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Upgrading to New Mac

I am going to move from a Mac Pro (late 2013) using macOS Monterey 12.7.6 to a new Mac Studio and am seeking guidance on moving the System and related info from the old Mac to the new. Any guidance and/or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Mac Pro, macOS 12.7

Posted on Dec 30, 2024 2:17 PM

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2 replies

Dec 30, 2024 6:44 PM in response to EasyEdE

·       Always connect your old Mac's Time Machine or Bootable Clone (from Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper!) External Hard Disk prior to startup, this will allow a migration from your backup and it will be dead simple! 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! This is the easiest, quickest and most reliable method to migrate from the old Mac to the new Mac is to simply connect the old Mac's Time Machine or Bootable Clone External Hard Disk to the new Mac using a USB cable before you turn on the new Mac. 

·       NOTE 1: You will likely need a USB A to USB C adapter, you can find them on Amazon for $10 or less. Something like this USB to USB C adapter

·       NOTE 2: If you have already done SA on the new computer then simply connect the Time Machine or Bootable Clone 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. They do 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 an issue. 

 

Finally, my recommendation is not using Wi-Fi when doing Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant. Why, it simply fails in a lot of the cases reported in these forums. A wired connection is more reliable and the last thing you need is a failed migration when there are safe methods readily available. Please read and follow the directions in Setup Assistant and Migration AssistantIf you do not have a Time Machine backup of the older Mac then create one!If you are not aware of Time Machine, please read Back up your Mac with Time Machine and finally if you need an External Hard Disk to use as a Time Machine External Hard Disk then many experience users on these forums prefer the OWC Mercury Elite Pro due to it's reasonable price, high level of quality and ease of use. 


Please note that when you say, "move the system" if you mean the version of Mac OS that is running on your 2013 MP that will not happen! Macs cannot run earlier versions of Mac OS than they originally shipped with. Simply said, Monterey will not run on a new Mac.


However, you can move all of your settings so when the migration from old to new is complete the new machine will act very similar to the old machine except better!

 

Upgrading to New Mac

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