How do I set up a new imac with a time machine from my previous Imac

[hipnotizer]

Hello All,

My new 2011 imac arrives tomorrow. I have a time machine back up on an external hard drive that I want to set up my new imac with. How exactly do I do this? I heard of using migration assistant but just want to get some clear advice on how to go about it. Thanks!

 

[Bernard SG]

Hello All,

My new 2011 imac arrives tomorrow. I have a time machine back up on an external hard drive that I want to set up my new imac with. How exactly do I do this? I heard of using migration assistant but just want to get some clear advice on how to go about it. Thanks!

Just launch Migration Assistant, from there, everything is pretty much self-explanatory.

 

[r.j.s]

Just launch Migration Assistant, from there, everything is pretty much self-explanatory.

Exactly. MA will ask you what the source is, choose Time Machine and follow the instructions.

 

[Georgio]

Bear in mind that you need to 'restore' from your time machine back-up the very first time you start up your iMac i.e. after all the pretty 'Welcomes' at the start.
So basically make sure you have your external drive or wherever you keep your back-ups stored, powered up and connected before you start the machine.
You'll then get a series a options and 'restore from a Time Machine back-up' is available.
Bear in mind that you don't need to restore from the complete back-up; when I did mine recently I just restored my artwork/photos/videos files to keep the integrity of the OS on the new machine.

 

[hipnotizer]

Thank you! Very helpful.

 

[desantii]

FYI not sure about time machine but I cloned the drive from an earlier mac and the SATA controller was not recognized it said unidentified AHCI controller.

I did a reinstall on top of my old os and worked great

 

[discounteggroll]

don't do a migration after creating the account. Instead, just connect the TM when turning on the computer for the first time and going through the setup.

I say this because if you use the same username/short name that's on the old imac during setup and then do a migration afterwards, you cannot do it unless you change the username/short name of the new account being migrated. It's frustrating and wastes time