M1 MacBook Air - Storage Question

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M1 MacBook Air - Storage Question

I have a question: I am thinking of getting a base model M1 MacBook Air (i.e. 256 GB SSD), and using Migration Assistant or Time Machine to transfer files across from my current machine, a 2012 MacBook Pro.

However, this machine has 1TB storage - a lot of which is Documents and Music. I know Migration Assistant will let you select which folders to bring across to the new machine, but is there any way I could bring across the vital stuff to the new machine's SSD (e.g. apps), and then migrate everything else to an external SSD? Or would it be best to transfer everything off the old machine first onto a new external SSD? I've never gone from a 1TB machine to 256GB before, so am a little unsure of how to proceed.

Any tips or advice would be very welcome. Thanks, and Happy New Year!

Posted on Dec 31, 2020 4:03 PM

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Answer 1

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John Galt

Level 10

156,698 points

Dec 31, 2020 7:06 PM in response to paracelsus1966

You can choose among broad categories to migrate. Omit Music for example.

Or would it be best to transfer everything off the old machine first onto a new external SSD?

Everything isn't necessary, nor is an SSD. An inexpensive hard disk drive is fine, and if you don't already have a Time Machine backup drive, get one. Reducing the amount you need to transfer to below 256 GB is going to be a chore, but then what? You'll have a brand new Mac that has already reached its capacity limit. Is that really what you want? Bad idea.

I've never gone from a 1TB machine to 256GB before, ...

You might not like this but I recommend... you don't. Get at least half a terabyte. I'd consider that the minimum. How long did it take you to reach 25% of your MBP's storage? I'm guessing not very long. And it lasted you eight years. Upgrading to a 1 TB capacity is $400. A dollar a week. That buys you a comfortable amount of storage.

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M1 MacBook Air - Storage Question

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