Best way to migrate from 2009 MBP to 2011 MBP

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hello,



So here is the situation I am hoping to get some advice on.

I have 2009 MBP and I just purchased a 2011 MBP along with a SSD to put into it. My 2009 MBP:

) is already running Lion with all software up to date

) running time machine backups



I want my new machine to be setup exactly the same as my current one.



What is the best way to go about getting my new machine setup?



Currently my plan is:

) Install the SSD into the 2011 MBP

) Boot 2011 MBP off OSX system disk

) restore 2011 MBP from my last 2009 MBP time machine backup



Thanks for any advice

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,343moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kozchris View Post


    What is the best way to go about getting my new machine setup?



    The quickest way would be to put your SSD into an external USB enclosure and clone your old system onto it. Then do a test boot from your new machine to verify it works ok and then put it inside the machine.



    After 2 years though, sometimes it's good to start from a clean install and just migrate your documents over. You can go the backup route or get a FW800 cable, put the old machine in target-mode and use migration assistant. If your backup drive is USB 2, target mode should go a bit quicker being FW800. It's also a good idea to reinstall apps vs migrating them.
  • Reply 2 of 3
    smaxsmax Posts: 361member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    The quickest way would be to put your SSD into an external USB enclosure and clone your old system onto it. Then do a test boot from your new machine to verify it works ok and then put it inside the machine.



    I'd say the easiest and fastest way would be to get a FW800 cable, boot your old computer in Target Disk mode (hold T at boot) then use migration assistant to pull over what you want.



    EDIT: Or the fastest way would be for me to read the whole post. Personally I'd still probably do the above, but swap in the new SSD and do a clean install of Lion on it first.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    For future reference:



    i swapped in the SSD drive and flashed with latest firmware



    downloaded the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant and installed on usb flash drive

    http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1433



    started new macbook with Lion Recovery Disk Assistant



    formatted ssd as Mac OS Extended Journaled with disk utility in recovery assistant



    started migration from 2009 TM backup over wireless, toooooo sloooooow

    stopped and plugged into Gigabit network



    2 hours for data to move and everything migrated perfectly!
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