New Mac Book Air basic question

easiest way, and you need one anyway to safeguard as an ARCHIVE your valuable data, an external USB HD (1TB drive Toshiba is $69).

Use the external HD to copy from Imac to your Macbook Air.

Also use same afterwards as either a TIME MACHINE backup or ideally a data archive of your valuable data.

always always have at least 2 copies OTHER THAN on the computer, ....of your valuable data.

😊

Everything can be transferred. You can definitely use Migration Assistant. Do you have a home network to which both computers are connected? Do you have a backup of your iMac? If so, is it a Time Machine backup? Do you have an Apple USB to Firewire adaptor for the MBA? Last, do you have an external USB drive your could use?

Look at the options described in these articles:

http://pondini.org/OSX/Setup.html

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10725

I do not know the constraints of the Microsoft licensing agreements. Technically you should be able to do so unless they are old versions that will not be compatible with Mt. lion.

Ciao.

if you choose migration assistant, that is good...........

However you still need to protect your data regardless.

Never consider any computer a data storage device at any time under any circumstance, rather a data creation, sending, and manipulation device. Anyone who thinks data is safe on any computer, even copied upon multiple partitions is making a mistake that will, without fail, strike.

Most importantly know that 2 copies of your data is 1, and 1 is none

Always consider and expect your computer’s hard drive or SSD to completely crash anytime, at all times

Peace 😊

I agree with Veritas you should definitely use an external drive for any valued data.

TimeMachine (TM) is good, but you have to update TMsomething like every 7 days or something like that, not sure because I don't use TM; it's a tidious program to use. Just backing up photo's, files, and music into an external drive is the best way to go, whenever you feel like backing up.

p41s3r wrote:

TimeMachine (TM) is good, but you have to update TMsomething like every 7 days or something like that, not sure because I don't use TM; it's a tidious program to use.

You certainly have not used Time machine because your statements are absolutely untrue. Time Machine is easy to set up and is totally hands off until you have to restore some data. It is the simplest and easy to use backup system I have encountered. Before you make any other comments regarding Time Machine, read the Pondini web site on Time Machine and perhaps even try it your self. 🙂

http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

Ciao.

a HD clone is easier

you cant boot from TM

TM is a backup.... not an archive or storage

even pondini admits TM has serious limitations

PlotinusVeritas wrote:

you cant boot from TM

If one is using 10.7 or 10.8 you certainly can.

Ciao.

If you have a recovery partition. Yeah.......if your internal HD is fried........time machine is useless.

A recovery partition isnt needed to boot from a clone.

Most Mac users I know could care less about the recovery partition, and the designer of SuperDuper himself has said he didnt create the ability to create a CLONE of the recovery partition into his software, since he never uses is nor anyone he knows.

all the HD upgrades Ive installed dont have recovery partitions, use the original HD as an emergency backup. And use TM as a working emergency backup.

In case of a HD crash, I can be back up in seconds with a HD clone, not so with TM.

Regardless of all of that, TM isnt meant to be a prosumer or professional storage device, not in intent nor are prosumers or professionals using it for that manner.

I have a TM backup of all of my Macs, but I would never consider in a million years in thinking of it as a data hub for my work.

Most pros vital data would NEVER fit on a single HD anyway, or any single HD / Time Machine.

Important data you “don’t dare lose” should not be considered ultimately safe, or ideally stored (at the very least not as sole copy of same) on your Time Machine backup. Hourly and daily fluctuations of your system OS, applications, and software updates is the perfect focus for the simple user to conduct ‘click it and forget it’ backups of the entire system and files on the Macbook HD.

Bootable clones are the choice of professionals and others in that Time Machine cannot be booted from and requires a working HD to retrieve data from (meaning another computer). Your vital data needs to be and should be ‘frozen’ on some form of media storage, either in a clone, as an archived HD containing important files, or on DVD blank archival media.

TM is idealized as a system hub backup, not an archive or storage device of vital data.

No professional is using time machine to safeguard files, and priceless information.

😊

http://pondini.org/TM/Clones.html

TM Disadvantages

However, if you're running Lion 10.7.2 or above, and backing-up to a directly-connected external HD, there's probably a copy of your Recovery HD on the Time Machine drive, so if your internal HD fails, you can start from that.

Pondini Florida, USA

"That's why many of us keep both Time Machine backups and a bootable clone. Since all hardware fails, sooner or later, and no backup app is perfect, that gives you the best of both"

Time Machine not a true backup?Time Machine not a true backup?
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4166707?tstart=0

Linc Davis

Yes, a local Time Machine backup volume will boot into Lion Recovery, provided that at least one of the source volumes backed up to it has a valid recovery partition under Mac OS 10.7.2 or later.

Booting into recovery is a world different than booting in 20 seconds from a CLONE to your desktop.

Also as Linc mentions above, if the SOURCE recovery partion isnt valid, its "no luck"

So can you explain that you have to do mandatory updates on Time Machine? In my explanation was broad but I was specific on I do not use Time Machine. So why are you bagging on me man? Just trying to help another person out. Even though my explanation isnt super duper accurate my explanation was good enough for a statement.

I see great references to the documents in Pondini.org and support.apple.com. Are there inexes or search pages from which one can access or browse such articles?

These are USER TIPS by some of the 'prosumer' or experienced users here. Many contain pithy great data people should consider.

https://discussions.apple.com/community/user_tips_library_documents?view=documen ts

😊

p41s3r, greetings;

Your statement contains false hoods such as "TimeMachine (TM) is good, but you have to update TMsomething like every 7 days". Time Machine updates as follows "Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups until your backup drive is full.", not every 7 days.

Yours "it's a tidious program to use' Since Time Machine works the background with no user interaction how can it be tedious?

When you say "not sure because I don't use TM;" why even comment! The Terms of use for these forums want respondents to"'5. Test your answer. When possible, make sure your Submission works on your own computer before you post it." You clearly have not done that.

Do not view this as a personal attack. I do it only to correct the record for readers who may not know the difference.

Ciao.

hands4, greetings; Look at the web site yourself. Best resource available for Time machine.

http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

Ciao.