Calling Apple Computer Experts - I need Help/Advice!!
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The title says it. LOL I recently got a new iMac (latest version) to replace my old (circa 2014 iMac).
With the old iMac, I had gotten a "solid state" 1TB hard drive and used this to "boot" up the computer. It did (and still does) work very well. The forum thread below details that saga.
Anyway, some comments/concerns/questions about transferring "stuff" to the new computer.
Background
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The iMac I bought is the basic version (256 GB hard drive and only two thunderbolt/USB-4 connections on the back. (To explain why I got this model, it was "used" but never unboxed, so I was able to get it for USD equivalent $950).
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My current iMac has a 512 GB hard drive and does have some applications (MS Office, Apple Mail, etc) on it. Total usage on this drive is about 450GB. I think a lot of the stuff is out of date and I probably dont use it anymore.
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I purchased two thunderbolt --> USB "hubs" so I could plug in the 1 TB hard drive (+one other hard drive mainly has photos, movies, music, etc.). Each hub has 4 USB outlets on it.
I am not quite sure how to transfer things to the new computer.
Can I just plug in the external 1TB hard drive with the "boot" information into the new computer? Do the same with the larger external hard drive with photos/music/movies? Will the new computer start up and recognize it is me? LOL
Plus, I am sure that the MacOS the new computer uses is probably a newer version that what I have. Problems with updating things was the main reason to get a new computer.
What about the "stuff" that is on the old iMac 512 GB hard drive? I was thinking I could buy a 512 or 1 TB external hard drive and try and transfer the stuff there. The dock station as two slots and I am only using one. (BTW, I cannot transfer all the material from the 512 GB hard drive to the external 1TB hard drive, as there is not enough room.
How do I make sure that the applications will open if I move them to another location? For example, if I want to open MS Excel - right now it is on the internal HD. If I move it to an external HD, will it know to open when I click on the MS Excel icon?
Hope this makes sense!! Thanks!!!
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You might well be able to boot the computer from your previous 1 TB drive.
Restart the computer, holding the "option" key. You should see a list of attached devices. Select your "old" drive.
If you get a message that your computer needs a newer OS, download the latest OS from the App Store. When you go to install it, select your old 1TB drive and install it there. After that, you should be good to go,
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@taiwan_girl said in Calling Apple Computer Experts - I need Help/Advice!!:
How do I make sure that the applications will open if I move them to another location? For example, if I want to open MS Excel - right now it is on the internal HD.
You might have to re-download a copy of Office and re-install. You'll be asked for your Microsoft Key, etc. for a new install.
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Thanks @George-K I found out that my external hard drive dock has a "Thunderbolt 2" connection, while the new iMac has a "Thunderbolt 4" connection.
So, I will have to find an adaptor or get a new dock station.
But I will keep this forum thread in mind when I FINALLY get ready. LOL
EDIT: I just did a quick search and did not see that such an adaptor exists. :eek
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"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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“Thunderbolt 3” and “USB-C”, while their connectors may look identical, are actually two different protocols, with Thunderbolt being faster and more expensive. Thought more most consumers, USB-C works well enough that you often don’t have to worry about whether you actually using USB-C or Thunderbolt 3. Good luck with transferring stuff to your new computer.
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@Axtremus Thanks! I am guess that there are no thunderbolt 2 <--> thunderbolt 4 adaptors because the thunderbolt 2 will set the limiting speed of transfer?
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That's probably the case. I used a TB 2 to TB 3 adapter for years on a multi-bay hard drive enclosure. Worked just fine. I tried to go cheap with a non-Apple adapter it didn't work. I contacted the enclosure manufacturer and they said, "Yeah, you REALLY need to use the Apple adapter.
You can find them on eBay for about half the price.
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@taiwan_girl , yes, you need adapter to go from Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 because the adapters look different — Thunderbolt 2 physically cannot be connected to Thunderbolt 3 without an adapter. But Thunderbolt 3’s and Thunderbolt 4’s connectors look the same as USB-C’s connector. So once you get the Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 adapter that @George-K linked for you, already you take care of the physical fit of the connectors. The speed will be limited by Thunderbolt 2 regardless. The only other thing to pay attention to is to use a proper Thunderbolt 3 (or better) cable to connect from the adapter to your new Mac. To do that you look for the “thunderbolt” icon on the connectors of the cable. USB-C cables will not have the “thunderbolt” icon on the connectors. Not the end of the world if you use USB-C cable, it just falls back to USB speed.
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Get a Mac, @taiwan_girl ! Then you won't have these kinds of problems!
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@Klaus LOL That is what I have. 555
@Axtremus @George-K A couple of other questions:
@Axtremus Do you still recommend the Samsung SSD (as referenced in the linked thread I have in my first post?
https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/post/4814
@George-K Were you happy with the adapter and how it worked? I dont think it is worth it to buy a dock station that is thunderbolt 4/USB C directly compatible.
For a hard drive like this
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Toshiba/MG08ADA800E/Would I be able to put this directly into my OWC dock drive? Any recommendations on a bigger capacity drive that I could use for the dock drive? Bigger SSD drives still seem to be pretty expensive so dont "have to have" a SSD.
(I am trying to "clean up" things a bit. As I mentioned above, I have an external standalone 8TB hard drive that I have pictures/movies/songs on. Plus, I have another 8TB external standalone hard drive that I use for Time Machine. If I could somehow reduce/consolidate the clutter, it would be helpful).
Thanks so much! You guys have been a big help!!
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"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@taiwan_girl said in Calling Apple Computer Experts - I need Help/Advice!!:
@Axtremus Do you still recommend the Samsung SSD (as referenced in the linked thread I have in my first post?
Yes, I still like the Samsung SSDs. In the past I wrote about the "860" series; Samsung as since came out with the "870" series, and it's all good.
Samsung makes three variants of those SSDs, the PRO, the EVO, and the QVO.
PRO is most durable, highest performing, and also most expensive - save this for the mission critical stuff.
EVO is IMO good for every day use.
QVO is the newest variant, it's also the cheapest, lowest performing, least durable among the three; personally I do not use the QVO variant.
That is awesome!!
