What to do before transferring data from old MB to new MBP?

[chrisbru]

Hey all,

I've been a Mac user for almost 20 years now (that makes me feel old), but I've never been so integrated into my system as I am now. I want to transfer a lot of what I have set up on my Macbook (circa 2007) to the new MBP that I just ordered. However, I want to keep the new MBP more "clean" if you will, and not have some of the junk that I downloaded on this before I got more streamlined and specific about what apps I use, where I download from, etc.

I want to for sure transfer:
*Mac Mail (settings, folders, etc.)
*iTunes library
*iPhoto library
*Dropbox auto-sync for my documents folder
*Microsoft Office 2008 (unless I can get a new version from my grad school bookstore)
*Safari bookmarks, settings, etc.

What I don't want to transfer:
Basically, everything else


Is there an easy way to do this with setup? Migration assistant? Etc? I have a Time Machine backup on a non-bootable hard drive. However, I will just connect my two machines via firewire if it will work. Can I select certain folders, programs, etc. to transfer?

Thanks in advance for your help!
-Chris

 

[simsaladimbamba]

You could clone your USER folder (Macintosh HD / Users / YOU) on your MB via CarbonCopyCloner from your MB to the MacBook Pro connected in Target Disk Mode.

MS Office can be just copied from the old Applications folder to the new Applications folder on the MBP, that worked for me at least.

 

[chrisbru]

You could clone your USER folder (Macintosh HD / Users / YOU) on your MB via CarbonCopyCloner from your MB to the MacBook Pro connected in Target Disk Mode.

MS Office can be just copied from the old Applications folder to the new Applications folder on the MBP, that worked for me at least.

Wouldn't the clone move some of that stuff that I didn't want though?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Wouldn't the clone move some of that stuff that I didn't want though?

You want to transfer

I want to for sure transfer:
*Mac Mail (settings, folders, etc.)
*iTunes library
*iPhoto library
*Dropbox auto-sync for my documents folder
*Microsoft Office 2008 (unless I can get a new version from my grad school bookstore)
*Safari bookmarks, settings, etc.

which is all stored inside YOUR user folder, except MS Office. You could copy the ones you want by hand, if you want, there are dozens of guides out there on how to do this.
But you can also use Migration or Setup Assistant to do so.

I had no problems doing the clone, though my user folder might have not been as ****ed up as you suspect to be yours to be.

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

Time Machine FAQ - 14. How do I restore my entire system?

Using Setup Assistant on Snow Leopard or Leopard

Setting-up a new Mac from an old one or its Backups

Target Disk Mode

 

[chrisbru]

Thanks! The links are very helpful.