Reinstalling data from Time Capsule, but for only one user

Hello!
I just got a new-used MacBook Pro and need to use Time Capsule to retrieve my old hard drive's data, but I do not want to overwrite the existing data on the laptop's drive, since it is different, including the OS, I believe. I would like to split the disc, as it were, without partitioning it, for multiple users using Time Capsule. Can I safely use Time Capsule to put all the files only into one user account, or do I need to wipe the drive and partition...?

Anna Scott wrote:
Hello!
I just got a new-used MacBook Pro and need to use Time Capsule to retrieve my old hard drive's data, but I do not want to overwrite the existing data on the laptop's drive, since it is different, including the OS, I believe. I would like to split the disc, as it were, without partitioning it, for multiple users using Time Capsule. Can I safely use Time Capsule to put all the files only into one user account, or do I need to wipe the drive and partition...?
You can use the +Migration Assistant+ app to transfer one or more user accounts from the old Mac, without overwriting anything on the new one. Those will be a separate accounts, with the same logins as on the old Mac. Each user account will have it's own preferences, data, etc. See the pink box in #19 of Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum), for details.
That won't "merge" two or more user accounts, since each user's data is private. You can do that manually, if you want, by copying data from one user account to another, but it's rather tedious.
You may also need to be careful if there's a big difference in the versions of OSX and/or 3rd-party apps on the two Macs; you may have apps and/or data on one that aren't compatible with the other. In many cases, a newer version of an app will work with the data from an older version, but not vice-versa. You may want to check that out rather carefully first.
If that's a "deal breaker," there may be a (rather clumsy) workaround; partition the internal disk, so you have, say, Leopard on one partition and Snow Leopard on the other. Then boot from whichever you want. In that case, you'd do a full system restore to the new partition, per #14 in the FAQ. That will only work, though, if the Pro will even run the other version -- generally, a Mac won't run a version of OSX that's older than the Mac's hardware.

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