I'm about to purchase the new '11 iMac in the next couple days and had a question about Time Machine. I have all my backups from my '09 iMac on my external harddrive. Will Time Machine move programs like iWorks? I don't want to have to buy the program all over again on the new computer if Time Machine can transfer it. Same for Adobe Photoshop CS5..does Time Machine allow these programs to be transferred? Thanks for any and all help!
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Using Time Machine for new '11 iMac
- Thread starter DTMfan
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If that external backup on your '09 was created using Time Machine, it will simply move everything to the new computer...apps and all...without you needing to think twice about it. In fact on starting up the new iMac, you will be asked if you want to migrate data from another computer or source and a Time Machine backup is one of the options.
If you backup was created through other means, TM may not be able to copy everything over and you may have to install some apps from disc.
(You didn't specifically say if the previous backup of the '09 was done with TM. I assume, but just want to be sure. )
If you backup was created through other means, TM may not be able to copy everything over and you may have to install some apps from disc.
(You didn't specifically say if the previous backup of the '09 was done with TM. I assume, but just want to be sure. )
awesome! Yeah I have always used Time Machine and have updates done every few days for over the past year and half. That would be amazing if its an easy transfer. I've never used Time Machine other than backing up, but it reads to me like it should be a no hassle way to update my new computer to what I'm using now with the old one.
Yep...and as an aside:
There is no good reason why you shouldn't be doing your TM backups hourly as is native to the program since you have a desktop. With a laptop I can see situations where you don't have a connection to the HDD occasionally.
Your frequency of "every few days" means that TM has to do a larger backup each and every time while the hourly backup will do tiny backups...only what has changed that hour...sometimes nothing if nothing has changed (overnight for example) sometimes a few GB if you rip a DVD perhaps. It runs in the background, so it doesn't impact you at all.
The one time you accidentally delete a file you started working on this morning (and is therefore is not in your 'every few days' backup) is the time when you will be so happy you went back to TM's default settings.
There is no good reason why you shouldn't be doing your TM backups hourly as is native to the program since you have a desktop. With a laptop I can see situations where you don't have a connection to the HDD occasionally.
Your frequency of "every few days" means that TM has to do a larger backup each and every time while the hourly backup will do tiny backups...only what has changed that hour...sometimes nothing if nothing has changed (overnight for example) sometimes a few GB if you rip a DVD perhaps. It runs in the background, so it doesn't impact you at all.
The one time you accidentally delete a file you started working on this morning (and is therefore is not in your 'every few days' backup) is the time when you will be so happy you went back to TM's default settings.