Transferring your system - what method do you prefer?

440Hz

So lots of people on here are updating their Macs at the mo, replacing MBPs with the new models and the like. Thought it would be a good idea to have a thread about the various options for transferring existing systems for those of us who don't intend to start from scratch with the new machine.

I guess just tell us what you go for, and the proc and cons (that you know of) that are assocaited with both.


I'll kick it off I guess.

1. For all the Macs to date I always did a firewire transfer in target mode to mirror my existing system on the new machine. I found though that this misses any hidden files you might have in /usr/local, which can be a pain. At first I was very happy with this method, keeping everything in place, or so it seemed, but it wasnt until I would run something like xCode that I would start to find things were a bit fecked up on the new system.
   
2. So this time round... Im going to backup the original system by taking an image of it on an ext. I have 3 partitions on my existing machine and I dont want to keep all three of these on the new system, so a disc image seems like the best option for me. Also, I won't have the issue with the hidden files. Its a little more time consuming and not as nifty, but I think its that bit safer!

so... what do you do?

Gordon

I use the firewire in target mode method.

Would the option of reveal hidden files remedy the hidden files issue? (done via tinkertool for example). I haven't ever had a problem with that.

440Hz

Gordon wrote:

I use the firewire in target mode method.

Would the option of reveal hidden files remedy the hidden files issue? (done via tinkertool for example). I haven't ever had a problem with that.

Certain files in /usr/local that will only display using ls -al for example, dont get copied over when using target mode. eg some bash files etc that you might not notice are missing until you try and run an affected module. Some of these are system files which won't display even when you edit their visibilty using finder, only visible using the relevant unix terminal cmds
thats what ive found anyway!

Gordon

Interesting, thanks.

440Hz

No prob! Thats why I thought this thread would be a good idea, as different users come across different things!

babypink

i'm more of a dump everthing onto external HD kinda guy. I tend to keep running backups of everything externally, and use external storage for my mass storage (music, movies, photos etc..) with working copies of the most used stuff on by internal HD. Plus, I keep dmg's of my main apps so software re-installation isn't the worst.

Ok it's a bit laborious, but at least with a new machine/fresh re-install I can keep clutter on the boot disk minimal.

Dont be at yourself

It looks like Time Machine is going to take care of all of these problems for us, but if I had the storage, I'd probably make a disc image.

Hugh_C

440Hz wrote:

so... what do you do?

Carbon Copy Cloner

CCC version 3.0 beta (10.4.8 or later)

For previous systems, there's a more stable version.

From the site...

In its simplest form, CCC will clone one hard drive to another, copying every single block or file to create an exact replica of your source hard drive. This is very useful if, for example, your laptop is damaged and you must send it in for repair.

SouperComputer

hughchal wrote:

Carbon Copy Cloner

CCC version 3.0 beta (10.4.8 or later)

For previous systems, there's a more stable version.

From the site...

^ what he said. CCC has saved my ass a few times!

However its no good if you are changing archictecture.