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 <n...@possumology.com> 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: <wamug.org.au-wamug-boun...@lists.wamug.org.au> on behalf of Alan Smith > <sma...@iinet.net.au> > Reply-To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> > Date: Saturday, 11 May 2019 at 10:32 > To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> > 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" <wamug@wamug.org.au> > 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 <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 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: <wamug.org.au-wamug-boun...@lists.wamug.org.au> on behalf of Alan Smith > <sma...@iinet.net.au> > Reply-To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> > Date: Wednesday, 08 May 2019 at 16:46 > To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> > 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 <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 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 would not rely on these alone, the > clones and TM backups are there “to be sure, to be sure”. > > > · The clones are a “snapshot” of the drives as at the last clone > time. To me the main purpose is to have an immediate recovery in the event of > a drive failure. To recover anything that has changed since the last clone I > have the TM backup, although for the cloud accounts they will update > automatically – so I just use the TM backups for file by file (or folder by > folder) recovery. > > > · I limit my SSD to the System and application files and a bare admin > user folder – so the clone is really all I need to re-instate this. I have my > main user folder on an internal partition and rely mainly on the cloud > accounts but with clone & TM backups. You need to have your own strategy for > what is on the internal SSD and the external HD and the methods for backup, > recovery and migration of the two drives would probably be different. > > > · Time Machine seems to creates separate backups for different > computers and recognises the actual computer rather than the HD – so for > various computers my TM back-ups have continued across disk re-partitions and > HD replacements – so your new computer will automatically get a new TM backup > file. Personally, I would start with a new clean HD for this (fairly large > drives are really very cheap nowadays). > > > · 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: > > 1. 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? > > > 2. Depending on how recent it is, you might consider your SuperDuper > backup as the migration source. > > > 3. Once migrated, I would recommend using a new, clean, HD as TM backup > drive for the new machine. > > > 4. 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. > > > 5. 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: <wamug.org.au-wamug-boun...@lists.wamug.org.au> on behalf of Alan Smith > <sma...@iinet.net.au> > Reply-To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> > Date: Wednesday, 08 May 2019 at 12:25 > To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> > 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: > > <wamug@wamug.org.au> > > 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 <sma...@iinet.net.au> 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 > Phone (618) 9332 6482 Mob 0403 046 948 > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > Mac because I prefer it -- Windows because I have to. > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> > > > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - Guidelines - > Settings & Unsubscribe - > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> > > > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - Guidelines - > Settings & Unsubscribe - > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - Guidelines - > Settings & Unsubscribe - > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug>
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