Upgrading to Mavericks: Manual Migration vs. Setup Assistant

[danqi]

I am finally going to upgrade my Mac Pro to Mavericks. It is currently running SL 10.6.8. I will definitely perform a clean install and then reinstall all applications manually. But I can't decide if I should use the Setup Assistant to move my data over or if I should do it all manually.

Reason for a completely manual migration:

A clean start. My system currently contains over a decade's worth of clutter. My user library folder is several hundred GB in size and I have no idea what most of the stuff in there is. It's a mess and it doesn't feel right.

Reason for using Setup Assistant:

It basically guarantees that nothing important is forgotten and - more importantly - it automatically takes care of stuff that can be very troublesome to transfer manually, like Mail data for example. The Setup Assistant seems safer in this regard than a completely manual migration.

What do you think?

 

[talmy]

I'd wonder if the several hundred gigabytes is mostly important files (like lots of Mail) or worthless files (uninstalled software libraries). Use something like Disk Inventory X to see what's taking up the space. My systems have used Migration Assistant since Tiger and I've only accumulated 20GB of Library.

If you decide to go for the fresh start, keep a drive of your old install around just in case you find out (after a few months/years) that you left something important behind!

 

[danqi]

If you decide to go for the fresh start, keep a drive of your old install around just in case you find out (after a few months/years) that you left something important behind!

That's what I plan on doing. Do you know if I can just move my Mail folder over (from out of the library folder)?

 

[ScoobyMcDoo]

When I do something like this, I usually get an external disk and use CCC to create a clone of my current system.

 

[danqi]

I will do that, too, as I regularly create clones as backups anyway. (I also use TM)

Can I use the Setup Assistant / Migration Assistant to just transfer my user account and my mail data? Or is that not an option?

 

[talmy]

That's what I plan on doing. Do you know if I can just move my Mail folder over (from out of the library folder)?

That works. Don't forget the mail Preferences and the ApplicationSupport/Mail folder.

 

[danqi]

Thanks, I just thought of something else. I sync a bunch of iOS devices to my iTunes. Will I be able to seamlessly continue to do so after a manual migration?

 

[talmy]

Thanks, I just thought of something else. I sync a bunch of iOS devices to my iTunes. Will I be able to seamlessly continue to do so after a manual migration?

It should work seamlessly if you move your iTunes library over first.