time machine backup to newer OS

I have an old 24" iMac (white plastic) that is running Lion. I want to install my data onto a newer 27" iMac running Yosemite. Is this possible using Timmachine or is Carbon Copy Cloner Beter?

Use Time Machine. The first time you turn on the new iMac, the automatic Migration Assistant will run and ask if you have data from another Mac to copy over. One word of caution though... do not create an account on the new iMac. Time Machine will copy your old account over to the new iMac.

chscag said:

Use Time Machine. The first time you turn on the new iMac, the automatic Migration Assistant will run and ask if you have data from another Mac to copy over. One word of caution though... do not create an account on the new iMac. Time Machine will copy your old account over to the new iMac.

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That is a great tip chscag. What can you do if the OP has started or even finished the setup process before migrating their data? I'm guessing reinstall the OS but perhaps you have a better suggestion?

Reinstall would be the less time-consuming of the possible options. But as the setup operation *actually pauses* to ask if you want to migrate data from a backup, or Time Machine, or your old Mac BEFORE it sets up the account, it's always a bit of a mystery to me why people don't do it then.

True, perhaps it's just the excitement of having a new OX that leads to impatience. As I recall the install script in most steps suggests you can "set it up later" by whatever method is appropriate for the step you are skipping. However as you have pointed out there are distinct advantages in doing this as part of the install process thus saving a lot of backtracking later. I'm all for that.

Thanks for your reactions guys. If I understand it correctly It is possible to use a time-machine backup from an old OSX to install a user account onto a machine with Yosemite installed.