Migrating between two Mac Pros

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Level 3

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Migrating between two Mac Pros

I upgrading from an old 4.1 MacPro to the new "trash can" MacPro. But I have only one monitor. Is the display port "hot swapable"?

Mac Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11), Radeon Sapphire 7950

Posted on Feb 3, 2016 10:41 AM

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Answer 1

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lllaass

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Feb 3, 2016 10:50 AM in response to WilliamL

Yes it is hot swappable.

You can also get Thunderbolt>FireWire adopter and connect the two via FW and boot the 4.1 in target Disk Mode and do the migration.

If you are going to use a network connection use a wired connection. Wifi is slow

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Answer 2

WilliamL Author

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Feb 3, 2016 5:49 PM in response to lllaass

Thank you. Where is the display port on a new MacPro? I do not have a Thunderbolt 27-inch Cinema display but the other (maybe older - just USB) model.

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Answer 3

lllaass

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Feb 4, 2016 2:04 AM in response to WilliamL

A Thunderbolt port accepts a mini displayport plug for video. Y may need to get a mini displayport to VGA, DVI, HDMI or displayport adopter/cable that is compatible with your monitor input

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Answer 4

WilliamL Author

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Feb 4, 2016 4:51 AM in response to lllaass

Great. Thank you again. You mentioned Firewire/target mode. The Knowledge article says I should use Etherne. It also says I am supposed to launch Migration Assistant on thr old Mac then do the same on the new one. Is there a simpler way?

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Answer 5

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Feb 4, 2016 6:10 AM in response to WilliamL

This

Move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

includes:

Connect the computers to each other

Connect both computers to the same localWi-Fi or Ethernet network.
Or connect both computers directly using a Thunderbolt, FireWire, or Ethernet cable.
Or connect your new Mac to a Time Capsule or external drive that has a Time Machine backup of your old Mac.

For Mac to Mac you only run Migratin assistant on the "new" Mac. That finds the info on the "old" Mac.

For PC to Mac yoo have to download and run Windows Migration Assistant on the PC and Mc's version on the Mac

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Answer 6

WilliamL Author

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Feb 4, 2016 7:30 AM in response to lllaass

Hey thanks again. One last "simple" question. How far up the login chain do I need to go on the old Mac? Just to the Login screen, or all the way to the Admin Account?

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Answer 7

lllaass

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Feb 4, 2016 7:44 AM in response to WilliamL

I used Target Disk Mode when going from 2009 Mac Mini to 2913 Mac Pro.

On your old Mac:
If you started in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these steps.

If you see a security code, make sure that it's the same code as on your new Mac.
Click Continue.

On your new Mac:

If you're migrating from a Time Machine backup, you might be asked to enter a password for the backup or Time Capsule. You should then see a list of backups organized by date and time. Choose the backup that you want to use, then click Continue.
Select the information to transfer, then click Continue to start the transfer. If you have a lot of content, the transfer might take several hours to finish.

The above would mean that you have to log into both Macs if not using Target disk mode or from TM backup

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Answer 8

WilliamL Author

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Feb 4, 2016 7:59 AM in response to lllaass

Hi. Yes that is the same Apple Help Doc I also saw. You say Target Mode works also to migrate between computers. Connect via Ethernet cable, start old Mac in Target Mode, then start New Mac and wait for the Migration Assistant screen to come up?

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Answer 9

lllaass

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Feb 4, 2016 8:08 AM in response to WilliamL

Target Disk mode works between two computers connected by FireWire (or Thunderbolt which the 4.1 does not have).

For Ethernet/network connection you have to startup and log into the old Mac.

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Answer 10

WilliamL Author

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Feb 4, 2016 11:22 AM in response to lllaass

Thanks. Actually getting the Firewire to Thunderbolt adapter will solve another problem. I have to legacy external drives that only has Firewire 800 as their fastest connecter.

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Answer 11

WilliamL Author

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Feb 4, 2016 3:00 PM in response to lllaass

HHey one last question, I hope. When you migrated from the mini to the pro, when did you start the mini in Target Disk mode? I am assuming that the Migration Assistant screen shows up when you first start up the new MacPro. At that point after selecting "From a Mac ...?

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Answer 12

lllaass

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Feb 4, 2016 3:06 PM in response to WilliamL

What you first boot up a new Mac you will be offered the choice to migrate form another Mac. Before you say yes to that you have to connect the two and boot the old one in Target Disk mode.

You can initially setup a new Mac not using migration and then later run Migration Assistant but the migrated stuff will be under a new user

Re: Migration assistant created a new user when transferring files from a PC to mac

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Answer 13

WilliamL Author

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Feb 4, 2016 3:20 PM in response to lllaass

Super. I did not want to create another Admin user. That is what I will do. Wait for the Assistant scree then start the old MacPro. In Target Disk mode. "Darth Vader" arrived to day. Tomorrow I go to the Apple Store and get the adapter. By tomorrow night I should be good. Thanks for all th help.

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Answer 14

WilliamL Author

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639 points

Feb 6, 2016 2:20 PM in response to WilliamL

WWell you t didn't go the way we planned. Never could see the old Mac in Target Disk mode. Tried both FireWire and Ethnet. Finally started the old Mac and opened Migration Assistant. Went back to the new Mac and found out that my new Pro had an earlier operating system. So I had to go all the way and create an account so I could update to El Capitan. Then I opened Migtation assistant and now everything is chugging away

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Answer 15

lllaass

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210,411 points

Feb 6, 2016 2:38 PM in response to WilliamL

Was this what you did:

Install all available Apple software updates on both Mac computers. Your old Mac needs OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.8 or later. You should also install any third-party software updates on your old Mac.

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