Can I Set Up My New Mac Again
Apple + How To
How to Prepare a New Mac: Should You Migrate or Exercise a Clean Installation?
Posted on Oct 20th, 2021 by 
If yous've just bought a new Mac, and you're upgrading from an older computer, you want all of your files and information to exist accessible on the new machine. But when y'all ready upward a new Mac, should you lot drift your old files or practice a clean installation?
When you lot go a new Mac, information technology might exist a proficient idea to do a clean installation; starting from scratch with a brand-new operating system, and re-create the files that you need from your one-time Mac manually. Here's how to migrate your files to your new Mac, or do a make clean installation, and the pros and cons of both methods.
How to drift files to a new Mac
Apple includes a useful tool every bit part of macOS: Migration Assistant. This feature is like to Setup Assistant, which only runs during the setup of a new Mac; therefore, if you have set up up your Mac as new, yous will have to use Migration Banana to copy files from either a fill-in or a different Mac.
When you ready a new Mac, the Migration Assistant offers to copy your files. To use this tool on a Mac, do one of the post-obit:
- Make sure both Macs are nearby. If you use wi-fi, with Macs running macOS Sierra or later, Migration Banana creates a peer-to-peer wi-fi network to transfer files. If either mac is running Mac Os X El Capitan or earlier, make sure they are connected to the same wi-fi network.
- Connect the new Mac to a difficult drive you've used for Fourth dimension Car backups.
- Connect the Macs using target disk mode; run into this Apple support document for more than on target deejay mode. This only works on Macs with Intel processors.
Select the Mac or hard drive from which you want to copy information, and and then select what type of data you want to transfer—user accounts, applications, other files and folders, and settings—and look while the files go copied.
Every bit you tin can run across, Migration Banana is easy to apply. It copies all your files, and you tin can choose which user accounts get copied over to the new Mac.
Notwithstanding, the disadvantage of using the Migration Assistant is that all your files get copied. This can be problematic because if you accept been upgrading your Macs over the years by installing new versions of macOS over one-time ones, or migrating data from quondam Macs to new ones, you'll have hundreds, even thousands of old files that yous no longer need taking up infinite. For this reason, yous might desire to consider doing a clean installation.
Clean Installation
When you practice a clean installation, you let macOS run its Setup Banana and create a new, empty user account. During the process, you enter some information, such equally your Apple ID, so your iCloud account is activated, but, for the nigh part, your Mac volition be a tabula rasa—a bare slate. Information technology will contain the default apps that are function of macOS, merely zilch more.
If you go this route, you then must manually copy files from your old Mac, or from a backup. This part of the process tin can be time-consuming, but it can allow you lot to sift through your files to observe what you really need, and slim downwardly your Mac. When you do this, you may be surprised to find how much you tin ignore from your onetime Mac.
Hither's what you need to copy after a clean installation:
Applications: macOS installs a number of applications, many of which you probably apply every day. These include Safari, Mail, Agenda, Music, Photos, and the iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote). Simply you lot likely use plenty of other apps on your Mac. If you have purchased apps from the Mac App Store, you lot'll demand to re-download them; these apps won't work if you re-create them from one Mac to another. But for apps you've purchased straight from developers, it can easier to copy them manually. (Though yous might too just want to download the latest versions, to ensure that yours aren't up to appointment.) And this is a skilful fourth dimension to make up one's mind which of the many apps in your Applications folder y'all want to continue. Y'all may find dozens of apps that you rarely apply. If so, don't copy them.
Your Home Folder: you lot want to copy virtually of the files from your home folder (that'due south the binder with the house icon and your username). You don't want to copy the folders at the top level of your home folder—Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Movies, Music, and Pictures—but rather the contents of these folders into the identically-named folders on the new Mac. Again, take this opportunity to bank check whether yous demand to keep all of the files in these folders.
Your Library Folder: at that place is a special folder in your home folder called Library. Past default, this folder is hidden, but it contains many files that you should re-create. For example, all of your email is in this binder, equally is the information in the Contacts app. First, you need to tell your Mac to display this folder. Go get to your home folder; you should come across folders like Documents, Pictures, Movies, etc. Choose View > Show View Options, or press Command-J, then, at the bottom of the window, check Prove Library Folder. It will at present be permanently visible.
In another Finder window, navigate to the sometime Library folder. If it'due south not visible, printing Control-Shift-G, then enter, for instance, /Volumes/fill-in-disk-proper name/Users/your-user-name/Library, and click Go. (Blazon the appropriate names for the backup disk and your user name.) You'll have two windows open.
Here are some of the folders that yous want to re-create from the old Library folder to the new 1; though if y'all sync a lot of data with iCloud, then many of the folders below will already be populated with your upward-to-engagement information:
- Awarding Back up; though look inside this folder, and only copy folders for apps yous're still using. Annotation that if you're syncing data via iCloud, a lot of this data volition already be available, then check the folders on the new Mac and don't overwrite ones that contain information that is up to date.
- Containers; this contains data for many apps, both from Apple and 3rd-party developers.
- Group Containers; as above, this has data from many apps,
- Calendars
- Fonts
- HomeKit; this has HomeKit settings, if you lot use those features.
- Music; this may contain AppleScripts, if you lot have used whatsoever with the Music app.
- Keychains; this contains all your stored passwords.
- Mail; this contains all your e-mail, and your electronic mail settings.
- Preference Panes; if there are any that yous've installed that yous yet use.
- Safari; this has your Safari bookmarks.
There'south a lot of important information in the Application Back up folder. In addition to the above folders, it's a expert idea to copy any folder whose modification engagement is in the past twelvemonth or and so. To exercise this, cull View > Equally List, then right-click the window header – where you see columns like Name and Size – and enable Engagement Modified. Click that header, to sort in date order. Get-go looking at the newest dates and work your mode dorsum. Too, if you run across folders with names for apps that yous know yous no longer use, then don't copy them. Do the aforementioned for the library folder in full general. But, bank check inside the folders to see if they contain contents with newer modification dates than those shown for the folders; this is probably a bug, but a lot of the folders in my Library folder have older modification dates than their contents. 1 folder you don't need to copy is /Library/Caches; this may exist quite large, and your apps will create new caches as you lot apply them.
I don't recommend that you copy the Preferences binder; this probably contains lots of files for apps you no longer use. I do, however, propose that you lot get through that folder and copy over any files or folders for apps that yous do utilise, especially if, when you launch them, their setup is unlike. However, yous may just want to manually reset the preferences for your apps; this is a good way to rediscover your apps and their interfaces.
You'll detect, every bit yous beginning working with the new Mac, that y'all will need to enter serial numbers for all of the apps that yous did not purchase from the Mac App Store. This is because many apps store invisible files on your Mac for registration purposes, and you haven't copied these. And then brand sure you know where your serial numbers are.
As you work on your new Mac, yous may find that sure files are missing. For this reason y'all should absolutely not delete your old fill-in, and especially the ~/Library folder. You may demand to go back into that folder and copy some other files to the new Mac.
While I don't recommend doing a clean installation for each new Mac you go, or for each macOS update, it's a good idea to do it every few years. Simply brand certain to keep a backup in case in that location are any files you need to find that you didn't copy over the showtime time around.
How can I learn more?
Each week on the Intego Mac Podcast, Intego'due south Mac security experts talk over the latest Apple news, security and privacy stories, and offering practical advice on getting the near out of your Apple devices. Exist certain to follow the podcast to make sure y'all don't miss any episodes.
We discussed setting up a new Mac in episode 61 of the Intego Mac Podcast.
Yous can also subscribe to our e-post newsletter and keep an eye hither on Mac Security Web log for the latest Apple security and privacy news. And don't forget to follow Intego on your favorite social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Virtually Kirk McElhearn
Kirk McElhearn writes about Apple tree products and more on his weblog Kirkville. He is co-host of the Intego Mac Podcast, also as several other podcasts, and is a regular contributor to The Mac Security Blog, TidBITS, and several other websites and publications. Kirk has written more than two dozen books, including Have Control books about Apple tree's media apps, Scrivener, and LaunchBar. Follow him on Twitter at @mcelhearn. View all posts past Kirk McElhearn →Source: https://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/setting-up-a-new-mac-should-you-migrate-or-do-a-clean-installation/
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