Best way to move files to new iMAC

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Best way to move files to new iMAC

Just ordered new iMAC for my wife. Need best way to transfer data/files from her 4 yr old iMAC running OS 10.7.5. I have a backup drive and also Time Machine drive connected to the old iMAC. Can I just move the Time Machine drive to the new iMAC and use Migration Assistant to move everything to the new iMAC? Also just got the "Critical Security Warning" on the old iMAC, first using Safari and now Chrome, which postings say is a scam. Includes phone number to call for help. Per suggestions we tried restarting Safari with the shift key down but didn't do away with it. Then deleted the files "com.apple.Safari.savedState" and "LastSession.plist" and it worked for a short time but then came back. Also Google News on Safari would go blank while moving the mouse over the displayed data, then data displayed when stopped moving the mouse. My concern is this scam/bug will get transferred over to the new iMAC. Any alternatives? Help appreciated. Thanks.

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Feb 4, 2016 7:07 PM

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Answer 1

babowa

Level 9

78,103 points

Feb 4, 2016 7:47 PM in response to berryday38

You might have inadvertently gotten/installed adware. You can run this which would get rid of it (developed by a long time contributor here):

https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/

You would want to do that first and get everything cleaned up. FWIW, all those things are scams - how can anyone know what is on your computer?

You want to use Setup Assistant only offered once while setting up the new iMac (essentially the same as Migration Asst except that it will move over the user account/folders instead of creating a second account (which happens quite often if you use it at a later time after having set up a new account already).

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Answer 2

berryday38 Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 4, 2016 8:22 PM in response to babowa

Thanks. Looking at this app https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/ says works with OS 10.8 or later. Unfortunately the current iMAC to get the data from is OS 10.7.5. Any alternatives?

There are multiple postings on the "Critical Security Warning" over the last 6 months. Some show the same error code and contact phone number that we had.

On the Safari window turning blank when you move the mouse I just found it only occurs when the Google News window is at the top. Scroll it down an inch or so and the window does not turn blank when you move the mouse. This started happening at same time the "Critical Security Warning" message occurred. My wife does a lot of genealogy work, so spends lots of time on the internet.

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Answer 3

Feb 5, 2016 1:42 AM in response to berryday38

Can't you update the current iMac to OS X 10.11.3 and then run the malware app?

I bought my wife a new iMac recently and needed to get the data from her 2012 iMac and it was quite straightforward. This was my method:

Udated the older OS to El Capitan 10.11.3
Connected the two machines with a 2m thunderbolt cable
Started the new machine / setup assistant and chose the option of setting up from another machine
Started the old machine in target disc mode (start it up while holding down the "T" key)
Chose the appropriate data to be transferred

That was about it really and everything went OK and was finished in a fairly short period of time.

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Answer 4

Feb 5, 2016 3:34 AM in response to berryday38

If you don't want to update the OS system then migrate it this way:

Move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 5

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,989 points

Feb 5, 2016 6:42 AM in response to berryday38

berryday38 wrote:

Thanks. Looking at this app https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/ says works with OS 10.8 or later. Unfortunately the current iMAC to get the data from is OS 10.7.5. Any alternatives?

You can find an older version that works on 10.7.5 here:

What operating system is required for Anti-Malware for Mac?

However, this is unlikely to help. What you're seeing are tech support scams, not actual malware or adware. Although there have been cases where installed adware was causing repeated tech support scam pop-ups, that is uncommon. It's far more likely that you're visiting the same bad or hacked sites over and over, and thus keep seeing the same scams. Keep a close eye on what site you're on when that pop-up appears, then don't go back to that site again. If you think it's a legit site, it may have been hacked, so notify the site owner of the problem, then stay away until the problem is fixed.

Thomas Reed

Director of Mac Offerings, Malwarebytes

(Fair disclosure: the link I have provided above takes you to a page that promotes a Malwarebytes product, and I am affiliated with Malwarebytes.)

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Answer 6

berryday38 Author

Level 1

0 points

Feb 5, 2016 8:24 AM in response to thomas_r.

I'm just thinking if I do the data transfer from Time Machine Backup drive rather than directly from the old iMAC, that hopefully fewer adware and other security problems will get transferred to the new iMAC. Haven't updated the old iMAC for some time as had all kinds of problems in getting it going initially, especially permission issues. Plus don't want to take a chance of losing my wife's genealogy data. Also the old iMAC is running slow. Then the "Critical Security Warnings" started showing up yesterday on Safari and then Google Chrome. Hasn't shown on Firefox yet but Firefox hasn't worked very good lately. My wife uses Find A Grave web site a lot, so that may be a source of the problem. Still got a couple of weeks to get a good solution as new iMAC will not ship for another week. Thanks for all comments and help.

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