Is there a hack around incompatible hardware error restoring in Time Machine?

[Amanda Ripanykhazova]

My 2016 MBP just died and left me with an insurance claim. Luckily (?) before the circuit board died, I manage to do a TM backup! Now I am discovering that I may not be able to use it.

While it is being settled, I am using a 2009 17inch Core 2 Duo MBP to which I am trying to restore the time machine backup of the 2016 MBP. Both are running 10.14.6. I am getting the incompatible hardware error message while trying to restore onto it. I am aware that the hardware is incompatible but I had found in the past that unlike Windows, which boots straight into a BSOD, with MacOS, if I can restore the OS programs and data, when I try to boot up the Core 2 Duo, MacOS does try to get all the drivers right if it sees wrong/incompatible ones present. At the moment the HDD is completely empty and I just did an erase/ format to GUID on it preparatory to restoring from the I backup.

Is there a way around the "cant restore onto a different mac" error message?

[Jolly Roger]

Post by Amanda Ripanykhazova
My 2016 MBP just died and left me with an insurance claim. Luckily (?)
before the circuit board died, I manage to do a TM backup! Now I am
discovering that I may not be able to use it.
While it is being settled, I am using a 2009 17inch Core 2 Duo MBP to
which I am trying to restore the time machine backup of the 2016 MBP.
Both are running 10.14.6. I am getting the incompatible hardware error
message while trying to restore onto it. I am aware that the hardware
is incompatible but I had found in the past that unlike Windows, which
boots straight into a BSOD, with MacOS, if I can restore the OS
programs and data, when I try to boot up the Core 2 Duo, MacOS does
try to get all the drivers right if it sees wrong/incompatible ones
present. At the moment the HDD is completely empty and I just did an
erase/ format to GUID on it preparatory to restoring from the I
backup.
Is there a way around the "cant restore onto a different mac" error message?

Try this:

Connect the Time Machine backup disk to the 2009 MBP, boot into macOS
Recovery, install the operating system, and when the installation is
finished wait for the computer to reboot and when the setup assistant
asks if you would like to transfer your data from a Time Machine backup,
follow the prompts to select the backup disk.

<https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/intro-to-macos-recovery-mchl46d531d6/mac>

[Amanda Ripanykhazova]

Thanks for that: Yes, it is basically what I did. I plugged a 'bare' HDD into the 2016 MBP and did a full system restore onto that as an external disc. Then I booted off a USB drive into Dosdude1's Mojave patcher and did a full patched system reinstall onto the drive which just received the restore. Then, of course, I did a post install and put the HDD into the 2009 MBP.

It worked fairly well though somewhat suspiciously the 2009 MBP now occasionally goes into the same kernel panic which the local Apple Store said was a symptom of the 2016 MBP having died! Thus far, restarting and re-running Dosdude1's post-install seems to have kept the 2009 MBP running.

The only problem i am having is that Chrome starts to a blank white screen. Apparently this is a well known problem for which there are a number of solutions! Mind you, none of them work! They all assume that if you have a white screen on which YOU CAN DO NOTHING, you can still go to settings and implement some sort of cache-deletion solution!

I wonder what on earth they mean?

[Jolly Roger]

Post by Amanda Ripanykhazova
Thanks for that: Yes, it is basically what I did. I plugged a 'bare'
HDD into the 2016 MBP and did a full system restore onto that as an
external disc. Then I booted off a USB drive into Dosdude1's Mojave
patcher and did a full patched system reinstall onto the drive which
just received the restore. Then, of course, I did a post install and
put the HDD into the 2009 MBP.

The fuck? That's nothing like what I told you to do. : D

Post by Amanda Ripanykhazova
It worked fairly well though somewhat suspiciously the 2009 MBP now
occasionally goes into the same kernel panic which the local Apple
Store said was a symptom of the 2016 MBP having died! Thus far,
restarting and re-running Dosdude1's post-install seems to have kept
the 2009 MBP running.

You're running a hacked-up unsupported OS (which you didn't mention in
your original post). Things *will* go wrong. Get used to it.

Post by Amanda Ripanykhazova
The only problem i am having is that Chrome starts to a blank white
screen. Apparently this is a well known problem for which there are a
number of solutions! Mind you, none of them work! They all assume that
if you have a white screen on which YOU CAN DO NOTHING, you can still
go to settings and implement some sort of cache-deletion solution!
I wonder what on earth they mean?

Good luck with that. You're on your own.

[Amanda Ripanykhazova]

I suppose you are right but I didnt have a lot of option. My computer went in for a repair which may have turned into a write-off and I need to use something to carry on with urgent work while the insurance company takes some decision. Which they have taken a week so far to do! Now it looks like they will take even longer!

The way things have panned out, I urgently needed to get on with my work and the only thing which doesnt work is Chrome, which seems to require me to press buttons and enter commands on a COMPLETELY WHITE Chrome screen!