Setting up new iMac using files from semi-dead 2010 imac

[PRob39]

Old iMac black screen of death. Waiting for new iMac to arrive. Used old one in target mode and recovered all files and put them on an external drive. Have Time machine backup but it is 5 months old. Should I just drag and drop important files, apps, filed mail, contacts,etc or somehow incorporate Time machine in the process. I can reinstall the major apps like Microsoft Office. Advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[chscag]

The drag and drop is what you should use. Do not use a Time Machine backup that is old. Time Machine backups are excellent for migration but they do have to be current.

Seems like you know what it is you should do. Just press on as you wrote above. And we moved this thread to the correct forum. (macOS.....)

 

[IWT]

May I tag on a closely related question here, please?

My dear old friend (84) is getting a brand new Apple iMac in a few days. His current iMac is around 2010, but more relevant, it still runs Snow Leopard. He has an up-to-date TM backup.

As I shall be supervising/doing the "setting up the new iMac" thing, my intention was to restore from TM in the clear understanding that there will be incompatibilities which will not transfer.

He has no third party apps as far as I know. It's really email, Photos, settings, that sort of thing. Does that seem a sensible approach.

Ian

 

[MacInWin]

Not restore, migrate. When he powers up the iMac for the first time, it will ask for some setup questions--language, region, etc. Then it will offer to migrate data. Pick the "yes" answer, whatever that is in the options. Then point to the TM backup and choose what to migrate. (Apps, probably not. Mail, files, etc, probably yes). When it is done, it will offer his same login screen to use the same login and password he uses now. Check it' all good, reinstall the apps that work and you are done.

 

[IWT]

Thank you, Sir. Best to do it properly, Jake.

Quite frankly, apart from emails, photos and a very few Docs, I might have suggested starting afresh with a clean machine.

Ian

 

[PRob39]

The drag and drop is what you should use. Do not use a Time Machine backup that is old. Time Machine backups are excellent for migration but they do have to be current.

Seems like you know what it is you should do. Just press on as you wrote above. And we moved this thread to the correct forum. (macOS.....)

Thanks a lot! You are correct that I was planning to do drag and drop but happy to have a second opinion. Yes, I have setup several new macs that way. I was the computer go-to guy in my former job. Retired now.
Have a good one and thanks again!