Need a new iMac

[Betty LaRue]

3 hours ago, MDM said:

 

I am not so sure. You would probably need to be doing this on really vast numbers of images as I did with the experiment as the effect is small but maybe I guess if you never shut down your computer for a long time and kept opening folders. You can keep an eye on it yourself by opening Activity Monitor app which lives in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder, clicking on the Memory tab and see how much memory Finder is using.

 

Is that new Mac still in its box or have you got it up and running on your own? 🤔

It’s still in the box. I bought Carbon Copy Cloner and copied everything on my old to my external HD.  When I figure out how to copy only the files that should be copied over to the new, I’ll make a move. It’s also where to put them on the new for them to work. I’m still terrified I’ll do something wrong and not know how to undo it. I can’t imagine I can just drag them over to the new desktop and they’ll know what bed to tuck themselves in.

Plus I don’t know when to copy them to the new...in the middle of setup or after. I’ve spent time reading through this thread (after my company left) today, but my eyes glazed over on page 10. I need to pick up the reading again. I wish there was a way to put stars on the important parts of this thread.

I had family here all weekend with Mother’s Day celebrations, so I couldn’t have gotten anything done anyway. One of the best gifts I received was my son and son-in-law doing some heavy gardening chores for me that I can no longer do, with my back issues. I’m ready to plant my tomatoes, now.

[MDM]

7 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

It’s still in the box. I bought Carbon Copy Cloner and copied everything on my old to my external HD.  When I figure out how to copy only the files that should be copied over to the new, I’ll make a move. It’s also where to put them on the new for them to work. I’m still terrified I’ll do something wrong and not know how to undo it. I can’t imagine I can just drag them over to the new desktop and they’ll know what bed to tuck themselves in.

Plus I don’t know when to copy them to the new...in the middle of setup or after. I’ve spent time reading through this thread (after my company left) today, but my eyes glazed over on page 10. I need to pick up the reading again. I wish there was a way to put stars on the important parts of this thread.

I had family here all weekend with Mother’s Day celebrations, so I couldn’t have gotten anything done anyway. One of the best gifts I received was my son and son-in-law doing some heavy gardening chores for me that I can no longer do, with my back issues. I’m ready to plant my tomatoes, now.

 

Betty it is all so much simpler than you think. You don't need to read anything. You are confusing yourself with all that. 

 

Just start up the new computer and finish the installation of the macOS. All you need is your WiFi password, Apple ID and password and to answer a few very simple questions. There is nothing you can do that can't be changed later very easily. After you get it running you just get the new apps installed fresh. That is not difficult at all.

 

Carbon Copy Cloner is definitely not the way to go. You would be attempting to copy an old OS and old apps onto a new Mac if you attempt to clone the old disk and it is very unlikely to work properly if at all. You would be far better to use Migration Assistant which will probably work fine in any case. The only reason I suggested not using it is that it is really easy to do the whole thing without it but it is a far better solution than CCC. 

 

Anyway I don't think you are listening to me all along when I say how simple it is so I won't try to push you as I know you are resistant to that so best of luck but believe me it is far far far easier than you are making it. Perhaps the easiest thing would be to ring Apple Support as you get 90 days free and more if you took out Apple Care. They will probably talk you through it. 

 

 

[MDM]

Betty - I definitely recommend you use Migration Assistant. I didn't think you would be so very worried about it all or I would not have suggested doing a clean install. Using Migration Assistant will get all your settings over in the right place and you can remove anything you don't want afterwards. And you have Apple Support behind you. Start up rhe Mac, answer the questions and you will come to Migration Assistant after a while. Choose your method and off you go. Best of luck.

[Betty LaRue]

21 minutes ago, MDM said:

Betty - I definitely recommend you use Migration Assistant. I didn't think you would be so very worried about it all or I would not have suggested doing a clean install. Using Migration Assistant will get all your settings over in the right place and you can remove anything you don't want afterwards. And you have Apple Support behind you. Start up rhe Mac, answer the questions and you will come to Migration Assistant after a while. Choose your method and off you go. Best of luck.

Thank you, Michael. I thought CCC would allow me to only install things like the Library, mail, and those few things I want copied over while ignoring the rest of it, allowing me to have control.

[MDM]

5 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Thank you, Michael. I thought CCC would allow me to only install things like the Library, mail, and those few things I want copied over while ignoring the rest of it, allowing me to have control.

 

It may do Betty but I don't know and it is a complicated program - very good but complicated and I don't think it is the tool for the job at hand. If you can get to grips with CCC then you could do a clean install with your eyes closed. It would be much easier to use the Migration Assistant. Anyway bedtime for me. Enjoy the rest of Mother's Day. 

Edited May 10, 2021 by MDM

[Betty LaRue]

Thank you! 

[CAROL SAUNDERS]

Betty you have a lot of patience, I know it's difficult unboxing and moving it around on your own though.  When I got my new iMac I didn't know about Migration Assistant or CCC - probably just as well !  I just turned it on and followed the prompts on screen.  The only programme it wouldn't let me install was PS CS6 for which I had a licence, I think the technology had obviously changed!  After trying it about 3 times convinced I was doing something wrong which I wasn't, I moved to PS CC and it was fine.  

 

Hope all goes well with your install and new iMac ....

 

Carol

[Allan Bell]

14 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Or I might be thinking of finding a certain image, and open different folders to find it. I open one folder, close it, open another, etc.

 

Betty going back to the above statement. I don't know if you have ever used Spotlight search and Finder but I find them much easier and quicker to use than having to open and close lots of folders looking for a specific image.

You do need to have given your images a title/name so it can be searched rather than trying to remember an image number that is given by your camera.

 

If you have given your images names please try it.

 

Allan

 

[MDM]

3 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Betty going back to the above statement. I don't know if you have ever used Spotlight search and Finder but I find them much easier and quicker to use than having to open and close lots of folders looking for a specific image.

You do need to have given your images a title/name so it can be searched rather than trying to remember an image number that is given by your camera.

 

If you have given your images names please try it.

 

Allan

 

 

That is where the Lightroom catalog comes into its own. The search and filter facility for images is powerful and extremely fast. 

[MDM]

1 hour ago, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

Betty you have a lot of patience, I know it's difficult unboxing and moving it around on your own though.  When I got my new iMac I didn't know about Migration Assistant or CCC - probably just as well !  I just turned it on and followed the prompts on screen.  The only programme it wouldn't let me install was PS CS6 for which I had a licence, I think the technology had obviously changed!  After trying it about 3 times convinced I was doing something wrong which I wasn't, I moved to PS CC and it was fine.  

 

Hope all goes well with your install and new iMac ....

 

Carol

 

PSCS6 is 64 bit so in theory would work on Catalina or Big Sur which will only run 64 bit apps but the Adobe installer is 32 bit so it won't install. 

[Allan Bell]

10 minutes ago, MDM said:

but the Adobe installer is 32 bit so it won't install. 

 

Come on Adobe, KEEP UP!

 

Allan

16 minutes ago, MDM said:

 

That is where the Lightroom catalog comes into its own. The search and filter facility for images is powerful and extremely fast. 

 

I was assuming that Betty did not have these images in the LR catalogue yet.

 

Must admit that I have never used the search function in LR yet. Will have a look at it later today. Busy doing my washing at the moment.

 

Allan

 

[MDM]

3 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Come on Adobe, KEEP UP!

 

Allan

 

I was assuming that Betty did not have these images in the LR catalogue yet.

 

Must admit that I have never used the search function in LR yet. Will have a look at it later today. Busy doing my washing at the moment.

 

Allan

 

 

I somehow don't think Adobe are going to go back and reprogram the CS6 installer given that CS6 has not been available for several years now 

 

I recall that Betty doesn't use the Lightroom catalog and the subject caused a little consternation some time back so will not mention it further here 😀. 

 

I do recommend you check out the Lightroom search and filter facilities though Allan. It is an amazingly fast and extremely efficient database which can use a whole range of criteria for searching.

 

 

[M.Chapman]

16 hours ago, MDM said:

Betty - I definitely recommend you use Migration Assistant. I didn't think you would be so very worried about it all or I would not have suggested doing a clean install. Using Migration Assistant will get all your settings over in the right place and you can remove anything you don't want afterwards. And you have Apple Support behind you. Start up rhe Mac, answer the questions and you will come to Migration Assistant after a while. Choose your method and off you go. Best of luck.

100% Agree. For Betty, the migration assistant is probably the best way to go. Also 100% agree that Carbon Copy Cloner isn't the right tool for this. It's a great easy to use tool, but it won't do what Betty needs.

 

On the flip side.... I'm currently in the middle of trying a clean install of Catalina on an old MacBook Pro (which I'm using as a "sandbox" so I don't mess up my main system). I'm manually re-installing my apps and settings. The new install boots faster, and has definitely given the installation a good "spring clean", but after quite a few hours I'm still only about halfway through (and I'm supposed to know what I'm doing ).  Admittedly that's partly because I'm also taking the opportunity to try conpletely ditching iTunes (which I've never liked) and reworking my media collection and iPad and iPhone sync method, and because I don't have all my stuff on iCloud.

 

Once I've got everything working on my MacBook, I'll probably do a clean install of Catalina on my iMac and then use the migration assistant to transfer my "cleaned up" apps and data from my MacBook. But, it's a lot of work for what might be a relatively small gain (versus simply doing an in place upgrade to Catalina on both devices). But then, isn't that often the case with spring cleaning?? Maybe I'll just get a feeling of satisfaction afterwards.

 

Mark

 

[MDM]

1 hour ago, M.Chapman said:

100% Agree. For Betty, the migration assistant is probably the best way to go. Also 100% agree that Carbon Copy Cloner isn't the right tool for this. It's a great easy to use tool, but it won't do what Betty needs.

 

Mark

 

 

Easy is a very relative concept. Your easy might be another's brick wall or dense fog Mark. I bought CCC a while back mainly to make bootable backup volumes and it was great but there have been serious issues with bootable volumes on Big Sur, explained in detail in that link. I think that alone is enough to cause panic in the uninitiated. Now if I wanted to put my mind to it I could become adept at using CCC, as it is a good backup app as well but it is not high on the list of things to do right now.

 

But it is definitely not what Betty needs. As I said, if I had realised how much worry she is experiencing that she will do something wrong, even with things like copying files from one computer to another, then it would be an absolute no-brainer from the beginning - use the Migration Assistant. It is made for the job. 

 

Me I find it very easy to do a simple clean install because I have done it loads of times and I know what settings I might want to copy. In fact I rarely carry anything over outside of what I have in iCloud and the Apple Mail app (with that I just copy over various mailboxes) as most of my files (working and archive) are on external drives. It is simple to set up gmail on a new Mac and I just import the mailboxes. I just redo Photoshop shortcuts and Lightroom presets etc as it is good practice remembering how to do these. 
 

But it is important to understand that what one person finds easy, another will find difficult. 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by MDM

[M.Chapman]

48 minutes ago, MDM said:

Easy is a very relative concept. Your easy might be another's brick wall or dense fog Mark. I bought CCC a while back mainly to make bootable backup volumes and it was great but there have been serious issues with bootable volumes on Big Sur, explained in detail in that link.

 

I stand corrected - thanks for the link. I knew that there had been some teething problems with Big Sur, but hadn't realised they were persisting. Seems it's not all plain sailing with CCC and Catalina either. That's a shame, I've used CCC for ages and never had a problem and just used the default option (simples), but that was only as far as Mojave. I recall that Disk Utility can make clones https://www.lifewire.com/use-disk-utility-to-clone-macs-drive-4042367. I wonder if they are more relaible? Once I've migrated to Catalina maybe I should try DU instead of CCC? What do you use?

 

Mark

 

[MDM]

 

1 hour ago, M.Chapman said:

 

I stand corrected - thanks for the link. I knew that there had been some teething problems with Big Sur, but hadn't realised they were persisting. Seems it's not all plain sailing with CCC and Catalina either. That's a shame, I've used CCC for ages and never had a problem and just used the default option (simples), but that was only as far as Mojave. I recall that Disk Utility can make clones https://www.lifewire.com/use-disk-utility-to-clone-macs-drive-4042367. I wonder if they are more relaible? Once I've migrated to Catalina maybe I should try DU instead of CCC? What do you use?

 

Mark

 

 

Since the reported issue for Big Sur bootables, I've not bothered. I had only been using it a short time as well so it was a bit disappointing. I just back up my files. If I was to have a problem I would just reinstall. I only use a very small range of apps anyway so it really is not a huge deal. Back around Christmas I had a weird thing with my login password which I sorted out but decided to reinstall Big Sur which I'd only been using for a few weeks at the time. It took a few hours to reinstate everything but no problems since then. 

Edited May 10, 2021 by MDM

[Marianne]

I used migration assistant when I got my latest laptop and ended up with more stuff that I didn't need, but as Michael said you can then delete - but I like CCC and used that for the laptop I had before this one and just added the items I wanted after re-installing all my software. The only reason I used Migration Assistant instead this time is that CCC only copies items on your hard drive and iCloud in its infinite wisdom keeps your older files in the Cloud with placeholders on your computer. I didn't have the patience to go through my hundreds of folders one at a time download everything onto my computer. So, using Migration Assistant is an advantage in this case.

 

However, CCC is great for backing up and cloning a backup you can work from. You can use it to make a bootable backup and too back up any folders you.  Much better than Time Machine IMHO. In late 2011, when I had 2 computers crash within days of each other, it turned out my Time Machine backup was useless so it cost $2K to get the info off one of the drives (insurance paid half - I had a $1,000 deductible). Time Machine had run out of room and never gave me any warning. CCC is great. 

[Marianne]

3 minutes ago, MDM said:

 

 

Since CCC stopped working for Big Sur bootables, I've not bothered. I had only been using it a short time as well so it was a bit disappointing. I just back up my files. If I was to have a problem I would just reinstall. I only use a very small range of apps anyway so it really is not a huge deal. Back around Christmas I had a weird thing with my login password which I sorted out but decided to reinstall Big Sur which I'd only been using for a few weeks at the time. It took a few hours to reinstate everything but no problems since then. 

 

Had no idea about the Big Sur issue - yikes! I'm still using Mojave - my frustration level is such these days that if it's not broke I'm not fixing it, but I will need to upgrade one of these days. Thanks for the link re: disk utility. 

[MDM]

2 minutes ago, Marianne said:

 

Had no idea about the Big Sur issue - yikes! I'm still using Mojave - my frustration level is such these days that if it's not broke I'm not fixing it, but I will need to upgrade one of these days. Thanks for the link re: disk utility. 

 

Thank Mark for the Disk Utility link. I have never used it for that purpose but it might be an option alright. I am really used to having a very minimal internal drive with my files on externals now. I should probably start using CCC for backing up the externals but I currently do it manually. Big Sur or subsequent macOS will of course not be optional for anyone going the silicon route but it is nothing to fear. Apart from the CCC issue and the strange password thing which has never recurred, I have had no problems with it. 

[Marianne]

25 minutes ago, MDM said:

 

Thank Mark for the Disk Utility link. I have never used it for that purpose but it might be an option alright. I am really used to having a very minimal internal drive with my files on externals now. I should probably start using CCC for backing up the externals but I currently do it manually. Big Sur or subsequent macOS will of course not be optional for anyone going the silicon route but it is nothing to fear. Apart from the CCC issue and the strange password thing which has never recurred, I have had no problems with it. 

 

Not sure what you mean by this - going the silicon route?

 

I just got an update notice from CCC saying it fixes the Big Sur problem. 

[MDM]

23 minutes ago, Marianne said:

 

Not sure what you mean by this - going the silicon route?

 

I just got an update notice from CCC saying it fixes the Big Sur problem. 

 

Apple Silicon instead of Intel - the M chips currently at M1. Major change is afoot.

 

That is interesting about CCC. Must have a look. 

[MDM]

56 minutes ago, Marianne said:

 

Not sure what you mean by this - going the silicon route?

 

I just got an update notice from CCC saying it fixes the Big Sur problem. 

 

I am not clear about what is happening Marianne. It seems to work but there appear to be multiple issues with Big Sur. The link I posted was last updated on April 30, 2021, from their knowledge base and details issues with Big Sur, whereas on the website there is a banner that links to an article from Nov 30, 2020 that says it is fine.

 

Anyway I changed my post that you have quoted to "Since the reported issue for Big Sur bootables". It is very confusing and well beyond my knowledge and likely to stay like that for the foreseeable future. I am a dabbler with CCC, far from an expert. I like the program and would definitely recommend it as backup software. I think this whole discussion illustrates that CCC is a pretty complex program that needs quite a bit of background reading to understand how to use it properly.

Edited May 10, 2021 by MDM

[Betty LaRue]

I’m going to make a few calls tomorrow to see if one of the shops can do a clean install, and copy over the things I want like favorites, mail and such. If they can’t, or the cost is prohibitive, I’ll just do the migration assistant.

In any regards, I have to wait until it’s convenient for someone to come and lift the computers. I can’t do it. I took my old one down to have it cleaned. I scooted it in its box to the garage, but had to lift it to carry it down the steps, then up into the car. I’ll not try that again. Especially with two.

But I am leaning more toward migration assistant. Today I deleted more things on the old. Lots of apps. I went through each, and realized some of them were trials that I never bought at the end. I have three that I want to keep. I found the key to one, and will see if I can find the key to the others tomorrow. They are expensive and I don’t want to have to buy them again.

[MDM]

4 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

I’m going to make a few calls tomorrow to see if one of the shops can do a clean install, and copy over the things I want like favorites, mail and such. If they can’t, or the cost is prohibitive, I’ll just do the migration assistant.

In any regards, I have to wait until it’s convenient for someone to come and lift the computers. I can’t do it. I took my old one down to have it cleaned. I scooted it in its box to the garage, but had to lift it to carry it down the steps, then up into the car. I’ll not try that again. Especially with two.

But I am leaning more toward migration assistant. Today I deleted more things on the old. Lots of apps. I went through each, and realized some of them were trials that I never bought at the end. I have three that I want to keep. I found the key to one, and will see if I can find the key to the others tomorrow. They are expensive and I don’t want to have to buy them again.

I think you are going in the right direction there Betty. I didn’t realise you weren’t able to lift the new machine out of its box although the boxes often weigh as much as the iMacs. I expect asking somebody in a shop to do a manual install of your info and settings  could be expensive as it could be very time consuming and you would have to give them access to your passwords  It would be more likely that they would suggest using Migration Assistant. 

 

However, if you can manage to get somebody to help you get it out and plugged in, then a better bet might be to try Migration Assistant yourself. It should work without problems and the more stuff you don’t want that you remove from your old machine the better. Only call for help from the local guys with the transfer of information if you really need it. Don’t forget you have Apple Support on the phone as well. 
 

. 

[NYCat]

I use SuperDuper for my bootable clone and other back-ups and updates. I do find it "easy" and get quick responses with any questions. Can't get rid of that Quote box that I added accidentally. Don't even know how I did it. So the Forum is more difficult for me than SuperDuper.

 

Paulette

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by NYCat