Can I take a hard drive from one Mac mini and place it in another Mac mini and have all the software installed work in the new Mac mini?

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Level 1

26 points

Can I take a hard drive from one Mac mini and place it in another Mac mini and have all the software installed work in the new Mac mini?

i have a Mac mini with some software that I can't get. This is a 2006 Mac mini running 10.5.8. I have another 2008 Mac mini that is running 10.6.8. I want to take the hard drive from the 2006 Mac mini and pace it in the 2008 Mac mini. Will this work? do I have to first upgrade the 2006 Mac mini to 10.6.8 then make the swap?. Can I down grade the 2008 Mac mini then make the swap?

Posted on Feb 24, 2015 8:38 PM

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Answer 1

RRFS

Level 5

4,522 points

Feb 24, 2015 9:14 PM in response to trunolimit

Try using the "Target disk Mode" described in this article .

How to move data to your new Mac using Mountain Lion and earlier - Apple Support

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Answer 2

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Feb 25, 2015 1:39 AM in response to trunolimit

There is no 2008 Mac Mini, Which one do you have?

The Intel Mac Minis are early 2006, loate 2006, mid 2007, early 209 , later 2009 and Mid 2010. mid 2011, late 2012 and late 2014

If yo have a mid 2007 Mini then you can move the HD to the new Mini. Not clear you can do it with a 2009 Mini since some of those came with OSX versions later than 10.5.8.

Mac OS X versions (builds) for computers - Apple Support

How to identify Mac mini models - Apple Support

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Answer 3

kahjot

Level 4

2,462 points

Feb 25, 2015 7:44 PM in response to trunolimit

You could invest in an external drive and clone the old system to the drive; then attach the drive to your other Mini to see if the newer Mini can boot from it. Keep in mind that some software may require you to re-enter serial numbers or re-authorize the applications when they are moved to different hardware.

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Answer 4

Feb 26, 2015 1:57 AM in response to kahjot

Some software uses the normally invisible UUID number stored on the hard disk to tie the installation of the software to that disk. The result being that if you clone it to another Mac you get prompted to re-enter the license details. Office 2011 would be such an example.

Obviously the original poster should have such details if they are the legal owner of that software.

I agree the simplest first step to test compatibility would be to boot the older Mac mini in Target Disk Mode, connect it to the newer one, and tell the newer one to boot from the older one. If it fails to boot then the next step would be to consider upgrading the operating system, upgrading the operating system would not affect any software licensing, and 10.6 at least would still be able to run any old PowerPC applications.

The presumption is made that the poster has access to a 10.6 installer.

Once they are satisfied the drive will work with the newer Mac then yes it could be physically removed from the older Mac mini and installed in the newer Mac mini.

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Answer 5

trunolimit Author

Level 1

26 points

Feb 26, 2015 9:07 AM in response to John Lockwood

OK target disk mode it is.

the problem is there is software on the old MAC that is end of life and impossible to get. This software drives external hardware. In order to move to the next version of this software the company wants me to buy a new mac mini specially formatted from them. its cheaper of i just find a way to move the software from my old mac to the new mac so i wont have to purchase a whole new unit.

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Answer 6

kahjot

Level 4

2,462 points

Feb 26, 2015 4:57 PM in response to trunolimit

The company should be able to tell you if there will be a problem with the software in terms of serial number or authorization if the drive is moved to a new machine. I would hope that they'd tell you, even though they want to sell you something else.

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