Bud in PA wrote:
Hello,
I use iCloud to back up my iMac.
No, you don't. iCloud does not backup Macs. It can only be used to store backups for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches.
On Macs you can use it to sync files to iCloud Drive, or Photos for the Photos app, but neither is an actual backup of your Mac.
My assumption was that everything on the hard disk gets backed up.
Nope. Nothing on a Mac is backed up to iCloud.
The thing that is confusing me is my iCloud drive is using 51.86GB. The hard disk says it's using 337.1GB. The reason I'm asking is I'm thinking of getting a new iMac and using my iCloud backup as the source for the migration.
Nope. You can migrate directly from the old Mac to the new Mac via Migration assistant, or use a Time Machine backup on an external drive or a networked drive.
My question is will I get everything from my current mac to my new mac using iCloud as the source for my data.
Nope. As no backup exists for your Mac on iCloud, you would get nothing. You can re-sync content by logging in to the same Apple ID, and things like Photos, Notes, Contacts and Calendar entries entries will be downloaded to the respective apps on the new Mac from iCloud if they exist there.
Anything else, would require Migration Assistant or a Time Machine backup.
click here ➜ Transfer to a new Mac with Migration Assistant - Apple Support
