I have an early 2009 imac running OSX Yosemite 10.10.5 and a mid 2011 imac running macOS Sierra 10.12.6. I want to move all of the document, photo and music files from the old machine to the newer. Can I do this with a backup of one to a restore of the other? The newer one has been wiped clean. If not, what is the best way? I'm assuming no, but is it possible to move an app (Quicken) as well?
iMac, OS X 10.10
Best wy is a Time Machine external drive backup on the old one, move drive to the new one & use Setup Assistant.
That is what I'd do, then just Migrate the User's folder.
I just want to migrate documents, photos and music, would I perform a full back up on the old computer and then use setup assistant to migrate only the files I want to the new machine?
The assistant does not give you fine grained control. For that, it might be best to copy your user folder to an external hard drive. It is best to re-load apps, not just transfer them over, but sometimes that is not possible.
The fastest, easiest and most reliable method is to simply connect the old Mac's Time Machine EHD using a USB cable to the new Mac and then launch Migration Assistant (Applications - Utilities - Migration Assistant) and follow the on-screen prompts. This is so simple trying any other method is silly and a waste of time. I've done it many many many times over the years, it works 100% of the time!
Transferring files from mac to mac.
