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I am replacing my old Mac (2011) with a new one 2020 model. I need to transfer all the info from the old to the new, however, there are some items I do not wish to save or transfer. What are my options? I am 72 years old and I am not very computer savvy and I have a fear of causing a catastrophic problem. My first thought would be to call apple for one on one guidance.
mikefromhonoraville Said:
"Set up of new computer: I am replacing my old Mac (2011) with a new one 2020 model. I need to transfer all the info from the old to the new, however, there are some items I do not wish to save or transfer. What are my options? I am 72 years old and I am not very computer savvy and I have a fear of causing a catastrophic problem. My first thought would be to call apple for one on one guidance."
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Two Things:
With 32-bit applications no longer usable, contact the Developer of the application(s) you have installed on your older Mac. Ask them if the have a 64-bit version, and if you can transfer it over. Transferring it would be up to them, as it all comes down to licensing.
If you are looking to rid of you older Mac, be certain to disassociate it from you current account, back it up, and then install it anew. Go Here: What to do Before you Sell, Give Away, or Trade in your Mac - Apple Support
mikefromhonoraville Said:
"Set up of new computer: I am replacing my old Mac (2011) with a new one 2020 model. I need to transfer all the info from the old to the new, however, there are some items I do not wish to save or transfer. What are my options? I am 72 years old and I am not very computer savvy and I have a fear of causing a catastrophic problem. My first thought would be to call apple for one on one guidance."
-------
Two Things:
With 32-bit applications no longer usable, contact the Developer of the application(s) you have installed on your older Mac. Ask them if the have a 64-bit version, and if you can transfer it over. Transferring it would be up to them, as it all comes down to licensing.
If you are looking to rid of you older Mac, be certain to disassociate it from you current account, back it up, and then install it anew. Go Here: What to do Before you Sell, Give Away, or Trade in your Mac - Apple Support
You don't want to transfer or use 32 bit programs with macOS Catalina or Big Sur. I don't use hardly any third party programs, mostly Apple default supplied. So the only files I save then transfer manually by copy then paste basically are file I moved initially or created. These would be Movies, Music, Documents and Photos.
First move the items you don’t wish to transfer to the new Mac to trash. Make a TimeMachine backup of your old Mac to an external drive. Connect the external drive with the TimeMachine backup to the new Mac. Boot the new Mac. Use migration assistent (just follow the instructions) to set up the new Mac. Use the external drive to make further backups of the new Mac.
Feel free to ask if you have some more questions
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.
Thanks for the feedback. There are a few things on my old computer I DO NOT WANT on my new Mac. How do I select which ones I install from my external drive?
If you use a TimeMachine back up drive you can't select e.g some. apps or files: it's all apps or none, all files or none etc
You can e.g. move all files and then delete the ones you don't want from your new Mac
Migration Assistant is an all or nothing proposition for file types so you are wise to plan in advance. Specifically what type of info do you not want not want on the new Mac?
Set up of new computer
