How should I go about transferring the data from my older (2009) MBP to my new air? In the past I have used migration assistant, but I can't do that without an ethernet port. I do have a large external usb hard drive to make a backup. Any suggestions? Would a complete time machine backup be good? It will also be going from Snow Leopard to Lion. Thanks in advance for any help.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
How to get data from MBP to new air?
- Thread starter rcmorgan540
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
A complete Time Machine backup of the old machine should be fine, that's how I always do it. But a full backup (SuperDuper!, Carbon Copy Cloner) to a regular HDD would work as well, too. Migration Assistant on your new Air shouldn't had a problem with either.
Apple released a software update the other day that was supposed to help with migration of data from Snow Leopard to Lion, so you might want to take a look at that on your MBP before you try anything.
Apple released a software update the other day that was supposed to help with migration of data from Snow Leopard to Lion, so you might want to take a look at that on your MBP before you try anything.
How about if I only want to transfer some files and apps and some iTunes and not iMovie or iphoto?
You're best bet would be Migration Assistant, which I believe you can do over a wireless connection.
If you are planning on keeping your old computer, you might as well upgrade it to Lion and go the Time Machine/restore route. I've only done that process once and I don't remember if you can selectively choose which applications or files to restore or if it does it all.
If you are planning on keeping your old computer, you might as well upgrade it to Lion and go the Time Machine/restore route. I've only done that process once and I don't remember if you can selectively choose which applications or files to restore or if it does it all.
I have a TM BU on ext HDD. Can I use this with migration assistant? Or should i manually copy files apps that I want on the new MBA and then copy to it. Trouble is I want the programme data to be copied across.
That should work fine with Migration Assistant.
The only time I'd manually copy data across is if I didn't want to migrate everything. Say, I just wanted my iTunes restored, nothing else.