Re: System migration to new computer

[Peter Crisp]

Hi Alan, I am glad to hear it all worked out well and thanks for the detailed 
feedback. 

Regards


Pete

> On 11 May 2019, at 12:12 pm, Neil Houghton  wrote:
> 
> Hi Alan,
>  
> Good to hear it all went well – there is always a great sense of relief when 
> that first boot-up shows all is well ;o)
>  
>  
> Cheers
>  
>  
> Neil
> --
> Neil R. Houghton
> Albany, Western Australia
> Tel: +61 8 9841 6063
> Email: n...@possumology.com
>  
>  
> From:  on behalf of Alan Smith 
> 
> Reply-To: WAMUG 
> Date: Saturday, 11 May 2019 at 10:32
> To: WAMUG 
> Subject: Re: System migration to new computer
>  
> Migration was achieved successfully using Time Machine and Migration 
> Assistant.
>  
> Direct target mode was ruled out as an option because of the unreliability of 
> the MacBook Air.  The Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter does work 
> with Thunderbolt 1, so there would have been no issue with the physical 
> connection.
>  
> Time Machine preferences were changed to exclude the 1TB MBA linked data 
> drive a few days before THE DAY.
>  
> Etre Check revealed some minor issues but decided not to spend time trying to 
> fix them on the unstable MBA.  A Disk Utility first aid scan in recovery mode 
> gave a final green tick but there were a number of could-not-repair items in 
> the log.  Decided to ignore these on the optimistic view that it was just the 
> MBA hardware and would not affect the data on TM.
>  
> We decided to update the MacMini OS before attempting migration.  On initial 
> set up just made sure the basic account settings were exactly the same as 
> used by the MBA.  This gave the opportunity to do a brief check that the new 
> computer actually worked with internet access, etc. 
>  
> Migration Assistant then launched.  No opportunity to set a ‘recovery date’ 
> so it had access to the complete backup, including data from the previously 
> attached external drive.
>  
> Four and a half hours later a fully operational computer with all the 
> expected MBA items installed.  Access to Music and Photos libraries and other 
> folders on the data drive continued to work as before with symbolic links 
> intact.  Traditional Apple: it just worked.
>  
> Two concluding comments.  One, my initial concerns about the linked data 
> drive affecting migration were unfounded.  Two, the MBA was turned on during 
> the migration process to enable quick access to internet help if needed.  
> Decision not to use direct target mode turned out to be the right one as the 
> MBA crashed several times during the few hours of the migration period.
>  
> Thank you Pete, Peter and Neil.  Your interest in this project and your 
> helpful input was appreciated.
>  
> Cheers
> Alan
>  
> 
> 
> On 9 May 2019, at 8:40 am, petercr...@westnet.com.au wrote:
>  
> Thanks Alan, you're obviously under some time pressures but I would be keen 
> to hear the outcome of your process that ultimately works for your transition 
> - even if it is in a couple of weeks time.
>  
> Good luck.
>  
> Pete. 
> 
> 
> 
> - Original Message -
> From:
> wamug@wamug.org.au
>  
> To:
> "WAMUG Mailing List" 
> Cc:
>  
> Sent:
> Thu, 9 May 2019 08:08:34 +0800
> Subject:
> Re: System migration to new computer
> 
> 
> Hi Neil
>  
> Just to clarify points about system migration.  My understanding from 
> reading, not practical experience, is that direct target mode will not work.  
> Macbook Air is mid 2012 model with Thunderbolt 1 ports and no ethernet.  Mac 
> Mini is 2018 model with Thunderbolt 3 ports plus ethernet.  Time Capsule has 
> ethernet ports.  Apple sell a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.  Simple 
> choice - use the Time Machine backup via ethernet.
>  
> The MBA OS is latest Mojave.  Assumption is that the Mac Mini will have 
> version 1 of Mojave OS.
>  
> Given the urgency of getting the system migrated, the MBA has not been fully 
> prepared with getting everything up to date and ancient apps deleted. It 
> probably has legacy stuff and file structures from a series of Mac migrations 
> over the years.  A complete clean install would be very nice, but b.i.l. does 
> not have the time for this.
>  
> Your input has been very valuable.  Not least to clarify the problems and 
> options. I will be visiting brother in law later this morning when we can 
> finalise plans and perhaps start the migration process.
>  
> Cheers
> Alan
>  
>  
>  
> On 8 May 2019, at 9:58 pm, Neil Houghton  wrote:
>  
> Hi Alan,
>  
>  
> Hmmm - not really what I have found. Obviously you cannot just clone the HD 
> from one machine

Re: System migration to new computer

[Neil Houghton]

Hi Alan,

 

Good to hear it all went well – there is always a great sense of relief when 
that first boot-up shows all is well ;o)

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Neil

-- 

Neil R. Houghton

Albany, Western Australia

Tel: +61 8 9841 6063

Email: n...@possumology.com

 

 

From:  on behalf of Alan Smith 

Reply-To: WAMUG 
Date: Saturday, 11 May 2019 at 10:32
To: WAMUG 
Subject: Re: System migration to new computer

 

Migration was achieved successfully using Time Machine and Migration Assistant.

 

Direct target mode was ruled out as an option because of the unreliability of 
the MacBook Air.  The Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter does work 
with Thunderbolt 1, so there would have been no issue with the physical 
connection.

 

Time Machine preferences were changed to exclude the 1TB MBA linked data drive 
a few days before THE DAY.

 

Etre Check revealed some minor issues but decided not to spend time trying to 
fix them on the unstable MBA.  A Disk Utility first aid scan in recovery mode 
gave a final green tick but there were a number of could-not-repair items in 
the log.  Decided to ignore these on the optimistic view that it was just the 
MBA hardware and would not affect the data on TM.

 

We decided to update the MacMini OS before attempting migration.  On initial 
set up just made sure the basic account settings were exactly the same as used 
by the MBA.  This gave the opportunity to do a brief check that the new 
computer actually worked with internet access, etc. 

 

Migration Assistant then launched.  No opportunity to set a ‘recovery date’ so 
it had access to the complete backup, including data from the previously 
attached external drive.

 

Four and a half hours later a fully operational computer with all the expected 
MBA items installed.  Access to Music and Photos libraries and other folders on 
the data drive continued to work as before with symbolic links intact.  
Traditional Apple: it just worked.

 

Two concluding comments.  One, my initial concerns about the linked data drive 
affecting migration were unfounded.  Two, the MBA was turned on during the 
migration process to enable quick access to internet help if needed.  Decision 
not to use direct target mode turned out to be the right one as the MBA crashed 
several times during the few hours of the migration period.

 

Thank you Pete, Peter and Neil.  Your interest in this project and your helpful 
input was appreciated.

 

Cheers

Alan

 



On 9 May 2019, at 8:40 am, petercr...@westnet.com.au wrote:

 

Thanks Alan, you're obviously under some time pressures but I would be keen to 
hear the outcome of your process that ultimately works for your transition - 
even if it is in a couple of weeks time.

 

Good luck.

 

Pete. 



- Original Message -

From:

wamug@wamug.org.au

 

To:

"WAMUG Mailing List" 

Cc:

 

Sent:

Thu, 9 May 2019 08:08:34 +0800

Subject:

Re: System migration to new computer


Hi Neil

 

Just to clarify points about system migration.  My understanding from reading, 
not practical experience, is that direct target mode will not work.  Macbook 
Air is mid 2012 model with Thunderbolt 1 ports and no ethernet.  Mac Mini is 
2018 model with Thunderbolt 3 ports plus ethernet.  Time Capsule has ethernet 
ports.  Apple sell a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.  Simple choice - 
use the Time Machine backup via ethernet.

 

The MBA OS is latest Mojave.  Assumption is that the Mac Mini will have version 
1 of Mojave OS.

 

Given the urgency of getting the system migrated, the MBA has not been fully 
prepared with getting everything up to date and ancient apps deleted. It 
probably has legacy stuff and file structures from a series of Mac migrations 
over the years.  A complete clean install would be very nice, but b.i.l. does 
not have the time for this.

 

Your input has been very valuable.  Not least to clarify the problems and 
options. I will be visiting brother in law later this morning when we can 
finalise plans and perhaps start the migration process.

 

Cheers

Alan

 

 

 

On 8 May 2019, at 9:58 pm, Neil Houghton  wrote:

 

Hi Alan,

 

 

Hmmm - not really what I have found. Obviously you cannot just clone the HD 
from one machine to a different computer model/vintage as many configuration 
files/systems are different. However, migration assistant allows you to select 
what you want to migrate anyway. 

 

 

At different times/scenarios I have sometimes migrated almost everything and 
sometimes opted for a clean system install and then manual installation of apps 
–among other factors, it tends to depend on how well the old system was running 
and/or whether I wanted to re-organise my filing organisation.

 

 

You do not say what OS you are running on the old and on the new computers – 
certainly, for me, jumping from OSX 10.6 direct to OSX 10.11 meant that many 
applications required updating and, for example, moving from Office 2004 to 
Office 365 (O

Re: System migration to new computer

[Alan Smith]

Migration was achieved successfully using Time Machine and Migration Assistant.

Direct target mode was ruled out as an option because of the unreliability of 
the MacBook Air.  The Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter does work 
with Thunderbolt 1, so there would have been no issue with the physical 
connection.

Time Machine preferences were changed to exclude the 1TB MBA linked data drive 
a few days before THE DAY.

Etre Check revealed some minor issues but decided not to spend time trying to 
fix them on the unstable MBA.  A Disk Utility first aid scan in recovery mode 
gave a final green tick but there were a number of could-not-repair items in 
the log.  Decided to ignore these on the optimistic view that it was just the 
MBA hardware and would not affect the data on TM.

We decided to update the MacMini OS before attempting migration.  On initial 
set up just made sure the basic account settings were exactly the same as used 
by the MBA.  This gave the opportunity to do a brief check that the new 
computer actually worked with internet access, etc. 

Migration Assistant then launched.  No opportunity to set a ‘recovery date’ so 
it had access to the complete backup, including data from the previously 
attached external drive.

Four and a half hours later a fully operational computer with all the expected 
MBA items installed.  Access to Music and Photos libraries and other folders on 
the data drive continued to work as before with symbolic links intact.  
Traditional Apple: it just worked.

Two concluding comments.  One, my initial concerns about the linked data drive 
affecting migration were unfounded.  Two, the MBA was turned on during the 
migration process to enable quick access to internet help if needed.  Decision 
not to use direct target mode turned out to be the right one as the MBA crashed 
several times during the few hours of the migration period.

Thank you Pete, Peter and Neil.  Your interest in this project and your helpful 
input was appreciated.

Cheers
Alan


> On 9 May 2019, at 8:40 am, petercr...@westnet.com.au wrote:
> 
> Thanks Alan, you're obviously under some time pressures but I would be keen 
> to hear the outcome of your process that ultimately works for your transition 
> - even if it is in a couple of weeks time.
> 
> Good luck.
> 
> Pete. 
> 
> 
> 
> - Original Message -
> From:
> wamug@wamug.org.au
> 
> To:
> "WAMUG Mailing List" 
> Cc:
> 
> Sent:
> Thu, 9 May 2019 08:08:34 +0800
> Subject:
> Re: System migration to new computer
> 
> 
> Hi Neil
> 
> Just to clarify points about system migration.  My understanding from 
> reading, not practical experience, is that direct target mode will not work.  
> Macbook Air is mid 2012 model with Thunderbolt 1 ports and no ethernet.  Mac 
> Mini is 2018 model with Thunderbolt 3 ports plus ethernet.  Time Capsule has 
> ethernet ports.  Apple sell a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.  Simple 
> choice - use the Time Machine backup via ethernet.
> 
> The MBA OS is latest Mojave.  Assumption is that the Mac Mini will have 
> version 1 of Mojave OS.
> 
> Given the urgency of getting the system migrated, the MBA has not been fully 
> prepared with getting everything up to date and ancient apps deleted. It 
> probably has legacy stuff and file structures from a series of Mac migrations 
> over the years.  A complete clean install would be very nice, but b.i.l. does 
> not have the time for this.
> 
> Your input has been very valuable.  Not least to clarify the problems and 
> options. I will be visiting brother in law later this morning when we can 
> finalise plans and perhaps start the migration process.
> 
> Cheers
> Alan
> 
> 
> 
> On 8 May 2019, at 9:58 pm, Neil Houghton  <mailto:n...@possumology.com>> wrote:
> 
> Hi Alan,
> 
>  
> Hmmm - not really what I have found. Obviously you cannot just clone the HD 
> from one machine to a different computer model/vintage as many configuration 
> files/systems are different. However, migration assistant allows you to 
> select what you want to migrate anyway.
> 
>  
> At different times/scenarios I have sometimes migrated almost everything and 
> sometimes opted for a clean system install and then manual installation of 
> apps –among other factors, it tends to depend on how well the old system was 
> running and/or whether I wanted to re-organise my filing organisation.
> 
>  
> You do not say what OS you are running on the old and on the new computers – 
> certainly, for me, jumping from OSX 10.6 direct to OSX 10.11 meant that many 
> applications required updating and, for example, moving from Office 2004 to 
> Office 365 (Office 2016) had me glad that I still had a bootable  SL disc and 
> could download and run Offic

Re: System migration to new computer

[Neil Houghton]

Hi Alan,

 

 

So, I understand that you are not able to use direct Target mode without 
purchasing a suitable adaptor or cable to connect the different Thunderbolt 
ports. (As you are probably aware, the Thunderbolt 3 port is physically the 
same as the new USB C connector.)

 

 

You do have another option to use Migration assistant from your actual current 
system/setup rather than the Time machine backup – provided you have a suitable 
available Hard drive – eg if you have a new HD earmarked as the new TM drive 
for the new computer.

Assuming that you have the requisite cable to connect the clean HD to both 
computers – clone the old computer to the new HD, connect the HD to the new 
computer and use it as the source for the migration. Once completed, of course, 
you could then erase it and use it as your new TM drive.

 

Of course, this approach may not be desirable/appropriate for you or you might 
just prefer to use your TM backup – I just throw it out there as a possible 
option.

 

Hope it all goes smoothly.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Neil

-- 

Neil R. Houghton

Albany, Western Australia

Tel: +61 8 9841 6063

Email: n...@possumology.com

 

 

From:  on behalf of Alan Smith 

Reply-To: WAMUG 
Date: Thursday, 09 May 2019 at 08:08
To: WAMUG 
Subject: Re: System migration to new computer

 

Hi Neil

 

Just to clarify points about system migration.  My understanding from reading, 
not practical experience, is that direct target mode will not work.  Macbook 
Air is mid 2012 model with Thunderbolt 1 ports and no ethernet.  Mac Mini is 
2018 model with Thunderbolt 3 ports plus ethernet.  Time Capsule has ethernet 
ports.  Apple sell a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.  Simple choice - 
use the Time Machine backup via ethernet.

 

The MBA OS is latest Mojave.  Assumption is that the Mac Mini will have version 
1 of Mojave OS.

 

Given the urgency of getting the system migrated, the MBA has not been fully 
prepared with getting everything up to date and ancient apps deleted. It 
probably has legacy stuff and file structures from a series of Mac migrations 
over the years.  A complete clean install would be very nice, but b.i.l. does 
not have the time for this.

 

Your input has been very valuable.  Not least to clarify the problems and 
options. I will be visiting brother in law later this morning when we can 
finalise plans and perhaps start the migration process.

 

Cheers

Alan

 

 

 

On 8 May 2019, at 9:58 pm, Neil Houghton  wrote:

 

Hi Alan,

 

Hmmm - not really what I have found. Obviously you cannot just clone the HD 
from one machine to a different computer model/vintage as many configuration 
files/systems are different. However, migration assistant allows you to select 
what you want to migrate anyway. 

 

At different times/scenarios I have sometimes migrated almost everything and 
sometimes opted for a clean system install and then manual installation of apps 
–among other factors, it tends to depend on how well the old system was running 
and/or whether I wanted to re-organise my filing organisation.

 

You do not say what OS you are running on the old and on the new computers – 
certainly, for me, jumping from OSX 10.6 direct to OSX 10.11 meant that many 
applications required updating and, for example, moving from Office 2004 to 
Office 365 (Office 2016) had me glad that I still had a bootable  SL disc and 
could download and run Office 2011 which was a big help in the transition.

 

Generally, I would say, the simplest/easiest migrations for me have been 
booting the old machine into target disk mode and then running migration 
assistant – but there have certainly been times when I chose another route.

 

 

Others may have their own opinions as to the best methods.

 

 

HTH

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Neil

-- 

Neil R. Houghton

Albany, Western Australia

Tel: +61 8 9841 6063

Email: n...@possumology.com

 

 

From:  on behalf of Alan Smith 

Reply-To: WAMUG 
Date: Wednesday, 08 May 2019 at 16:46
To: WAMUG 
Subject: Re: System migration to new computer

 

Hi Neil

 

Good to read about your setup and rationale for backups. And advice about other 
actions. Most Apple KB and help files only explain the simple one computer 
scenario.

 

You questioned why a direct mac to mac migration was not first choice. My 
favourite on-line Mac expert (Howard Oakley) looks at various parameters of the 
two macs involved in migration. He points out the old mac may have a newer 
macOS version than the new mac and will probably fail the initial Migration 
attempt. A move from an old iMac to a new iMac is relatively simple as there is 
little “distance" between them.  But there is a big distance between a MacBook 
Air and a Mac mini. He comments on five actual migration methods.  Here are the 
first three: Direct mac to mac is best if similar models and hardware are on 
each. Time Machine is first choice with older systems and more different 
models. An external disk with clo

Re: System migration to new computer

[petercrisp]

Thanks Alan, you're obviously under some time pressures but I would be
keen to hear the outcome of your process that ultimately works for
your transition - even if it is in a couple of weeks time.
Good luck.
Pete. 

- Original Message -
From: wamug@wamug.org.au
To:"WAMUG Mailing List" 
Cc:
Sent:Thu, 9 May 2019 08:08:34 +0800
Subject:Re: System migration to new computer

 Hi Neil
Just to clarify points about system migration.  My understanding from
reading, not practical experience, is that direct target mode will not
work.  Macbook Air is mid 2012 model with Thunderbolt 1 ports and no
ethernet.  Mac Mini is 2018 model with Thunderbolt 3 ports plus
ethernet.  Time Capsule has ethernet ports.  Apple sell a
Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.  Simple choice - use the Time
Machine backup via ethernet.
The MBA OS is latest Mojave.  Assumption is that the Mac Mini will
have version 1 of Mojave OS.
Given the urgency of getting the system migrated, the MBA has not been
fully prepared with getting everything up to date and ancient apps
deleted. It probably has legacy stuff and file structures from a
series of Mac migrations over the years.  A complete clean install
would be very nice, but b.i.l. does not have the time for this.
Your input has been very valuable.  Not least to clarify the problems
and options. I will be visiting brother in law later this morning when
we can finalise plans and perhaps start the migration process.
CheersAlan

On 8 May 2019, at 9:58 pm, Neil Houghton  wrote:
Hi Alan,

 Hmmm - not really what I have found. Obviously you cannot just
clone the HD from one machine to a different computer model/vintage as
many configuration files/systems are different. However, migration
assistant allows you to select what you want to migrate anyway. 

 At different times/scenarios I have sometimes migrated almost
everything and sometimes opted for a clean system install and then
manual installation of apps –among other factors, it tends to depend
on how well the old system was running and/or whether I wanted to
re-organise my filing organisation.

 You do not say what OS you are running on the old and on the new
computers – certainly, for me, jumping from OSX 10.6 direct to OSX
10.11 meant that many applications required updating and, for example,
moving from Office 2004 to Office 365 (Office 2016) had me glad that I
still had a bootable  SL disc and could download and run Office 2011
which was a big help in the transition.

 Generally, I would say, the simplest/easiest migrations for me have
been booting the old machine into target disk mode and then running
migration assistant – but there have certainly been times when I
chose another route.

 

 Others may have their own opinions as to the best methods.

 

 HTH

 

 Cheers

 

 

 Neil

-- 

Neil R. Houghton

Albany, Western Australia

Tel: +61 8 9841 6063

Email: n...@possumology.com [2]

 

 

FROM:  on behalf of Alan Smith 
REPLY-TO: WAMUG 
DATE: Wednesday, 08 May 2019 at 16:46
TO: WAMUG 
SUBJECT: Re: System migration to new computer

 

Hi Neil

 

Good to read about your setup and rationale for backups. And advice
about other actions. Most Apple KB and help files only explain the
simple one computer scenario.

 

You questioned why a direct mac to mac migration was not first
choice. My favourite on-line Mac expert (Howard Oakley) looks at
various parameters of the two macs involved in migration. He points
out the old mac may have a newer macOS version than the new mac and
will probably fail the initial Migration attempt. A move from an old
iMac to a new iMac is relatively simple as there is little
“distance" between them.  But there is a big distance between a
MacBook Air and a Mac mini. He comments on five actual migration
methods.  Here are the first three: Direct mac to mac is best if
similar models and hardware are on each. Time Machine is first choice
with older systems and more different models. An external disk with
clone of old Mac is a good source for manual migration.

 

I would not be surprised if the first attempt using Migration
Assistant failed and that the Mac Mini will have to be updated to the
current version of Mojave before proceeding.   Reminder: turn OFF
automatic updates of the MBA OS before the migration task begins!

 

Cheers

Alan

On 8 May 2019, at 2:23 pm, Neil Houghton  wrote:

 

Hi Alan, Hi Peter,

 

I can sympathise with your predicaments – I recently upgraded two
iMacs and a laptop from Snow Leopard 10.6 to El Capitan 10.11 and,
just to complicate things, the main iMac was running from an external
drive since the internal hard drive had previously died (the external
drive was initially a 

Re: System migration to new computer

[Alan Smith]

Hi Neil

Just to clarify points about system migration.  My understanding from reading, 
not practical experience, is that direct target mode will not work.  Macbook 
Air is mid 2012 model with Thunderbolt 1 ports and no ethernet.  Mac Mini is 
2018 model with Thunderbolt 3 ports plus ethernet.  Time Capsule has ethernet 
ports.  Apple sell a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.  Simple choice - 
use the Time Machine backup via ethernet.

The MBA OS is latest Mojave.  Assumption is that the Mac Mini will have version 
1 of Mojave OS.

Given the urgency of getting the system migrated, the MBA has not been fully 
prepared with getting everything up to date and ancient apps deleted. It 
probably has legacy stuff and file structures from a series of Mac migrations 
over the years.  A complete clean install would be very nice, but b.i.l. does 
not have the time for this.

Your input has been very valuable.  Not least to clarify the problems and 
options. I will be visiting brother in law later this morning when we can 
finalise plans and perhaps start the migration process.

Cheers
Alan



> On 8 May 2019, at 9:58 pm, Neil Houghton  wrote:
> 
> Hi Alan,
>  
> Hmmm - not really what I have found. Obviously you cannot just clone the HD 
> from one machine to a different computer model/vintage as many configuration 
> files/systems are different. However, migration assistant allows you to 
> select what you want to migrate anyway.
>  
> At different times/scenarios I have sometimes migrated almost everything and 
> sometimes opted for a clean system install and then manual installation of 
> apps –among other factors, it tends to depend on how well the old system was 
> running and/or whether I wanted to re-organise my filing organisation.
>  
> You do not say what OS you are running on the old and on the new computers – 
> certainly, for me, jumping from OSX 10.6 direct to OSX 10.11 meant that many 
> applications required updating and, for example, moving from Office 2004 to 
> Office 365 (Office 2016) had me glad that I still had a bootable  SL disc and 
> could download and run Office 2011 which was a big help in the transition.
>  
> Generally, I would say, the simplest/easiest migrations for me have been 
> booting the old machine into target disk mode and then running migration 
> assistant – but there have certainly been times when I chose another route.
>  
>  
> Others may have their own opinions as to the best methods.
>  
>  
> HTH
>  
>  
> Cheers
>  
>  
>  
> Neil
> --
> Neil R. Houghton
> Albany, Western Australia
> Tel: +61 8 9841 6063
> Email: n...@possumology.com
>  
>  
> From:  on behalf of Alan Smith 
> 
> Reply-To: WAMUG 
> Date: Wednesday, 08 May 2019 at 16:46
> To: WAMUG 
> Subject: Re: System migration to new computer
>  
> Hi Neil
>  
> Good to read about your setup and rationale for backups. And advice about 
> other actions. Most Apple KB and help files only explain the simple one 
> computer scenario.
>  
> You questioned why a direct mac to mac migration was not first choice. My 
> favourite on-line Mac expert (Howard Oakley) looks at various parameters of 
> the two macs involved in migration. He points out the old mac may have a 
> newer macOS version than the new mac and will probably fail the initial 
> Migration attempt. A move from an old iMac to a new iMac is relatively simple 
> as there is little “distance" between them.  But there is a big distance 
> between a MacBook Air and a Mac mini. He comments on five actual migration 
> methods.  Here are the first three: Direct mac to mac is best if similar 
> models and hardware are on each. Time Machine is first choice with older 
> systems and more different models. An external disk with clone of old Mac is 
> a good source for manual migration.
>  
> I would not be surprised if the first attempt using Migration Assistant 
> failed and that the Mac Mini will have to be updated to the current version 
> of Mojave before proceeding.   Reminder: turn OFF automatic updates of the 
> MBA OS before the migration task begins!
>  
> Cheers
> Alan
> 
> 
>> On 8 May 2019, at 2:23 pm, Neil Houghton > <mailto:n...@possumology.com>> wrote:
>>  
>> Hi Alan, Hi Peter,
>>  
>> I can sympathise with your predicaments – I recently upgraded two iMacs and 
>> a laptop from Snow Leopard 10.6 to El Capitan 10.11 and, just to complicate 
>> things, the main iMac was running from an external drive since the internal 
>> hard drive had previously died (the external drive was initially a clone of 
>> the dead HD pre-failure). I decided to rebuild the iMac with an internal SSD 
>> and an internal 3TB HD (setup with 3 partitions) along with bump

Re: System migration to new computer

[Neil Houghton]

Hi Alan,

 

Hmmm - not really what I have found. Obviously you cannot just clone the HD 
from one machine to a different computer model/vintage as many configuration 
files/systems are different. However, migration assistant allows you to select 
what you want to migrate anyway. 

 

At different times/scenarios I have sometimes migrated almost everything and 
sometimes opted for a clean system install and then manual installation of apps 
–among other factors, it tends to depend on how well the old system was running 
and/or whether I wanted to re-organise my filing organisation.

 

You do not say what OS you are running on the old and on the new computers – 
certainly, for me, jumping from OSX 10.6 direct to OSX 10.11 meant that many 
applications required updating and, for example, moving from Office 2004 to 
Office 365 (Office 2016) had me glad that I still had a bootable  SL disc and 
could download and run Office 2011 which was a big help in the transition.

 

Generally, I would say, the simplest/easiest migrations for me have been 
booting the old machine into target disk mode and then running migration 
assistant – but there have certainly been times when I chose another route.

 

 

Others may have their own opinions as to the best methods.

 

 

HTH

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Neil

-- 

Neil R. Houghton

Albany, Western Australia

Tel: +61 8 9841 6063

Email: n...@possumology.com

 

 

From:  on behalf of Alan Smith 

Reply-To: WAMUG 
Date: Wednesday, 08 May 2019 at 16:46
To: WAMUG 
Subject: Re: System migration to new computer

 

Hi Neil

 

Good to read about your setup and rationale for backups. And advice about other 
actions. Most Apple KB and help files only explain the simple one computer 
scenario.

 

You questioned why a direct mac to mac migration was not first choice. My 
favourite on-line Mac expert (Howard Oakley) looks at various parameters of the 
two macs involved in migration. He points out the old mac may have a newer 
macOS version than the new mac and will probably fail the initial Migration 
attempt. A move from an old iMac to a new iMac is relatively simple as there is 
little “distance" between them.  But there is a big distance between a MacBook 
Air and a Mac mini. He comments on five actual migration methods.  Here are the 
first three: Direct mac to mac is best if similar models and hardware are on 
each. Time Machine is first choice with older systems and more different 
models. An external disk with clone of old Mac is a good source for manual 
migration.

 

I would not be surprised if the first attempt using Migration Assistant failed 
and that the Mac Mini will have to be updated to the current version of Mojave 
before proceeding.   Reminder: turn OFF automatic updates of the MBA OS before 
the migration task begins!

 

Cheers

Alan



On 8 May 2019, at 2:23 pm, Neil Houghton  wrote:

 

Hi Alan, Hi Peter,

 

I can sympathise with your predicaments – I recently upgraded two iMacs and a 
laptop from Snow Leopard 10.6 to El Capitan 10.11 and, just to complicate 
things, the main iMac was running from an external drive since the internal 
hard drive had previously died (the external drive was initially a clone of the 
dead HD pre-failure). I decided to rebuild the iMac with an internal SSD and an 
internal 3TB HD (setup with 3 partitions) along with bumping the RAM up. The 
main iMac is just used by myself. The laptop is used by myself and Georgie. The 
second iMac is to be Georgie’s main desktop but also has my account so I can 
use it as a backup machine in the event of a failure of the main iMac.

 

I realise that my situation does not reflect yours ;o)  However, the fact that 
each machine had TM backups and Superduper clones and the new main iMac now has 
4 logical internal drives (SSD & 3 HD partitions) and I need TM and Superduper 
clones of everything going forward means I have had to think about migrations, 
backups and clones a fair bit! For the main iMac, for example, Time machine 
backs up all 4 drives in one backup but the SuperDuper clones have to be done 
on a disk-by-disk basis (though one partition is still empty – earmarked for a 
media libray disk).

 

For what it is worth, a few of my thoughts are:

 

Have a clear strategy of what you intend to use each machine and disk for and 
what is the main/secondary/tertiary backup methods:

· For example all three of our computers will continue to be used 
albeit with different primary uses (mine, Georgie’s and joint travel computer) 
– your approach may be different if you intend to just migrate to the new 
computer and retire the old one than if you intend to keep using the laptop as 
well as the new mac mini (since you say the laptop is unreliable you are 
possibly just going to retire it?)

· We use both DropBox and OneDrive to keep most of our user data in 
synch between machines – so the cloud accounts become the de-facto main 
off-site backup for this but, since I 

Re: System migration to new computer

[Alan Smith]

t; Although you could use your old TM file when migrating to the new computer, 
> post migration TM will just use the new TM backup corresponding to the new 
> computer – I’m pretty that the old TM backups back through time, that are 
> stored in the old TM backup file, will only be shown by TM on the old 
> machine. However, when plugged into the new machine, the old TM backups can 
> be accessed through the finder - and individual archived versions of files or 
> folders can be accessed and copied to retrieve them.
> Different people tend to have different methods & preferences as to how to 
> use Time machine. Personally, I tend to find its main value for me is to 
> access older versions of files/documents/ preference settings – particularly 
> when something stuffs up and I need to revert to the pre stuff-up version!  
> For complete restoration or migration I would tend to go to my clones – but 
> that’s just me  ;o)
>  
> Hmmm, not sure how much of the above is relevant/helpful to your situation – 
> so, maybe, my take away would be:
> I presume the reason you are not migrating directly from the laptop is that 
> the machine is now unreliable and can’t be trusted as the migration source?
> Depending on how recent it is, you might consider your SuperDuper backup as 
> the migration source.
> Once migrated, I would recommend using a new, clean, HD as TM backup drive 
> for the new machine.
> The old TM backup drive could continue to be used for TM backup for the old 
> laptop if you still use it, if not it can still be used as an archive source 
> (via Finder, not TM) of old files from the laptop until you are happy the 
> contents are no longer useful at which point it can be erased/reformatted as 
> a new disk.
> For the new computer, make sure you have a clear plan for what will be on the 
> SSD and what will be on an external drive. Formulate your comprehensive 
> back-up strategy (TM, clone, cloud/other off-site) to suit this plan.
>  
>  
> HTH
>  
> Cheers
>  
>  
> Neil
> --
> Neil R. Houghton
> Albany, Western Australia
> Tel: +61 8 9841 6063
> Email: n...@possumology.com
>  
>  
> From:  on behalf of Alan Smith 
> 
> Reply-To: WAMUG 
> Date: Wednesday, 08 May 2019 at 12:25
> To: WAMUG 
> Subject: Re: System migration to new computer
>  
> Thanks for your thoughts Peter (C)
>  
> Current idea is now to remove the data drive via Time Machine preferences and 
> run a few days of plain MBA SSD backups.  The HOPE is that Migration 
> Assistant would allow a TM backup from a specified date and therefore copy 
> just the latest 150GB or whatever.   May even try adding a third TM backup 
> drive to create a “pure” SSD source for initial migration with a short date 
> range, while the other TM drives are temporarily removed. Then, as Peter (H) 
> said, try it!  
>  
> Cheers
> Alan
> 
> 
>> On 8 May 2019, at 9:34 am, petercr...@westnet.com.au 
>> <mailto:petercr...@westnet.com.au> wrote:
>>  
>> Hi Peter and Alan. This is a conundrum I have yet to encounter but I had 
>> wondered how I would do it if I ever had to. I have a similar environment 
>> where I have an MBP (256GB SSD) and a 2TB external drive holding Photos 
>> library, iTunes library and an assortment of other foldered items. My 
>> external drive is INCLUDED in the back up to Time Capsule. I also 
>> periodically do a CCC backup of both the MBP and External drive too for some 
>> added protection. 
>>  
>> What I have observed, during a trial I did a few months back, is when using 
>> the recovery process from the TM backup, if I was to try and recover a file 
>> that was resident on the external drive, then I must have the external drive 
>> attached to the MBP for it to be reinstated back to. Conversely, if I were 
>> to not have the external drive attached to my MBP, when I try to do a 
>> recovery of a file that was on the external drive, then the ability to see 
>> the image of the backed up external drive to select a file to recover is not 
>> made available. It follows therefore (I think) that if I was to try and 
>> recover the entire external drive using TM, then I would need to have that 
>> drive attached in the destination of where I was trying to recover it to. 
>>  
>> A suggestion to think about before implementing anything. If you were to use 
>> Migration Assistant to restore the backup of the on-board SSD content ONLY 
>> from the TM backup to the Mac Mini (with the external drive NOT attached to 
>> the Mac Mini), then it would follow that only the on-board SSD backed up 
>> content from the MBA would be recovered onto the Mac Mini 256GB SSD. If you 
>> th

Re: System migration to new computer

[Neil Houghton]

laptop until you are happy the 
contents are no longer useful at which point it can be erased/reformatted as a 
new disk.
For the new computer, make sure you have a clear plan for what will be on the 
SSD and what will be on an external drive. Formulate your comprehensive back-up 
strategy (TM, clone, cloud/other off-site) to suit this plan.
 

 

HTH

 

Cheers

 

 

Neil

-- 

Neil R. Houghton

Albany, Western Australia

Tel: +61 8 9841 6063

Email: n...@possumology.com

 

 

From:  on behalf of Alan Smith 

Reply-To: WAMUG 
Date: Wednesday, 08 May 2019 at 12:25
To: WAMUG 
Subject: Re: System migration to new computer

 

Thanks for your thoughts Peter (C)

 

Current idea is now to remove the data drive via Time Machine preferences and 
run a few days of plain MBA SSD backups.  The HOPE is that Migration Assistant 
would allow a TM backup from a specified date and therefore copy just the 
latest 150GB or whatever.   May even try adding a third TM backup drive to 
create a “pure” SSD source for initial migration with a short date range, while 
the other TM drives are temporarily removed. Then, as Peter (H) said, try it!  

 

Cheers

Alan



On 8 May 2019, at 9:34 am, petercr...@westnet.com.au wrote:

 

Hi Peter and Alan. This is a conundrum I have yet to encounter but I had 
wondered how I would do it if I ever had to. I have a similar environment where 
I have an MBP (256GB SSD) and a 2TB external drive holding Photos library, 
iTunes library and an assortment of other foldered items. My external drive is 
INCLUDED in the back up to Time Capsule. I also periodically do a CCC backup of 
both the MBP and External drive too for some added protection. 

 

What I have observed, during a trial I did a few months back, is when using the 
recovery process from the TM backup, if I was to try and recover a file that 
was resident on the external drive, then I must have the external drive 
attached to the MBP for it to be reinstated back to. Conversely, if I were to 
not have the external drive attached to my MBP, when I try to do a recovery of 
a file that was on the external drive, then the ability to see the image of the 
backed up external drive to select a file to recover is not made available. It 
follows therefore (I think) that if I was to try and recover the entire 
external drive using TM, then I would need to have that drive attached in the 
destination of where I was trying to recover it to. 

 

A suggestion to think about before implementing anything. If you were to use 
Migration Assistant to restore the backup of the on-board SSD content ONLY from 
the TM backup to the Mac Mini (with the external drive NOT attached to the Mac 
Mini), then it would follow that only the on-board SSD backed up content from 
the MBA would be recovered onto the Mac Mini 256GB SSD. If you then were to 
attach the external drive to the Mac Mini, then you are back in the same place 
you were previously - the Mac Mini is a clone of the Macbook Air and the 
external drive is now moved over to the Mac Mini. Another of my observations is 
that the first time that Time Machine does a backup of this new configuration, 
it will create a new backup of the ENTIRE SSD + the ENTIRE external drive, even 
though the content is the very same content. This has the undesirable effect of 
bloating the backup file and you may run out of space on it. Maybe there is a 
clever way to make it recognise it's backing up stuff it has already backed up, 
so only does an incremental backup, ie only a back up of what has changed.

 

I think TM is pretty clever but without knowing exactly how it will behave in 
these circumstances, it's difficult to know what you'll end up with. But as 
Peter indicates, the worst that can happen is you have to clear it off the Mac 
Mini and start again.

 

Another thing with TM is to be extremely patient. Extremely patient. Extremely 
patient.

 

Regards

 

Pete.



- Original Message -

From:

wamug@wamug.org.au

 

To:



Cc:

 

Sent:

Wed, 8 May 2019 08:03:17 +0800

Subject:

Re: System migration to new computer




> On 8 May 2019, at 6:34 am, Alan Smith  wrote:
> 
> What is the best way to migrate complete data and settings from an unreliable 
> 2012 MacBook Air to a still-in-the-box 2018 Mac mini? Both macs have internal 
> 256 GB SSD. There are Time Machine and Super Duper backups. I will be the 
> technical assistant for my brother in law who owns the macs.
> 
> I proposed to use Migration Assistant from Time Machine but this has a 
> complication. The MBA has a 1TB external data drive using symbolic links. 
> Time Machine includes the data drive in its backups to two disks, internal 
> and external on Time Capsule. 
> 
> Can Migration Assistant use Time Machine in this case? If expedient the 
> external TM backup disk can be removed and a new backup made of just the MBA 
> SSD on the TC internal disk. 
> 
> The MBA has bad days 

Re: System migration to new computer

[petercrisp]

Hi Alan, yes that is possibly a good way to go. A further thinking on
this just now you jogged my thoughts. Is to establish a new 'clean'
backup file (rename the old one to break the link - not sure if TM is
clever enough to detect if the renamed file is in fact still the
backup file it will want to default backup to) of the MBA SSD only
(being sure to exclude the attached external drive using Options from
the backup routine). Then use MA to restore that new backup to the Mac
Mini with confidence you know it is only the MBA data restored and not
a conglomeration of the MBA + external drive data onto the Mac Mini.
Then just transfer the external drive to the mac Mini USB and then
create another new TM backup with the external drive INCLUDED in the
routine. This will of course will leave the history non-existent from
the previous backup - may or may not be important to you. 
Regards
Pete.

- Original Message -
From: wamug@wamug.org.au
To:"WAMUG Mailing List" 
Cc:
Sent:Wed, 8 May 2019 12:25:58 +0800
Subject:Re: System migration to new computer

 Thanks for your thoughts Peter (C)
Current idea is now to remove the data drive via Time Machine
preferences and run a few days of plain MBA SSD backups.  The HOPE is
that Migration Assistant would allow a TM backup from a specified date
and therefore copy just the latest 150GB or whatever.   May even try
adding a third TM backup drive to create a “pure” SSD source for
initial migration with a short date range, while the other TM drives
are temporarily removed. Then, as Peter (H) said, try it!  
CheersAlan

On 8 May 2019, at 9:34 am, petercr...@westnet.com.au [1] wrote:
Hi Peter and Alan. This is a conundrum I have yet to encounter but I
had wondered how I would do it if I ever had to. I have a similar
environment where I have an MBP (256GB SSD) and a 2TB external drive
holding Photos library, iTunes library and an assortment of other
foldered items. My external drive is INCLUDED in the back up to Time
Capsule. I also periodically do a CCC backup of both the MBP and
External drive too for some added protection. 
What I have observed, during a trial I did a few months back, is when
using the recovery process from the TM backup, if I was to try and
recover a file that was resident on the external drive, then I must
have the external drive attached to the MBP for it to be reinstated
back to. Conversely, if I were to not have the external drive attached
to my MBP, when I try to do a recovery of a file that was on the
external drive, then the ability to see the image of the backed up
external drive to select a file to recover is not made available. It
follows therefore (I think) that if I was to try and recover the
entire external drive using TM, then I would need to have that drive
attached in the destination of where I was trying to recover it to. 
A suggestion to think about before implementing anything. If you were
to use Migration Assistant to restore the backup of the on-board SSD
content ONLY from the TM backup to the Mac Mini (with the external
drive NOT attached to the Mac Mini), then it would follow that only
the on-board SSD backed up content from the MBA would be recovered
onto the Mac Mini 256GB SSD. If you then were to attach the external
drive to the Mac Mini, then you are back in the same place you were
previously - the Mac Mini is a clone of the Macbook Air and the
external drive is now moved over to the Mac Mini. Another of my
observations is that the first time that Time Machine does a backup of
this new configuration, it will create a new backup of the ENTIRE SSD
+ the ENTIRE external drive, even though the content is the very same
content. This has the undesirable effect of bloating the backup file
and you may run out of space on it. Maybe there is a clever way to
make it recognise it's backing up stuff it has already backed up, so
only does an incremental backup, ie only a back up of what has
changed.
I think TM is pretty clever but without knowing exactly how it will
behave in these circumstances, it's difficult to know what you'll end
up with. But as Peter indicates, the worst that can happen is you have
to clear it off the Mac Mini and start again.
Another thing with TM is to be extremely patient. Extremely patient.
Extremely patient.
Regards
Pete.

- Original Message -
From: wamug@wamug.org.au [2]
To:
Cc:
Sent:Wed, 8 May 2019 08:03:17 +0800
Subject:Re: System migration to new computer

 > On 8 May 2019, at 6:34 am, Alan Smith  wrote:
 > 
 > What is the best way to migrate complete data and settings from an
unreliable 2012 MacBook Air to a still-in-the-box 2018 Mac mini? Both
macs have internal 256 GB SSD. There are Time Machine and Super Duper
backups. I will be the technical assistant for my brother in law who
owns the macs.
 > 
 > I proposed to use Migration Assistant from Time Machine but this
has a complication. The MBA has a 1TB external data drive using
symbolic links. Time Machine includes the data drive in its backups to
tw

Re: System migration to new computer

[Alan Smith]

Thanks for your thoughts Peter (C)

Current idea is now to remove the data drive via Time Machine preferences and 
run a few days of plain MBA SSD backups.  The HOPE is that Migration Assistant 
would allow a TM backup from a specified date and therefore copy just the 
latest 150GB or whatever.   May even try adding a third TM backup drive to 
create a “pure” SSD source for initial migration with a short date range, while 
the other TM drives are temporarily removed. Then, as Peter (H) said, try it!  

Cheers
Alan

> On 8 May 2019, at 9:34 am, petercr...@westnet.com.au wrote:
> 
> Hi Peter and Alan. This is a conundrum I have yet to encounter but I had 
> wondered how I would do it if I ever had to. I have a similar environment 
> where I have an MBP (256GB SSD) and a 2TB external drive holding Photos 
> library, iTunes library and an assortment of other foldered items. My 
> external drive is INCLUDED in the back up to Time Capsule. I also 
> periodically do a CCC backup of both the MBP and External drive too for some 
> added protection. 
> 
> What I have observed, during a trial I did a few months back, is when using 
> the recovery process from the TM backup, if I was to try and recover a file 
> that was resident on the external drive, then I must have the external drive 
> attached to the MBP for it to be reinstated back to. Conversely, if I were to 
> not have the external drive attached to my MBP, when I try to do a recovery 
> of a file that was on the external drive, then the ability to see the image 
> of the backed up external drive to select a file to recover is not made 
> available. It follows therefore (I think) that if I was to try and recover 
> the entire external drive using TM, then I would need to have that drive 
> attached in the destination of where I was trying to recover it to. 
> 
> A suggestion to think about before implementing anything. If you were to use 
> Migration Assistant to restore the backup of the on-board SSD content ONLY 
> from the TM backup to the Mac Mini (with the external drive NOT attached to 
> the Mac Mini), then it would follow that only the on-board SSD backed up 
> content from the MBA would be recovered onto the Mac Mini 256GB SSD. If you 
> then were to attach the external drive to the Mac Mini, then you are back in 
> the same place you were previously - the Mac Mini is a clone of the Macbook 
> Air and the external drive is now moved over to the Mac Mini. Another of my 
> observations is that the first time that Time Machine does a backup of this 
> new configuration, it will create a new backup of the ENTIRE SSD + the ENTIRE 
> external drive, even though the content is the very same content. This has 
> the undesirable effect of bloating the backup file and you may run out of 
> space on it. Maybe there is a clever way to make it recognise it's backing up 
> stuff it has already backed up, so only does an incremental backup, ie only a 
> back up of what has changed.
> 
> I think TM is pretty clever but without knowing exactly how it will behave in 
> these circumstances, it's difficult to know what you'll end up with. But as 
> Peter indicates, the worst that can happen is you have to clear it off the 
> Mac Mini and start again.
> 
> Another thing with TM is to be extremely patient. Extremely patient. 
> Extremely patient.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Pete.
> 
> 
> 
> - Original Message -
> From:
> wamug@wamug.org.au
> 
> To:
> 
> Cc:
> 
> Sent:
> Wed, 8 May 2019 08:03:17 +0800
> Subject:
> Re: System migration to new computer
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > On 8 May 2019, at 6:34 am, Alan Smith  wrote:
> > 
> > What is the best way to migrate complete data and settings from an 
> > unreliable 2012 MacBook Air to a still-in-the-box 2018 Mac mini? Both macs 
> > have internal 256 GB SSD. There are Time Machine and Super Duper backups. I 
> > will be the technical assistant for my brother in law who owns the macs.
> > 
> > I proposed to use Migration Assistant from Time Machine but this has a 
> > complication. The MBA has a 1TB external data drive using symbolic links. 
> > Time Machine includes the data drive in its backups to two disks, internal 
> > and external on Time Capsule. 
> > 
> > Can Migration Assistant use Time Machine in this case? If expedient the 
> > external TM backup disk can be removed and a new backup made of just the 
> > MBA SSD on the TC internal disk. 
> > 
> > The MBA has bad days when it fails then restarts several times. This has 
> > been happening for some months. A direct migration from MBA to Mini would 
> > not seem to be feasible.
> > 
> > Your help would be appreciated.
> > 
> >

Re: System migration to new computer

[petercrisp]

Hi Peter and Alan. This is a conundrum I have yet to encounter but I
had wondered how I would do it if I ever had to. I have a similar
environment where I have an MBP (256GB SSD) and a 2TB external drive
holding Photos library, iTunes library and an assortment of other
foldered items. My external drive is INCLUDED in the back up to Time
Capsule. I also periodically do a CCC backup of both the MBP and
External drive too for some added protection. 
What I have observed, during a trial I did a few months back, is when
using the recovery process from the TM backup, if I was to try and
recover a file that was resident on the external drive, then I must
have the external drive attached to the MBP for it to be reinstated
back to. Conversely, if I were to not have the external drive attached
to my MBP, when I try to do a recovery of a file that was on the
external drive, then the ability to see the image of the backed up
external drive to select a file to recover is not made available. It
follows therefore (I think) that if I was to try and recover the
entire external drive using TM, then I would need to have that drive
attached in the destination of where I was trying to recover it to. 
A suggestion to think about before implementing anything. If you were
to use Migration Assistant to restore the backup of the on-board SSD
content ONLY from the TM backup to the Mac Mini (with the external
drive NOT attached to the Mac Mini), then it would follow that only
the on-board SSD backed up content from the MBA would be recovered
onto the Mac Mini 256GB SSD. If you then were to attach the external
drive to the Mac Mini, then you are back in the same place you were
previously - the Mac Mini is a clone of the Macbook Air and the
external drive is now moved over to the Mac Mini. Another of my
observations is that the first time that Time Machine does a backup of
this new configuration, it will create a new backup of the ENTIRE SSD
+ the ENTIRE external drive, even though the content is the very same
content. This has the undesirable effect of bloating the backup file
and you may run out of space on it. Maybe there is a clever way to
make it recognise it's backing up stuff it has already backed up, so
only does an incremental backup, ie only a back up of what has
changed.
I think TM is pretty clever but without knowing exactly how it will
behave in these circumstances, it's difficult to know what you'll end
up with. But as Peter indicates, the worst that can happen is you have
to clear it off the Mac Mini and start again.
Another thing with TM is to be extremely patient. Extremely patient.
Extremely patient.
Regards
Pete.

- Original Message -
From: wamug@wamug.org.au
To:
Cc:
Sent:Wed, 8 May 2019 08:03:17 +0800
Subject:Re: System migration to new computer

 > On 8 May 2019, at 6:34 am, Alan Smith  wrote:
 > 
 > What is the best way to migrate complete data and settings from an
unreliable 2012 MacBook Air to a still-in-the-box 2018 Mac mini? Both
macs have internal 256 GB SSD. There are Time Machine and Super Duper
backups. I will be the technical assistant for my brother in law who
owns the macs.
 > 
 > I proposed to use Migration Assistant from Time Machine but this
has a complication. The MBA has a 1TB external data drive using
symbolic links. Time Machine includes the data drive in its backups to
two disks, internal and external on Time Capsule. 
 > 
 > Can Migration Assistant use Time Machine in this case? If expedient
the external TM backup disk can be removed and a new backup made of
just the MBA SSD on the TC internal disk. 
 > 
 > The MBA has bad days when it fails then restarts several times.
This has been happening for some months. A direct migration from MBA
to Mini would not seem to be feasible.
 > 
 > Your help would be appreciated.
 > 
 > Regards
 > Alan
 > 
 > 
 > 

 Logic tells me that all the files archived by Time Machine end up in
the same Time Machine folder on the TM drive, regardless of origin,
but I agree the restoration process through Migration assistant could
well be unpredictable. 

 My first insticnt would be just to try it. The worst that could
happen is that the files base on the MBA’s internal drive will be
restored to their correct locations, but those originating from the
external drive might be ignored (worst case scenario). It’s also
possible that MA, not finding a matching location on the new 2018 Mac,
might just create one and proceed regardless (best case scnario). 

 I think that if you wind up with the worst case scenario, you’d
just have to spend some time manually dragging over the folders and/or
files which were ignored. In the best case scenario, there’d be
nothing else to do. 

 Dunno. I haven’t been faced with this situation before so I can’t
report from experience unfortunately. Hopefully, there might be others
on the list who are more enlightened.

 Kind regards,

 Peter Hinchliffe Apwin Computer Services
 FileMaker Pro Solutions Developer
 Perth, Western Australia
 Phon

Re: System migration to new computer

[Alan Smith]

Thanks for your thoughts on this Peter.

Another possible complication not previously considered is that the Mac Mini 
has a T2 chip which may inhibit migration anyway. Perhaps a completely new 
manual set up then item by item copy from Super Duper would be safest way but 
would take weeks!  

Alan

> On 8 May 2019, at 8:03 am, Peter Hinchliffe  wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>> On 8 May 2019, at 6:34 am, Alan Smith  wrote:
>> 
>> What is the best way to migrate complete data and settings from an 
>> unreliable 2012 MacBook Air to a still-in-the-box 2018 Mac mini?  Both macs 
>> have internal 256 GB SSD.  There are Time Machine and Super Duper backups.  
>> I will be the technical assistant for my brother in law who owns the macs.
>> 
>> I proposed to use Migration Assistant from Time Machine but this has a 
>> complication. The MBA has a 1TB external data drive using symbolic links. 
>> Time Machine includes the data drive in its backups to two disks, internal 
>> and external on Time Capsule.
>> 
>> Can Migration Assistant use Time Machine in this case?  If expedient the 
>> external TM backup disk can be removed and a new backup made of just the MBA 
>> SSD on the TC internal disk.  
>> 
>> The MBA has bad days when it fails then restarts several times. This has 
>> been happening for some months.  A direct migration from MBA to Mini would 
>> not seem to be feasible.
>> 
>> Your help would be appreciated.
>> 
>> Regards
>> Alan
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> Logic tells me that all the files archived by Time Machine end up in the same 
> Time Machine folder on the TM drive, regardless of origin, but I agree the 
> restoration process through Migration assistant could well be unpredictable. 
> 
> My first insticnt would be just to try it. The worst that could happen is 
> that the files base on the MBA’s internal drive will be restored to their 
> correct locations, but those originating from the external drive might be 
> ignored (worst case scenario). It’s also possible that MA, not finding a 
> matching location on the new 2018 Mac, might just create one and proceed 
> regardless (best case scnario). 
> 
> I think that if you wind up with the worst case scenario, you’d just have to 
> spend some time manually dragging over the folders and/or files which were 
> ignored. In the best case scenario, there’d be nothing else to do. 
> 
> Dunno. I haven’t been faced with this situation before so I can’t report from 
> experience unfortunately. Hopefully, there might be others on the list who 
> are more enlightened.
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Peter HinchliffeApwin Computer Services
> FileMaker Pro Solutions Developer
> Perth, Western Australia
> Phone (618) 9332 6482Mob 0403 046 948
> 
> Mac because I prefer it -- Windows because I have to.
> 
> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
> Archives - 
> Guidelines - 
> Settings & Unsubscribe - 
> 

-- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
Archives - 
Guidelines - 
Settings & Unsubscribe - 

Re: System migration to new computer

[Peter Hinchliffe]

> On 8 May 2019, at 6:34 am, Alan Smith  wrote:
> 
> What is the best way to migrate complete data and settings from an unreliable 
> 2012 MacBook Air to a still-in-the-box 2018 Mac mini?  Both macs have 
> internal 256 GB SSD.  There are Time Machine and Super Duper backups.  I will 
> be the technical assistant for my brother in law who owns the macs.
> 
> I proposed to use Migration Assistant from Time Machine but this has a 
> complication. The MBA has a 1TB external data drive using symbolic links. 
> Time Machine includes the data drive in its backups to two disks, internal 
> and external on Time Capsule.
> 
> Can Migration Assistant use Time Machine in this case?  If expedient the 
> external TM backup disk can be removed and a new backup made of just the MBA 
> SSD on the TC internal disk.  
> 
> The MBA has bad days when it fails then restarts several times. This has been 
> happening for some months.  A direct migration from MBA to Mini would not 
> seem to be feasible.
> 
> Your help would be appreciated.
> 
> Regards
> Alan
> 
> 
> 

Logic tells me that all the files archived by Time Machine end up in the same 
Time Machine folder on the TM drive, regardless of origin, but I agree the 
restoration process through Migration assistant could well be unpredictable. 

My first insticnt would be just to try it. The worst that could happen is that 
the files base on the MBA’s internal drive will be restored to their correct 
locations, but those originating from the external drive might be ignored 
(worst case scenario). It’s also possible that MA, not finding a matching 
location on the new 2018 Mac, might just create one and proceed regardless 
(best case scnario). 

I think that if you wind up with the worst case scenario, you’d just have to 
spend some time manually dragging over the folders and/or files which were 
ignored. In the best case scenario, there’d be nothing else to do. 

Dunno. I haven’t been faced with this situation before so I can’t report from 
experience unfortunately. Hopefully, there might be others on the list who are 
more enlightened.

Kind regards,

Peter HinchliffeApwin Computer Services
FileMaker Pro Solutions Developer
Perth, Western Australia
Phone (618) 9332 6482Mob 0403 046 948

Mac because I prefer it -- Windows because I have to.

-- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List --
Archives - 
Guidelines - 
Settings & Unsubscribe -