Tips for Restoring Without Migration Assistant?

All I'd do is make the bootable backup/clone, install the new HD, and restore the backup/clone. Anything else unless there are real and not imagined problems is an exercise in futility. My current OS dates from 2002 and Jaguar and has come through three machines.

Actually, do you know which files are corrupt? Migration Assistant will allow you to 'cherry pick' exactly what you want to move over. So if you really want a fresh start, then reinstall the OS with your Macs' DVDs, then use Migration Assistant to move ONLY your Music, Photos, Videos, and other important documents. But leave all settings, libraries, and applications behind.

Reinstall any 3rd-party apps from their original discs. This should get you a fresh system and still preserve your user data.

That's all well and good, but the OP explicitly stated that he dreaded *…the old, tedious method of restoring data by hand*, which in this case reinstalling everything and resetting all of his preferences, IMO, amounts to. 😉

True, but the alternative is letting Migration Assistant handle everything - which I have no problem allowing in my own case. It has proved to be a life & time saver for me for years now.

But the OP is in a bit of a 'Catch 22': He wants to preserve everything without using Migration Assistant. That means moving everything over manually. Yet they state they want to avoid that. So I presented a 'middle-ground' suggestion. Let MA handle the bulk of their data, while manually reinstalling critical apps & utilities.

OK. Let's see what the Great Lakes guy says when he comes back. Reinstalling the OS puts down a clean one, leaving everything else in place. So, restoring the clone followed by reinstalling plus updates might be the way to go. I'm just against the so called clean install and like to direct people away from it.

I'm actually with you 100% on this baltwo. There really is very little that can't be resolved with a fresh reinstall of Snow Leopard's default installation. So the options are as follows starting with the easiest and progressing to the more difficult:

A. Clone the legacy OS & User Accounts back over to the new drive, followed by a default SL Install + Software Update to freshen the OS if so desired.

B. Install the OS and use Migration Assistant to restore all User Accounts and Applications.

C. Install the OS and use Migration Assistant to restore ONLY user data (Photos, Music, Videos, Documents, etc...). Followed by reinstalling all 3rd-party apps and manually configuring all previous settings (i.e preferences & networking).

D. Install the OS and manually moving only desired user data and reinstalling all 3rd-party apps and manually configuring all previous settings (NOTE: This option is reserved for only the most extreme circumstances as it involves a serious commitment of time and introduces the potential for permissions issue when trying to integrate legacy user data with a virgin user account).

Like baltwo, I have never had to perform options D, and option C perhaps only once. My user accounts, and all of their data, have successfully been migrated across some 5 Macs since the option to do so was introduced. I believe I still have some data within my primary user account that was generated back in the OS 8 & 9 days.

Rest assured, when problems arise they are rarely the result of data found within your user account and are more likely the result of corrupt OS or App files. As a result I have never hesitated to migrate my complete user account over when I upgraded my Mac. OS Software and Apps may come and go, but my user account is rock solid and completely portable with the help of Migration Assistant. I think baltwo would agree. 😀

Thanks for the feedback. Sorry about the gender mixup. Good computing.