Migrating to new computer:library+license question

[The View]

Next week I'll be getting my new 24" matte display iMac, and so I'll be transferring my images and my catalogues.

I have three questions about that process:

1. Any tips about getting your library across without major data spill?

2. I have everything backed up on my external hard drive. If I plug in the hard drive into the new computer, will that computer see the same files in the same way the old ond (a G5 iMac) did?

3. I'll be erasing the software from my old computer before selling it (clean erase and reinstall of the system software plus system software and software bundle upgrades). Do I also have to unregister it, and then reregister with my new computer? (I heard you have to do that with Photoshop).

[Pelao]

Hi

It's not a complex process at all.

First, to be absolutely safe, back up important documents and images to Cds or DVDs. This is extra insurance.

Then, make a clone of your current Mac to the external drive. You can of course just save all your files and folders (including images) to the external drive, but a clone is much more effective, as you will see in a moment. A clone is an exact copy of your old computer.

To make the clone, download SuperDuper, a free app and follow the apps instructions - its really very easy.

Once the clone is made, do not yet erase everything from your G5.

When you get your new Mac, set it up close to the old one. Turn on the new Mac and run through all the se-tup procedures. At one point, it will ask you if you want to transfer files and settings from another Mac. Select yes, and follow the instructions.

(The instructions will tell you to connect the 2 Macs with a Firewire cable, then to restart the older Mac while holding down the 'T' key. This turns the older Mac into an external hard drive. You then select the User Accounts you want to copy to the new Mac, and away you go. I do this several times a week for clients, works beautifully.)

The result is that when you finish setting up the new Mac everything will be as it was, right down to your desktop picture, web bookmarks, applications, files and folders.

Then erase your the stuff on your old Mac (if you are concerned about security, check out the options in Disk Utility, which can really clean it).

Then all you have to do is enjoy your new Mac. Tough life.  

P.S. The reason for making the clone of your original drive is to ensure the option of migrating from that drive should something happen to your G5 drive. Also, as a by the way, the application that does the transfer is called Migration Assistant and it is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder, and can be used at any time to transfer accounts between Macs.

[The View]

Thanks, Pelao.

I fortunately already have SuperDuper.

I found the following paragraph in the SuperDuper manual:

QUOTE FROM SUPERDUPER MANUAL:

"Don't use SuperDuper to copy a full boot image from a PowerPC Macintosh to an Intel Macintosh. The OS isn't universal, and thus won't work properly on a new Mac.

Instead, use the migration assistant that appears during the first boot of your new Macintosh to copy your files, settings, and applications from your old macintosh (or from your copy) to the new one"

END QUOTE.

So the bootabe image is just a safety copy, just in case the migration assistant messes up?

And I will find my catalogues and images on the new computer, I guess.

But for back-up, should I overwrite the external hard drive with a bootable copy of my new computer (after successful transfer), so everything matches?

I heard that there can be problems, especially if you still have PPC only software (which I do).

[Pelao]

Thanks, Pelao.

I fortunately already have SuperDuper.

I found the following paragraph in the SuperDuper manual:

QUOTE FROM SUPERDUPER MANUAL:

"Don't use SuperDuper to copy a full boot image from a PowerPC Macintosh to an Intel Macintosh. The OS isn't universal, and thus won't work properly on a new Mac.

Instead, use the migration assistant that appears during the first boot of your new Macintosh to copy your files, settings, and applications from your old macintosh (or from your copy) to the new one"

END QUOTE.

So the bootabe image is just a safety copy, just in case the migration assistant messes up?

And I will find my catalogues and images on the new computer, I guess.

But for back-up, should I overwrite the external hard drive with a bootable copy of my new computer (after successful transfer), so everything matches?

I heard that there can be problems, especially if you still have PPC only software (which I do).
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There can indeed be issues, but they are very rare. There are only a few things which do not run well under the Rosetta emulator provided with Intel Macs. Just this week I have successfully migrated a G5 iMac to an Intel iMac, and a G4 PowerBook to a Mac Mini. If you do have an app or two that are difficult, just delete them from your new Mac and re-install directly. That's certainly better than doing all your apps. Interestingly, in my experience it's not so much the transfer of apps that causes trouble, but rather all the files and personal settings. With apps you just pull out the discs or download and away you go - it takes time, but it's not hard. With personal settings, such as bookmarks, mail settings, backups etc., it's another issue entirely.

With regard to SuperDuper - yes, it does not always work to boot a PPC clone to an Intel Mac - but you can use that clone to run the migration should there be an issue with the HD in your old Mac: migration does not require the clone to be booted.