How can I move photos from an old MAC to a new a MAC

I have an iMac purchased on in 2009. OS version is El Capitan. I would like to purchase a new IMac. How would I transfer files and photos to the new iMac?

iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on Feb 16, 2021 03:09 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 16, 2021 04:16 PM

Disregard TheMan88-8. Please do the following:


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 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% in my experience. WiFi was never intended to move large amounts of data at one time. Always use a USB connection, why....it just works.



2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 16, 2021 04:16 PM in response to kasmale13

Disregard TheMan88-8. Please do the following:


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 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% in my experience. WiFi was never intended to move large amounts of data at one time. Always use a USB connection, why....it just works.



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How can I move photos from an old MAC to a new a MAC

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