Best practices for replacing a device with a different operating system

Overview

When you get a new device, the replace device wizard helps you transfer files, move your backup, and update settings. However, if you are switching from one operating system to another (such as moving from a Windows device to a Mac), the different filesystem hierarchies create limitations on what can be automatically transferred.

Review the limitations below to understand how your file transfers and backup file selections will be affected.

File transfer limitations

When transferring files from a device with a different operating system than your current device, expect the following behaviors:

• File permissions: All transferred files will inherit permissions from your new device's current user. The option to transfer files with their original permissions is disabled.
• File metadata: Some file metadata may be lost when downloading files if that metadata is not supported by your new operating system.
• Illegal characters: Filenames containing characters that are illegal on the new operating system cannot be downloaded to that device. You must download those files from the CrashPlan console instead.

Backup file selection differences

The replace device wizard transfers the file paths from your previous device's backup file selection to your current device. However because different operating systems have different filesystem hierarchies, the CrashPlan app cannot seamlessly map these paths to the new file system.

• Missing relative paths: The previous device's file selection will not have a relative equivalent on the new operating system.
• Root drive display: Instead of familiar user folders, the previous device's main drive is shown as Root (for a previous Mac or Linux device) or C: (for a previous Windows device) at the exact same level as the main drive on your current device.
• Limited browsing: You cannot browse the contents of your previous device's file selection. You can only view and manage the top-level folders that were originally included in the backup.

Confirm your file selection

Although the replace device wizard automatically updates your file selection, always manually confirm your file selection after the replacement is complete to ensure you are backing up everything you need on your new device. File paths for default folders are completely different across operating systems (for example, the "Movies" folder on macOS versus the "Videos" folder on Windows).