Switching to a different mac,help required

Hi,

I have a MBP late 2010 currently on 10.7.2.I am planning to upgrade to a new MBP and hence taken a complete backup of my data on an external drive using Time Machine Backup.Few questions before I switch and format data on old MBP,

1.Do time machine backup takes complete backup of everything in true sense ?
I mean all installed software and data ?

2.I have my emails configured on Mail and Outlook,will the time machine backup be able to restore all my emails to new mac ?

3.I have firefox as my default browser on old MBP and has browsing history enabled.
Will TMB,be able to restore it ?


Thank You

Save time machine as the backup but use the built in migration assistant to move all your data and settings over to the new laptop. How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac

Thank You for the reply.I am planning to sell my macbook before I purchase a new one.In that case,it won't be possible for me to use Migration Assistant.

Poolman said:

Save time machine as the backup but use the built in migration assistant to move all your data and settings over to the new laptop. How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac

Click to expand...

m4a1 said:

1.Do time machine backup takes complete backup of everything in true sense ?
I mean all installed software and data ?

Click to expand...

Yes.

2.I have my emails configured on Mail and Outlook,will the time machine backup be able to restore all my emails to new mac ?

Click to expand...

Mail, yes. Outlook should be fine but sometimes MS Office needs to be reinstalled from disk. The mails themselves that are stored locally on your (old) computer will be preserved and copied to the new one.

3.I have firefox as my default browser on old MBP and has browsing history enabled.
Will TMB,be able to restore it ?

Click to expand...

See answer #1

In short, you can use Migration Assistant to transfer everything from your old to new MBP, or use Migration Assistant to transfer from your TM backup if the actual old MBP is no longer with you. Either way should be pretty painless *provided* you do the Migration Assistant thing during the startup. DON'T create a new account on the MBP and *then* do Migration Assistant later, do it during the initial setup process.

As I mentioned, Outlook may need to be reactivated or possibly even reinstalled, but that's MS for you. It's possible that it will "just work" like its supposed to.

Don't forget to deactivate the old computer from your iTunes account.

^I have lost installation disk of MS office,is it possible to re-install without them,if in case there's some problem in re-installation of Office ?

Well part one all depends. Still got the activation code for Office 2011 or 2008? If so you can download a trial version of Office and use your code. If not, then no.

Even with Migration Assistant Office does not transfer over well usually requiring re-activation.

Thank You everyone for the help.
I sold my MBP and upgraded to another MBP.There was no problem in installing even a single software.
Time machine made my new MBP same as older one.