Use Timemachine for transfer Macbook 2008 to Mac Mini 2018?

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Use Timemachine for transfer Macbook 2008 to Mac Mini 2018?

Hi,

I have a Macbook from late 2008 running El Capitan (last OS available for it) and want to buy a late 2018 Mac Mini. I was planning to use timemachine to transfer files etc from the Macbook to the Mac Mini. However, the Macbook cannot run on any OS beyond El Capitan, and the Mac Mini 2018+ cannot run El Capitan, only Mojave or Catalina. My question: can I still use timemachine to do this transfer? Thank you in advance!

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Nov 28, 2019 3:05 AM

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Answer 1

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MrHoffman

Community+ 2024

Level 10

126,163 points

Nov 28, 2019 4:09 PM in response to Lpost

Yes; new macOS can read old Time Machine backups.

Or connect Mac-to-Mac using a cable.

I’d likely clone the internal storage on the old Mac to an external scratch storage device (using Disk Utility when booted from Recovery, or using Carbon Copy Cloner) , and migrate using that. That preserves my backups, my old Mac contents, and the rest—at least until I’m sure the new Mac is working.

More details: How to move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

babowa

Level 9

78,429 points

Nov 28, 2019 6:31 PM in response to Lpost

You will need to check on compatibility of your apps - some will no longer work, so be careful what you want to transfer.

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Use Timemachine for transfer Macbook 2008 to Mac Mini 2018?

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