When you buy a new Mac you likely want to transfer all of your data and applications from your current Mac to a new Mac. Here are instructions on how to accomplish this migration using a current Time Machine backup of your current Mac. I’m going to provide instructions for two different scenarios.
- Restore From Time Machine Backup
- New Macbook Restore From Time Machine Free
- Restore From Time Machine Sierra
- Using Time Machine To Restore
Jun 19, 2018 If you’re installing a new hard drive, or your Mac is completely messed up, you might think it’s time for a fresh installation of macOS. But if you’ve got a Time Machine backup, that’s not necessary: you can fully restore your Mac, and have all your applications and files exactly as you left them. On the Select a Destination screen, select your Mac’s startup drive. Click Restore, and then click Erase Disk. The Time Machine restoration process first erases the selected disk and then starts copying the Time Machine backup to it. Monitor the Restoring Screen. A Restoring screen appears. Reinstall OS X and restore files from a Time Machine backup old enough that it should be clean Selectively, cautiously, restore newer files from a newer TM backup However, the official guides for TM-based restoration recommend saving important files to something external, restoring from TM, then restore the files from the non-TM source. David Camp has mostly moved his work from an old MacBook Pro that’s failing to a new one. However, he still has some files on the old machine that he’s also backed up via Time Machine to a.
If you’re just taking your new Mac out of it’s box and turning it on for the first time follow the instructions in Scenario 1 – Setup Assistant.
Alternatively, if you’ve already turned on your new Mac and created a user account then follow the instructions in Scenario 2 – Migration Assistant.
Scenario 1 – Setup Assistant
Important Note: When you turn on your Mac for the first time, you’ll be asked a series of setup questions. These questions are presented by Apple’s Setup Assistant. The exact questions have varied across different versions of the Mac operating system. I can’t list every variation in this article so these instructions will be more general and not precise, step-by-step instructions.
Preparation
Make sure you have an up-to-date backup of your current Mac, by doing the following. Click on the Time Machine icon near the clock. Read the first two lines which tell you when the most recent backup was performed. Ideally, it would read something like “Latest backup today at 11:32 am”
Look at your external backup hard drive’s ports to see if you’re connecting it to your Mac using a USB or Firewire cable. Look at your new Mac to see what types of ports it has. You might need an adapter to connect your external, backup hard drive to your new Mac. If you store your Time Machine backup data on a Time Capsule then you don’t need to worry about connectors since your new Mac will connect to the Time Machine via your network.
If your backup drive has a USB port then you should have a pretty easy time connecting it to your new Mac since all Macs have USB ports. However, if you bought a Mac that has USB-C ports, then you’ll need either Apple’s USB-C to USB adapter or an equivalent third party adapter.
If your backup drive has only a FireWire port then you’ll definitely need an adapter since Apple stopped including FireWire ports on new Macs around 2012. If your new Mac has a Thunderbolt port on it then get a Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter.If your backup drive has both FireWire and USB ports, I’d suggest you switch and use the USB port.
If your new Mac has only USB-C ports then it would be easiest for you to switch to using an external backup drive that has USB port on it. Use this USB-external drive to backup your current Mac and then use an Apple USB-C to USB adapter or an equivalent third party adapter to connect your backup drive to your Mac.
Migration or Transfer
- Take your new Mac out of it’s box and turn it on.
- Turn on its bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse, if it has these peripherals.
- Plug an ethernet cord into the back of your Mac, if you use one.
- Connect your backup hard drive to your new Mac. If your backups are stored on a Time Capsule then your Mac will find the backups once you connect your Mac to your wireless network, which you’ll be prompted to do by the Setup Assistant. Keep reading.
- The Setup Assistant will display a series of questions. For example, it commonly starts by asking you to select the type of keyboard you’re using and your preferred language.
- You will be asked to connect your Mac to your wireless network
- You will be asked if you want to transfer data from another Mac or a backup of a mac. Select this option.
- Your new Mac will indicate that it’s looking for sources that contain Time Machine backups. It should detect either your external hard drive or your Time Capsule.
- Select your desired backup source and then click Continue.
- Follow the prompts to select all of your data and applications and start the transfer.
- Sit back and be patient. This transfer can take hours depending upon how much data you have and the speed of your backup hard drive or network. I often start a migration at the end of the day and let it run overnight.
- When the migration has finished, the Mac will likely restart on it own.
Post-Migration
- A cursory examination will be performed of the applications that you transferred onto the new Mac. This examination could identify some old, incompatible applications. If any are detected, they will be disabled and you will be notified.
- The Setup Assistant may ask you some additional questions about whether you want to enable various services and/or sign in to iCloud using your AppleID account. Answer these questions as you prefer.
At this point, the Mac should be ready for you to use. You can login to your user account and begin to test its applications and install appropriate updates.
Scenario 2 – Migration Assistant
If you’ve already turned on your new Mac and created a user account Migration Assistant then you’ll need to follow a slightly different process.
[Note: You may also want to refer to Apple’s article about using Migration Assistant.]
Preparation
Restore From Time Machine Backup
Follow the instructions listed in the Preparation phase of Scenario 1 – Setup Assistant. At the end of this preparation stage your backup hard drive, containing a recent backup of your current Mac should be connected to your brand new Mac.
Migration or Transfer
- Turn on your Mac and login to the user account that you previously created.
- Open the Migration Assistant application which you’ll find inside the Utilities folder which is located inside the Applications folder.
- Follow the Migration Assistant’s prompts and select the option to transfer data from another Mac or a Time Machine backup. The exact prompts have varied across different versions of the Mac operating system. I cannot list every variation in this article so these instructions will be more general and not precise, step-by-step instructions.
- Your new Mac will indicate that it’s looking for sources that contain Time Machine backups. It should detect either your external hard drive or your Time Capsule. (If it does not see your Time Capsule then make sure your new Mac is connected to your home network.)
- Select your desired backup source and then click Continue.
- Follow the prompts to select all of your data and applications and start the transfer. If the user account name that you created on your new Mac matches the user account name on your current Mac then Migration Assistant will ask you if you want to keep both accounts or let the user account from the current Mac replace the account you created on your new Mac when you took it out of the box. The choice is yours. The safe thing to do is to keep both accounts but if you haven’t created any data in your new account then you could replace it.
- Sit back and be patient. This transfer can take hours depending upon how much data you have and the speed of your backup hard drive or network. I often start a migration at the end of the day and let it run overnight.
- When the migration has finished, the Mac will likely restart on it own.
At this point, the Mac should be ready for you to use. You can login to your user account and begin to test its applications and install appropriate updates.
May 12,2020 • Filed to: Mac Recovery • Proven solutions
You must have heard of a Time Machine, whether in the movies or read about it in novels. It sounds like a futuristic concept of how people can travel into the past, but that is fiction in play.
In reality, though, a Time Machine does exist.
For Mac users, Time Machine is a beautiful software to restore data from Time Machine backup. It is helpful in all the scenarios like:
- If you accidentally delete data,
- Need to find an old version of a document,
- Recover your Mac OS from a backup file, or
- Transfer the original settings, files, and folders to another or new Mac OS.
You can restore all that you lost from Time Machine. In this article today, we will share with you how to restore from time machine, and more.
Here is what we shall be looking at in the article:
Part 1. Method to Restore Mac from Time Machine
A Time Machine backup also allows you to transfer files, settings, and preferences from an old Mac to a new one, using a tool available in your new Mac called Migration Assistant.
To begin restoring from Time Machine backup, one must ensure a Time Machine backup is present.
Here we’ll deal with just restoring the Mac that you already have from a backup.
Step 1 Start your Mac and simultaneously hold down Command + R.
Step 2 Hold down until either the Apple logo or a spinning globe appears.
Step 3 Your Mac will boot into Mac OS utilities. Choose to restore from Time Machine Backup and click continue.
Step 4 Click on Continue again.
Step 5 Choose a Time Machine backup file available from before whatever issues arose and click Continue.
Your Mac will restore the files and settings from the Time Machine backup and then restart once finished.
Part 2. Restore Mac data without Time Machine
To restore iMac from Time Machine, you need to have an external Hard Drive to create the backup. In case you have not, you can use a recovery program like;
2.1 Disk Drill
Disk Drill is a fantastic data recovery tool for Mac OS X. The basic version has capabilities of previewing recovered files, contains a recovery vault, lost partition restoration, etc.
2.2 PhotoRec
It is not as powerful but has the advantage of being an open source data recovery program. It can recover standard file formats such as JPEG images, MP3 audio files, MS office files, PDFs and Zip files.
2.3 EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard
It’s also an excellent data recovery software with the capacity to also access data from external storage devices. Compatible file formats include those commonly used in images, videos, audio and document files.
2.4 Recoverit (IS) for Mac [Recommended]
iSkysoft offers an all-round solution for recovery of data such as photos, videos, document files, audio files and other formats in Mac OS. The iSkysoft toolbox can recover data from any storage device on Mac including memory cards (SD, CF & XD cards), digital devices like iPods and cameras, external disks and SSDs, removable drives such as USBs and Zip drives and other drives.
Recoverit (IS) for Mac
Powerful Mac Data Recovery Software!
- A quick and deep scan to find original files that are not overwritten.
- It allows for a preview of lost files.
- Safe recovery of lost, deleted, invalid, and damaged files.
3,015,629 people have downloaded it
Now, let us look at the steps involved in the recovering Mac data with the Recoverit (IS)y tool:
Step 1 Select the Recovery Mode
After downloading and installing the iSkysoft toolbox, move on to select any one of the recovery options on the interface. If you are confused from which drive you lost data, then the all-around recovery option is your best bet as it is designed to find and recover available files from all possible locations.
Step 2 Select the Start button and Preview the Recoverable Files
At this point, you will be able to see various files according to location, time and also the kind of data you had. You can choose the files you want to preview before the final selection.
Step 3 Select Files and Recover
At last, post your file selection and preview, tab on the Recover button to restore all the lost/deleted data from your Mac OS.
Part 3. How to Use Time Machine, Local Backup, or Cloud Backup to Prevent Data Loss
3.1 Using Time Machine
The Time Machine software lets you easily create and maintain current backups of all critical data, to allow easy recovery of lost files. It usually requires a drive, preferably an external Hard Disk which should be mounted before launching the program.
Once you launch your Time Machine for the first time, you must select your disk by clicking on the ‘select disk’ button. Highlight the one to be used and click on ‘Use for Backup’ button.
Constant backing up of files on an external drive ensures the safety of your files. However, for internal drives, it might not be safe as using a partition for backup might lead to loss of data should the drive fail.
The above is an essential requirement to restore from Time Machine.
3.2 Using a Local Backup
Using a local backup involves situations where you clone your Mac using a cloning program such as SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. You can then restore iMac from backup and even create a bootable installer with the hard drive.
Process involved includes;
- Start your Mac and simultaneously hold down the command + R button.
- Hold them down until the Apple logo appears or a spinning globe.
- It will boot into the disk utility menu. Click on “restore from Time Machine Backup” and click Continue to move ahead.
- Click on Continue again.
- Select your hard drive of choice and click the restore tab at the top of the Disk Utility window.
- Select the external hard drive having the cloned backup next to ‘restore from.’
- Click Restore.
Your Mac will restore the cloned backup and then restart once finished.
3.3 Using a Cloud Backup
Cloud-based backups are efficient where there is Internet connectivity because you can constantly do backups. Cloud-based backup services include Blackblaze and CrashPlan from which you can download missing data to your Mac.
Cloud-based backup services are different. One common thing is that they’ll want you to get a remote server on your Mac unless an external drive is sent, as does the Blackblaze. Most programs will have a Restore files tool in the User interface.
You can use either the remote app or access your files from their website then select files and folders you want to restore from the backup menu.
![New Macbook Restore From Time Machine New Macbook Restore From Time Machine](https://cf.mackeeper.com/img/blog/upload/692513b84b355a44db8087671409aa1d5a65faae44f72.jpg)
Conclusion
New Macbook Restore From Time Machine Free
For Mac users that have encountered issues with the crashing of operating systems or loss of data through any other means, there is still a chance for you to get back on your feet. The Mac OS Time Machine allows you to restore Mac from backup usually on a hard drive.
Restore From Time Machine Sierra
Those without external storage are not forgotten. Software programs such as Recoverit (IS) for Mac are always there to come to the rescue. There are also the cloud-based services that allows constant backups. Picture design software. These are very efficient, and I believe everyone using a Mac should know about it.
Using Time Machine To Restore
Therefore, I would recommend that you share the article on how to restore from Time Machine with all Mac users around you.