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First time I've asked a question here but I've used Stack Exchange for answers to many many OSX questions so, first off, great big thanks for that.

I searched the archives but didn't find an answer to this or a similar question.

I am moving directly to 10.8 from 10.6.8. I am going to do a clean install of 10.8 (as my early 2011 MBP is acting wonky lately, fresh is better) from USB. As I understand it, I can use Migration Assistant to pull the data I want off my Time Machine backup. However, I have also seen (here and elsewhere) that some finagling may be needed to get 10.8 to recognize the 10.6.8 backup. Should I be concerned?

Thanks! Micah

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In general you should not be concerned. However, if you are concerned I recommend you do the following instead:

Upgrade to Mountain Lion (do not do a clean wipe). Then re-install Mountain Lion again. Whereas the upgrade essentially checks and patches the system to make it the new OS, re-installing will effectively wipe the entire OS, leaving your user & network data intact. This is exactly what wiping clean & restoring from Time Machine backup via Migration Assistant will do.

If your system is acting wonky, it's just as likely that your user profile is the culprit. If so, both methods will keep your system potentially wonky. In this case you will want to manually backup any necessary files (generally your home folder) to an external hard drive, wipe clean, upgrade, and then manually bring back the files you actually need.

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    I agree, safest way is to upgrade, then re-install. If it's worth anything, here is the main Apple KB article on using Migration Assistant from TM. It is interesting to note that it doesn't mention anything about problems restoring from 10.6 to 10.8.
    – bassplayer7
    Commented Mar 2, 2013 at 17:02
  • Great folks, thanks very much for the info. I will go this route. I am going to embark upon this adventure just now. If I come back, I've had an "uh-oh" moment and my TM isn't accepting its new boss. ;)
    – laerm
    Commented Mar 3, 2013 at 21:36
  • Oh, PS: should I let Mountain Lion take possession and do whatever updates are necessary to Time Machine before I start pulling data from it?
    – laerm
    Commented Mar 3, 2013 at 21:44
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    Our suggestion was to not bring data in from Time Machine, but to simply upgrade the OS and then reinstall. If Mountain Lion is asking to update your Time Machine backup, then that should be safe to do, yes. There are probably under the hood tweaks to how it stores the backup information.
    – bispymusic
    Commented Mar 3, 2013 at 23:10

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