New Clean Mac - Best Migration Path?

I currently have a iMac G5 running Tiger and iLife 06 and have just recieved a new iMac with Leopard pre-installed and was looking for some advice in the best migration path.
I would like to know wether people recommend just using the Migration Assistant to get everything across or should I start afresh and copy across specific photos, music, mail files etc?
The question stems from the fact that the G5 has had a couple of upgrades in its time and I look at things such as the iphoto library files and they seem to be mutiple libraries (ie iphoto library, iphoto 6 library) and other duplicate files. So not sure if MA will sort and clean these out or will copy all across?
Any thoughts would be apreciated........thanks Daniel

Hello Daniel,
Very similar issues here. Just upgraded from a G4 to an intel 2.4G. I cloned the G4 onto an external. Set up the new iMac. Connected to the external and ported across only those files I wanted or needed. Now have a clean iMac with no clutter or unwanted junk on it. Double checked that everything was in order before wiping the external and cloning again.
Hang on to the G5 - Just in case you missed something. A flash drive or CD will resolve any issues.
Regards
Ian

Similar Messages

11gR2 RAC stability and migration path

We are preparing to go from a 10g Data Guard environment (1 primary and 1 physical standby) to an 11g RAC cluster on Sun M5000s (Data Guard will not be part of the final configuration). We have heard that 11gR2 RAC is not yet mature enough so we are considering going to 11gR1. I'm curious what the general consensus is regarding the stability of 11gR2 RAC.
Also wondering what the best migration path would be. We are considering upgrading the 10g Data Guard databases to 11g and then creating a RAC physical standby database on the 11g cluster for the primary database on the old server. The migration to the new RAC cluster will consist of a failover to the new 11g RAC database and will involve minimal downtime. The 10g Data Guard databases and servers will then be decommissioned.
Thoughts?

You will be surprised if I said Oracle RAC11gR2 seems to be a new version NOT a new realease of Oracle RAC11gR1.
Many new features, surprises, bugs, yes bugs....
I suggest to directly address to Oracle itself , to your support at Oracle , as it seems to be a production DB. DOnt take the risk to decide from this forum , ask oracle experts at your support!
Good luck

Migration Question for New Leopard Mac Mini

Oh my... I have a new Leopard Mac Mini still in the box!
I want to connect it up and migrate my iTunes and iPhoto libraries, etc. to it from my old Mac Mini but here's the thing: my old Mac Mini is a G4, powerpc mac has been through a sort of mini **** lately and at this time will need it's hard disk repaired before I will be able to get it back up to 10.4.11 and Safari 3.0.4. that it had had only last week, before all manner of disasters happened after the last security update. Genius bar made it relatively functional by re-installing the OS but they used 10.4.7 and Safari 2.0.4. to do it! So here is my question: Do I need to get my PPC Mac back up to snuff completely before I can migrate stuff from it to the new Leopard Mac Mini or can I do the migration and get everything nice and lovely on the new machine even though there are still problems on the old Mac Mini?
Here is the problem that the PPC G4 Mac Mini has at this time:
Verifying volume "Macintosh HD"
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid index key
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair
Would this pose a problem in the migration?
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much! -Charlotte

The best thing I can say about your post is that at least you realize that Installing Leopard on a broken Tiger and a G4 processor files is exactly how hundreds of the problems are being caused. Too many people have decided that "Apple Just Works" and figure that installing the newest most complex MacOS ever will just work. These people are getting "worked".
Good Luck cleaning up your machine to tip-top shape to 10.4.11, with every update for every program you intend to transfer. Your drive must be squeeky clean, or you will have problems that nobody can explain. I'd recommend removing any applications you don't have to have or that you can reinstall easily with a program like App Zapper and get rid of the G4 system files as much as possible.

I Photo will not update after migrating from old I-Mac to new I-Mac with fusion drive

I just migrated from 2009 I-Mac with Mountain Lion to New I-Mac with Mountain Lion with migration Assistant. Now... I tunes will not update although Apple says one is available

a couple of things - you should not "migrate" applications - you should use the new ones that come preinstalled - what version of of iPhoto do you have on your new mac?
Migration assistance does not handle the iPhoto library well sometimes - the best way is to drag the bad iphoto library from the pictures folder on the new system to the desktop, connect the two systems together (network, firewire target mode, etc) and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity from the old system to the pictures folder of the new system and launch iPhoto on the new system - it will open and convert the iPhoto library as necessary and you will be fine - once you test the iPhoto library you can delete the one on the desktop
LN

I'm new to mac. Is there a need for Clean my Mac?

I'm new to mac. Is there a need to have Clean my Mac on my computer?

How to maintain a Mac
Make two or more backups of all your files
One backup is not enough to be safe. A copy of a backup doesn't count as another backup; all backups must be made directly from the original data.
Keep at least one backup off site at all times in case of disaster. Backing up to a cloud-data service is one way to accomplish this, but don't rely exclusively on such backups.
In fact, don’t rely exclusively on any single backup method, such as Time Machine.
If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it.
Keep your software up to date
In the App Store or Software Update preference pane (depending on the OS version), you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home. Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis.
Keeping up to date is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Don't install such modifications unless they're absolutely necessary. Remove them when they are no longer needed. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all system modifications that you use are compatible. Incompatibility with third-party software is by far the most common cause of difficulties with system updates.
Don't install crapware
...such as “themes,” "haxies," “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers," “optimizers,” “accelerators,” "boosters," “extenders,” “cleaners,” "doctors," "tune-ups," “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” "barriers," “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial "virus scanners,” "disk tools," or "utilities." With very few exceptions, such stuff is useless or worse than useless. Above all, avoid any software that purports to change the look and feel of the user interface.
It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the whole "utility" software industry for the Mac is a fraud on consumers. The most extreme examples are the "CleanMyMac," "TuneUpMyMac," and “MacKeeper” scams, but there are many others.
As a rule, you should avoid software that changes the way other software works. Plugins for Photoshop and similar programs are an obvious exception to this rule. Safari extensions, and perhaps the equivalent for other web browsers, are a partial exception. Most are safe, and they're easy to get rid of if they don't work. Some may cause the browser to crash or otherwise malfunction. Some are malicious. Use with caution, and install only well-known extensions from relatively trustworthy sources, such as the Safari Extensions Gallery.
Only install software that is useful to you, not (as you imagine) to the computer. For example, a word processor is useful for writing. A video editor is useful for making movies. A game is useful for fun. But a "cache cleaner" isn't useful for anything. You didn't buy a computer so you could clean caches.
Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve. Do not rely on "utilities" such as "AppCleaner" and the like that purport to remove software.
Don't install bad, conflicting, or unnecessary fonts
Whenever you install new fonts, use the validation feature of the built-in Font Book application to make sure the fonts aren't defective and don't conflict with each other or with others that you already have. See the built-in help and this support article for instructions.
Deactivate or remove fonts that you don't really need to speed up application launching.
Avoid malware
"Malware" is malicious software that circulates on the Internet. This kind of attack on OS X was once so rare that it was hardly a concern, but it's now increasingly common and dangerous.
There is some built-in protection against malware, but you can’t rely on it—the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense. You can’t rely on third-party "anti-virus" products for protection either. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness—not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable.
Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. If in doubt, do some research. Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy. Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must come directly from the developer's website. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from the web, without your having requested it, should go straight into the Trash. A web page that tells you that your computer has a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with it, is a scam.
In OS X 10.7.5 or later, downloaded applications and Installer packages that have not been digitally signed by a developer registered with Apple are blocked from loading by default. The block can be overridden, but think carefully before you do so.
Because of recurring security issues in Java, it’s best to disable it in your web browsers, if it’s installed. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This action is mandatory if you’re running any version of OS X older than 10.6.8 with the latest Java update. Note: Java has nothing to do with JavaScript, despite the similar names. Don't install Java unless you're sure you need it. Most people don't.
Don't fill up your disk or SSD
A common mistake is adding more and more large files to your home folder until you start to get warnings that you're out of space, which may be followed in short order by a startup failure. This is more prone to happen on the newer Macs that come with an internal SSD instead of the traditional hard drive. The drive can be very nearly full before you become aware of the problem.
While it's not true that you should or must keep any particular percentage of space free, you should monitor your storage use and make sure you're not in immediate danger of using it up. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of free space on the startup volume for normal operation.
If storage space is running low, use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the most space. Move seldom-used large files to secondary storage.
Relax, don’t do it
Besides the above, no routine maintenance is necessary or beneficial for the vast majority of users; specifically not “cleaning caches,” “zapping the PRAM,” "resetting the SMC," “rebuilding the directory,” "defragmenting the drive," “running periodic scripts,” “dumping logs,” "deleting temp files," “scanning for viruses,” "purging memory," "checking for bad blocks," "testing the hardware," or “repairing permissions.” Such measures are either completely pointless or are useful only for solving problems, not for prevention.
To use a Mac effectively, you have to free yourself from the Windows mindset that every computer needs regular downtime for maintenance such as "defragging" and "registry cleaning." Those concepts do not apply to the Mac platform.
A well-designed computing device is not something you should have to think about much. It should be an almost transparent medium through which you communicate, work, and play. If you want a machine that needs a lot of attention just to keep going, use a PC, or collect antique cars.
The very height of futility is running an expensive third-party application called “Disk Warrior” when nothing is wrong, or even when something is wrong and you have backups, which you must have. Disk Warrior is a data-salvage tool, not a maintenance tool, and you will never need it if your backups are adequate. Don’t waste money on it or anything like it.

I have a PPC iMac 10.4.11 and will shortly buy a new i Mac. What is the best way to transfer all my HD date from old to new? Thank you!

I have a PPC iMac 10.4.11 and will shortly buy a new i Mac. What is the best way to transfer all my HD date from old to new? Thank you!

Migrating from PPC Macs to Intel Macs:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2295
How to use Migration Assistant:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4413?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1963
Troubleshooting Firewire target disk mode:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

MIGRATING FROM POWER PC G5 TO NEW i MAC

Approx how long should it take & is connecting machines via ethernet cable the fastest?
Anything to watch out for?
Thanks.

Depends on how much you need to migrate. Ethernet is not the fastest. FireWire is faster - Target Disk Mode - and is what you will need to do using Migration Assistant. However, there are some caveats when migrating from a PPC to an Intel Mac:
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.
Before migrating or installing software on your Intel-Mac check MacFixit's Rosetta Compatibility Index.
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

I just bought a new Mac and migrated my CS6 over. Now when I open it, I'm told I'm running a trial version of Cloud. Why can't I use my CS6 version that I purchased? I don't want to pay for something I've already bought.

I just bought a new Mac and migrated my CS6 over. Now when I open it, I'm told I'm running a trial version of Cloud. Why can't I use my CS6 version that I purchased? I don't want to pay for something I've already bought.

Here's how to convert the Trail to Permanent:
On receiving Trial/Trial Expired screen
Make sure that you are online
Click on license this software
Perpetual product owners: Log in with adobe ID and enter product serial number
Product should be licensed successfully

I purchased lightroom and photoshop a week ago and installed it successfully on my new iMac. the open box iMac ended up being a lemon so i had to exchange it for a new one. best buy wiped the old computer clean. now id like to reinstall the lightroom a

I purchased lightroom and photoshop a week ago and installed it successfully on my new iMac. the open box iMac ended up being a lemon so i had to exchange it for a new one. best buy wiped the old computer clean. now id like to reinstall the lightroom and photoshop to my new computer but i don't know how. help!

Download and install the trial version from http://www.adobe.com/downloads.html and activate it with your serial number or Adobe ID.

I have a new Macbook Pro. All data from prior Mac was migrated to new Mac. If I run Time Machine and "inherit" the old backups will TM take up where I left off, or delete and overwrite the current data?

I have a new Macbook Pro. All data from prior Mac was migrated to the new Mac. I want to continue Time Machine on the new Mac and retain the history. An option is to "inherit" the old Time Machine. I want to make sure this does not errase the current data, but creates a current backup.

Please visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.

I bought a new computer running Lion 10.7.3 and transferred my applications and files from my old Mac using migration assistant but I can't find/transfer my photos from iPhoto and I can't find my old documents such as previous tax returns.

I bought a new computer running Lion 10.7.3 and transferred my applications and files from my old Mac using migration assistant but I can't find/transfer my photos from iPhoto and I can't find my old documents such as previous tax returns.

Look for them on your old computer, when found copy the files to a USB drive and move them to the new computer.

HT201250 I have had my mac stolen, I have an external HD I connect via USB for these time machine backups, I now have a new replacement mac and wish to restore from my external HD, migration assistant doesn't seem to recognise or see my drive ? please hel

I have had my mac stolen, I have an external HD I connect via USB for these time machine backups, I now have a new replacement mac and wish to restore from my external HD, migration assistant doesn't seem to recognise or see my drive ? please help

See Pondini's Excellent information here...
Setting-up a new Mac from an old one, its backups, or a PC
See the Second Chance to Use Setup Assistant here...
http://Pondini.org/OSX/SetupLion.html

Help.   New Mac Mini, migration, networking

Hi All,
I had a 2009 Mac Mini that was networked over wifi with my three other computers. I just purchased a new 2011 Mac Mini to replace it.
I hooked the new mac mini up to a TV and it said it could not run setup assistant while connected to this TV so it automatically created a user called "administrator".
I then took it to the Genius bar.   I wanted to get this user called "administrator" deleted and to migrate my own user (called MacMiniAnna).   They did migrate my user information using migration assistant and they did delete the user called administrator however...
When I try to network to the new Mac Mini it is still called "administrator's Mac Mini"   I want it to be named "Anna's Mac Mini"
And even though I went to the Mac Mini and turn file sharing ON for my entire home folder and said that everyone could read and write, I am not able to network to this computer from the other computers.
You can see what the problem looks like here:
http://kuperberg.com/clients/NetworkProblem.png

I feel that I can fix this whole thing if I can get the mac mini back to the state it was when I opened the box.   And then start all over, migrate my old data without creating this "administrator" account first.     Does anyone know how to just get the Mac Mini back to the original out of the box state?

How can i migrate my users from my laptop running 1.7.1 to my new i mac running 1.6.8

hi i tried to migrate my user info from my laptop to my new i mac and it wont do it until i update my i mac . i cant do this as the laptop is on 1.7.1 and the i mac is on 1.6.8. both are the current version. thanks

Lion Up-To-Date upgrade
"The Mac OS X Lion Up-To-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge via the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 6, 2011. Users must request their Up-To-Date upgrade within 30 days of purchase of their Mac computer. Customers who purchase a qualifying Mac between June 6, 2011 and the date when Lion is available in the Mac App Store will have 30 days from Lion’s official release date to make a request." See below:
OS X Lion - Get up to date
Apple Stores may still be carrying inventory of the models that did not have Lion pre-installed, hence the above offer. Product that is ordered from the Online store should come with Lion pre-installed as will CTO (configure to order) models.
And, babowa reminds me that you could install Lion on a separate partition in order to keep Snow Leopard's installation. You can create a second partition using Disk Utility.
To resize the drive do the following:
1. Open Disk Utility and select the drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list.
2. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. You should see the graphical sizing window showing the existing partitions. A portion may appear as a blue rectangle representing the used space on a partition.
3. In the lower right corner of the sizing rectangle for each partition is a resizing gadget. Select it with the mouse and move the bottom of the rectangle upwards until you have reduced the existing partition enough to create the desired new volume's size. The space below the resized partition will appear gray. Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed. (Note: You can only make a partition smaller in order to create new free space.)
4. Click on the [+] button below the sizing window to add a new partition in the gray space you freed up. Give the new volume a name, if you wish, then click on the Apply button. Wait until the process has completed.
You should now have a new volume on the drive.
It would be wise to have a backup of your current system as resizing is not necessarily free of risk for data loss. Your drive must have sufficient contiguous free space for this process to work.
Once you have your Lion installer application you can create a bootable USB flash drive (8 GB size):
Make Your Own Lion Installer
1. After downloading Lion you must first save the Install Mac OS X Lion application. After Lion downloads DO NOT click on the Install button. Go to your Applications folder and make a copy of the Lion installer. Move the copy into your Downloads folder. Now you can click on the Install button. You must do this because the installer deletes itself automatically when it finishes installing Lion.
2. Get a USB flash drive that is at least 8 GBs. Prep this flash drive as follows:
Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
3. Locate the saved Lion installer in your Downloads folder. CTRL- or RIGHT-click on the installer and select Show Package Contents from the contextual menu. Double-click on the Contents folder to open it. Double-click on the SharedSupport folder. In this folder you will see a disc image named InstallESD.dmg.
4. Plug in your freshly prepared USB flash drive. You are going to clone the InstallESD.dmg disc image to the flash drive as follows:
Open Disk Utility.
Select the USB flash drive from the left side list.
Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
Check the box labeled Erase destination.
Select the USB flash drive volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
Drag the InstallESD.dmg disc image file into the Source entry field.
Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
When the clone is completed you have a fully bootable Lion installer that you can use without having to re-download Lion.

Need Advice: New Intel Mac Mini Still In The Box

Hi!
Okay.. I know... I have several posts going here as I have several issues I am trying to solve rather simultaneously. Thanks for being patient with me.
I have my old 1.25 Ghz PowerPC Mac Mini running 10.4.11 and all was well and happy. Then Security Update 2007-009 happened and all went to ....well... you know and, yes, it was bad! Went to Apple, got it running of sorts as they re-installed the OS, but they used an old version of OS X. (10.4.7. Can you believe that?) This caused other problems. It continues to have all sorts of difficulties, as I have had to get applications to re-recognize that the computer is back up to 10.4.11. Currently, I am struggling with trying to get iTunes to access it's music folders on the external hard drives. Realized that I hadn't even gotten around to figuring out whether or not some of my other applications work, like some of the games and third party, etc.
The thing is I got a new Intel Mac Mini for Christmas and it's still in the box because as I suspected I need to get my old mac perfect again before I can even think about migrating stuff over to the new Mac. But.. here's the thing... it's starting to look pretty much like 2008 will come and go before I can get the old Mac ready enough to take the new Mac out of the box. This really is rather silly!
Now... I can't get the old Mac to see the music and it made me think. I have all of my iTunes music and iPhoto backed up on an external hard drive (I used Apple's "Back-up" software to do it) and in addition to this two complete copies of the iTunes music and iPhoto photos albums on two separate external hard drives. Should I just forget using migration assistant? Can I get my music and my photo albums into the new mac directly from the external hard drives?
Or...can I use "back up" to restore the music and photos into the new Mac?
I am starting to think that the best way to get my new Mac running is not risk it by attaching it to my old Mac. What do you think?
Thank you so much for any advice or experiences you can give. -Charlotte

I know that I am vacillating back and forth as to what to do. Thanks so much for being patient with me. All of your advice is really appreciated and I am at least closing in on deciding on my strategy. Probably will follow your first response advice, especially considering that some of the third party apps may not have updates to handle Leopard quite yet. Anyway... it's a good strategy since everything is on the externals anyway.
You can say that fine.
Ha ha ha.... yes, I've been messing around with computers since my parents bought our first Apple computer back in 1979. Just like you, I've never had a serious problem with any of the computers and we've had them all, running all sorts of things from the Original Apple and Apple IIc (which my parents still have and it still runs!) to the Commodore and all the Windows permeations and then on to the Macs running Jaguar, Panther and Tiger, probably because we've always been careful with the machines and what we install in them and how we update them. I have always kept my computers on UPS' and un-plug them when storms brew outside. As it is I am still using my eight year old Windows 98 computer, (for games mostly) and it still runs quicker than most peoples windows pcs and it's only a 740 Megahertz.
I haven't had to re-install anything, especially on this lovely little Mac Mini until now and wouldn't have in this situation, had I known more. I had taken the little Mac Mini in for a Procare "Tune-Up," only four days before the big up-date disaster. Not sure what they did to my mac in the tune-up but the guy gave me back the machine assuring me that the computer was perfect with no problems in answer to my asking "were they sure?" Even after the Genius Bar techs at the Apple Store re-installed the OS to fix the big problems it seems that no one ever thought to run verify disk. Had the Genius Bar techs at the time of the tune-up done this, or at least told me to do this, the last security update would not have wrecked so much havoc. It was only after I got the machine back from Apple that second time that I found that the directory had been corrupted when I ran disk verify. Actually it is amazing that I have had this little Mac Mini for so long and so not have had any problems on it that I would be able to go so long without having to know this really pretty important aspect of keeping one's mac in good running shape. I had been running maintenance scripts and permissions verify and repair and thought that was all there was to it. Silly! You know... that really is a testimony of how nice these little machines are.
Anyway... experience is a good teacher and I have learned so much it's actually been great! This stuff is pretty interesting.
Now... on to Leopard!
Thanks so much and you have a great New Year! -Charlotte

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