First thing to do

Hello there

Tomorrow, I shall receive a new MacBook Pro 14. I picked the silver base model.

I’m getting a SanDisk to transfer my files from my 2018 MacBook Pro.

What are the first things to check & do when I’ll receive it?

Any recommendations for software to install?

Thanks in advance for your help!

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:

By "Sandisk", what do you mean?
Do you mean something like a USB flash drive or SD card?

Do you have a backup drive for the 2018 MacBook Pro?
Do you have a USBc-to-USBc cable?

One way to get stuff transferred is to use either a backup drive (of the OLD MBP) or, connect them together with a USBc cable, and let setup assistant "migrate" the files during the initial setup.

WARNING:
If you create a new account on the NEW MBP, then try to move files over from the OLD ONE, you may start running into permissions problems.
There are ways to fix this, but we must know HOW you plan to get stuff moved over, first.

What I do on a new system:

- Wait for iCloud to download email, Notes, Reminders, iCal as it takes a while
- Install Firefox, Macs Fan Control, Synergy, Growly Notes, LibreOffice, Fidelity ATP, Numbers, Pages, Keynote, IINA
- Move Terminal, Activity Monitor, Disk Utility into the Dock
- Fix mouse, trackpad, keyboard, dock settings
- Test my network drives
- Setup up Time Machine and do the first full backup

On moving my stuff over:
- I generally copy stuff over the network as opposed to using an external SSD as it's easier to do a more interactive move. I can pick and choose what I want to copy over by just drag and drop from one system to the next.

Thanks both of you for your replies.

@Fishrrman : I bought this one. I do have a backup drive (several actually) and I have a usb-c to usb-c, the cable to charge my MacBook Pro 2018. I am a bit scared about migration as I prefer to have a clean instal.. I don't mind taking the time to copy folders by folders and install and setup programs by programs. However, can you elaborate regarding permission problems? Is this related to format of the SanDisk? Can I format it to APFS to avoid issues? Also, how can I check permissions on my old MacBook Pro? BTW it's on Mojave.

So to answer your question, I will copy/paste to the SanDisk and then into the new MacBook Pro. I have 5.47 GB of documents, 154 GB of pictures, 35 GB of music and 73 GB of Torrent files.

@pshufd : great, I will wait on iCloud synchronization, then. Thanks for the suggestion of software, I'll check some of them.

gigatoaster said:

Hello there

Tomorrow, I shall receive a new MacBook Pro 14. I picked the silver base model.

I’m getting a SanDisk to transfer my files from my 2018 MacBook Pro.

What are the first things to check & do when I’ll receive it?

Any recommendations for software to install?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Click to expand...

Is there any specific problem that you try to address with software so that people could potentially give you a more tailored response?

Not problems, just looking for recommendations. On my side, I use Office, Firefox, Roon & Torrent, iStat Menus and WhatsApp.

OP:
What I would suggest...

First, connect the Sandisk SSD to the 2018 MBP.
Open disk utility and erase it to APFS, GUID partition format.

The best way to get all the data into the right places would be to download SuperDuper: You DO NOT need to buy it. It will work "for free" for the job we need to do here.

Now, use SD to "clone" the contents of the 2018 MBP SSD to the Sandisk SSD. It will take a while, but when done the Sandisk will be an EXACT COPY of the original SSD.

NOW you are ready to unbox the NEW MBP and decide what approach you want to take.

If you wish to use Setup Assistant to "do everything for you", just connect the drive BEFORE YOU OPEN THE LID OF THE NEW MBP for the very first time (because it will boot to setup assistant automatically).

Now when SA asks if you wish to migrate from another drive, just point the way to the Sandisk SSD and let SA "digest" everything.

SA will present you with a checklist of stuff to migrate, and you can proceed from there. You can bring over apps, accounts, settings and data, and most everything should "work the way it worked before" (excluding apps that need to be updated).

THE OTHER WAY:
If you DO NOT want to "do it the easy way" with SA during the initial setup, you can create a new account on the new MBP without attaching the drive.

But now YOU MUST BE CAREFUL ABOUT HOW YOU MIGRATE "by hand".
And you must take steps to avoid permissions problems.

(that's enough for now)

Thank you for your detail explanation. I will receive it tomorrow and will revert on progress.

Fishrrman said:

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:

By "Sandisk", what do you mean?
Do you mean something like a USB flash drive or SD card?

Do you have a backup drive for the 2018 MacBook Pro?
Do you have a USBc-to-USBc cable?

One way to get stuff transferred is to use either a backup drive (of the OLD MBP) or, connect them together with a USBc cable, and let setup assistant "migrate" the files during the initial setup.

WARNING:
If you create a new account on the NEW MBP, then try to move files over from the OLD ONE, you may start running into permissions problems.
There are ways to fix this, but we must know HOW you plan to get stuff moved over, first.

Click to expand...

He means an SD Card.

Look for dead pixels and other screen issues

I just received it! I will now open it.