Migrating from iMac to new MacBook Pro

Currently I have a iMac, serial number QP833*ZE5, 2.4 GHz, with Snow Leopard 10.6.2
I will be getting a new MacBook Pro shortly.
What I would like to do is have absolutely everything on the MacBook be a duplicate of what is on my iMac.
And I can do this by simply restoring the MacBook from my stored iMac cloned disk image.
So, my question is "Is this OK?", or are there ANY differences at the System level (any at all) between my iMac 10.6.2 and the new MacBook Pro 10.6.2?
.. or, in any case, would you seriously encourage using Migration Assistant to port from my stored disk image clone? I say "from the stored clone" because this clone is on an external firewire drive which would be connected to the MacBook Pro.
Thanks in advance for answering.
John Love
<Edited by Host>

As a rule, it is not a good idea to try to restore from an older Mac's startup volume (or a clone of it) to a newer model. This is because the newer model may require a later version of the OS to support its newer hardware & the result will be a new Mac that can't start up. (See Don't install a version of Mac OS X earlier than that which came with your Mac for info about this.)
However, from Mac OS X versions (builds) included with Intel-based Macs, it appears that currently at least, a new MacBook Pro should be able to boot from any version of Snow Leopard, so a restore from the iMac running 10.6.2 should be OK.
But keep in mind that Setup Assistant will run the first time you power up your new MBP, & it will offer to run the equivalent of Migration Assistant to copy everything not already installed from another Mac (or a cloned drive of it) to the MBP. Since this will not replace any apps or OS components included on the BMP will older versions from the iMac, but can copy over everything else (except system settings that don't apply & you don't need anyway), it is a good, perhaps even better, option for you.
Besides, you really don't want to duplicate absolutely everything from the iMac -- many of the files on it are just temporary working files, caches, etc. that the MBP will just discard or ignore.

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I just bought a MacBook Pro and am trying to use MA to migrate stuff from my iMac (Intel, OSX 10.4.11) to my MacBook Pro (Intel, OSX 10.6.3).
Problem is, every time I try ("from" iMac "to" MacBook Pro), my iMac IDs my MacBook Pro and asks for the passcode, I give it, it then asks for the passcode again, I give it again, then it churns away with the message that it's "looking for other computers". On and on and on and gets stuck in this mode.
I'm using ethernet between the two. Tried wireless also. Same issue. Downloaded the Migration & DVD/CD Sharing Update onto the iMac; it's already on the MacBook Pro. Same problem persists.
Any suggestions? (among the ten zillion firewire cables I have, none fits the MacBook Pro, so haven't tried firewire yet).
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See:
Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4- Transferring data with Setup Assistant/Migration Assistant FAQ
OS X 10.4- Issues migrating to Mac OS X 10.5 via network connection and Migration Assistant
OS X 10.4- Issues migrating to Mac OS X 10.5 via network connection and Migration Assistant
And, selecting Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and searching for "migrate" should find additional help.
The 10.5 document may still be useful to you since it specifically deals with the dialog you reported. Obviously it is a known problem if Apple has published a knowledge base article dealing with it.

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When I bought my iMac 2 years ago I just transferred everything from my old Mac to the new one via USB I think.
Again I do not want to transfer everything.
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See the following:
Folders You Can Move to Your new Mac
From the Home folder copy the contents of Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, and Sites.
In your /Home/Library/ folder:
/Home/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Application Support/iCal (copy the whole folder)
Also in /Home/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need including folders for any third-party applications)
/Home/Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Preferences/ (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/Safari (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/Calendars (copy the whole folder)
If you want cookies:
/Home/Library/Cookies/Cookies.plist
/Home/Library/Application Support/WebFoundation/HTTPCookies.plist
For Entourage users:
Entourage is in /Home/Documents/Microsoft User Data
Also in /Home/Library/Preferences/Microsoft
For FireFox:
/Home/Library/Applications Support/FireFox
/Home/Library/Preferences/org.mozilla.firefox.plist
Credit goes Macjack for this information.
You can connect the two computers with a FireWire cable and use Target Disk Mode to copy from one machine to the other.

Migration from old to new MacBook Pro

Old machine uses Leopard. New machine uses Snow Leopard. If I use migration assistant from old to new, will new machine end up with Leopard instead of retaining Snow Leopard?

Hi guys, sorry to bug in. I searched on the different discussions available and found yours to be closest to my query.
I hope you don't me popping a few questions regarding Migration Assistant.
I have had a MacBook Air for about 2 years now, and recently bought a MacBook Pro.
I performed a Migration of the content in MBA to MBP and it was successful as far as content transfer is concerned.
Now I have the database from the MBA in the new MBP, but none of the user setting or Applications were "installed". I tried to open "Applications", "Movies" folders, but I was not allowed to open them.
Is it possible to migrate the content and use as if it was in MBA? Or do I have to download and reinstall the various programs/applications I had in MBA again? (eg Handbrake, VM Fusion, etc)?
Much appreciated for your time & feedback.
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Which cable for data migration from old to new MacBook Pro?

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I'm attempting to migrate files from iMac to new MacBook air. The estimated time shown on the display is over ten hours. Is that correct? Is there a way to do it quicker?

It's quite possible, since you are using an MBA without Firewire, that it could take that long.
A Basic Guide for Migrating to Intel-Macs
If you are migrating a PowerPC system (G3, G4, or G5) to an Intel-Mac be careful what you migrate. Keep in mind that some items that may get transferred will not work on Intel machines and may end up causing your computer's operating system to malfunction.
Rosetta supports "software that runs on the PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor that are built for Mac OS X". This excludes the items that are not universal binaries or simply will not work in Rosetta:
>Classic Environment, and subsequently any Mac OS 9 or earlier applications
>Screensavers written for the PowerPC
>System Preference add-ons
>All Unsanity Haxies
>Browser and other plug-ins
>Contextual Menu Items
>Applications which specifically require the PowerPC G5
>Kernel extensions
>Java applications with JNI (PowerPC) libraries
See also What Can Be Translated by Rosetta.
In addition to the above you could also have problems with migrated cache files and/or cache files containing code that is incompatible.
If you migrate a user folder that contains any of these items, you may find that your Intel-Mac is malfunctioning. It would be wise to take care when migrating your systems from a PowerPC platform to an Intel-Mac platform to assure that you do not migrate these incompatible items.
If you have problems with applications not working, then completely uninstall said application and reinstall it from scratch. Take great care with Java applications and Java-based Peer-to-Peer applications. Many Java apps will not work on Intel-Macs as they are currently compiled. As of this time Limewire, Cabos, and Acquisition are available as universal binaries. Do not install browser plug-ins such as Flash or Shockwave from downloaded installers unless they are universal binaries. The version of OS X installed on your Intel-Mac comes with special compatible versions of Flash and Shockwave plug-ins for use with your browser.
The same problem will exist for any hardware drivers such as mouse software unless the drivers have been compiled as universal binaries. For third-party mice the current choices are USB Overdrive or SteerMouse. Contact the developer or manufacturer of your third-party mouse software to find out when a universal binary version will be available.
Also be careful with some backup utilities and third-party disk repair utilities. Disk Warrior 4.1, TechTool Pro 4.6.1, SuperDuper 2.5, and Drive Genius 2.0.2 work properly on Intel-Macs with Leopard. The same caution may apply to the many "maintenance" utilities that have not yet been converted to universal binaries. Leopard Cache Cleaner, Onyx, TinkerTool System, and Cocktail are now compatible with Leopard.
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Additional links that will be helpful to new Intel-Mac users:
Intel In Macs
Apple Guide to Universal Applications
MacInTouch List of Compatible Universal Binaries
MacInTouch List of Rosetta Compatible Applications
MacUpdate List of Intel-Compatible Software
Transferring data with Setup Assistant - Migration Assistant FAQ
Because Migration Assistant isn't the ideal way to migrate from PowerPC to Intel Macs, using Target Disk Mode, copying the critical contents to CD and DVD, an external hard drive, or networking
will work better when moving from PowerPC to Intel Macs. The initial section below discusses Target Disk Mode. It is then followed by a section which discusses networking with Macs that lack Firewire.
If both computers support the use of Firewire then you can use the following instructions:
1. Repair the hard drive and permissions using Disk Utility.
2. Backup your data. This is vitally important in case you make a mistake or there's some other problem.
3. Connect a Firewire cable between your old Mac and your new Intel Mac.
4. Startup your old Mac in Target Disk Mode.
5. Startup your new Mac for the first time, go through the setup and registration screens, but do NOT migrate data over. Get to your desktop on the new Mac without migrating any new data over.
If you are not able to use a Firewire connection (for example you have a Late 2008 MacBook that only supports USB:)
1. Set up a local home network: Creating a small Ethernet Network.
2. If you have a MacBook Air or Late 2008 MacBook see the following:
>MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)- Migration Tips and Tricks;
>MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)- What to do if migration is unsuccessful;
>MacBook Air- Migration Tips and Tricks;
>MacBook Air- Remote Disc, Migration, or Remote Install Mac OS X and wireless 802.11n networks.
Copy the following items from your old Mac to the new Mac:
>In your /Home/ folder: Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, and Sites folders.
>
>In your /Home/Library/ folder:
>/Home/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder)
>/Home/Library/Application Support/iCal (copy the whole folder)
>Also in /Home/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need including folders for any third-party applications)
>
>/Home/Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder)
>/Home/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder)
>/Home/Library/Preferences/ (copy the whole folder)
>/Home /Library/Calendars (copy the whole folder)
>/Home /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder)
>/Home /Library/Safari (copy the whole folder)
>
>If you want cookies:
>
>/Home/Library/Cookies/Cookies.plist
>/Home/Library/Application Support/WebFoundation/HTTPCookies.plist
>
>For Entourage users:
>
>Entourage is in /Home/Documents/Microsoft User Data
>Also in /Home/Library/Preferences/Microsoft
>
>Credit goes to Macjack for this information.
If you need to transfer data for other applications please ask the vendor or ask in the Discussions where specific applications store their data.
5. Once you have transferred what you need restart the new Mac and test to make sure the contents are there for each of the applications.
Written by Kappy with additional contributions from a brody.
Revised 1/6/2009

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