How do I easily transfer all settings to new Mac?

[mattwolfmatt]

I have a late 2013 rMBP, and will soon transfer things to a 2015 rMBP. I have a fair amount of "little programs" on there running in the background: things like text expander, rescue time, dropbox, bartender, 1password. I also recently was able to set up printing to my workplace xerox machine, something that I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to replicate.

What's the best way to transfer / set up all these things on the new Mac? I'm particularly worried about the printing setup - it was a REAL pain to set up. I've heard of Carbon Copy Cloner. Does that transfer the entire hard drive, including programs and settings? Any other good options out there?

Thanks!

 

[CoastalOR]

Use Migration Assistant in the Applications/Utilities folder.

Option 1:
I think the best solution would be to connect your late 2013 rMBP to the new 2015 rMBP with a Thunderbolt cable (thunderbolt to thunderbolt) and use Target disk mode, then run Migration Assistant on the 2015 rMBP.

Instructions for Target Disk Mode:
If you have two Mac computers with FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, you can connect them so that one of them appears as an external hard disk on the other. This is called target disk mode.

1. Connect the two Macs with a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable.
   
   
2. On the Mac you want to use as the disk in target disk mode, do one of the following:
   • If the computer is off, start it up while holding down the T key.
     
     
   • If the computer is on, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Startup Disk, then click Target Disk Mode.
     
     When the computer has started up, a disk icon appears on the desktop of the other computer.
3. Launch Migration Assistant app on the new 2015 rMBP. Use the to automatically transfer data, settings, and compatible apps to the new 2015 rMBP.
   
   
4. Eject the disk by dragging its icon to the Trash.
   
   While you drag, the Trash icon changes to an Eject icon.
   
   
5. On the Mac you used as a disk, push the power button to shut it down, then disconnect the cable.

Option 2:
Do not use Carbon Copy Cloner unless you plan on cloning your late 2013 rMBP to an external drive, then connect the external to the new 2015 rMBP, and then run Migration Assistant.

Option 3:
If you have a Time Machine back up of the late 2013 rMBP on the external drive, then connect it to the new 2015 rMBP and run Migration Assistant.

 

[MacUser2525]

I have a late 2013 rMBP, and will soon transfer things to a 2015 rMBP. I have a fair amount of "little programs" on there running in the background: things like text expander, rescue time, dropbox, bartender, 1password. I also recently was able to set up printing to my workplace xerox machine, something that I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to replicate.

What's the best way to transfer / set up all these things on the new Mac? I'm particularly worried about the printing setup - it was a REAL pain to set up. I've heard of Carbon Copy Cloner. Does that transfer the entire hard drive, including programs and settings? Any other good options out there?

Thanks!

CCC can be option but first I would try the builtin Migration Assistant. It gives option to bring over all settings from old machine, the CCC will if it (Migration Assistant) fails to do the job give you byte by byte identical copy of what is on your current machine. Now you would want to go into the System Preferences -> Sharing and change the machine name so you do not have two identical machine names on the same network in the new machine, think that applies to both methods of doing the clone. Now it would be better if you have external USB drive to do the CCC cloning too, the Migration Assistant will work for you over the network and get it done.

Edit: Damn just beaten to it by another reply with extra good info included.

 

[Fishrrman]

If you have a spare drive available, using CCC to create a cloned backup of the old drive isn't a bad idea.

Reason why:
CCC copies in "POFF" (plain old finder format).
If you have any problems, it's a simple matter to connect a CCC backup and access whatever you need directly from the finder.

IF you have a thunderbolt cable, you can connect the two MacBooks directly, but if you don't have a thunderbolt cable, they're not exactly cheap.

Another way to do it:
- Create the CCC external backup as above.
- Connect the backup to the new MacBook
- Use Migration Assistant to access the backup and do the migration.