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imadot

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 21, 2010
3
0
Hello,

Trying to figure out how to start the process of updating my DAW from a late 2009 iMac to a new/er 2013 iMac with different hard drives.

What would be the best way to set up a new/er late 2013 iMac with a 3 TB fusion and 256GB boot drive, with data from a late 2009 iMac with a 4 TB drive (drive has a tiny bit over 2 TB of data)? I've been reading about "Migration Assistant" but can not find any information on how to use it on different sized hard drives from one iMac to another iMac, and how to get Migration Assistant to sort the large sample files into the larger drive, and the boot stuff to just the 256BG drive? I do have a recent Time Machine Backup of the older 2009 iMac/drive I'm wanting to copy to the new/er 2013 iMac. Can someone please start me on the right path?

Thanks!
 
Important questions first:
What OS are you using on the 2009 iMac?
You said you currently have the 2013 to boot via an external drive?
Is that an SSD, by any chance?

IF the OS on the 2009 will boot the 2013, see below

How I would do it:
1. Get a drive large enough to hold the ENTIRE contents of the 2009 iMac
2. Get CarbonCopyCloner from here:
Carbon Copy Cloner - Download
CCC is FREE to download and use for 30 days -- this costs you NOTHING
3. Use CCC to create a cloned backup of the 2009 iMac on the external drive
4. Connect the backup to the 2013 iMac
5. Boot up from the EXTERNAL cloned backup (hold down the option key continuously at boot until startup manager appears, then select the external drive and hit return)
6. IF you "get a good boot", you know the OS on the cloned backup will run the 2013.
7. Now, ERASE the external 256gb boot drive with disk utility (I'd choose Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format)
8. Now open CCC. You are going to SELECTIVELY re-clone from the backup to the 256gb drive.
9. Put the cloned backup on the left. Put the target drive (the 256gb drive) "in the middle"
10. In the lower left of CCC's window, there is a "some files/all files" popup. Choose SOME files.
11. Now you will be presented with a checklist. You need to GO DOWN THE ENTIRE LIST and DE-select those things you wish to NOT be copied.
TIP: You will need to copy over all the OS and app files. I would NOT copy ANY folders (at the top level) that I had created (again, you NEED TO bring over all the visible/invisible files required by the OS).
Go into your home folder and DE-SELECT "music", "pictures", "movies", and "documents".
I would suggest that you DO choose to bring over the "library" folder (or at least most of it) because this is where app settings are often located.
You will need to go through the library folder beforehand, taking note of what should be brought over and what should not.

What we are doing here is creating a "selective", small-sized clone that won't choke the external 256gb boot drive.
It will have "only the essentials" on it, and no more.

12. When done, try the clone button.
13. It will take some time to "clone it all over". When done, quit CCC and power down.
14. DISCONNECT the cloned backup and now try booting from the external 256gb drive.
Does it boot?
If so, great.
Now... try your apps -- do they work?
If so, mission accomplished.

EDIT:
You -might- be able to get away with a 2tb drive IF you choose to leave behind a few things on the original clone (perhaps movies and pictures?).
 
Last edited:
Thanks, Fishrrman so much for the details! To answer you- the late 2009 iMac OS is running High Sierra. The newer late 2013 iMac is running Mojave. 2013 also has an internal 256gb (boot) SSD w/ a 3 TB internal for data. Id like to keep the Mojave OS on it if possible. I also use an 8 TB external drive for Time Machine backup on the 2009 iMac, and I have it backed up every few hours so it's recent.

So if I clone the 2009 iMac (data size is 2.28 TB) with Carbon Copy, I could use the Time Machine 8TB external drive, and just remove some older backups to make room if needed ( has 5.2 TB available now). The only issue then is keeping and using Mojave versus High Sierra OS? Not sure if all of my installed programs. Running Music software with large data and sample files (Music DAW's and VST's and such) would like the switch- especially since some of them have dongles (eLicenser and iLok) needed to run the software. Since I installed programs like that with High Sierra do I need to keep that OS, and upgrade it to Mojave later? There's so much stuff I don't know yet. Might be easier to just copy the data/sample folders over and reinstall the software. Even thought about leaving the data/sample files on the 2009 and somehow making it a file server for the newer iMac? Thanks for the help!
 
Last edited:
Thanks, dog- I'll look at that as well. Since I do not really know all of the files needed to transfer to the 256gb boot drv on the new machine, I have about decided that I will move the 8 TB external with time Machine Backups to the new iMac and try to start installing (picking and choosing) the large Data files (sample folders) while just redownloading and re-registering the executables one at a time and seeing if they can see the data. A longer process I know. How do you eat an elephant? One bite (byte) at a time. ; )
 
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