How
PosteddoorKirk McElhearnInJoshua Long 
If you just bought a new Mac and are upgrading from an older Mac or a Windows PC, you'll want all your files and data to be available on the new computer. But when setting up a new Mac, should you migrate your old files or do a clean install?
When you purchase a new Mac, it might be a good idea to do a clean install; Start from scratch with a brand new operating system and manually copy the files you need from your old Mac. How to migrate your files to your new Mac or perform a clean install, and the pros and cons of both methods.
How to Migrate Files to a New Mac
Apple has included a handy tool as part of macOS: Migration Assistant. This feature is similar to Setup Assistant, which only runs during the setup of a new Mac; Therefore, if you set up your Mac as new, you will need to use Migration Assistant to copy files from a backup or another Mac.
When you set up a new Mac, Migration Assistant offers to copy your files. If you want to use this tool on a Mac, here's what you need to doone of thethe following:
- Make sure both Macs are nearby. If both your old and new Macs are running macOS Sierra or later, Migration Assistant will create a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network to transfer files. If one of the Macs is running Mac OS X El Capitan or earlier, make sure both Macs are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
- If you're using an external hard drive for Time Machine backups on your old Mac, make sure the Time Machine backup was performed recently. Then safely remove it, disconnect it from the old Mac, and then connect it to the new Mac.
- Connect the Macs physically using a cable and target disk mode; to seethis Apple support document for more information about Target Disk Mode. (Note that only Macs with Intel processors can boot into Target Disk Mode. An Intel-based Mac booted into Target Disk Mode can connect to a new silicon-based Apple Mac, that is, a Mac with an M1/M2/ M3 processor.)
- If you are migrating from a PC running Microsoft Windows, Apple recommends that you first install all available Windows updates. Then run the appropriate version on your PCWindows-migratieassistentbased on the version of macOS you want to migrate your data to. (If you bought a new Mac in 2024, you'll want to choosecurrent versionfrom Windows Migration Assistant, which can transfer data to macOS Sonoma.)
You may see a security code on the old Mac; If so, make sure it matches the version shown on your new Mac.
Select the Mac or hard drive you want to copy data from, then select the type of data you want to transfer (user accounts, programs, other files and folders, and settings) and wait while the files are copied.
As you can see, Migration Assistant is easy to use. It will copy all your files and you can choose which user accounts you want to copy to the new Mac.
However, the downside to using Migration Assistant is that it copies all your files. This can be problematic because if you have upgraded your Macs over the years by installing new versions of macOS over old ones or migrating data from old Macs to new ones, you will have hundreds, even thousands of old files that you no longer have. . take up more space. For this reason, you may want to consider doing a clean install.
Run installation
When you perform a clean install, let macOS run the Setup Assistant and create a new, empty user account. During the process you'll enter some information, such as your Apple ID, so that your iCloud account will be activated, but for the most part your Mac willtaste buds- an empty plate. It will contain standard apps that are part of macOS, but nothing more.
If you choose this route, you'll have to manually copy files from your old Mac or PC or from a backup. This part of the process can be time-consuming, but it can allow you to sort through your files to find what you really need and slim down your Mac. When you do this, you might be surprised to find out how much you can ignore from your old Mac.
This is what you need to copy after a clean install:
Application: macOS installs a number of programs, many of which you probably use every day. These include Safari, Mail, Calendar, Music, Photos and iWork apps (Pages, Numbers and Keynote). But you probably use many more apps on your Mac. If you purchased apps from the Mac App Store, download them again; these apps won't work if you copy them from one Mac to another. However, for apps you purchased directly from developers, it may be easier to copy them manually. (Although you might also just want to download the latest versions to make sure yours isn't out of date.) And it's a good time to decide which of the many apps in your Applications folder you want to keep. You may find dozens of apps that you rarely use. If so, don't copy them. (If you're switching from Windows, you'll obviously skip this step; macOS can't run Windows apps natively, but you canrun Windows 11 on an Apple Silicon Mac for free.)
Your home folder: You copy most files from your home folder (that's the folder with the house icon and your username). You don't want to copy the top-level folders of your home directory (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Movies, Music, and Pictures), but the contents of those folders into the folders of the same name on the new Mac. Once again, take this opportunity to check whether you need to keep all files in these folders.
Van library folder: There is a special folder in your home folder called Library. By default, this folder is hidden, but it contains many files that you need to copy. For example, all your email from Apple Mail is in this folder, as is the information in the macOS Contacts app. First, ask your Mac to display this folder. Go to your home folder; you should see folders such as Documents, Pictures, Movies, etc. Choose View > Show View Options, or press Command-J, then check Show Library Folder at the bottom of the window. It will now be permanently visible.
In another Finder window, navigate to the old Libraries folder. If it's not visible, press Command-Shift-G and type for example: /Volumes/backupdiskname/Users/your username/Library and click Go. (Type the correct names for the backup drive and your username.) Two windows will open.
Here are some folders you will want to copy from the old library folder to the new one; However, if you sync a lot of data with iCloud, many of the folders below will already be filled with your updated data:
- Application support; However, look in this folder and only copy folders for apps you still use. Keep in mind that if you sync data via iCloud, much of this data will already be available. So check the folders on the new Mac and do not overwrite the folders that contain data that has been updated.
- holder; this contains data for many apps, both from Apple and from third-party developers.
- Group containers; as above this contains data from many apps,
- calendar
- Fonts
- HomeKit; this has HomeKit settings if you use those features.
- music; these could be AppleScripts if you used them with the Music app.
- Keychains; this will contain all your saved passwords.
- Already; this contains all your email and your email settings.
- Preference windows; if there is one you installed and are still using.
- Safari; this has your Safari bookmarks.
There is a lot of important data in the Application Support folder. In addition to the folders above, it's a good idea to copy any folder whose modification date is within the last year or so. To do this, choose View > As List, then right-click the window header (where you see columns like Name and Size) and check Date Modified. Click on that heading to sort by date. Start by looking at the most recent dates and work your way back. If you see folders with names for apps that you know you no longer use, don't copy them. Do the same for the library folder in general. But check the folders to see if they contain content with newer modification dates than those shown for the folders; this is probably a bug, but many of the folders in my library folder have an older modification date than their contents. One folder you don't need to copy is /Library/Caches; this can be quite large and your apps will create new caches as you use them.
I don't recommend copying the Preferences folder; there are probably a lot of files here for apps you no longer use. However, I recommend going through that folder and copying any files or folders to apps you use, especially if their settings are different when you launch them. However, you may want to manually reset the preferences for your apps; this is a good way to rediscover your apps and their interfaces.
When you start using your new Mac, you'll notice that you'll need to enter serial numbers for any apps you didn't purchase from the Mac App Store. This is because many apps store invisible files on your Mac for archival purposes and you have not copied them. So make sure you know where your serial numbers are located.
While you're working on your new Mac, you may find that certain files are missing. For this reason, you should definitely not delete your old backup, especially the ~/Library folder. You may need to go back to that folder and copy some other files to the new Mac.
While I don't recommend doing a clean install for every new Mac or every macOS update, it's a good idea to do so every few years. Make sure you keep a backup in case there are any files you should know you didn't copy the first time.
How can I learn more?
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