Mini to Mini

[Anon E Mouse]

Okay, so after becoming a Mac convert less than a year ago I'm now looking to add a second mini to the house. My wife's pc is starting to sputter a bit and I see a mini in her future - mine.

It seems that I've become the family historian/video-maker, which seems to be spreading to various friends and co-workers. I'm currently working on a memorial for a co-worker who's friend died recently leaving 3 children. A dear friend's dad is staying with him through the final stages of terminal cancer, and has asked me if I would do a memorial video for him as well. Of course I said yes.

My current mini is an '09 2 GHz, 2 GB ram. I have a 1TB external drive used for Time Machine. My plan is to transfer everything to the new mini, wipe the old one and give it to her. Since I have lots of pictures, video, and IMovie '09 projects that I CANNOT lose, how should I plan on proceeding? Can I just plug my external drive into the new mini and use Time Machine, or do I need to use the Migration Assistant? How should I approach this? Step-by-step please.

Anon

[JohnnyBoy]

Hmmm. If you just had your music/videos/photos on the external drive, then yeah, it would just be a straight swap-over from old to new. But, if I've understood you correctly, these media files are on your internal drive and the external drive is used for Time Machine.

The obvious answer is "Migration Assistant" but I'm not sure how that would co-ordinate with Time Machine.
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Intel Mini 2.0GHz C2D (4GB/120GB/SuperDrive/10.5.8 ), 120GB WD Passport, Logitech ergo k/b
iPod Touch (32GB, 3rd gen), iPod Shuffle (512MB, 1st gen)

[Cypher]

I think the Migration Assistant does give you the option of migrating from a TimeMachine backup.
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Phil

Mac Mini 2.53GHz - iMac 2.0Ghz - Macbook Pro 2.4GHz - iPad 1 32GB 3G
6TB Netgear Ready NAS NV+ - 6TB Drobo S

[Undo]

You're going to need a Firewire 800 cable and then it's very simple. When you boot up the new Mac, it'll ask you if you want to transfer all your stuff from another Mac. Just follow the on-screen instructions. It can take a couple of hours or more depending on the amount of data you have.

[Anon E Mouse]

Thanks, gentlemen. I'll make sure I'm between projects and have everything backed-up to my external drive. Then I'll get a firewire cable to connect the two mini's and use the migration assistant.

Thanks for the help!

Anon