Considering a MBA how do I...

[sillyrabbitt]

Hi all

I am considering a MBA quick question on Vmware how do I transfer over a virtual box?

edit
Does Time Machine capture all info? would it migrate the virtual machine over as well? is time machine the best way to transfer my info over from a MB to MBA?


thanks in advance.

 

[sillyrabbitt]

Sorry to post to my own post but what is the easiest and best practice when going from a MB to a MBA? Can and I and should I just do a time machine backup on the MB and then move that over to the MBA or is there a better way?

thanks!

 

[dawser]

If your Time Machine backup stores everything, it will work well. But you need the same OS version (and patches) on both machines.

Another way to do it would be an image using Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper, but a simple Time Machine restore will work fine.

The only problems you may have are with applications whose licensing depend on the hardware they are installed on (like some flexlm apps). For those, you may need to re-activate the product.

VMware will work. The first time you start the restored virtual machine, it will ask you whether you moved or copied it. Just say you copied it, and the only thing you may need to do is re-install VMware virtual machine tools, which is a two minute process.

 

[bossxii]

If you have a external drive. Superduper works well to image your boot drive, then revers it back to the new machine. Obviously you need to make sure you have room going from MBP to MBA for the image, but Superduper has worked flawless for me several times, and its' free to use it's basic version.

This recommendation is assuming you won't have both machines at the same time. Migration tool works fine if you have both machines in front of you.

 

[HellDiverUK]

but a simple Time Machine restore will work fine.

...unless you're running 10.6.6 or 10.6.7 then it most likely won't.

Relying on Time Machine backups on 10.6.6 and 10.6.7 is a bad plan.

 

[42streetsdown]

Perhaps you could use the Migration Assistant in the Utilities folder. i dunno. i've never used it. i just copy all the files i want manually when i get a new machine.

 

[dawser]

...unless you're running 10.6.6 or 10.6.7 then it most likely won't.

Relying on Time Machine backups on 10.6.6 and 10.6.7 is a bad plan.

The last time I tried was last week when moving everything from my Macmini to the new iMac, and everything worked fine. I didn't want to use an imaging app like CCC or Superduper because of the differences in hardware. Both machines were running 10.6.7 and the process worked without problems. But maybe you have had a different experience.

 

[sillyrabbitt]

THANKS ALL! I appreciate the help and insight! I only have backup harddrive and the time machine backup. So I guess I will go that route. The thing that I am unsure of is if i have 10.6.7 on my MB and i get a MBA with Lion with that jive together if i use the Time Machine backup?

Also if I understand correctly I can just load up VMWare on the new machine and drop and drag the winxp file right in? Just do it as a "copy" instead of a "move"

THANKS!

 

[dawser]

To avoid problems, try to have the exact same version of the OS on both machines. You can either upgrade your old machine to Lion first, or upgrade your MBA to Lion after the restore.

If your Time Machine backup has a copy of the WinXP virtual machine, it will restore it with the rest of the backup. If it doesn't, look in your Documents folder for a subfolder called Virtual Machines. You only need to copy the full directory to the new computer (same location), and it will include all your virtual machines. When you start VMWare, point at that directory, open the virtual machine, and it will ask you whether you copied or moved the VM. Say you copied it and it will work. It will also ask you to reinstall the virtual machine tools if it detects different hardware.

 

[sillyrabbitt]

To avoid problems, try to have the exact same version of the OS on both machines. You can either upgrade your old machine to Lion first, or upgrade your MBA to Lion after the restore.

If your Time Machine backup has a copy of the WinXP virtual machine, it will restore it with the rest of the backup. If it doesn't, look in your Documents folder for a subfolder called Virtual Machines. You only need to copy the full directory to the new computer (same location), and it will include all your virtual machines. When you start VMWare, point at that directory, open the virtual machine, and it will ask you whether you copied or moved the VM. Say you copied it and it will work. It will also ask you to reinstall the virtual machine tools if it detects different hardware.

THANK YOU! I just dont want to muck it up and I want to line up my ducks before i make the purchase and the switch!

Much appreciated!!