Migration to Mac Studio M2 Ultra

[Rick Cornish]

In addition to the recommendations above, I strongly urge you to NOT install plugins and software from backups that were generated from your old, Intel machine, but reinstall all your plugs and VIs using the latest installers from the developers' sites (or bulk installers, in the case of Native Instruments, Plugin Alliance, UVI, SoundToys, et al). Even though old Intel-based software will run on your new machine under Rosetta, the more Apple Silicon native software you run, the better.

I also recommend you head to the App Store and spend $3 on an app called PlugInfo. It gives you a live reading of the apps you have installed. It's a great way to keep track of what you have on your machine.

Good luck!

[HCMarkus]

I also recommend you head to the App Store and spend $3 on an app called PlugInfo. It gives you a live reading of the apps you have installed. It's a great way to keep track of what you have on your machine.

This.

[dix]

No matter how you slice it, this is a PITA and takes a long time. I've had good luck with migration assistant but I think I would go the clean install route even though this would literally take days. Were you satisfied with the performance and stability of your previous system?

The stability of the M1 I'm migrating from is stellar. Apart from the DP issue I mentioned above (no pallet or smart-tools. i only have a pointer in DP), and persistent fan noise, the M1 is pretty great. Since the cursor issue occurs even with a clean install of DP (Ive done the research on the new M4), I'm inclined at this moment to go to the MA route.. If it's a mess, I can always go back to the clean install approach.

If you have a small System drive, a clean install of your Applications makes sense—a lot of old Library files taking up useless space but these will rarely cause a problem. Since you are migrating from an M1, I wouldn't give it a second thought—again, unless drive space is an issue.

The system drive on both machines is areasonable 2TB, of which, without trying to keep it lower, I typically maintain nearly 1TB free..

[dix]

I also recommend you head to the App Store and spend $3 on an app called PlugInfo. It gives you a live reading of the apps you have installed. It's a great way to keep track of what you have on your machine.

This.

I bet he meant PlugiInfo keeps track of plugins you have installed. Is this the app?:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pluginfo/ ... 2949?mt=12

...very cool app regardless of migration strategy. Thank you!

[Rick Cornish]

I also recommend you head to the App Store and spend $3 on an app called PlugInfo. It gives you a live reading of the apps you have installed. It's a great way to keep track of what you have on your machine.

I bet he meant PlugiInfo keeps track of plugins you have installed. Is this the app?:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pluginfo/ ... 2949?mt=12

YES—my bad (thanks for correcting me, dix)… PlugInfo tracks your plugins (not apps, as I inadvertently wrote). It's a great app, and the developer (an individual, not a software company) deserves our support.

One more thing:
In migrating to an M2 Mac Studio, my assumption was that the OP is coming from an Intel machine. Assuming that's the case, migrating from Intel to Apple Silicon is the most significant change in this process. IMO, that means the user would be best served by taking the time to reinstall all apps and plugins, using the latest installers available.

[bayswater]

You might want to also look at the KVR manager. It does pretty much the same thing but also shows whether updates are available. Not perfect, but the occasional launch of this in additions to the other plugin manager is informative.

I've noticed that both of these see a few plugins the other doesn't. Both are valuable in pointing out that you have way too many plugins and spend too much time managing them.

https://www.kvraudio.com/kvr-studio-man ... -downloads