I use the max Mini as Plex server and many other server things with Synology drive and run it headless. I have read migrating from Intel to M1 is a bad idea. Can I migrate everything except apps without issue? I have a million settings that I would prefer not redoing. Is that still a bad idea? I don’t want re install apps either but I can definitely see how that can introduce a ton of issues so I’m going to start fresh there.
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Mac Mini to Mac Studio Migration
- Thread starter twennywonn
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Setup assistant (which runs when you first boot a new Mac) will let you "un-check" applications and "leave them all behind", but will still migrate everything else, including user/account settings.
Migration assistant works the same way, but is run later. I wouldn't recommend it because if you're using it, you probably already have created a "new" account, and MA will bring over the "old" one -- leading to problems for some users.
You will then either have to re-install apps from scratch, or perhaps "bring them over" one-at-a-time from the old Mac to the new one, to see how they behave...
Migration assistant works the same way, but is run later. I wouldn't recommend it because if you're using it, you probably already have created a "new" account, and MA will bring over the "old" one -- leading to problems for some users.
You will then either have to re-install apps from scratch, or perhaps "bring them over" one-at-a-time from the old Mac to the new one, to see how they behave...
When I migrated to my M1 MacBook Pro a year ago, I just used the setup assistant for the whole thing. I later looked for Intel-only apps and upgraded those available for Apple Silicon. It all worked very well.
Why are you using the mini as a Plex server ? Can you not run Plex on the Synology drive ? I use a QNAP NAS, and run Plex sever app on it without issues. Usually.
I used Migration Assistant to move from an Intel Mac Mini running Monterey to a Studio Ultra running Ventura including all my apps with minimal problems. Most apps ran as is as well as keeping all of my settings. It wasn’t perfect but way better than starting all over,