I have one monitor and hope to transfer my apps from my current MS M1 to my new MS M4.
Any suggestions on how to make this work?
Thank you!
Any suggestions on how to make this work?
Thank you!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MS All Models Using 1 monitor, possible to transfer apps from current MS to new one?
- Thread starter silverlakerCA
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Like maflynn says above...
Get an external drive.
Back up the old Studio to the drive.
(You should always have a backup, anyway!)
When the new Mac comes, take it out of the box and set it up on the table.
Connect the backup drive.
Press the power-on button for the first time.
Begin setup. Setup assistant will ask if you wish to migrate from another Mac or drive. YES, you do, so...
... point the way to the backup and give SA a moment to "digest" things.
SA will present you with a list of stuff that can be migrated. I suggest you just accept the defaults (which is "everything").
Let setup assistant do its job.
When done, you should see your new login screen, which will look pretty much like the older one.
So... log in and "look around"...
Get an external drive.
Back up the old Studio to the drive.
(You should always have a backup, anyway!)
When the new Mac comes, take it out of the box and set it up on the table.
Connect the backup drive.
Press the power-on button for the first time.
Begin setup. Setup assistant will ask if you wish to migrate from another Mac or drive. YES, you do, so...
... point the way to the backup and give SA a moment to "digest" things.
SA will present you with a list of stuff that can be migrated. I suggest you just accept the defaults (which is "everything").
Let setup assistant do its job.
When done, you should see your new login screen, which will look pretty much like the older one.
So... log in and "look around"...
Thanks for this.
I have a number of apps I purchased from makers like Topaz and Native Instruments.
And the easier ones are the one through Mac Store.
Time machine works quite well, but not too long ago I used CCC or Superduper instead because I could setup the backup drive as a bootable one. I believe that CCC no longer creates bootable drives?
What if one wants to continue using the old Mac and also the new one? Do I have to create a new account on the new Mac, passwords, and so on? The reason why I am asking is trying to figure out what is best between Migrating from the old one, or just setting it up as a New Mac.
Alaska wrote:
"I believe that CCC no longer creates bootable drives?"
I believe the option (called "legacy copy"?) is still there, but like Old Lodge Skins said to Jack Crabbe in Little Big Man, "sometimes the magic works, and sometime it doesn't"...
Another way to create a bootable external "almost-clone" would be to install a brand-new, fresh copy of the OS onto an external drive, and then use Migration Assistant to "bring over" everything from the internal drive.
Not truly an "exact clone", but pretty durn close.
"What if one wants to continue using the old Mac and also the new one? Do I have to create a new account on the new Mac, passwords, and so on?"
The new Mac will be seen (by the "old" Mac) as "a NEW Mac".
Even if you use the same username and password (as I do), the OS will "see them" (the two accounts) as DIFFERENTLY-OWNED accounts. So if you try to bring over stuff from one account to the other, there could be permissions problems.
There are easy ways "around this".
Best way is to use an external drive (USB flash drive, external HDD, external SSD, etc.) and modify its "get info" so that "ownership is ignored" on that volume.
Go to get info, click the lock, enter password, put a check into "ignore ownership on this volume".
Works quite well for me. I almost never have permissions problems (can't remember last time)...
"I believe that CCC no longer creates bootable drives?"
I believe the option (called "legacy copy"?) is still there, but like Old Lodge Skins said to Jack Crabbe in Little Big Man, "sometimes the magic works, and sometime it doesn't"...
Another way to create a bootable external "almost-clone" would be to install a brand-new, fresh copy of the OS onto an external drive, and then use Migration Assistant to "bring over" everything from the internal drive.
Not truly an "exact clone", but pretty durn close.
"What if one wants to continue using the old Mac and also the new one? Do I have to create a new account on the new Mac, passwords, and so on?"
The new Mac will be seen (by the "old" Mac) as "a NEW Mac".
Even if you use the same username and password (as I do), the OS will "see them" (the two accounts) as DIFFERENTLY-OWNED accounts. So if you try to bring over stuff from one account to the other, there could be permissions problems.
There are easy ways "around this".
Best way is to use an external drive (USB flash drive, external HDD, external SSD, etc.) and modify its "get info" so that "ownership is ignored" on that volume.
Go to get info, click the lock, enter password, put a check into "ignore ownership on this volume".
Works quite well for me. I almost never have permissions problems (can't remember last time)...
Thank you for clarifying things for me and others who may have similar questions. What I will more likely do is to setup a Mac Studio as a new one, and leave the older one alone as it is now. This one is a 2029 27" iMac that has a 2TB fusion HD, and the RAM slots loaded with Crusial RAM sticks. I use it for photo editing.
I the new Mac (128GB RAM/2TB SSD & 27" K5 BenQ) will serve the same purpose, but operate much faster with the DXO and OneOne photo-editing apps I use.
Last edited:
I used to use CCC, but tbh, TM works so well, its a fire and forget solution that integrates well with Apple's setup process, why bother going out of apple's walled garden
I figured that both CCC and Superduper allowed me to completely backup all the files and folder of my 2019 and preview iMac's, and also to create start-up external SSD's and hard drives, plus incremental backups like Time Machine does. I find Time machine too self-driven or automatic. I don't even want to use iCloud with any of my Macs, iPhones, and iPads in my family. Apple is too pushy about using AI, Music downstream, the use of iCloud to store passwords, photos, and so on. I don't want Apple to decide for me and lead me by the nose.I used to use CCC, but tbh, TM works so well, its a fire and forget solution that integrates well with Apple's setup process, why bother going out of apple's walled garden
Just did it this weekend with both MS connected via TB.
But my monitor has 2 inputs, so I just setup Migration Assistant on the old one, flipped the monitor input, clicked through Migration Assistant prompts on the new one, then waited.
Maybe you could do it with one monitor, then just switch the HDMI cable when you are finished clicking the Migration Assistant prompts on the each MS.
Or if your monitor has Picture-in-Picture, you would never have to switch.