Switching old computer and L9 to new one and Logic Pro X. Ideas on how?

I’m soon to switch from Logic 9 on an older iMac to a brand new iMac with Logic Pro X installed. The old iMac had an external drive that was backed up by Time Machine (for the last 10 years).

 

What is the best way to set the new one up? If I restore from the external drive, will all my plug-ins be transferred? I assume I will have to update them via the company’s websites, but should I just copy all the backed up Logic projects from the external Time Machine drive to the new iMac and then update all the plug-ins? There is not much else on the old iMac except Logic 9 projects. I’m assuming my local network sharing would be transferred with Restore and that I’d have to reset up all that anyway.

 

Ideas?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Bruce

Edited September 28, 2021 by airproofing

What macOS version are you on?

The old iMac is Yosemite 10.10.5. I'm assuming the new iMac will be Big Sur 11.6 which I think is the latest.

The old iMac is Yosemite 10.10.5. I'm assuming the new iMac will be Big Sur 11.6 which I think is the latest.

 

Correct, which means all your 3rd party plugins have to be updated or are not M1 compatible yet.

You have to research that.

There’s a thread at the top of this forum that lists all M1 compatible plugins.

Thanks. I'll check that out.

 

I think I'll go with just copying the L9 projects over from the last Time Machine backup.

My preferred workflow when getting a new machine like that is to not transfer anything but what I need (which is usually only files, not apps, not preferences, not user accounts, etc...).

 

So on the new machine, first run all updates for MacOS and accessory software in the App Store until it's current, then download and install the latest Logic Pro version, then install any plug-ins you need making sure you download the new version from the manufacturer website, then use the project on your external (there's no need to move them to the internal)

I think that is what I will do David. The external is a Time Machine backup... will that make any difference? Should I still run Time Machine for backups if I do it your way and run projects from the external?

I think that is what I will do David. The external is a Time Machine backup... will that make any difference? Should I still run Time Machine for backups if I do it your way and run projects from the external?

Hmm I'm not sure honestly as I've never used Time Machine backups. What I do is I have an external drive where I save all my projects, and I can connect it to any Mac, old or new, and work on the project as long as my external drive is connected, without having to transfer them to the Mac. This workflow allows me to travel with my external drive and get work done on any Mac I want.

How do you do backups using that method? Another HD?

How do you do backups using that method? Another HD?

Yes, I rely on two backup methods: external drives, and FTP servers.

Cool. Thanks.

I think that is what I will do David. The external is a Time Machine backup... will that make any difference? Should I still run Time Machine for backups if I do it your way and run projects from the external?

Hmm I'm not sure honestly as I've never used Time Machine backups. What I do is I have an external drive where I save all my projects, and I can connect it to any Mac, old or new, and work on the project as long as my external drive is connected, without having to transfer them to the Mac. This workflow allows me to travel with my external drive and get work done on any Mac I want.

 

I don't actually rely on Time Machine. But I think it is the only way you can restore to a pervious Mac system backup if say, you want to go back to a previous OS. So there is a place for TimeMachine. You could restore, and then reinstall everything, but that's no fun. My system would take a few days to recreate from scratch!!!

 

For backup of my work, I use SuperDuper to copy a dedicated work drive because I own it, and have for a long time. I never lose anything with this system, but if my house burns down, that's a different story. I may not even survive that! It's a chance that I take.

 

Steve