say I purchased that, scrapped the HDD content,
and used a clone of the first Mac Mini?

Is there a circumvention measure binding an installation to the first machine?

I'm not really sure because if someone copies Mac OS to another Mac,
They already paid for Mac OS, but may not have paid for the latest update.

 

[MJL]

Hi Guys,

So the new Mini is on the way, and it's number 2

I understand when you buy a Mini you get an OS license,
and the latest update for me was approx $20 Au.
Say I purchased that, scrapped the HDD content,
and used a clone of the first Mac Mini?

Is there a circumvention measure binding an installation to the first machine?

I'm not really sure because if someone copies Mac OS to another Mac,
They already paid for Mac OS, but may not have paid for the latest update.

You are not mentioning if you have purchased a new mac mini and that the previous one was 2011 and now are getting a 2012 model. Or is it that you have a Mac mini that was returned under warranty? Neither are you explicitly mentioning if you are talking about a Windows license (which version, also OEM or not).

The generic answer is this:

The 2012 Mac mini will not run a generic OS X that was bought and has been installed on a 2011 Mac mini.

A Windows OEM license is tied to a single machine. If you buy another Mac mini then the license is not transferable.

If it is full Windows license (7) then you can transfer it to a new machine.

If your machine is replaced under warranty (or a new logic board) and you have a OEM license then ring Microsoft and explain - they may activate it over the phone.

Hope this helps.

 

[xArtx]

Unfortunately the first one is mid 2011, and the second will be 2012.
I had a feeling different hardware might be an issue.

I'm talking about running both computers side by side,
but am not concerned about cloning the Windows installation,
only the Mac OS side, with Xcode and all other software installed.

You are not mentioning if you have purchased a new mac mini and that the previous one was 2011 and now are getting a 2012 model. Or is it that you have a Mac mini that was returned under warranty? Neither are you explicitly mentioning if you are talking about a Windows license (which version, also OEM or not).

The generic answer is this:

The 2012 Mac mini will not run a generic OS X that was bought and has been installed on a 2011 Mac mini.

A Windows OEM license is tied to a single machine. If you buy another Mac mini then the license is not transferable.

If it is full Windows license (7) then you can transfer it to a new machine.

If your machine is replaced under warranty (or a new logic board) and you have a OEM license then ring Microsoft and explain - they may activate it over the phone.

Hope this helps.

 

[MJL]

I've not done it but when you start a new machine then you can import everything from the older machine. Don't know what happens with the older machine's installations but at the end of the move you can always use time machine to restore that older machine to the stage it was before the move.

You may want to make two time machine's backup's - on different drives so that if one time machine's backup is modified by an import (don't know how it works) you can still grab the other backup.

 

[xArtx]

We will both find out if you are to know.
I just won't ruin the new Mac's internal recovery partition.
Funds are approved, but I'm pulling my hair out because no local
supplier has any in stock.. Apple are a couple of hours drive away

I've not done it but when you start a new machine then you can import everything from the older machine. Don't know what happens with the older machine's installations but at the end of the move you can always use time machine to restore that older machine to the stage it was before the move.

You may want to make two time machine's backup's - on different drives so that if one time machine's backup is modified by an import (don't know how it works) you can still grab the other backup.

 

[xArtx]

The generic answer is this:

The 2012 Mac mini will not run a generic OS X that was bought and has been installed on a 2011 Mac mini.

This is not the case though, because I'm posting this on the new 2012 machine
which is booted from the clone of the Mac OS from the 2011 machine
My other posts in this thread I booted from the same HDD on the 2011 Mac.

That is interesting, they are both Intel i5, but I think the later Mac has a later
series graphics chip at least.

 

[MJL]

This is not the case though, because I'm posting this on the new 2012 machine
which is booted from the clone of the Mac OS from the 2011 machine
My other posts in this thread I booted from the same HDD on the 2011 Mac.

That is interesting, they are both Intel i5, but I think the later Mac has a later
series graphics chip at least.

Thanks, that's interesting - I've got the base Mac mini 2012 (recently bought) and the base Mac mini 2011 and no way will it boot a copy of the 2011 OS X on the 2012 - I get a circle with a 45 degree line through it. Cannot be bothered trying to figure it out, the 2012 will boot on the 2011 so I am just using that.

 

[Intell]

For nearly every Mac ever made, as long as the source disk or clone OS version is greater than the original shipping OS version, the target Mac will boot from it.

 

[xArtx]

For nearly every Mac ever made, as long as the source disk or clone OS version is greater than the original shipping OS version, the target Mac will boot from it.

That makes me feel less special then
The first Mac was updated to the latest OSX from the Store to run Xcode 5,
so it would be later than the version shopped on the new one.

Windows 7 clone did not boot. Looks like I need a clone drive fore each Bootcamp partition.
Would have been great to test a Windows install on an identical year model Mac mini.

 

[Intell]

Cloning Windows between machines is bit more tricky. While it can be done, there sometimes can be driver problems. Between those two Mac Mini's there shouldn't be too many problems once you get Windows reactivated. Have you tried using WinClone to clone Windows between the two Macs? I've used that in the past with good results.

 

[xArtx]

Cloning Windows between machines is bit more tricky. While it can be done, there sometimes can be driver problems. Between those two Mac Mini's there shouldn't be too many problems once you get Windows reactivated. Have you tried using WinClone to clone Windows between the two Macs? I've used that in the past with good results.

I used the Macs disk utility in it's restore partition to clone both.
The Mac OS is now on the internal drive of the new machine.

Windows didn't boot to allow me to look at any drivers.
It complained in a DOS style screen about hardware changes,
and suggested I insert the install disk and hit R for Repair,
but the USB disk the Mac creates doesn't provide that option.

 

[Intell]

I used the Macs disk utility in it's restore partition to clone both.
The Mac OS is now on the internal drive of the new machine.

Windows didn't boot to allow me to look at any drivers.
It complained in a DOS style screen about hardware changes,
and suggested I insert the install disk and hit R for Repair,
but the USB disk the Mac creates doesn't provide that option.

Sadly sometimes a repair installation is needed to get Windows working again. There's nothing else you could really do for it besides wasting time messing with the registry and hoping it'll work.

 

[xArtx]

Sadly sometimes a repair installation is needed to get Windows working again. There's nothing else you could really do for it besides wasting time messing with the registry and hoping it'll work.

Not to worry, I do have a spare 80Gb drive to backup that install as well.
Obviously more convenient if it were compatible with both,
but if it came down to Windows clone or Mac clone going smoothly,
I'd go for the Mac clone because I'm programming, and it has Xcode and certificates installed.
I can't complain about how that turned out

 

[Intell]

For Mac cloning, take a look at CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper. For Windows cloning of a Boot Camp partition, try WinClone.

 

[xArtx]

For Mac cloning, take a look at CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper. For Windows cloning of a Boot Camp partition, try WinClone.

Mac partition went fine with it's own Recovery disk utility.
Any reason to use something else?
I do appreciate the help, but why do you think another cloner would do better with Windows or Mac OS?

 

[Intell]

If you already have Mac cloned and working, there's no reason to try something else. With Winclone, you may have to do a repair installation as well. It's sadly different in every case for Windows.

 

[xArtx]

The second backup went ok on it's own drive.

What I did find is.. I formatted the 80Gb HDD as a dumb media drive in Mac OS,
then formatted it in Windows 7 with NTFS file system and named it BOOTCAMP.

Then when Alt is held down for the Mac's boot menu, the drive appears
and is called "Windows", but it's just an empty drive.
When Bootcamp does it's business it partitions the drive.

I wonder what happens if I file copy a complete Windows installation with Ubuntu
to that unpartitioned drive, if it will then boot Windows over USB 2.0.

 

[Intell]

I don't think Windows will boot over USB on a Mac without modifying its registry. Boot Camp doesn't do anything special to the NTFS/Windows partition to make it bootable on a Mac. Any NTFS/FAT32 partition will show up as Windows on a Mac even without anything on the drive.

 

[Brian Y]

No idea about Windows - but Mac OS (beyond OS X Server <= 10.6) has any kind of physical license restrictions. It just assumes that if it's on a Mac, it is licensed. It's down to you to ensure that the machine you're using is licensed for the version you're running.

The *only* exception, is some new hardware either requires a special build of OS X, or comes with a special build which won't boot on other machines. The first gen retinas, for example, require a minimum of 10.7.5, but they will only boot a special build of 10.7.5 that they come with (which had included drivers). This 10.7.5 build won't boot on other machines, and you can't use the normal build of 10.7.5 on those machines. 10.7.6 and above work fine though.

 

[MJL]

I've moved a windows installation from one Mac mini (2010) happily to another Mac mini (2011 and 2012 models) using Winclone. Refer to their website on the procedure for resizing / reinstalling it on another (larger/smaller) drive. Ofcourse Windows will need reactivation.