Please be kind! Senior citizen here. I have an old (but working) iMac that I want to replace with a new iMac. My question is whether or not I'd be able to transfer info easily from old to new. Chrome has saved passwords, etc on the old and I'd hate to have to re-enter or recreate about 10 yrs worth of information. My hobby is creating handmade greeting cards and I have many pictures of my completed work, etc.
Thanks for any advice for this older person.
iMac, macOS 10.12
When you buy a new Mac the easiest, quickest and most reliable method is to simply connect the old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk to the new Mac using a USB cable before you turn on the new Mac. When you start the new Mac for the first time it will startup Setup Assistant (SA), SA will get to a point where it asks if you are migrating from another computer, select Yes and follow the on-screen prompts and it's done! It is THAT simple.
If you have already done SA on the new computer then simply connect the Time Machine External Hard Disk using a USB cable and launch Migration Assistant (MA) which is located in Applications - Utilities - MA. Then follow the on-screen prompts.
The ONLY difference between MA and SA is MA will create a new user account that you need to log into.
Both SA and MA migrate applications (not 32 bit apps) , data files, settings, it does not migrate Mac OS itself. Some professional apps such as Adobe and Microsoft apps may require re-installing their apps as they will not allow them to be migrated. As long as you kept the security keys for installing their apps, it is not a big deal.
When you buy a new Mac the easiest, quickest and most reliable method is to simply connect the old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk to the new Mac using a USB cable before you turn on the new Mac. When you start the new Mac for the first time it will startup Setup Assistant (SA), SA will get to a point where it asks if you are migrating from another computer, select Yes and follow the on-screen prompts and it's done! It is THAT simple.
If you have already done SA on the new computer then simply connect the Time Machine External Hard Disk using a USB cable and launch Migration Assistant (MA) which is located in Applications - Utilities - MA. Then follow the on-screen prompts.
The ONLY difference between MA and SA is MA will create a new user account that you need to log into.
Both SA and MA migrate applications (not 32 bit apps) , data files, settings, it does not migrate Mac OS itself. Some professional apps such as Adobe and Microsoft apps may require re-installing their apps as they will not allow them to be migrated. As long as you kept the security keys for installing their apps, it is not a big deal.
Thanks so much much for taking the time to answer my concern. Your reply eased qualms about getting a new and improved iMac. These machines work so well for so long for the tasks I need. Thanks again.
Your welcome. You old Mac will need to be running 10.6.8 (this was released over 10 years ago!) or later in order for the migration to occur. Please also remember if you have any third party applications that you want to keep to note the following. 32 bit apps will not run on Big Sure (current version of Mac OS) and later so you will need to upgrade them to their 64 bi equivalents or replace them with 64 bit applications.
In order to help you please navigate to https://roaringapps.com/ an type in the apps name and the site will tell you the versions that are 64 bit. If you have an app that is not listed, that is one you will either have to upgrade or replace.
Also, it is always wise to check your Time Machine EHD about 1x a month to verify it's working okay.
Transfer Everything?
