Computer unsavvy here. Best way to backup entire Mac?

[Lorien]

Hi All,

Last year my father generously gave me a new iMac with a 21" screen (at least I think that's the size). I want to give my older iMac (half dome base-forgot the model number) to my mother, who is currently working with a 17 year old Dell that has been a complete nightmare. I'm an artist so the hard drive on the old iMac is nearly full. What's the best way to back it up then blast the hard drive clean, save for the applications?

Thanks in advance!

[Poiuyt]

1. Did you transfer the information from your old iMac to your new one when you got it?

If so, the old iMac is already backed up.

If not, is there room on your new iMac to transfer to files onto that? That would be the simplest way. You can easily transfer files between the two computers via Firewire Disk mode:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583

If there isn't room, I'd recommend buying an external hard drive. They're pretty cheap nowdays, and you can also use it to back up your current iMac..

Once the old iMac is backed up, start up the computer with the original install disk, go to the disk utility, and erase the hard drive. You can then reinstall the system software (from the same install disk) and then the applications.

BTW, your new iMac probably has a 20" screen.

[Lorien]

2. Thanks, I did do a transfer, but got a message that

not all files transferred successfully, and no mention of which files those were!

I'll try to back everything up on to an external hard drive again. I did that once with this newer iMac, but now can't get it to talk to the external hard drive. No idea why. Most of my problems seem to be related to the fact that this was the first intel based iMac models. Maybe there are newer external drives out there now which can interact more easily with this model? :shrug:


Will just dragging and dropping old files into the trash be sufficient for cleaning up the old iMac?

Thanks again!


Oh, yeah-it is a 20". Lousy memory here (always trying to juggle too much)!

[Poiuyt]

3. Trashing old files should be sufficient in this case

If you were selling your computer, or the Feds were about to impound it, then I would take other measures to wipe it clean. But since you're just giving it to your mother, then trashing the files will clear out some hard drive space for her.

When I got my new iMac and transfered files over, I also got a message that not all had transfered. These were some third party system enhancers. It hasn't really affected anything.

As for your external drive, try running the Disk Utility application and see if it recognizes the drive. Make sure the HD is connected and turned on and then restart your computer and run the app. If it's not recognized, you may need to run a disk repair program like DiskWarrior. There may be some directory that's been corrupted. I doubt that it's hardware related.

[mrgorth]

4. LOL

You know you're a democratic activist when you have a plan laid out to eliminate your HD quickly if need be.:)