“I just bought a new Mac. How do I migrate my existing LicenseKeeper data over to my new computer?”
This is a very common question, especially right after Apple releases new Macs.
There are two good ways to migrate your LicenseKeeper data: Apple’s Migration Assistant and the manual copy method.
Migration Assistant
Migration Assistant is a utility that should already be installed on your Mac. This handy tool will walk you through the steps of transferring all of your user accounts, applications, settings, and documents over to your Mac.
You can find it under the /Applications/Utilities folder. But, before using it you should make sure that you have the latest version installed. Use Software Update under the system menu to check for updates.
The great thing about using this approach is that once it’s complete, your new Mac will look and feel just like your old one. All your files and data will be in the same locations, except on your new computer.
Because of the lack of Firewire support, MacBook Air and Aluminum MacBook owners are required to perform this operation over a network connection. Make sure that both Macs are connected to the same local network before running Migration Assistant. You can read more about this here:
Manual Copy
The second method I use is the old manual copy method. This approach requires copying two folders from your old Mac to your new one.
- LicenseKeeper Library:
/Users/user name/Library/Application Support/LicenseKeeper - User Preferences:
/Users/user name/Library/Preferences/com.outerlevel.LicenseKeeper.plist
Note that these two folders should also be part of your regular backup routine. If you’re running OS X 10.5 or better, you can use Time Machine to automatically backup all of your data on a regular basis.
Now that your data is copied over, you need to install LicenseKeeper on your new computer. You can either download the latest version of LicenseKeeper or copy it over from your old computer.
- /Applications/LicenseKeeper.app
With LicenseKeeper up and running with all your software serial numbers and other registration info, you now have a great reference for installing the rest of your software onto your new Mac.