Update current OS before setting up new Mac Studio?

[A.J. Hamler]

Hi guys...

As a lurker, I've gotten so much great info from this site over the years! Thanks to everyone here! But no matter how hard I search the forum (or Google it elsewhere) I can't find an answer to what is probably a simple yes-or-no question. So I officially registered to post this question.

I'm replacing a late-2015 27" iMac, still running High Sierra. Why the old OS? It's the last version that would still run Adobe CS5, which I love, and I've tried to keep it alive as long as possible before giving in to Adobe's rent-only model for newer versions.

The new Mac Studio has convinced me to finally move on to a new machine and OS. My new Mac Studio arrives next week, and I plan to set it up using Time Machine. Of course, the last backup I'll do to Time Machine before unplugging the old iMac will be a High Sierra backup.

Will I have issues setting up my new Mac Studio from this Time Machine backup? I'm thinking that even if there are no huge issues, I might be needlessly restoring old stuff that simply won't function on Monterey.

So, I'm considering updating my old iMac to Monterey, checking out all my apps for compatibility and deleting anything that doesn't work (bye-bye Adobe CS5), before creating a clean, final Time Machine backup that I'll use to set up the new Mac Studio.

Would that be the best thing to do? And if it is, should I update OS incrementally one at a time, or can I just jump straight from High Sierra to Monterey?

My thanks in advance for any advice. You guys are great.

A.J.

 

[tweaknmod]

First, grats on the new Mac!

No, to answer your question, I always do a fresh install. I have a list of all settings I tweak, apps to install, login information for services and apps, etc. Working files that aren't in my iCloud drive are on an external drive that I manually copy over.

I do this for any new Mac anyway, but I would definitely recommend a manual setup when moving from an older Mac.

It's far more time consuming than using a backup, but this way, I'm 100% sure the only things on there are ones that I've deliberately - and recently - chosen to add. Further, iCloud syncing for passwords, bookmarks, files in the cloud, contacts, etc. are all there anyway, without a Time machine restore.

That's just my method. However you decide to do it, your new Mac will delight, I have no doubt.

Have fun!

 

[MarkC426]

If it was me, I would install apps fresh onto the Studio, as it's a cpu architecture change, just to be sure.
There possibly could be some apps which will not work on the Studio/Monterrey.

You can use migration assistant to migrate user accounts/documents etc.

Nice thing is (if your keeping the iMac), you can install/setup the Studio at leisure, checking back on the iMac, you have everything.

 

[iStorm]

I agree with the above and would leave the iMac as is and do a fresh setup on the Studio. Not only is it an architecture change, 32-bit app support was dropped in Catalina. That way you aren't shooting yourself in the foot if you find one of your apps doesn't work in one of the newer OSes.

 

[Sun Baked]

If you have a lot of data on old external drives, I would leave the old machine in its current state with the old OS.

It gives you a machine to read the drives and extract the data. Just in case...

 

[Fishrrman]

Don't worry about "the old OS".

Just have your backup UP-TO-DATE before you unbox the new Studio.

Unbox the Studio and set it up.

Connect the backup BEFORE you power on the Studio for the very first time.

Start clicking through the setup.

When setup assistant asks if you wish to migrate from a backup drive, YES -- point the way to the backup drive.

Give SA time to "digest everything" (it will take a while).

My suggestion is to just migrate everything.

Let SA go to work. When it's done, you should see your login screen, just as it was before.

Good luck.

Note: "the old OS" always gets "left behind" with a migration to a Mac running a newer OS...

 

[A.J. Hamler]

Thanks everyone for the advice! It helps a lot, and should make setting up the new machine go more smoothly. I pick up my new Mac Studio tomorrow, and can't wait.

To clarify one point, my old 27" iMac will be retired and sold, so no need to keep anything on it. (In fact, I'll wipe it before selling it.)

Thanks again.

A.J.