Migrating from a 20" Intel iMac to a 24"... any gotcha's?

I want to buy a new 24" iMac, mainly for the increased speed and Firewire 800 port. I have to make the switch from one machine to the other quickly. A few questions...
Any know problems moving 3rd party app's using the Migration Assistant? How about with Apple app's such as FCS, iTunes (actually iTunes was hosed during the last upgrade so this isn't critical). Microsoft locks certain programs to the CPU S/N and system configuration in a Windows environment; same true on the iMac? After the migration, what's left on the source (20") computer; i.e. when the Migration Assistant moves programs to the new computer does it delete them from the old computer? I plan to sue my existing 20" Cinema display as the 2nd monitor with the 24" iMac. Any scaling problems? Basically, are there any gotcha's I should be aware of before spending all that money?
(This is my second posting of these questions. The original seems to have disappeared. If this ends up being a duplicate, my apologies.)
 20" Intel iMac + Cinema Display + Sony HDR-HC7 HD camera Mac OS X (10.4.10) All tools, no talent!

I simply took the FW400 HDD containing my most recent backup of my old computer, connected it to the new computer, booted to this drive, then did a 'backup' from from it to the internal HDD of the new computer. Once completed, I booted to the new computer and the job was done.
Interesting... when I tried Apple's approach I also got stuck around 6 hours into the process. I tried twice and finally gave up. The SuperDuper approach was fast and worked the first time I tried it. I should add the SuperDuper folks told me this wouldn't work, but I figured, worst case, I'd have to rebuild the new computer's boot drive from the supplied disks. Fortunately this wasn't necessary.
Message was edited by: transco

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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4413?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1963
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The good news: I have a new Mac Intel Pro and all my previous G5's data is backed up by Time Machine to a fast Newr Tech FW RAID.
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Message was edited by: John Dwight

John Dwight wrote:
The good news: I have a new Mac Intel Pro and all my previous G5's data is backed up by Time Machine to a fast Newr Tech FW RAID.
The funky news:
1. I'd read a User Tip Contribution by Kappy that suggested how to migrate from a Motorola -based system to the new Intel. It seemed that Migration Assistant is not useful here, much less via Time Machine. True? (while I can no longer find this tip, I have a Web Archive of it)
the fact that you'd be migrating from TM backup is irrelevant here. the fact that you'd be migrating from PPC to intel is relevant. You can try doing that but there may be problems. definitely do not migrate applications.
Here is one of kappy's posts on the issue
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1571689&tstart=0
2. Also, I've read here that I cannot continue using my old Time Machine backup account on the new Intel Mac. I'll have to wait while TM backs up up my new Mac entirely to a new TM account.
yes
I only have 300 GB left on my TM backup drive. Will I lose my G5's data when I add my Time Machine/FW disk to the new Intel.
I would suggest you use a different disk or reformat the existing one. You should format TM disk with GUID partition map for intel TM backups and yours is most likely formatted with Apple partition Map.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1550?viewlocale=en_US
You can try using the old TM disk but you might run into problems later. if you do use the old drive TM should give you an option of keeping the stuff already on the drive so that you can ahve your old TM backups there too.
How, then, can I access my old data? If I can access my old data, must I retain my Username from my previous G5's accounts to be able to access TM backup data from my old Mac?
not username but userid. It's most likely 501 in both cases so that should not be a problem.

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You're probably referring to the section of this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3231
in the first point under *Starting your migration:*
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Hi
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I have an old dual G5 2GHz, running OSX 10.5.8 with:
+ old Apple 23" Cinema Display (1920x1200)
+ HP L2065 LCD display (1600x1200)
+ 2x 500GB internal hard disks and lots of PPC Applications.
+ 2x External Firewire 400 disks.
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How well will the Migration Assistant perform for me?
1. iTunes library on external 500Gb hard disk. Will the library XML etc be migrated automatically?
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3. Preferences, settings and other data usable (?) for Intel versions of software I will need to upgrade
4. Both machines have FireWire 800 ports, so I will need to buy one FW800 cable, right?
5. Are there FW800 cables that will run FW400 drives?
6. Does anyone know the actual performance of any Thunderbolt hard disks with the Mac Mini 2.5GHz i5 ?
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7. Will I need to buy any cables to run the two monitors?
8. Anything else I missed?
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I just did this.....and at first it was a disaster. My new Mac Mini server with a 250GB SSD and 750GB HD was runnin' at light speed under Lion, I had installed MS Office 2011 and Photoshop Elements from the app store.....all was great.
Then I tired to use the migration assistant on the Mini to transfer stuff from the G5 that I started up in firewire target disk mode. Ran for hours (mostly overnight) transferring apps (which I mistakenly thought that the migrations assistant would purge of non-lion compatible stuff) and then after re-start the mini would have kernal panics about every 30-90 seconds.
Had to restore the system over the internet, again a long process, but now all is fine again. And the Mini screams, once you get through this you will love the new machine. Again, I stated the G5 in firewire disk mode and this time only transferred the contents of my user folders to some new folders on the mini.
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I did copy my itunes libraries (manually) and they work fine on my mini, anlong with all my mailboxes too, and iPhoto libraries, etc. It was a little work, but I did it manually.
I connected the mini to my G5 with one FW800 cable. And yes you'll need an adapter or a FW400 to FW800 cable (basically the adapter is in the cable) to use FW400 stuff.

Can't migrate from G4 to new iMac

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Welcome to Apple Discussions,
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The way you connected both computers.
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Permissions repaired in the old Mac
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Can't Migrate from G4 to Intel Mac Mini

Hi
I have been unable to migrate files from my old G4 destop to my new Intel Mac mini. I wonder if anyone could help.
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Erased Intel Mac mini and tried to do a restore from G4 using Disk Utilty. Failed twice. Didn't complete process.
I then tried the same twice using Supe Duper. Completed process (took hours) but in both cases couldn't boot Mac mini. Get the folder icon on boot indicating can't find system (I think).
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Any suggestions ?
Would erasing Mac mini and and trying Carbon Copy Cloner work ?
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G4 ibook. G4 desktop, mac mini (intel) Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Exactly which model G4 tower do you have? The
PCI-graphics G4 towers do not support FireWire Target
Disk Mode.
If FWTDM works, have you replaced the hard drive that
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interested in copying? If your G4 tower works in
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HD/Users/YourUserName/Pictures > NewMacintosh
HD/Users/YourUserName/Pictures)
-Doug
Yes I did change the hard drive to a bigger one so that may be the problem.
When I use the Traget mode I do see my "old" drive (both partitions) on my desktop so it suggests firewire is working.
Won't take everything across including applications, library etc.
Will let you know how I get on.
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Migrating from a 20" Intel iMac to a 24"... any gotcha's?

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