Question About Migration From Old Mini To New Mini ?

[Mr.C]

I've gone through the migration process once before and that was when I got my current Mac Mini. I migrated from my MacBook Air. It was a bit of a nightmare especially as the MacBook Air doesn't have a FireWire connection. It didn't go smoothly either an if I recall correctly I had to do it three or four times and I think I may even have ended up with some duplicate files/folders.

Anyway moving on to the present. My new Mac Mini should be arriving in a few days. I'm planning on doing a migration from the current Mac Mini to the new one. Is it just a question of connecting the two with a FireWire cable and booting both up. Do I then just follow the instructions on the new Mac Mini. Do I need a mouse, keyboard and display for both Mac Mini's.

How long would it take to migrate approximately 170GB's. Do I need a 6 pin to 6 pin FireWire cable.

Sorry for all the questions but I just want to be prepared and know what to expect.

 

[indg]

you only need 1 keyboard, mouse, display connected to the new mini. easiest way is to create a new user account on the new mini with a name different than the usernames on the old mini. connect minis via firewire 800 cable (if you old mini only has fw400, then you'll need an 800-to-400 adapter. or use an external drive that has both a fw800 and fw400 port as an intermediary). start up the old mini in target disk mode (hold T when booting). it should appear on the desktop of the new mini. start the migration assistant app on the new mini. select the restore "from a time machine or other disk". select user accounts to migrate over. wait a couple hours.

 

[Mr.C]

I believe the 2009 Mini has a FireWire 800 port so I presume I just need to get the appropriate cable. In order to boot the old Mini in target disk mode I would obviously need to press "T" on the keyboard. I presume then I can just connect an old USB keyboard to it to do this. Then I can leave my Bluetooth Apple keyboard and track pad connected to the new Mini or do I need a USB keyboard and mouse connected initially to the new Mini as well.

On a related note I currently have a Time Machine backup on an external Seagate GoFlex USB drive. Would be possible to just connect that to the new Mini and restore from that. If so would it be better to connect it using FireWire. For that I would have to purchase the optional FireWire adapter which may not be such a bad idea.

 

[indg]

restoring from your time machine backup would also work. fw800 is way faster than usb2, but also depends on the speed of the hdd in the external drive. if it's 5400rpm than save your money and use usb2 (20MB-30MB/s). if it's 7200rpm, then get fw800 (60MB-80MB/s).

any usb keyboard should work to start the old mini in tdm. bluetooth might work too, though i've never tried it.

 

[Mr.C]

I think probably the best thing to do is connect a USB keyboard and mouse to both Mini's during the migration process. I'll probably go get a FireWire 800 cable as it seems the most straight forward of all the options and probably the fastest. Not sure if doing it over a wired network would be faster.

When I choose what to migrate do I need to migrate the old user account or will everything work exactly the same way on the new user account on the new Mini. I only want one user account on there as I'm the only one who uses the Mini.

 

[indg]

you only need to have to the kb plugged in to the old mini to start in target disk mode. once it's started, you can unplug it and plug the kb back in to the new mini. you don't need 2 keyboards.

create user1 on new mini. migrate over user2 from old mini. after migration completes, log out of user1. log in as user2 and remove user1 if you don't want it.

don't waste your time trying over wired network. it's way too slow.

 

[Mr.C]

Thanks. I think that's pretty much answered my questions and concerns. I just need to get a FireWire 800 cable now.

My next project after that will be to install Windows 7 under Bootcamp. That's a topic for another thread though and some more research.

 

[gigaguy]

Can someone speak on the advantages of doing a manual move of critical data instead of migrating 2-3 years of hidden, possibly useless, junky hangers-on files. and what is the best way to manually move files, libraries, data. sorry to jack.

 

[jaimeastin]

Can someone speak on the advantages of doing a manual move of critical data instead of migrating 2-3 years of hidden, possibly useless, junky hangers-on files. and what is the best way to manually move files, libraries, data. sorry to jack.

Well, if possible, I like to do manual moves just to rid myself of the junk. Also makes for a more reliable install... Problem is you can miss data, time consuming, and don't forget to have a backup...

Shoot, it is one of the reasons I keep my data on a server rather than the computer. Not only is the data protected with raid and offsite backups, but it is easily assessable by other computers, devices, and outside means. I am also one who likes to restore os every once in a while depending on the use...