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nafai23 · Feb 10, 2005, 11:53 AM

My mom has a G5 desktop that she uses to check mail....

i know...
She wants me to get her a mini and I was wondering if getting it would be as simple as unplugging the g5 cords and plugging in the mini and turning it on? software preinstalled on a mac?
She has bluetooth keyboard and mouse...
would they just simply work? Plugging back in DSL...software needed?
I am a pc builder guy and I am about to dive in the mac world but my mom is not an expert so I wanted it to be rather simple...to go from the g5 to the mini...
thanks for any advice...

chad

p.s.
yes I get the g5 and it will be my first mac since the IIe when I was in fifth grade

Too Artificial · Feb 10, 2005, 12:18 PM

Originally posted by nafai23:
My mom has a G5 desktop that she uses to check mail.... i know...
She wants me to get her a mini and I was wondering if getting it would be as simple as unplugging the g5 cords and plugging in the mini and turning it on? software preinstalled on a mac?
She has bluetooth keyboard and mouse...
would they just simply work? Plugging back in DSL...software needed?
I am a pc builder guy and I am about to dive in the mac world but my mom is not an expert so I wanted it to be rather simple...to go from the g5 to the mini...
thanks for any advice...

chad

p.s.
yes I get the g5 and it will be my first mac since the IIe when I was in fifth grade

If she has data on the G5 you'd like to put on the mini, use the Migration assistant (or whatever it is called, you should see it when setting up the mini) to hook the G5 up to the mini and transfer the files over. As far as the bluetooth stuff goes, I've read that it's worked right out of the box, and I've read some people may have to use a USB keyboard to get through the initial setup walk-through. As I don't have bluetooth or a mini, I can't say for sure. Good luck and have fun with that "hand-me-down" G5! <envious>

nafai23 · Feb 10, 2005, 12:56 PM

Thanks for the reply...
I guess the initial setup is what I was curious about...obviously if my mom has to plug in a usb keyboard for the "setup" that is going to be a major stump for her...

As someone who has great experience on the pc I am embarassed to ask the newbie question what does the initial setup involve?

basically I am trying to decide if I should have the mini sent to me first to "prep" it for her or go straight to her. She had a local guy unpack the g5 and set it up....

bpd115 · Feb 10, 2005, 01:54 PM

well, unplug the G5, (Make sure you order the mini with Bluetooth)

You'll need to use the Mini's powerbrick, but the monitor if it's DVI will work fine, if it's VGA, just use the included adapter.

Plug in the speakers. If it's Apple's BT mouse and Keyboard it should work from go. Turn on the mini.

You'll get the OSX welcome screen, fill out Name, address, email settings, timezone, etc. Then at some point you'll get a screen that will ask if you are upgrading from another Mac. Select yes. It will instruct you to plug a firewire cable between the two Macs and boot the G5 in firewire disk mode (Hold in T while booting the G5.)

The Mini then ask what you want transfered over.. once done she'll pretty much have all of her settings, apps, prefs, bookmarks and emails copied on the Mini. It will be like she never left.

Bring a USB keyboard and mouse along with you just in case.

nafai23 · Feb 10, 2005, 02:05 PM

really wow....
Does that go for just pictures...etc...etc..?
or does software get transferred over too..like aol and MS office?
also...
I assume the bluetooth keyboard will still get picked up on the G5 for the firewire disk mode keys I need to press?
thanks again
chad

iREZ · Feb 10, 2005, 02:12 PM

I think the whole drive gets swapped over if I'm not mistaken. That means just about everything.

bpd115 · Feb 10, 2005, 02:19 PM

The BT keyboard should get picked up but I think Bluetooth can only 'pair' to one device at a time which is why I suggest bringing in a USB keyboard just in case.

My father did this when he moved from his iMac G4 to his iMac G5 and yes, everything including apps get transfered over. (Wallpaper preferences, apps, songs, photos)...there may be an app or two that doesn't transfer right (Like canon's scanner utility on my dads) but it's not a big issue. It's not like Ghost either since it's not really moving the OS, only select folders, apps etc.

The End result though is it will be her Mac the way she remembered it.

It would be really awesome if the Mini takes off that they incorporate a "Transfer your Windows files" over in a similar fashion.

nafai23 · Feb 10, 2005, 02:38 PM

guess that would go for the mouse too...I would need to buy and extra usb mouse and keyboard since they would remained "paired" with the macmini during setup and not allow the g5 to run in firewire mode on boot?
chad

bpd115 · Feb 10, 2005, 02:57 PM

You wouldn't need a mouse since you only need to boot the G5 into firewire mode and that can be done via the keyboard.

You won't need to control any GUI on the G5...

However if this is going to become your system, then you might as well get another Keyboard/Mouse if you don't have one.

nafai23 · Feb 10, 2005, 04:33 PM

haha...yes I was going to get a bluetooth keyboard too but
my mom with two identical bluetooth keyboards trying to boot into firewire mode sounds like me developing the next version of osx

lklarson · Feb 11, 2005, 01:12 PM

It will bring all her applications (WITH their serial numbers), files, passwords, user accounts, bookmarks, desktop settings, everything. Takes a while, if she has a lot of stuff. My boss's daughter's iMac G4 to iMac G5 transition took several hours, since her old drive had a lot of iMovies on it, but it all came over, even put the stuff she had sitting on her desktop back in roughly the same place (Why do kids like to put the hard drive icon down at the bottom of their screens?). Interestingly, once a bluetooth keyboard is set up on a machine, it even works when you boot from the install CD. I had assumed I would need a usb keyboard to use to hold down the "C" key, but no.

Originally posted by nafai23:
really wow....
Does that go for just pictures...etc...etc..?
or does software get transferred over too..like aol and MS office?
also...
I assume the bluetooth keyboard will still get picked up on the G5 for the firewire disk mode keys I need to press?
thanks again
chad

nafai23 · Feb 12, 2005, 04:48 PM

will the bluetooth keyboard work on the first setup on the mini?
and what does "once it has been set up" mean? is there a setup process to a bluetooth keyboard?