Migrating from 2010 iMac to a new one
What is the best way to migrate all files/apps from a 2010 iMac to a new one? The old iMac only has the first gen USB and one Firewire port.
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When you buy a new Mac the easiest, quickest and most reliable method is to simply connect the old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk to the new Mac using a USB cable before you turn on the new Mac. When you start the new Mac for the first time it will startup Setup Assistant (SA), SA will get to a point where it asks if you are migrating from another computer, select Yes and follow the on-screen prompts and it's done! It is THAT simple.
If you do not have a Time Machine backup, create one ASAP!!! I'd recommend using a OWC Mercury Elite Pro. You can use it as your backup EHD for the new Mac. Operating ANY computer without a backup plan is irresponsible and 100% guarantee of lost data.
If you have already done SA on the new computer then simply connect the Time Machine External Hard Disk using a USB cable and launch Migration Assistant (MA) which is located in Applications - Utilities - MA. Then follow the on-screen prompts.
The ONLY difference between MA and SA is MA will create a new user account that you need to log into.
Both SA and MA migrate applications (not 32 bit apps) , data files, settings, it does not migrate Mac OS itself. Some professional apps such as Adobe and Microsoft apps may require re-installing their apps as they will not allow them to be migrated. As long as you kept the security keys for installing their apps, it is not a big deal.
Finally, NEVER EVER use WiFi to migrate, this will fail in almost 100% of the situations in my experience. WiFi was never intended to move large amounts of data at one time.