nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

What are you saying they did? It is easy to move DATA from one computer to another. This thread is about being able to move PROGRAMS.

They could have imaged the old hard drive and cloned it to the new computer, but I hope not. For various reasons.

carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida

They will do what you ask them

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

So what did you ask them to do? If you asked them to move PROGRAMS, they should have said "You can't do that!"

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

Please tell me what you are talking about. What thing recommended by Microsoft?

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Mistype, should have said "...some apps that are moved..." instead of "things".

https://ppc.laplink.com/specialpages/us-branded-pcmover/

Moves all applications and files from one PC to another - No it doesn't work under all circumstances. I used it for my wife's new desktop two years ago. From a 2004 made Dell desktop to a 2015 made Dell desktop.

dwermske

Apple has had "Migration Assistant" for years. It is in the utility directory. It will migrate all programs that will run on the new operating system on the new machine. It notifies you of any programs that are not compatible. It also migrates the user directory and sub directories as well. It is reasonably fast and accurate. Any data that is outside the standard parameters can easily be copied and external drives can just be unplugged from the old and replugged to the new. I'm not sure that Microsoft has ever been that accommodating in providing such a program because it doesn't control both the software & the hardware environment like Apple does.

fantom Loc: Colorado

I assume you are talking about using TimeMachine---or is there a different way you did it? Using Migration Assistant for example? I'd be interested in which method is preferred and why.
Thanks

dwermske

TimeMachine can restore your entire machine including the OS depending on what you have selected for TimeMachine to backup or specific selected folders or files. TimeMachine can restore the same data as Migration Assistant but you have select exactly what files are necessary when restoring Programs from the Application folder plus the application data from the hidden Library folder under the users folder.

Migration Assistant is designed to migrate programs from the Application folder and the data from the logged-on Users folder including hidden folders that contain program security keys. It can also identify which programs will run under the OS on the new machine.

As to which program I prefer, it really depends on exactly what I am trying to accomplish. If I am attempting to recover my system drive or just some files on a drive then I would use TimeMachine. If I am transferring to a new machine with a newer OS then I would first use the Migration Assistant to get my programs and associated User data then depending on the amount of remaining data that was left, I might use either TimeMachine or direct copy. The original question was regarding transferring from an older machine to a newer machine. I assumed the OS was also a newer release. If the OS is the same the the easiest/fastest way would be to just use TimeMachine and restore the entire disk.

Another solution would be to use TimeMachine to restore over the new machine's hard disk regardless of the the new machines OS and then go back to Apple and upgrade the OS. I would NOT recommend this solution.

fantom Loc: Colorado

Thank you very much for the reply and your clear and concise explanation. It will be very helpful for me when I get a new Imac.
I appreciate you taking the time to give a complete answer, including options.

DickC Loc: NE Washington state

I usually lose everything, I wish I still had Windows97, at least I understood it!!