Migration

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Level 1

8 points

Migration

I need to replace the failing original 2-TB SSD in my 27" iMac 2015. Can I use Migration Assistant to clone the existing SSD on the iMac to my new SSD and then swap the drives out? My iMac has a 3.2 GHz Quad core Intel I-5 processor and 32 GB of ram.

I have a brand new Samsung EVO 870 SATA 2-TB 2.5" drive ready to go into the iMac. I am currently running Monterey 12.1 on the iMac. The existing drive has less than 1-TB of data on it, in total. The only peripheral device I am using is for Time Machine Backups on a 5TB HD.

iMac 27″, macOS 12.1

Posted on Feb 7, 2022 2:16 PM

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Answer 1

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BlueberryLover

Level 4

1,111 points

Feb 7, 2022 5:59 PM in response to cogator

The standard procedure would be as follows:

1) Backup your system and data to a Time Machine snapshot on your hard drive

2) Install Monterey 12.2 (I suggest creating a bootable installer on a USB key for this purpose)

3) Use the Migration Assistant to restore files from Time Machine

A frequently suggested best practice is to use the Migration Assistant to only recover user files. Third party apps can then be re-installed from their original sources and system settings can be reconfigured. On the other hand, since you have already updated to Monterey 12.1, you may want to try using the Migration Assistant to recover everything except the OS (e.g. user files, third party apps, and system settings).

- Pie Lover

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Answer 2

cogator Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 7, 2022 9:55 PM in response to BlueberryLover

Thank you for the great advice. I updated my OS today to 12.2 so I am good to go. I will create the bootable installer on the jump drive and see where the Migration Assistant takes me.

A lot of others are using third party software to migrate, like Carbon Copy but I don’t want to resort to that if I don’t have to.

Again, thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it!

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Migration

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