It's time! Soon a 27 inch will be here.

[jcarter]

I think its time, the new 27 inch iMacs look great, and my soccer ball iMac is toast.
I always want to run a new purchase by you people here for suggestions and advice.

Looked at them yesterday. Gee, I didn't realize how hot they run!  My hands were cold from the steering wheel, so I just warmed them up very quickly on the case of the iMac in the store.

Things I will need,,,,,,,
1- 1 TB external HD with 800 firewire. My other ones are full to the gills. I will have to learn how to back up the best stuff on the old one to the new 1 TB one.
  Guess I pick the stuff I want and drag it to the desktop of the new iMac, then drag it to the new ext HD.
 Migration Assistant, Im hoping to read about that, as I do not want everything on this machine to migrate to the new one, just the email settings, pictures and music and some other stuff.

2. Another APC battery back up.  The one I have will deal with 550 watts, and its full now.
  So if I get another one, the new iMac and ext hd will be at least 400 watts.  One for each computer. The circuit in this room is a 15 amp fuse, only 2 outlets, one of which is full and the other one is a switched one for lights.  I think with the new Mac I will be needing about 10 amps in here.  I dont know how much a printer/scanner uses, but it wont be on except when I am using it.
I better do some calculating to see if that one outlet will carry 2 APC units and 2 iMacs as well as the speakers, ext hd, cable modem, router, hope thats all for now in that one.

Other option, husband could disable the on/off switch on the other outlet, he is going to replace the 2 prong outlet with the 3 one so it will be properly grounded.
Or do I really really need another iMac?  want vs. need,,,,,,
Jane

[krissel]

I can't tell you whether to get a new iMac or not, well, I guess I could but it's your money.  

As for transferring your info to the new computer, you should be ready to use Migration Assistant when you first fire up the new one. It is much easier to do the moving at that point than if you come back at it later.

You can drag and drop data but be careful about other items. Some applications are wholly within their folder or app but others that have used an installer will have parts missing if you drag/drop them.  This is where MA works best.  

Afterward, SuperDuper is IMHO a must. Yes, Time Machine works great for immediate backups and correcting sudden problems but not being bootable is a reason to also backup via SD.  If possible you could partition the external and use half for Time Machine and the rest for a SD backup.  

Just remembered we did discuss this a couple months ago so you may want to review this thread:

http://www.techsurvivors.net/forums/index....showtopic=23218

As for the outlets, well I don't want to tell you what I have bleeding off my poor studio circuit..

[jcarter]

I did save the information from the thread several months ago, but thank you for reminding me.
Migration Asst right off the bat, that will be the plan. I will go back and read how this is all done, then will go over the details and make an outline of exactly what to do, and the order in which to do it.  I guess I should use Target Mode, and I also network my Macs, so perhaps that will be enough. Time Machine, I have used it once in a while, so I will go over those instructions too.  Ive never used Migration, so I will study it carefully before I start.

Ive added up all the power needs and looks like this circuit will be just fine. (10 amps about).  Its just having enough plugs, but with a new APC 550 watt unit, it should be OK. The new computer into the battery backup plug and the others into the surge protector ones. I used to leave the printer/scanner on, but now turn it on only when I need it.

I think some of the new external HDs get their power from the computer?

I now have to figure out what to do with the old soccer ball, as all it needs is a hard drive.  I hate to toss it out, its like an old car, you hate to see it go.
The other 2 older external HDs, I will empty onto the new one and then give them away, I think. My brother needs one.
Thank you,
Jane

[pendragon]

Jane,

Perhaps of interest…

DiskWarrior: “The current DiskWarrior DVD cannot start up the new iMac Core i3, i5 and i7 models, the new MacBook Pros (introduced April 13, 2010), the new Mac Mini models (introduced June 15, 2010) or the new Mac Pros (introduced July 27, 2010). An updated disc that will also start up these recent Mac models will be released as soon as Apple, Inc. releases new startup files to Alsoft, Inc. and other developers.”

So if you intend to use DW, it first needs to be installed on a different volume or external drive.

HTH

[jcarter]

Ive never used Disk Warrior, do I need it, would it do something for my old soccer ball?
The soccer ball iMac is about 6.5 years old.
Jane

[jchuzi]

I would no sooner be without Disk Warrior than I would walk the high wire without a safety net. (Actually, I wouldn't walk the high wire at all but you get the idea.)

My 2¢.

[jcarter]

Oh, this sounds like I should buy it before I do anything with my soccer ball!?
I can pick it up tomorrow.
Jane

[jchuzi]

DW might be able to do something with the soccer ball but that depends upon what's wrong. If hardware failure is the issue, no utility can fix it. If directory damage is the problem, DW has a better chance of fixing it than similar utilities but there's no guarantee. The bottom line is that you can't know until you try. In any case, DW is, IMHO, an investment rather than an expense. Personally, I wouldn't be without it.

[jcarter]

Hardware failure, you can hear it, sadly.
Its a gentle spinning repetitive sound, no clicking, but just the spin, spin, spin, and stop, stop, stop,,,, sound.
Jane

[sew]

If you are going to us Migration Assistant you'll need a 800 to 400 firewire cable or 800 to 400 firewire adapter to transfer from your soccer ball iMac to your new iMac. I did on my new 21.5" from my soccer ball iMac and it work great.

[jchuzi]

Sew is right. You can order either one from this Apple page. I used the Moshi adapter and it worked perfectly.

[jcarter]

Thank you!
Actually it will be from this iMac, the 24 inch to the new 27 inch, they might both have fw800?
The soccer ball wont run, I tried it again yesterday, with the disks and everything. It just makes that rhythmic whirring noise and shows the gray apple and the spinning gear wheel.  I did get the disk out by holding the mouse down and re-starting it.

I put the adapter is in my Need This Stuff folder.
Jane

[Paddy]

Um...it's a little hard to use Migration Assistant on a Mac with a hard drive that has died.

As for the FW cable, you don't need to go buy something if you don't have one already - either network the computers wirelessly or hardwire them to the network (recommended because it's faster) or connect them directly to one another with an ethernet cable.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3322

[jcarter]

I think both these new iMacs have firewire 800.
But couldn't I just network them like you say, and I always have do for day to day moving files and pictures between them?
Oh, yes, that article is just what I need!
That will make it so much easier, way easier!

[jchuzi]

QUOTE(Paddy @ Oct 8 2010, 08:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As for the FW cable, you don't need to go buy something if you don't have one already - either network the computers wirelessly or hardwire them to the network (recommended because it's faster) or connect them directly to one another with an ethernet cable.

I migrated (for a friend) from one iMac to a newer one and was unsuccessful with ethernet. After an interminable amount of time, Migration Assistant in the newer iMac was unable to find the old one, even though I followed all the prompts and entered the correct numbers. I had the foresight to be prepared for this and had brought the Moshi adapter and a FW 400 - 400 cable with me. Rather than try to troubleshoot, I reconnected the two machines via Firewire and the migration was finished 40 minutes later.