Do you REALLY need to do a manual install of everything on a new laptop instead of using the "migration assistant?"

[iemcj]

This is something I've heard over the years to do to improve performance. That when you get a new machine to "set it up as new computer then spend the weekend re downloading all your apps, getting preferences setup, moving over files one by one" and I parroted this myself to many people. The idea was that stuff can get garbled along the way and your system will work better because... reasons.

But is there actually any concrete evidence that this does anything? I'm sitting here looking at a new laptop and with my sketchy internet speed, and all the little tweaks I run in various programs, I'm not thrilled about spending what I estimate to be 10+ hours of my time re-configuring everything even after the downloads are done. Is there any actual A/B testing showing if this matters or if that's one of those hold over myths from the old days?

 

[leman]

Not really. I like to reinstall things manually simply because it gives me the opportunity to clean up things. And I’ve seen people with some plugins from PPC days after too many migrations But as such, migration assistant is convenient and works well enough.

 

[thenewperson]

No you don’t. Use Migration Assistant and if it fails then I guess it’s manual for you.

 

[Gnattu]

If your old machine is working well without problems then not using migration assistant perhaps won't benefit you much. My own experience is that, by using migration assistant, some weird issue on my old machine would be carried over to my new one, and if this is the case I chose to setup from scratch, otherwise I just use migration assistant.

 

[iemcj]

Ok thank you all for the input. This is kinda what I figured, it likely made more sense back when we were using platter drives and errors were more common but at this point I'm just moving from one M1 machine to another one. Thanks!

 

[w5jck]

Seems like you should consider the age of the older Mac. Migration means bringing over a lot of old files and clutter. If your old Mac is only 2 or 3 years old, maybe that isn't such a big deal. If your old Mac is 8 years old and running a macOS a few iterations old (like Maverick) and was capable of running 32-bit apps, then I would definitely do a clean install. Personally, I do a clean install every time. I would rather do it right the first time even if it takes longer, than have to redo it and ultimately take even longer.

 

[bobcomer]

I would say no, it's not necessary. I usually do set up a new machine from scratch, but that's just to clean up old stuff I probably don't need. I also have all my installers for everything I need, so it really doesn't take me long to do the setup. (on both Windows and MacOS, and preferably not on Linux!) And always have a backup to restore tweaks from..

 

[eoblaed]

When it comes to my primary productivity device, I don't recall the last time I started from a clean install on new hardware without using the migration assistant. I've never had problems with this method.

My reluctance around doing a clean install is largely due to all the state I would lose. I have a lot of complex apps with non-trivial preferences (e.g., GoLand, iTerm2, MongoDB, Docker, etc) that I've got set up just the way I like. A fresh install means re-doing all that setup work which, frankly, I really don't want to try to do over.

That, combined with the fact that I've never had a problem migrating means I migrate every time, just as I have been doing since it was an option.

 

[iemcj]

When it comes to my primary productivity device, I don't recall the last time I started from a clean install on new hardware without using the migration assistant. I've never had problems with this method.

My reluctance around doing a clean install is largely due to all the state I would lose. I have a lot of complex apps with non-trivial preferences (e.g., GoLand, iTerm2, MongoDB, Docker, etc) that I've got set up just the way I like. A fresh install means re-doing all that setup work which, frankly, I really don't want to try to do over.

That, combined with the fact that I've never had a problem migrating means I migrate every time, just as I have been doing since it was an option.

This is exactly my situation. Last time I did the manual move over it was basically 2 entire workdays worth of piddly work. D:

 

[Big Bad D]

No, it's not necessary and had no problems with Migration Assistant.

The advantage, to me, of Migration Assistant is that it does a reliable set up of your Mac the way you are already used to. This outweighs the time consuming clean install which could save a relatively small amount of redundant files being installed, but which have no impact.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I always do a fresh install on new Macs. I can usually get it mostly done in <1 hour. I like to run fairly lean, so I try to minimize app clutter.

 

[Spindel]

No you don’t.

My current install started it’s life as OSX Leopard in 2008. Over the years I’ve updated the OS. In 2013 I got a new iMac and migrated the install and OS updates continued and in 2020 I got an M1 mac and just migrated the install.

In short my current install has its originis 14 years ago and is still going strong. No need to wipe and reinstall.

All migrations have been done by migrating from the, at the time, latest TM backup. Only thing I exclude in TM, aside frome caches, is the Steam folder.

 

[Marshall73]

Never use it now as all my files are in iCloud. Just setup my Mac, enable iCloud files and then install my apps. Nice and clean.

 

[Ifti]

It's not necessary, unless you have issues on your current/old install.

I have always migrated everything from a TM backup with every new MacBook purchase. It's quick, easy, and convenient. I've never had any issues by doing this.

Most recently, when I moved from Intel to M1 Max, I used Migration Assistant to copy across all my settings etc but not applications. The only reason why I did this is because it gave me a chance to get rid of applications I do not use, and I wanted to ensure the ones I do use were compatible with Apple Silicon, one at a time. Even then, I still just copied the app across from my TM backup as they were all up to date anyways, rather then redownload.
I also took the chance to move away from Office and towards Pages, Numbers, and Keynote instead, since I don't use them very regularly anyways. If it weren't for these changes I would have just migrated the applications across too.

 

[Spindel]

Never use it now as all my files are in iCloud. Just setup my Mac, enable iCloud files and then install my apps. Nice and clean.

Files is not the problem for me, it's custom settings for both applications and the OS that are so old now that i don't even remember what they are or how I set them, but I notice the lack of them immediately when I sit down at a different Mac

My important personal files are on my NAS and work related stuff is on OneDrive.


When I think of it I wonder if the Snow Leopard setting to run 64-bit is still active in my install

 

[Bodhitree]

The thing is, my setup gradually gets more messy over time. I accumulate old tax return forms, letters, all kinds of stuff I do not wish to keep. So when moving to a new machine I take the opportunity only to move the bare essentials, and I do it by hand.

 

[Fishrrman]

When I moved from my 2015 MBP 13" to a new MBP 14", I used setup assistant (the equivalent to migration assistant) during initial setup.

Things went just fine...

 

[CalMin]

Never use it now as all my files are in iCloud. Just setup my Mac, enable iCloud files and then install my apps. Nice and clean.

This. iCloud/OneDrive have really made simple. I also love the App Store process which has about 50-75% of the apps that I use regularly as well. It's getting to the point where manual app installs are just a pain and I wish everything was in the App Store.

I do wish iCloud carried over my app settings. Reconfiguring some apps and tweaks can take a while.

 

[Madhatter32]

If you have a lot of useless files from the year 2000 -- I would opt for a clean install just to de-clutter and maximize storage. I'm on a 7-10 year upgrade cycle though.

 

[eas]

I just migrate and enjoy my new machine. Then, from time to time, I go through /Library ~/Library and /Applications looking for stuff that isn't needed any more. I tend to focus on big folders for apps I don't have installed any more and worry less about the little stuff.

 

[theorist9]

I have a 2019 27” iMac running Monterey 12.7. It needs to go into the shop, so I’m temporarily switching my work to a loaner machine, a 16” M1 Pro MacBook Pro running Ventura 13.6. To maximize convenience, I'd like to use Migration Assistant. I'm wondering how this works for apps listed as Intel vs. Universal in the iMac's System Report.

Here's my current understanding—is this right?:

• Universal binaries: These already contain a native AS version, so nothing needs to be done.
• Intel binaries: Check the developer's site to see if a Universal or AS-only binary is available and, if so, replace the one you've migrated with that. The case for Zoom, Dropbox, and MS Edge. [E.g., even though Zoom has a Universal binary, they don't update the Intel machines with it.] If no native AS version is available, it will probably work fine under Rosetta.

Speaking of Zoom, it's already installed on the M1, so how do I prevent it from being overwritten by the Intel version on the source? I could change the name of the AS version to "Zoom2" so it's not overwritten, but will that protect the configuration files? Or is Migration Assistant smart enough to ask you about these cases and handle them appropriately?

 

[Ben J.]

Your understanding, your two main points, is right.
In my experience Migration Assistant is smart enough to not overwrite newer versions of software.

MA had lots of troubles in the beginning, like a decade ago, but I trust it completely now. And it's wonderful how you can be up and running with your old stuff very quickly; Passwords, bookmarks, software licenses, all kinds of settings etc. The only thing you might find is that you need to set some Security&Privacy settings on first boot, because they are reall deep in the system.

I think you should create a new user first, and use MA to restore to that. Things like the latest Zoom will stil work with the new user account.

 

[theorist9]

Your understanding, your two main points, is right.
In my experience Migration Assistant is smart enough to not overwrite newer versions of software.

MA had lots of troubles in the beginning, like a decade ago, but I trust it completely now. And it's wonderful how you can be up and running with your old stuff very quickly; Passwords, bookmarks, software licenses, all kinds of settings etc. The only thing you might find is that you need to set some Security&Privacy settings on first boot, because they are reall deep in the system.

I think you should create a new user first, and use MA to restore to that. Things like the latest Zoom will stil work with the new user account.

I was going to Migrate my existing user from the source, which would be a new user for the destination. That's what I've done before. I've never first created the new user acct on the destination, and migrated into it. Why are you recommending doing the latter?

I.e., if the user account on my source is "Bob", then I plan to Migrate "Bob" to the destination. Since the destination doesn't have "Bob", that would create that new account there. But when you write "I think you should create a new user first, and use MA to restore to that", it sounds like you're saying I should first create Bob on the destination, and then Migrate Bob on the source into Bob on the destination. I'm not following why.

Though note that wouldn't affect which applications are copied either way, since the Application folder exists outside the individual user accounts (only the application settings are user-specific).

The latest version of Zoom for Intel might actually be newer than the latest version of Zoom for AS, in which case it would need to be smart enough to not overwrite older, but more appropriate, software.

 

[Gudi]

A new laptop once every decade is a good opportunity for a clean install. Especially if you also switch from Intel to Apple Silicon. If you upgrade more often, just migrate.

 

[dandeco]

A new laptop once every decade is a good opportunity for a clean install. Especially if you also switch from Intel to Apple Silicon. If you upgrade more often, just migrate.

Indeed. When I bought my M1 MacBook Air two and a half years ago, I only used the Migration Assistant to transfer my files and certain settings from my 2009 polycarbonate MacBook.

I manually installed the applications on the Air, especially since this included some newer apps incompatible with my 2009 MacBook (running Mac OS 10.13 High Sierra), along with ones that the Air had enough horsepower for compared to that 2009 MacBook (like the then-current Adobe Premiere Pro and Audition).