MIGRATION from 2012 MB pro to 2023 M3

Decommended wrote:

PLEASE help me and put me out of my misery.

macbook 2012 - Running Sierra - 10.12.6

MBP M3 - 2023 - Sequoia 15.6.1

need to transfer over approx 830GB and have 1TB SSD on new MacBook.

Let us try and fulfill your request via vie " PLEASE help me and put me out of my misery. "

If the new computer is going to be the Apple Silicon  Computer which M3 MBP 2023 is - would suggest Only Migrating the User Account and nothing more.

Some have had success and usually they are well seasoned veterans who are well versed in trouble shooting 

Others have been left with a mess when Migrating everything.

Issues that may have existed on the older computer, running OS X 10.12 will be migrated to the New Computer.

This would badly pollute the new Original and Pristine installation of the new macOS 15 Sequoia .

Applications, extensions and Software Drivers may or may not even work on the new computer.

IMHO - it would be best to only install new application etc Directly from the Developer or the Apple Apps Store.

Due Diligence on New Applications and make sure they are Sequoia compatible and factor in the ARMs CPU of the Apple Silicon Computer  

One more thing,

Wanting to transfer 830 GB from older computer to a 1 TB New computer ?

Right here is a invitation for potential issue visa vie Lack of Free Space on the new machine

It is generally accepted good computing to always keep about 15 % to 20 % of the Drive Capacity as Free Space

Getting below these suggested figure maybe a real impediment for any additional updates of Sequoia or possibly upGrade to say macOS 26 Tahoe which this M3 MBP does qualify to run

Food to some serious considerations

https://eclecticlight.co/2024/11/15/should-you-migrate-to-your-new-mac-and-when/

Do please follow Owl_53's solid advice and migrate ONLY the user accounts.

Besides, most if not all applications that run in the old system will not work, or need updating, to run in the new one. It's best to just install the applications you need, fresh from the de

In addition: while transferring directly from one computer to another is supposed to work (and I have done it too), it is often faster to use a Time Machine drive from the old Mac, attach it to the new one, and migrate from it.

Don't use Time Machine? You should, unless you don't care about your data.

Decommended wrote:

Beyond frustrating. I used wifi, Ethernet option as well.

…

I can’t see another way here. I could do a Time Machine back up but I haven’t used Time Machine in probably 8 years.

…

need to transfer over approx 830GB and have 1TB SSD on new MacBook.

Wi-Fi is probably the least reliable way to migrate.

The best way to migrate is using an external drive containing a current backup of your old system. This can be a Time Machine backup, or a bootable clone backup made with Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! (Aka "startup disk").

And there you have it from 3 independent individuals with some very well considered advise

One behalf of my fellow colleagues and self 🦉-53

You are welcome

Enjoy the new machine