Migrate pre OSX 10.7 system to M1.

[wb123]

Hello!

Apologies if this has already been answered, I have failed to find an answer for my age of hardware/software.

I currently use a 2016 macbook core 2 duo running OSX 10.7.5 after some trickery which I have owned since new without trouble to manage emails, pdfs, and spreadsheets.

If I recall rightly 10.6 was the most recent software supported by this harware however there was a work around to install 10.7, the exact details of what I did to get it running fail me as it was quite some time ago. Migration assistant reportedly needs 10.7 or later however not all features of 10.7 worked on my installation so for safety I think it best to assume it won't work.

At present everything running fine and the system does almost everything I want, however I have some professional exams coming up and it would be useful to be able to use icloud to coordinate study materials between my ipad and laptop. As such I am considering replacing it with a new laptop.

Assuming migration assistant will not function can I migrate from such old software to an M1 system using time machine or is my only option to get a replacement intel system whilst they are still available?

Many thanks

W

 

[Howard Ellacott]

I wouldn't recommend migrating from such an old system to anything, especially if you've tweaked it to get the OS to run on that laptop. I restored a 2020 MacBook from a 2011 system that had been patched, and there were various random glitches and errors and app issues. Although setting up as new took a bit longer, going through all the preferences to get it how I wanted it, it has been much more reliable.

I'd use an external hard drive to copy your documents and media (iTunes libraries etc. will keep all your information) to the new laptop, then download any applications from the manufacturers' websites to make sure you get the most up to date, M1 capable versions. This will also stop any preference files etc. that have been modified or are completely out of date from messing up the new computer.

As you seem to keep computers for such a long time, I wouldn't get an intel mac. If performance is on your mind, wait for the new MacBook Pros in the next few months. Enjoy your upgrade!

 

[Boyd01]

I currently use a 2016 macbook core 2 duo running OSX 10.7.5

Something is wrong there, Apple stopped using the Core2 Duo chips around 2010. The 2016 MacBook used the Core-M series processors and had MacOS 11 pre-installed.

Guessing you might mean 2006 MacBook? Anyway, what kind of software do you use? Old 32-bit apps won't run on the new M1 or the new Intel Macs either. However with an Intel Mac, it is possible to run them in a virtual machine.

I setup my most recent (Intel) Mac last year without using Migration Assistant. The main annoyance there was entering all my passwords from scratch. This can be done by looking them up on the old machine with the keychain access app. AFAIK, aside from Migration Assistant, there is no way to directly transfer them.

 

[wb123]

I wouldn't recommend migrating from such an old system to anything, especially if you've tweaked it to get the OS to run on that laptop. I restored a 2020 MacBook from a 2011 system that had been patched, and there were various random glitches and errors and app issues. Although setting up as new took a bit longer, going through all the preferences to get it how I wanted it, it has been much more reliable.

I'd use an external hard drive to copy your documents and media (iTunes libraries etc. will keep all your information) to the new laptop, then download any applications from the manufacturers' websites to make sure you get the most up to date, M1 capable versions. This will also stop any preference files etc. that have been modified or are completely out of date from messing up the new computer.

As you seem to keep computers for such a long time, I wouldn't get an intel mac. If performance is on your mind, wait for the new MacBook Pros in the next few months. Enjoy your upgrade!

Thank you very much.

Performance isn't an issue, my current machine is more than powerful enough. Longevity of support would be useful but not essential.

 

[wb123]

Something is wrong there, Apple stopped using the Core2 Duo chips around 2010. The 2016 MacBook used the Core-M series processors and had MacOS 11 pre-installed.

Guessing you might mean 2006 MacBook? Anyway, what kind of software do you use? Old 32-bit apps won't run on the new M1 or the new Intel Macs either. However with an Intel Mac, it is possible to run them in a virtual machine.

I setup my most recent (Intel) Mac last year without using Migration Assistant. The main annoyance there was entering all my passwords from scratch. This can be done by looking them up on the old machine with the keychain access app. AFAIK, aside from Migration Assistant, there is no way to directly transfer them.

Sorry its a 2006 macbook, the first of the core 2 duos.

I use the native email manager, iwork 2009, preview, and firefox as the most up to date version of safari I can run gets refused by most websites for being too old. I occasionally use MS office 2008 when it can't be avoided.

 

[Boyd01]

I was running Office 2008 until a couple years ago. It still worked well on MacOS Mountain Lion. It worked on Sierra but crashed pretty often, especially with large documents. As a 32-bit app, it won't run at all on Catalina or newer, so I upgraded to Office 365 which I'm very happy with. Of course, there are newer versions of Mail, Safari, iWork, preview and Firefox and they are free. However, some people seem to prefer the older versions of iWork and they are not going to run.

So, it doesn't sound like you would have much problem moving to a new M1 Mac, although you will not be able to use Office 2008 anymore.

 

[kencu]

as a longtime Apple stockholder perhaps I should not dissuade your purchase, but if your machine serves you well other than a working browser, you might try the one discussed here for 10.7, it's just excellent:

Chromium Legacy: Google Chrome for OS X 10.7 – 10.9

I know we already have a thread for Early Intel Mac web browsers, but frankly I think this one deserves its own thread. It's just so great. I haven't used Google Chrome for years. I don't like Google's dominance over the web, and besides, there are two other excellent, mainstream browser...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Fishrrman]

My advice:

Get an external USB3 drive.

Use CarbonCopyCloner to clone the contents of the internal drive onto the external drive.
CCC is FREE to download and use for 30 days, this will cost you nothing.

Now, you have a finder-mountable copy of the internal drive on the external drive.
You can take the external drive and conect it to the newer Mac.

Go to the "get info" box, click the lock and enter your current password, and set sharing and permissions to "ignore ownership on this volume".

Now, you can manually copy files from the external backup to your newer Mac, and the files will "fall under the ownership" of your current accounts (because we have over-ridden permissions problems with the "ignore ownership" trick above).

Some things -- like email -- will probably have to be "re-imported" into the current version of Mail.app (if you're using that). Takes a little time but that's how it goes.

Pdf's and spreadsheets should "copy right over".

I can't address iCloud because I don't use cloud services at all.

 

[wb123]

as a longtime Apple stockholder perhaps I should not dissuade your purchase, but if your machine serves you well other than a working browser, you might try the one discussed here for 10.7, it's just excellent:

Chromium Legacy: Google Chrome for OS X 10.7 – 10.9

I know we already have a thread for Early Intel Mac web browsers, but frankly I think this one deserves its own thread. It's just so great. I haven't used Google Chrome for years. I don't like Google's dominance over the web, and besides, there are two other excellent, mainstream browser...

forums.macrumors.com

Many thanks, I will give that a crack when firefox stops working.

The only thing tempting me to buy a new machine would be the ability to make my ipad and laptop share and update documents. At present the two won't speak.