new mac: migrate or start fresh? (1 Viewer)

taubstumm

Well-Known Member
Supporter
Joined
Aug 6, 2003
Messages
5,028
Location
hauptstadt
Website
kvt.red
advice from the trenches, please.

last time i bought a new mac, it was to replace one where the hard drive died, so i was pretty much forced to start fresh.

this time i’m not in emergency panic mode after a disaster, so i can choose whether to migrate or start over.

any advice or preferences one way or the other?

(possibly stupid question: if i start over, what happens to various bits of software i have? do i just re-enter codes to freshly-downloaded copies to prove i’m legit, or what?)

thanks.
 
Last time I got a new mac I did the migrate thing. It was great in that I could just sit down and start working right away and everything was the same. The downside is that it too a bit of that "new car smell" novelty away.
 
Last time I got a new mac I did the migrate thing. It was great in that I could just sit down and start working right away and everything was the same. The downside is that it too a bit of that "new car smell" novelty away.
ok. thanks. how long did it take? any hassle with getting time machine to work and stuff like that?
 
I remember it taking about half an hour or something. My latest mac is a few years old now so it was before the days of time machine, I can't help you there.
 
Yeah, as Anthony says, it's really just the absence of the new car smell.

Granted, a fresh install will leave you with a cobweb free machine of any small processes that you might not use anymore, technology has advanced far enough where stuff like that won't have any real effect. I've always used the migration option when upgrading the OS & never had any problems (My current MBP bought in March 2010 has had 2 OS updates so far, I'll update to Mavericks later this month).

The lazy approach is to clean up stuff (un-needed files/apps) from your old machine now & then do a migration. It'll retain all your settings/license info. With the Migration Assistant, you can pick and choose what to migrate (i.e. just migrate the User folders and not the Applications). If you do start from fresh without migrating the Applications, you'll need to set them all up again with license info (if required), for stuff you've bought from the Mac App Store, you just have to re-download them again.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Activity
So far there's no one here
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 365 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.

21 Day Calendar

Mohammad Syfkhan 'I Am Kurdish' Dublin Album Launch
Bello Bar
1 Portobello Harbour, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland
Mohammad Syfkhan 'I Am Kurdish' Dublin Album Launch
Bello Bar
1 Portobello Harbour, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland
Bloody Head, Hubert Selby Jr Infants, Creepy Future - Dublin
Anseo
18 Camden Street Lower, Saint Kevin's, Dublin, Ireland

Support thumped.com

Support thumped.com and upgrade your account

Upgrade your account now to disable all ads... If we had any... Which we don't right now.

Upgrade now

Latest threads

Latest Activity

Loading…
Back
Top