HT4889 Migration

Which is the fastest method of migrating from my iMac to my new MacBook pro?

Any suggestions for those of us who have already set up our new Mac? I've tried the migration assistant, but either one or the other of the two Macs start to do the migration and then revert back to the sign-in screen.

Similar Messages

HT4889 Migration Assistant unable to transfer from OS 10.4.11 to Mountain Lion

I am following the instructions here
How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_USto migrate from OS 10.4.11 to Mountain Lion, but Migration Assistant gets stuck looking for my old computer. This occurs after I select "From a Time Machine backup or other disk".
My old computer is in Target Disk mode and visible in the new Macbook's Finder, so the Firewire cable is OK.
I also tried migrating from a 120 GB hard-drive backup through the USB port. Still no luck.
I am running Tiger on my old Powerbook G4, and Mountain Lion on a MacBook Pro.
Any ideas?
Any good guides to transferring the files manually?
Thanks
Seth

It is not a good idea to wholesale restore your entire home directory from Tiger to Mountain Lion. If Migration Assistant had worked, you would have a nightmare on your hands with incompatibilities in the home library folder.
Here is what I would do:
Use Target Disk Mode to mount the old Tiger Mac on the new Mountain Lion Machine installation.
Ensure that the original files have the same user id and group ownership between both machines.
Get the Tiger home directory files to the ML home directory
Do not drag and drop folders from Tiger, that already exist on ML. Drag the contents between folders. The reason is that folders created by ML, may have different permissions and lower level access control list settings than their Tiger counterparts.
Do not move the contents of the home Library folder on Tiger at all. You are asking for mayhem if you splatter this over its counterpart on ML.
You can drag and drop any folders that you created on the Tiger home directory to your new home directory on ML.
Do not drag any Tiger applications to the new Mountain Lion installation. They are incompatible, and you need current revisions with confirmed ML support.
Unmount Firewire Target disk mode.
Start using ML.

HT4889 Migration Assistant not quite working

Hi;
I tried following the instructions on: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4889.
When I launch MA on the target computer it intructs me to also start MA on the source computer which is different than the instructions noted on the webpage cited above. In those instructions I'm supposed to start my source compter as a target drive.
I tried both ways but in either method, the computers cannot find each other. Both are running MacOS 10.8.2.
Actually, should the computers "see" each other in the Finder when connected via a Thunderbolt cable? They don't. Is that the problem?
Chris

It has nothing to do with file sharing. You should only have to boot your old Mac in Target Disk and if you have Finder Preferences > General > Show these disks > hard drives and external checkmarked it should be on your Desktop, if not then target mode isn't functioning for some reason I don't understand. Do you have a clone or a Time Machine backup ypu can migrate from.
Note that if you've left Setup Assistant and already created an account, migration (even if you can accomplish it) will create another account for your migrated items.

HT4889 Migration Assistant to update my new Mountain Lion iMac from an external USB hard disk drive, it is constantly saying that it is "looking for other computers". It doesn't find the external drive. Why is it looking for other computers?

I'm trying to use Migration Assistant to update my new Mountain Lion iMac from an external USB hard disk drive. I told it to look for a drive, yet it is constantly saying that it is "looking for other computers". It doesn't find the external drive ... it just endlessly looks for other computers. Why is it looking for other computers at all, when I told it not to?

Wow, the wording in Migration Assistant is misleading. I've never used it before, so I thought I would try to copy my files from the external drive ... my old iMac died, but I managed to get everything I need off it, using the 'cp' command in single-user mode. So I guess I'll just have to manually copy the files from the external drive to the new machine. I was hoping that Migration Assistant might help somehow, but obviously not.
Thanks for the quick reply!

HT4889 migrated my mac book to new imac.now have same mail, facebook etc on both

migration from macbook to new imac resulted in same email, facebook page, etc of macbook on both computers. How can I resolve this ?

That's how it is supposed to work. What were you expecting?

HT4889 Migrating data from one Mac to another using Migration Assistant

Hi,
I just migrated my data from my old Macbook to my new Macbook Pro. All of the data migrated as my old user, so now i have 2 users on my computer under my name.
I am wondering how I can transfer the data from my old user (on my new computer after migration) to my new user on the new computer. Any thoughts?

Rachelmischel,
I wouldn't use migration assistant. I recently had to move all of my files from a 2008 macbook to a 2013 macbook air. It took me three days to try multiple attempts with migration assistant. What I did was create a drop box account with my macbook (my macbook air already had drop box installed) and then move files from my macbook into my drop box folder. Once that was completed, I would manually copy my files onto my macbook air. The catch is that you need to be sure your computer sharing is enabled and that you make sure your older macintosh will allow permission to your new macintosh to see its drop box files. Hope that helps!
-Freecalls4j-

HT4889 Migrate from MacBook Pro to external hard drive

I have a MacBook Pro with no video, external monitor won't work, it's the nvdia chip. Before working on it, I want to back up the Apps, Settings etc. I have the data backed up. I tried to migrate to my mac mini but it doesn't have enough space so I thought I could migrate to my external hard drive, but I can't see the external... Here are my 3 inital questions:
Can you Migrate from Macbook to external drive....if so, how...migration asst. or disk utility????
When you Migrate from one drive to another, does it overwrite the files on the new drive, in this case my Mac Mini
Can you clone or disk image to an external hard drive, if so, how?

A clone should work.
SuperDuper
Carbon Copy Cloner

HT4889 Migrating files from OX 10.4.11 to Mavericks

I am pretty much a computer dummy and don't want to mess up. I just purchased a imac running Mavericks. My old computer is a Power Mac G4 running OS 10.4.11. Is there anything special I need to know about migrating files from such an old computer? My second question is, is there drivers available for a Laserjet 5000 series printer for Mavericks? I don't see a link on the HP site.

Hi, I've been struggling with this all evening for a friend. I've not succeeded but will share some info which I hope will help:
To migrate between Macs you need to use MA (Migration Assistant), (Applications > Utilities) but when attempting to migrate from 10.4.11 to Mavericks it will tell you that you need to upgrade your version of MA. The problem is that there is no upgrade available, even with the latest version of MA for 10.4.11 it will give you the same message.
To get a more recent version of MA you need to upgrade to OSX 10.6. This is available from the apple website for $19.99 (£14.99)
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
In order to install Snow Leopard you must have at least 1GB of RAM on your Mac otherwise Snow Leopard won't install.
To find out how much RAM you have click on the Apple icon (top left), click "About This Mac" and on the pop-up check that for Memory you've at least "1 GB".
"512 MB" will not work. If you've less than 1 GB you'll need to buy more RAM.
If you manage to upgrade to Snow Leopard then I hope Migration Assistant or Time Machine works for you!
Good luck!

HT4889 Migration Assistant taking too long

I am trying to Migrate from my old MacBook Pro to my new MacBook Air using a Thunderbolt cable but the Migration Assistant is telling me this will take 642 hours. How can this be?

Welcome to Apple Suppport Communities
You should see that time decreases quickly. Note that sometimes Migration Assistant may give a wrong remaining time. If you see that Migration Assistant doesn't progress or it keeps saying that it will take 642 hours, unplug and plug your Thunderbolt cable again. If nothing works, restart the Mac that is receiving the files from the other computer and try again. Make sure that Migration Assistant isn't transferring the data through Wi-Fi turning off Wi-Fi on the menu bar

HT4889 Migration assistant doesn't see my 3TB Time machine it just keeps looking for other computers

I just did a clean install of Mountain Lion on my iMac and Migration Assistant doesn't seem to see my 3TB Time Machine. It continuously looks for other computers, and nothing else. I know the files work because I loaded it on my other MBP and it sees them just fine? am I just inpatient or is something wrong?

This happened to me after hard drive replacement under the Seagate Drive Recall at the local Apple Store. Here's what I learned from the process:
I Wagged the Mac home, fired it up (with naked OS installed at the Apple Store), and it wouldn't see my Time Machine drive with Setup Assistant - not on firewire 800 nor USB. Just a grey spinner that lasts forever. When I try just continuing anyway, it offers me something that looks plausible, but then puts up a dialog about duplicate user name, and no matter what I enter, it always says "that user already exists". So I think - maybe Migration Assistant. Complete the setup, create an account, watch the nice welcome movie. BAM - there's my Time Machine drive on the desktop. OK - it has to work . . . but no. Same behavior in Migration Assistant, plus the new OS offers to start making backups on my Time Machine disk - it's not recognizing it at all.
So - back to the Apple Store - let the genius figure it out. It turns out there are multiple problems. First, the "genius" who imaged my new machine picked 10.7.2 but my machine had 10.7.5 - turns out, it's not enough just to have right cat. Even a point release older OS may not recognize a newer Time Machine drive. The guy at the desk said "We have images of everything but the 10.7.2 has free iLife in it, so they like to use that one". What the heck? They don't image what you had originally as a matter of sane process?
Having figured that out, we re-image 10.7.5 at the store thinking we've fixed it. But no - Setup Assistant still won't see the Time Machine drive. Not on USB, not on Firewire. Not in a box, not with a fox.
So here's the second trick - newer machines have a recovery partion. see: http://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/ Boot with the option key held down, pick that partition, then you'll get a "system restore" option, to restore your whole system from a Time Machine backup. My drive was recognized by the recovery partition restore process when neither Setup nor Migration Assistant would. Obviously, there's something broken in Setup/Migration Assistant.
Takeaway:
- if you're getting a drive replaced by Apple, make sure they image *exactly* the same OS
- if Setup Assistant fails, use the recovery partition for system restore
- Use Recovery Disk Assistant http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1433 NOW to make yourself a recovery thumb drive just in case. With Apple's new "no media" approach to the OS, you're hosed without it.

HT4889 Migration assistant is showing user folder sizes much larger than in finder

I am migrating my system from a HD to a 256 GB SSD on a mac Pro.
The move is all internal from Bay 1 to Bay 4.
I did a fresh install of Mountain Lion on the SSD.
I now have about 199 Gb free on the SSD.
When I went to use the Migration assistant to move users it shows the user folders to be >300 GB, even though they read as being less than 30 GB when I look at then in the finder.
I already store my iTunes, videos etc in separate folders outside the user folders.
What is going on?
How to I address this?

Probably Time Machine local snapshots. Even if your TM disk isn't connected, local snapshots are created.

HT4889 MIgrating files using eethernet cables

When migrating my files between two Macs, can I use a standard ethernet cable or do I need to use a crossover cable? I would rather connect my macs together rather than to a hub on my network for this.

No. Ethernet is Ethernet. But using Firewire 800, if you can, would be faster and more reliable than Ethernet. You will need a standard Firewire 800 cable to use, and you will need to boot the Source computer into Target Disk Mode.

HT4889 Migration assistant It created a whole new user.

I was going through the steps of setting up my new imac and went ahead with migration from my other computer. It created a new user. Now I have 2 users.
What is the best way to get all my files, music, photos applications ect to the new user?
Or can I ditch the new user and go about it differently to have it import all my old computer to the main user?
thanks!

The easiest option may be to erase the disk, reinstall OS X, and start over.
This time elect to transfer information from the other computer, before creating a user account.
Read Apple Support Communities contributor Pondini's Setting-up a new Mac from an old one, its Backups, or a PC
As he says:
Usually, the best way to do that is with Setup Assistant, when your new Mac first starts up. The alternative, Migration Assistant, can be used later, but there are some downsides to waiting.
One downside is creation of the second User account, as you now know.

HT4889 migration time

how long should migration to a newcomputer take??

Depends. Are you migrating from another Intel Mac of a smaller hard drive, or an older PowerPC Mac (PowerMac) with a G5, G4, or G3 CPU?

HT4889 Migration Assistant to transfer apps?

If I use Migration Assistant to transfer my files from an old to a new computer, what happens to the bundled software on the new computer? I'm worried that the new software, which came with the new computer, will get written over by the software from my old computer if I transfer the apps. Should I not transfer my apps? But if I don't transfer apps, what about my non-bundled software? How do I get that to the new computer (e.g., Word for the Mac)?

itsmedsm wrote:
I'm worried that the new software, which came with the new computer, will get written over by the software from my old computer if I transfer the apps.
No. It will not transfer any apps that already exist (identical name in identical place). So the new versions will remain.
See the pink Transferring Applications box in Using Setup Assistant on Mountain Lion or Lion.

HT4889 Migration

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for