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Alternatively, you can update or upgrade the operating system on your old computer before you copy, but, as always, make sure you have a backup first. If your Mac has an older operating system that won’t run on the MacBook, that’s OK, but when you copy over your system, you’ll need to immediately reinstall its operating system before you can use the 12-inch MacBook, as I’ll explain.(So, for example, current MacBooks have a minimum operating system of 10.12.5, which means that your original computer should be on 10.12.6.) Ideally, the original computer has an operating system that is newer than the minimum. Then check the minimum operating system required on the MacBook, by visiting ). Check the operating system on your older Mac by choosing About This Mac from the Apple menu.Unlike the adapters Apple sells that have a female USB-A connector, this cable needs to have a male USB-A connector on one end. You’re going to need a USB 3.0 or 3.1 USB-C to USB-A cable.You’ll end up with a clone, with the same operating system as the old Mac, on the new MacBook, and then you can upgrade it to the current operating system if you wish to, or if it’s necessary. The general concept is that, rather than use Migration Assistant, you’re going to erase the new Mac’s drive, and copy the entirety of your old Mac, by using the 12-inch MacBook’s USB Disk Mode. If you don’t have a Time Machine backup, or you don’t want to wait for a Time Capsule, you can get a hard drive and copy your whole computer using Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner (or, for much faster speed, use an external solid state drive like the Samsung T5).īut there’s also a way to go computer-to-computer, provided the original Mac is a 2012 model or later, meaning it has USB 3.0 ports.
![migration assistant mac to mac usb migration assistant mac to mac usb](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KbgNP.png)
![migration assistant mac to mac usb migration assistant mac to mac usb](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uy4fL.jpg)
Or, if you have a Time Capsule, that’ll work too just follow the same process to make it current (but don’t disconnect it) Either way, Migration Assistant will present your backup as a source to migrate from if you’re doing Time Capsule over Wi-Fi, be prepared for it to take long time. If you have existing Time Machine backup on a hard drive, make the backup current by choosing “Back Up Now” from the Time Machine (backwards clock icon) menu at the top of your screen, eject the drive when it’s done, and then attach it to the new MacBook, using a USB-C to USB-A adapter. One option is to use an external drive that has a copy of your computer. I’m also assuming the new MacBook has a drive that’s large enough to hold everything that was on your old Mac. In any of the scenarios below, you’re going to want your new 12-inch MacBook to be fully charged, because you can’t have it plugged into the wall while you’re transferring.
![migration assistant mac to mac usb migration assistant mac to mac usb](https://images.macrumors.com/t/aE5EwdcNOd87IYRKYDLLGYwHEnA=/400x0/article-new/2021/12/macos-monterey-migration-assistant-transfer-source.jpg)
In the end, you’ll have gone computer-to-computer, despite the 12-inch MacBook not offering Thunderbolt connections. If the old Mac doesn’t have a current enough operating system to boot the new MacBook, you can start the 12-inch MacBook via Internet Recovery (command-option-R during startup), and reinstall macOS, which will upgrade the copied operating system. Then put the new MacBook into Target Disk Mode, and use Carbon Copy Cloner on the old Mac to copy its entire drive, including the operating system, to the new MacBook.
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Erase the 12-inch MacBook’s drive in that article, see the section “If you need to erase your startup disk,” about halfway down, and, for format, select APFS if the old Mac has High Sierra or later, or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) if not. You could also use Carbon Copy Cloner on your old Mac to copy its contents to a a USB external drive, and use that as a source for Migration Assistant.Ĭomputer-to-computer: If you get a USB-C to male USB-A cable, and the old Mac is a 2012 model or later (meaning it has USB 3.0), you can go the other way. Via a hard drive: You can use migration assistant with a Time Machine USB external drive (or Time Capsule) as a source. Make sure your 12-inch MacBook is fully charged before you start, since it won’t have wall power during the transfer. But there are still a couple of ways to do it. The 12-inch MacBook has the same USB-C port found on current MacBook Pros and iMacs, but unlike those models, the port doesn’t offer Thunderbolt, so the method I just described doesn’t work. It also presents some challenges when migrating your data directly from another Mac.Īll other Mac models since 2011 have Thunderbolt capability, meaning you can attach a Thunderbolt cable between the two computers, put the older computer into Target Disk Mode, and then use Migration Assistant on the new computer, which will see the old computer’s drive and copy from it. Apple’s 12-inch MacBook is svelte and weights only 2 pounds.