macOS
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You can migrate files from a backup if the backup storage is connected when you first set up your new Mac.
Image credit: Apple Inc
Prepare a backup for migration
Q
How can I make a bootable backup of my old Mac to migrate to a new Mac mini M4?
by GEOFF LINKLATER
A
Some apps including SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner can still create bootable backups, but even when based on macOS Sequoia, they may not work with your new Mac, and serve no useful purpose.
Every new Mac comes with Sequoia preinstalled on its internal SSD. When you first start it up, it goes through personalisation and setup, during which you can migrate documents and apps from another Mac or a backup, but you couldn’t start it up from an external disk until that stage is complete. You could postpone migration until later, but to transfer from your backup to the macOS installed on the internal SSD, you have to start up from the latter.