Upgrade to Mac Pro

Question

Next week I'm getting my new Mac Pro and will need to copy programs and settings from my iMAC 24" to the new MP. Should I use the transfer option when the MP first boots up or make an image of my iMAC with SuperDuper and then restore that to the MP? Thanks...
--Rocky

Answer 1

The easiest way would be to connect the two via Firewire cable and use Migration Assistant to transfer from the iMac to the MP. Because both are Intel Macs and the iMac is running 10.4.9 this should not present any problems.
The first thing you should do is repair the hard drive and permissions on the iMac:
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now shutdown the computer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
Next, you should startup the MP and update it to 10.4.9. After you setup the Mac Pro you can open Software Update to download and install any necessary updates. Obviously you will need an internet connection for this. After updating the Mac Pro you should shut it off.
Connect a Firewire cable between the two computers. If you have a FW800 cable then use the FW800 ports, otherwise use the FW400 ports. Read the following:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25773
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/05/17/tiger.html
Because you are migrating to the Mac Pro you should first boot the Mac Pro into Target Disk Mode and then boot the iMac normally. To boot the Mac Pro into TDM restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the "T" key until the TDM screen appears. Then boot the iMac normally. After the iMac starts up you should see the Mac Pro's disk drive on the iMac's Desktop.
You can use Migration Assistant to make mass transfers of Applications, user accounts, etc. You can also simply transfer the contents of selected folders:
<font "size=+1">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/com.apple.mail.plist (* This is a very important file which contains all email account settings and general mail preferences.)
/Home/Library/Preferences/ copy any preferences needed for third-party applications
/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 another forum user for this information.
You will find the results will be best if you use the same account shortname and password on the Mac Pro that you currently use on the iMac.
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