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can you use an ethernet cable or HDMI cable for migration assistant

can you use an ethernet or HDMI cable to connect two mac to transfer data using migration assistant?


Posted on Jan 6, 2021 5:46 PM

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3 replies

Jan 7, 2021 8:51 AM in response to Peter Feer

rkaufmann87 beat me to it. When Apple dropped FireWire for Thunderbolt there was a period of time when we weren’t able to use Target Disk Mode and at the time I was working for an Apple reseller. My boss tasked me with determining the best solution. WiFi is too slow and times out. Ethernet should be a great solution and can be. But in my first go rounds I experienced more stalled migrations than I did successful ones. So at the time I concluded migration from a TimeMachine backup was the best solution - especially since everyone needs at least one backup and TimeMachine is a pretty decent solution.


Since then every summer I check out the current options and I still think a TimeMachine backup from an external drive is the optimal solution for most people.

Jan 7, 2021 7:55 AM in response to Peter Feer

Using Ethernet is not recommended due to a high failure rate.


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. 


can you use an ethernet cable or HDMI cable for migration assistant

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