Is there a reference/link for moving from an Early 24" 2008 iMac to new 27" 5K iMac?

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judger Author

Level 1

13 points

Is there a reference/link for moving from an Early 24" 2008 iMac to new 27" 5K iMac?

Have early 2008 24-inch iMac with 4GB RAM

I am looking at upgrading to a late 2015 27-inch 5K iMac with at least 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion drive, Numeric pad add-on

I use an external Seagate hard drive for Time Machine backups connected via Fire Wire and wish to reuse

I have external speakers and woofer connected via headphone jack and wish to reuse

I have Parallels XP virtual machine and wish to reuse - Needs to be updated for higher level OS X

Many disk files are stored in a shared folder between the virtual XP and iMac PC's and I wish to retain as is

I have a few apps like Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. and TurboTax and wish to retain all

I have a fast router that both the old and new iMac's can be connected for the pgrade

Can anyone suggest a reference and/or Internet links that describe an effective, safe and efficient upgrade process?

Thank You!!!!

iMac (24-inch Early 2008), OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), Parallels Win XP, TurboTax, MS apps

Posted on Feb 1, 2016 3:05 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Feb 1, 2016 3:22 PM in response to judger

You can connect both computers to your local network and copy files via File Sharing.
You can create a cloned backup of the old Mac onto an external USB drive.
Connect the USB drive to the new computer. You can transfer data manually or use Migration Assistant.
Your third-party applications need to be installed on the new Mac from their original media.

Some helpful links:

Time Machine - Learn how to set up Time Machine to perform backups, how to restore items, how to use System Restore to return your entire Mac to a specific date, how to migrate backups to a new Mac, and more.
OS X- Manually migrating data from another Mac
How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac
Migration Assistant tips and tricks

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,808 points

Feb 1, 2016 3:28 PM in response to judger

Kappy has done a good job of providing you what you requested. One thing I might mention is you should consider replacing the Time Machine EHD you use when your new iMac arrives. The reason is simple, HD's fail and considering the age of your 2008, my guess is the TM EHD may be of similar vintage. EHDs are inexpensive so it just make sense. While you can continue using the Seagate if you would like, I recommend that you consider the thought.

Congratulations on the new iMac!

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Answer 3

Old Toad

Level 10

207,733 points

Feb 1, 2016 3:36 PM in response to judger

Move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 4

judger Author

Level 1

13 points

Feb 2, 2016 4:36 AM in response to judger

Hey, Guys, I appreciate the fast responses! As you can tell, I haven't been doing a lot of upgrades and past experiences on PC platforms haven't all been pleasant.

Kappy, you say "Your third-party applications need to be installed on the new Mac from their original media." Isn't it just possible to copy each app or in the case of MS tools the entire file to the new iMac and have it work fine?

RK, I appreciate the comment on the EHD upgrade. As I recall the Seagate EHD isn't as old as 2008, but the Thunderbolt to FireWire connector (I don't see that the new iMac supports FireWire) costs a good chunk of the cost of a new iMac EHD on Amazon.

Old Toad, thank you for the link!

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Answer 5

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Feb 2, 2016 9:56 AM in response to judger

Kappy, you say "Your third-party applications need to be installed on the new Mac from their original media." Isn't it just possible to copy each app or in the case of MS tools the entire file to the new iMac and have it work fine?

Maybe, but some may have files scattered around and you need those for it to work. Others may store serial numbers in separate files in hidden or invisible locations. Usually, for a true clean install you should start the third-party software from scratch as well. If that is simply not possible, then you can try using Migration Assistant to transfer third-party software. I don't recommend doing this on the off-chance that the problem is caused by something in the old installation. So when you transfer from the backup you may be restoring the original problem.

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