Moving my files to new Mac

Hey all,

I just got my new Macbook Pro 13". Before that, i had the same model, but that one was from 2009. Now that i have my new one, i would like to move most of my files to the new Macbook.

This includes lots of personal files, also stuff that i need for school. I also have the Adobe CS5 package installed on the old one. I got that from my school, it was installed when i bought the Mac. I dont have any installation CD's.

I would like to move the whole CS5 package to the newer Mac, but how can i do this? I've made a Time-Machine copy of my old Macbook, but it runs on Snow Leopard, and my new one runs Lion. Im quite used to Snow Leopard now, and i actually dont mind switching back to Snow Leopard on my new Mac. Or are there any very good reasons to use Lion instead?

If i would keep Lion on the new one, how could i install my CS5 on it? Also, my new Mac, which is actually secondhand, has some old stuff on it from the previous owner. The only things i didnt got with the Macbook where the installation CD's. How can i get a clean install on the new Macbook?

Alot of questions, and im sorry for any flaws in my English, im Dutch.

Hope you can help me!

First, if the new MBP was preinstalled with Lion you can not downgrade it to Snow Leopard. No drivers.

Time Machine is probably the best method to use to move everything from the old machine to the new one. However, Adobe software has built in anti-piracy and must be activated with the serial number when it is moved from one machine to another.

Generally, this is done with disks. But since the copy you have on the old machine is an educational version, I'm not sure how you will be able to move it or if it is even possible. Probably best to ask your school. Perhaps they can provide you with another copy for the new MBP.

Thanks for your reply,

Ok, thats new to me. But my time machine copy is based on Snow Leopard, what will happen if i copy the time machine copy to the new Lion macbook? I remember using time machine on my old mac, because i had to send it to a mac store for a repair. When i got it back it had a clean instal of SL osX. I used time machine to place everthing i had back on the Macbook, cant recall any problems but that was more then a year ago.. And it was all on the same machine, i dont know if that matters?

There should be no problem restoring a Time Machine backup which was made in Snow Leopard to a machine that's running Lion. System files and the like will not be overwritten anyway. What's important is that your account user info will be copied to the new machine.

Yeah don't worry about Time Machine, it knows what to do and what to leave out.

If you still have your license number from school for the Adobe stuff you should be fine.