Migration: old mac to my new mac (both laptops), just iTunes/iphoto

Pondini, everything is all right now. I sold my old computer and now I need just to erase everything and reinstall the OSX, is that right?

Thank you for your support

Reacrobs wrote:

. . .

I sold my old computer and now I need just to erase everything and reinstall the OSX, is that right?

You mean the old one? Yes. Start it up from the OSX Installation disc that came with it (or, if you upgraded it to Snow Leopard, that disc), erase the internal HD, and reinstall OSX.

When that's done, and the Mac restarts, it will be just like it came from the factory. You'll see the Welcome video. Just power it down, and the new owner can set it up however he/she wants.

Be sure to give the discs that came with it, and any OSX upgrade disc(s), to the new owner.

Pondini,

I have a new (2011) Mackbook Air and want to transfer ONLY my itunes library and iPhoto library from my old 2004 Powerbook to the new Mackbook Air. I don't want anything else - I want to start fresh. I plan on doing the transfer through an external hardrive. It seems to me that you mentioned in one of the early replies to this discussion that Migration Asst is not a good option for moving over one's iTunes and iPhoto... am I understanding this correctly? I can't recall whether I set up a new account when I turned on the new Macbook Air and I don't have it with me currently to check.

What do you recommend I use to transfer just my itunes and iphoto libraries? Forgive me in advance, as I am not very good with technology, thus 8 year later I'm upgrading my laptop...

Thank you!

djmikiel wrote:

. . .

It seems to me that you mentioned in one of the early replies to this discussion that Migration Asst is not a good option for moving over one's iTunes and iPhoto...

It is a good option in most cases (actually, Setup Assistant is usually better), but is probably not what you want to do.

Migration Assistant can transfer user account(s) -- you can omit some things, but it cannot "merge" the contents of one account (on a backup or other Mac) into an account that already exists. It can only make a new one.

What do you recommend I use to transfer just my itunes and iphoto libraries? Forgive me in advance, as I am not very good with technology, thus 8 year later I'm upgrading my laptop...

You could probably copy them directly from the Powerbook, if it has a FireWire port, you can connect them via Firewire (you'd need a Thunderbolt-to-FireWire adapter on the MBA). Start the PowerBook in Target Disk mode; it will look like an external HD to the MBA.

Or, you could connect them via Ethernet (with a Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet or USB-to-Ethernet adapter on the MBA), and copy them that way.

Probably the easiest would be via an external HD. If you already have one that you're backing-up the Powerbook to, just connect it to the MBA and copy or restore the data from it.

If not, I'd strongly suggest you get one, to make regular backups of the MBA. Format it for a Mac (Mac OS Extended, Journaled format). Before you start backing-up the MBA, copy the libraries from the Powerbook to the external HD, then connect the HD to the MBA and copy them to it.

Thanks Pondini! Over the weekend I bought an external HD (geared for Macs) so I could do the transfer and then back up my MBA for now on, since I haven't been doing this and don't want to push my luck further.

Hopefully it goes as smoothly as it sounds... Thank you!

Good plan! 🙂

Should be easy, but if not, let us know.