Transfer files from Old to New iMac

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Transfer files from Old to New iMac

Hi.

I have bought a brand new iMac (27inch i5) which i received today. I have gone though and set it all up however the problem i have is how should i transfer my files from my old iMac (G5 1.8Ghz PPC) to my new one?

I have read that migration assistant is a bad idea from PPC to intel but tried it anyway and it just got stuck on "Searching for other computers" and in the end said no connection could be made. I have a firewire cable although my old imac only has firewire 600 ports and the new imac firewire 800.

Is there a way i can boot my old imac to get it to transfer over USB or Ethernet? Or any other options anyone can suggest?

Thanks in advance for any help!

iMac i5, Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on May 20, 2010 7:34 AM

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rkaufmann87

Level 10

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May 20, 2010 8:34 AM in response to alexmshore

Welcome to Apple Discussions!

MA should work OK, however you are correct some people can experience issues from a PPC to Intel migration. The issues are usually related to what is being migrated. I would recommend only migrating settings and data, do not attempt to migrate applications. Those should be installed manually which may require you to upgrade some software to versions that run on Intel Macs.

There is no such thing as Firewire 600, there is Firewire (400 MBS) and Firewire 800. Your old machine probably uses Firewire, so to connect it to your new iMac you will need a cable like this.

Once you have the cable then simply launch MA on the new iMac (Command-Spacebar then type Migration Assistant) and follow the directions, it should be very straightforward after that.

However to directly answer your question yes you can transfer over USB (not recommended due to very slow speeds) or Ethernet which is also not generally recommended due multiple failure reports however some will disagree with me on this issue.

Because your machine is so new you can also take advantage of your 3 months of free calls to Apple. You can call them and they will coach you through the process or you can also make an appointment at your local Apple Store and ask them to perform the migration for you. The phone number is in the manual that came with the new machine.

Regards,

Roger

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