Best way to Transfering from old iMac to new iMac

If you use Migration Assistant it is an all or none. MA is recommended, it is MUCH easier to migrate and then go back and get rid of what you no longer want. Simply follow the steps below:

·       Always connect your old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk prior to startup, this will allow a migration from your TM backup and it will be dead simple! 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! This is the easiest, quickest and most reliable method to migrate from the old Mac to the new Mac 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. 

·       NOTE 1: You will likely need a USB A to USB C adapter, you can find them on Amazon for $10 or less. Something like: USB to USB C adapter

·       NOTE 2: 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. They do 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 an issue. 

Finally, my recommendation is not using Wi-Fi when doing Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant. Why, it simply fails in a lot of the cases reported in these forums. A wired connection is more reliable and the last thing you need is a failed migration when there are safe methods readily available. Please read and follow the directions in Setup Assistant and Migration Assistant. If you do not have a Time Machine backup of the older Mac then create one!If you are not aware of Time Machine, please read Back up your Mac with Time Machine and finally if you need an External Hard Disk to use as a Time Machine External Hard Disk then many experience users on these forums prefer the OWC Mercury Elite Pro due to it's reasonable price, high level of quality and ease of use. 

Hi there!

To avoid moving any unwanted files to your new Mac, I’d recommend using an external storage disk to move your files to, then move those wanted files to the correct locations on the new Mac.

This Apple Support article is a great resource for doing that: Connect and use other storage devices with Mac - Apple Support.

If you need an external storage disk, let us know what the model and year is of your current Mac, so we can suggest one that is compatible with both your current and new Mac.

Hope this helps!

-Jack

You can but I do not recommend that due to reliability issues. Be smart and follow the instructions provided. You need 1 thing:

1. External Hard Disk with more capacity, I suggested one already (OWC Mercury Elite Pro) please get that. Once the migration is done then simply use this External Hard Disk for the Time Machine backup on the new Mac!!! This is smart, don't be cheap it doesn't pay off in the long run.

I recently moved from iMac to Mac mini without using Migration Assistant or Time Machine which I understand to be somewhat all-or-nothing other than 3rd party apps you need to install yourself either way, and I am sure the experts will respond with more details and recommendations on the MA/TM process. But as long as you have a handle on your apps/data, it's just a matter of creating a new account on the new Mac thru the initial setup menus, sync'ing with iCloud which carries over a lot if you use that, skip the MA stuff then settle in on the new Mac like a new user - fiddle some settings (e.g. Display, Finder defaults), install 3rd party apps, set up your mail accounts, and copy your data back to the new machine in the appropriate directories (Documents, Music, Pictures etc). My default Photos Library sync'd itself up from the cloud I did not have to do anything, also mail accounts refreshed from gmail etc. After 8 years on the iMac and who knows what, I was happy to start from scratch and manage the setup and data migration myself as tho new to Apple. I did not care about any sort of app configuration/settings that may have been living in ~/Library that I didn't carry over. Been live on the Mac Mini for about a month and not needed to refer back to the iMac. That said I need to go back over it and make sure I didn't miss something. I also took a final TM backup of the iMac for good measure. Not for everyone but if you want to control the process it's perfectly doable. Hope this helps.

Then you need a backup External Hard Disk with more capacity. Generally speaking a Time Machine External Hard Disk should be a minimum of 2-3 the capacity of the internal drive. So you need a new Time Machine External Hard Disk!!!

And that is what you should do with the new Mac, use your old Mac's Time Machine backup to setup the new Mac. Simply follow the steps I provided, it's really that simple!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!