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View Full Version : Restore to a different, but identical Mac

eranthomson
07-30-2019, 09:06 PM
My MacBookPro 15” 2012 died (fell out of my bag while I was on my motorbike)

I backed it up the day before :-)

What I’d like to do is restore from SuperDuper to an identical MacBookPro that we have — Ideally recreating the same computer settings, set up, apps, email accounts, etc without too much hassle so it feels like nothing happened.

What's the best way to do this please?

I prefer not to do a "clean" install of the OS and start completely from scratch.
dnanian
07-30-2019, 10:14 PM
Eran, as I said in response to your email, you should start up from the backup, properly erase the internal, then restore to it.
eranthomson
07-30-2019, 11:49 PM
Thank you.
I'm slow to get email at the moment with my current Mac not working :-)
eranthomson
07-31-2019, 07:08 AM
Just in case my email back didn't get through...

1. We have another nearly identical mac but it's HD is 500GB and mine is 1TB - the backup is around 680GB - is there a way to resolve this?

2. I discovered that the possible replacement Mac has a broken USB port and weak battery so I'm considering just ponying up for a new one. If wanted to get as close to a clean install as possible and try to avoid transferring over tons of old system crud, can I do this? ie migrate from a SuperDuper backup to a brand new Mac?

Thanks.
dnanian
07-31-2019, 08:29 AM
It came through, but after 10pm my time, so I didn't get to it until 8am or so. Sorry: I have to sleep every so often.

Anyway, here's what I said (slightly edited, since you've changed the phrasing and questions):

Well, it's not good that your data doesn't fit.

You'll need to exclude something large. I don't know what that's going to be, since only you know your data. But you'll use a copy script to do it - the User's Guide explains how in general.

It might be wise to get a 1TB SSD and put that into the system, then restore. Or now, given you know this isn't a very good Mac, to get a good one with an appropriately sized drive.

You can definitely migrate from a SuperDuper backup to a new Mac. Do it at first boot, as explained in this FAQ:

https://www.shirt-pocket.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5476