Migrating User files to new User ID on New Mac?

I bought a new iMac for my work to replace a PC.
I am planning to try Migration Assistant on initial Start Up of a new iMac, and would like to migrate mainly all Mailboxes & folders, Calendar, Contacts. I had planned to do this from the office PC but that has never worked apparently due to all the endless safety restrictions in the Windows PC.
While I don't have everything on my home Mac, I do have the last year's work mail accounts, the calendar and contacts, which I set up manually.
I know that on initial start up, the new Mac will ask if I'd like to migrate files from another Mac. I would like to name the new computer a totally different name than my home mac (like "OfficeMac")
My question is: If I migrate on initial set up from my current user on my home mac (my name) to a new user name (office), will I still be able to move all the mail, folders, etc and access & use them or is the system going to think permissions for these are only for the old user (my name) from the mac it migrated from???
Many thanks

Okay - in case this helps anyone else. This totally worked. On initial set-up it migrated everything, however it does not ask you to create a new User Name, but it migrated all my stuff including the accounts.
I did not want my account name used, just the same mail, calendar, etc. So....
While there seems to be a lot of postings saying you cannot change the name of your User Account, I don't know why, because you can indeed.
You have 2 choices:
You must be logged in as an Admin on another Login (I already had 2)
Choice 1
You go to System Preferences>Users
Unlock the lock,
Highlight the User you want to change
In the area called "Full Name" just change the name!
This however will not change the name of the home folder which is also what I wanted. That is a little more involved but this absolutely worked:
Choice 2
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3872
I am running Mountain Lion on a new iMac (Oct 2013) - I have no idea if this works on anything older.
Good luck and thanks!

Similar Messages

Can I migrate my files and all my notes over to a new PC?

I have 150 files that I read into Adobe Digital Editions, and I made notes in many of them. I need to preserve my notes. Almost all the files were free downloads (except 2), so I'm not worried about problems associated with Digital Rights Management. If I preserve the directory structure on my new PC (in order to keep the migration as simple as possible), what procedure can I follow to migrate my files and notes over to a new PC? I trust someone at Adobe has thought about this issue. Thank you

I'm not sure this will work, but I think that if you install ADE, and then copy the directory
C:\Users\<youruser>\Documents\My Digital Editions from the old computer to the new, you will see all your annotations etc.
The annotations themselves are in C:\Users\<youruser>\Documents\My Digital Editions\Annotations
Don't lose anything from the old computer until you are sure it is all working on the new.
Also, the old one may well be on an older version of ADE (eg 1.7.2), and the new will naturally install ADE2.0.
I'm not sure if they have changed the format of annotations at all between the two;
one reader recently reported the loss of many books when updating to V2.0. http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1140605?tstart=0
There are lots of bugs in V2.0, so if you are not yet on it you may do best to keep with the old version.
Version 1.7.2, it is a little difficult to find, available on Adobe site for Windows and for Mac.
http://helpx.adobe.com/digital-editions/kb/cant-install-digital-editions.html
The forum software is sometimes corrupting the link above. There shouldn't be a blank in 'editio ns.html'. The following redirects to the same page: http://tinyurl.com/diged172
You can also run the old version by copying the ?:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Digital Editions directory; no need for an install.
The only thing you seem to miss from a 'proper' install that way is association of .acsm and .epub files with ADE; which you will have to to manually.

Migration Assistant from PowerBook 10.3.9 to new MacBook Pro?

A friend has just bought a new MacBook Pro. His previous Mac is a PowerBook (G4 1.0 GHz 15" FW800 - Aluminium) still running Panther 10.3.9.
He's asked me to help him migrate his files, settings, apps etc. to the new Mac. I had thought to use Migration Assistant/Setup Assistant to do this, but the manual for the MacBook Pro says:
+"Before migrating, use Software Update on your other Mac. The other Mac should have one of these versions of Mac OS X software—either Mac OS X v10.4.11 or Mac OS X v10.5.6 (or later)."+
Does this mean you can't migrate from a Panther Mac to Snow Leopard using Migration Assistant?
TIA,
Chris Adams.

You use Migration Assistant from the new machine. The old machine needs to be started into Target Disk Mode. Both machines need to be first connected via Firewire cable. See the following:
A Basic Guide for Migrating to Intel-Macs
The Knowledgebase article Intel-based Mac: Some migrated applications may need to be updated refers to methods of dealing with migrating from PowerPC chips to Intel with the Migration Assistant safely. The authors of this tip have not had a chance to verify this works in all instances, or that it avoids the 10.6.1 and earlier Guest Account bug that caused account information to get deleted upon use of the Migration/Setup Assistant. However, a well backed up source that includes at least two backups of all the data that are not connected to your machine will help you avoid potential issues, should they arise. In event it does not work, follow the steps below.
If you are migrating a PowerPC system (G3, G4, or G5) to an Intel-Mac be careful what you migrate. Keep in mind that some items that may get transferred will not work on Intel machines and may end up causing your computer's operating system to malfunction.
Rosetta supports "software that runs on the PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor that are built for Mac OS X". This excludes the items that are not universal binaries or simply will not work in Rosetta:
Classic Environment, and subsequently any Mac OS 9 or earlier applications
Screensavers written for the PowerPC
System Preference add-ons
All Unsanity Haxies
Browser and other plug-ins
Contextual Menu Items
Applications which specifically require the PowerPC G5
Kernel extensions
Java applications with JNI (PowerPC) libraries
See also What Can Be Translated by Rosetta.
In addition to the above you could also have problems with migrated cache files and/or cache files containing code that is incompatible.
If you migrate a user folder that contains any of these items, you may find that your Intel-Mac is malfunctioning. It would be wise to take care when migrating your systems from a PowerPC platform to an Intel-Mac platform to assure that you do not migrate these incompatible items.
If you have problems with applications not working, then completely uninstall said application and reinstall it from scratch. Take great care with Java applications and Java-based Peer-to-Peer applications. Many Java apps will not work on Intel-Macs as they are currently compiled. As of this time Limewire, Cabos, and Acquisition are available as universal binaries. Do not install browser plug-ins such as Flash or Shockwave from downloaded installers unless they are universal binaries. The version of OS X installed on your Intel-Mac comes with special compatible versions of Flash and Shockwave plug-ins for use with your browser.
The same problem will exist for any hardware drivers such as mouse software unless the drivers have been compiled as universal binaries. For third-party mice the current choices are USB Overdrive or SteerMouse. Contact the developer or manufacturer of your third-party mouse software to find out when a universal binary version will be available.
Also be careful with some backup utilities and third-party disk repair utilities. Disk Warrior 4.1, TechTool Pro 4.6.1, SuperDuper 2.5, and Drive Genius 2.0.2 work properly on Intel-Macs with Leopard. The same caution may apply to the many "maintenance" utilities that have not yet been converted to universal binaries. Leopard Cache Cleaner, Onyx, TinkerTool System, and Cocktail are now compatible with Leopard.
Before migrating or installing software on your Intel-Mac check MacFixit's Rosetta Compatibility Index.
Additional links that will be helpful to new Intel-Mac users:
Intel In Macs
Apple Guide to Universal Applications
MacInTouch List of Compatible Universal Binaries
MacInTouch List of Rosetta Compatible Applications
MacUpdate List of Intel-Compatible Software
Transferring data with Setup Assistant - Migration Assistant FAQ
Because Migration Assistant isn't the ideal way to migrate from PowerPC to Intel Macs, using Target Disk Mode, copying the critical contents to CD and DVD, an external hard drive, or networking
will work better when moving from PowerPC to Intel Macs. The initial section below discusses Target Disk Mode. It is then followed by a section which discusses networking with Macs that lack Firewire.
If both computers support the use of Firewire then you can use the following instructions:
1. Repair the hard drive and permissions using Disk Utility.
2. Backup your data. This is vitally important in case you make a mistake or there's some other problem.
3. Connect a Firewire cable between your old Mac and your new Intel Mac.
4. Startup your old Mac in Target Disk Mode.
5. Startup your new Mac for the first time, go through the setup and registration screens, but do NOT migrate data over. Get to your desktop on the new Mac without migrating any new data over.
If you are not able to use a Firewire connection (for example you have a Late 2008 MacBook that only supports USB:)
1. Set up a local home network: Creating a small Ethernet Network.
2. If you have a MacBook Air or Late 2008 MacBook see the following:
MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)- Migration Tips and Tricks;
MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)- What to do if migration is unsuccessful;
MacBook Air- Migration Tips and Tricks;
MacBook Air- Remote Disc, Migration, or Remote Install Mac OS X and wireless 802.11n networks.
Copy the following items from your old Mac to the new Mac:
In your /Home/ folder: Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, and Sites folders.
In your /Home/Library/ folder:
/Home/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Application Support/iCal (copy the whole folder)
Also in /Home/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need including folders for any third-party applications)
/Home/Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Preferences/ (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/Calendars (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/Safari (copy the whole folder)
If you want cookies:
/Home/Library/Cookies/Cookies.plist
/Home/Library/Application Support/WebFoundation/HTTPCookies.plist
For Entourage users:
Entourage is in /Home/Documents/Microsoft User Data
Also in /Home/Library/Preferences/Microsoft
Credit goes to Macjack for this information.
If you need to transfer data for other applications please ask the vendor or ask in the Discussions where specific applications store their data.
5. Once you have transferred what you need restart the new Mac and test to make sure the contents are there for each of the applications.
Written by Kappy with additional contributions from a brody.
Revised 1/6/2009

Using Migration Assistant to Move Data Files from one Account to New User

Is it possible or recommended to use Migration Assistant to move data files from an old user account to a new user account on the same volume/hard disk?

Migration Assitant cannot be used as a simple file transfer utility. MA can transfer an entire Home folder or entire Users folder but not individual files.
In general files in one user account cannot be moved to another user account as this would violate built-in security measures.
What you can do is to copy the files to an external device like a hard drive or flash drive. First log in to the old account. Then configure the drive to ignore preferences by Pressing COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window and check the Ignore permissions on this volume checkbox at the bottom of the window. Copy your files to the device. Log into the new account. Verify the external drive is still configured to ignore permissions (reset it, if not.) Copy the files from the external device into the Home folder of the new account. I would create a temporary folder for these files. If you still end up without the proper permissions you will need to make modifications that are easier done if all the files are in a single folder.

HT4889 Can I merge the new migrated users files with the admin user on the new mac?

I used the migration assistant to transfer users, files, apps etc from my MacBook Pro to my new iMac. I had already set up the desktop with my name as the user. So, during transfer, it created a new user... So, I want the initial user and the new transfer user accounts to be merged. Is this possible? If not, does it matter?
Thanks.

It's possible by using the Shared folder to move items into and then into your admin account.
It can be messy. If it were me I'd do a factory reset and then do the migration in Setup Assistant.
http://pondini.org/OSX/Transfer.html

Migration assistant now seeing my User file only back ups on my time machine, nor am I able to drag the entire user folder to my new desktop.

I cannot recover my system on a clean install when I try to either use migration assistant or drag and drop of my backed up user profile. I did not back up anything else. I can see the file on my external drive but migration assitant does not see it as a restore and when I drag and drop the file to my desktop, the system informs me I do not have permissions to transfer all of the files.
What can I do?
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Persol

persol19 wrote:
Yes, there were no system files included. Soley the items that are incopassed within the user file.
Rats. It's awful that Apple doesn't warn folks about that.
Since I am not able to use them as backups, what is the best way to restore all of my previous preferences, calenders, notes, adressbook, etc.?
Would it be best to replace each file in the library of the new machine with the coresponding folders of the new machine?
That's going to be difficult, but is about your only option (assuming you have no other backups).
Part of the hassle is, you have to do it "piecemeal" -- you can't just delete the old home folder, or any of the "default" sub-folders (Desktop, Documents, etc.), and drag in the one from your backups -- you'll get a message about it being a required folder, so you can't delete it.
So you'll have to do it with the contents of the sub-folders.
Make a large pot of coffee.
For future reference, many long-time users consider a good backup plan to start with a minimum of two full backups, via two different apps, on two different pieces of hardware. These should be updated regularly.
For "primary" backups, Time Machine (built in to OSX) is quite good. You might want to review the Time Machine Tutorial, and perhaps browse Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.
#27 in the FAQ link has some suggestions for "secondary" backups.

Migrating to new user account: must chown old account's files- I think

Is there a way to selectively chown the files/folders owned by a particular user, while leaving other files/folders untouched? I'm in the process of migrating to a fresh user account on my machine. I copied what I need from the old user's home directory and chowned it recursively, as described on an Apple support page. The support page makes no mention of chowning files/folders elsewhere on the machine, but I've found plenty of stuff in other locations that are owned by the old user:
/Applications (lots of stuff)
/Library (lots of stuff)
/private/var/tmp (a small lot)
/private/var/vm/app_profile/ (2 files)
/usr/local/clamXav/ (1 easily replaceable file)
/usr/local/lib/codec/ (4 files/folders)
I'm planning to delete the old user once I'm confident that everything is working, and I'm not sure what would happen if some critical files are owned by a deleted user. The old user was an admin account, if that matters. Oh, and I'm running OSX 10.4.11 on a PPC mac, if that matters.
Any help appreciated

Niel- that article you linked to is great. Lots of helpful info that's relevant to my situation. Thanks!
After reading the article and comments, I'm a little unsure whether to use "find -L" or just "find" (or "find -P") when finding files that need chowning. It sounds like "find -L" would include symlinks that point to files/folders owned by the old user, regardless of who owns the symlink itself, whereas "find -P" would only include symlinks that are themselves owned by the old user. I think "-P" is what I need (the man page says the -P behavior is the default, so I guess I just need "find" by itself). Someone commented about this, and the article's author acknowledged some of their other suggestions, but not this one. ?
I think if I was going to change ownership of all the old user's files, I'd need to run the following commands on a few directories (/Applications, /Library, etc.):
     find $dir -user $olduser -exec chown -h $newuser {} \;
     find $dir -group $olduser -exec chgrp -h $newuser {} \;
I'd also have to look for filenames that end in the old user's uid, with something like
     find / -name "*501"
     or
     find -L / -name "*501"
However, it occured to me that while there may be files I want that are owned by the old user, there are probably also files I don't want to migrate over, like if the system's already created equivalent files for the new user and I'd be overwriting something that could cause problems. I'm going in circles
At this point I think I'd better make such changes selectively when problems crop up that I think could be solved by doing so, rather than make system-wide changes in one fell swoop. I want to fix small problems, not make big ones.

HT2518 Migration Assistant set up new user to which I don't have access to any of the files!!!

I tried to transfer my PC files using Migration Assistant. It set up another user and when I try and go to that users files, it says that I don't have permission to access them. What do I do now?

I'm going to assume the consolidating files does not work due to hard drive space limitations.
Since you're moving to Windows 7, have you tried using the Windows files and settings transfer utility? That will move everything for you to the same location on the new computer, it also allows some control over what actually gets moved.
Alternatively, if you know the location of all of the media, it can be manually moved by copying it from the old computer to the new computer in the same location.
Also, using the Apple article on moving the library, take a slight twist on what it says. Move the iTunes library to the external drive, update the settings in iTunes to reflect the library being on the external drive, then consolodate it.
The options are endless for moving the library... it simply takes a little effort to make it happen and possibly a twist on existing "standard" methods depending on your unique situation.

Migrate files, etc. to new user?

I just had to create a new user acct with admin privileges to solve a problem with Adobe Bridge. Is there a way to carry over all of the settings from my original user acct?
Thanks
Peter

Alright, I copied all of the folders that were in the old acct to a new folder on the root level. Two things worth noting - 1) nothing was flagged as a problem during that process 2) when I was done I clicked on the Users folder and there IS a Deleted Users folder evidently created when I tried your original suggestion. I never looked for it thinking that the never-ending spinning wheel was a failure.
So now, would you trust that dmg file? I opened it and it appears OK, but can I be sure?
Whether I use the dmg or the manually copied folders, wouldn't I have to copy everything to the new user acct to maintain my previous state?

Migration tool moves files to new user

Hi
I have a new imac and the migration tools works fine. i have migrated "my music" and now i am trying to migrate "my photos" but the tool wants to create a new user and my photos end up being associated with this new user rather than my account, i.e. i can't seem to move them between users. any thoughts on how i migrate the photos across to my user account or how i move them from a new user to my account?
Cheers

You move them manually, either from the old computer or by dragging the other account's home folder to the desktop and authenticating yourself.
(72573)

Which files do I transfer to new user account to migrate iTunes playlists??

I created a user account for my wife and have copied over my iTunes library so she can access it all on her account (we didn't want to go through the trouble of using the "sharing" feature, more time consuming). I even transferred the com.apple.xxx files from my Users>MYUSERNAME>Library>Preferences to the comparable folder on her account but I can't get the playlists to show up. Anyone know where the info for these is contained so I can copy it to a comparable folder on her account and let her see use all our existing playlists? Thanks.

Thanks! That worked perfectly. Just made a few exported text files and then imported through iTunes on the new account. I did this process previously but our hard drive crashed and I had to replace it and my last backup was about 6 weeks old (oops...) and the work I did copying stuff over was lost. The way I did it before was different, I thought just a file that has this info in it. But, it worked just fine and took less than 5 minutes. Thanks very much.

Migrated files and New User Account

Hello,
New Mac user here. I successfully migrated all the content from my old PC onto my Mac Mini and it was put into a new user account. I'd like to transfer this content into the Admin account and delete the added user. What's the best way to go about doing this? Thanks so much!

Use Quicktime Player version 7 instead of Quicktime 10.
Mac OS X 10.6 includes QuickTime versions 10.0 and 7.6.3. The QuickTime 7 player will only be present if a QuickTime Pro key was present at the time of installation, or if specified as part of a custom install, or individually downloaded.
http://support.apple.com/kb/dl923
Snow Leopard update 10.6.4 included an update to 7.6.6 (if installed). You can install it from the above link even though it says for 10.6.3. It's the same version of QuickTime Player 7.6.6.
Only QuickTime Player 7.6.3 or 7.6.6 can be updated to "Pro".

Can I migrate data from "old" user account to new user after clean install?

I've just done a clean install of Snow Leopard on a MacBook Pro (I erased system drive before install). I've upgraded SL to 10.6.2 using a generic administrator account. And I have an exact bootable clone of my old data (SuperDuper backup on external drive).
I don't care about migrating all my old software; I'll reinstall it. But I would like to migrate system preferences, mail accounts, iCal calendars, and keychains etc. And some silly part of me wants to REname my username. (Also: I can't use Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant because some part of the old image has Microsoft Entourage hooks in Mail and MobileMe that I want to get rid of.)
So here's my question: if I create a new account with the NEW user name I want to start using, can I STILL then copy over my old data? I don't know which of the below stuff has my old user name embedded in the data. Here's the list:
Your data in ~/Documents
~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Calendars (copy the whole folder)
Also in ~/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need)
~ /Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist *This is a very important file which contains all email account settings and general mail preferences.
~ /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Application Support/Safari (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Application Support/iMovie (copy the whole folder)
~/Pictures/iPhoto library
~/Music/iTunes
~/Movies/iMovie
Thanks for any input! I know a lot of people here have done clean installs, so I appreciate anything you can share.

santranyc wrote:
I've just done a clean install of Snow Leopard on a MacBook Pro (I erased system drive before install). I've upgraded SL to 10.6.2 using a generic administrator account. And I have an exact bootable clone of my old data (SuperDuper backup on external drive).
I don't care about migrating all my old software; I'll reinstall it. But I would like to migrate system preferences, mail accounts, iCal calendars, and keychains etc. And some silly part of me wants to REname my username. (Also: I can't use Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant because some part of the old image has Microsoft Entourage hooks in Mail and MobileMe that I want to get rid of.)
what exactly do you mean by that? you can use Migration Assistant to migrate your user only (no applications). that should most likely suffice and i don't think Entourage will be a problem. you'll have to delete various entourage folders in your documents folder afterward if you don't plan on using it anymore.
So here's my question: if I create a new account with the NEW user name I want to start using, can I STILL then copy over my old data?
yes, as bdmarsha said, your user name is not mentioned anywhere in your home directory.
I don't know which of the below stuff has my old user name embedded in the data. Here's the list:
Your data in ~/Documents
~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Calendars (copy the whole folder)
Also in ~/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need)
~ /Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist *This is a very important file which contains all email account settings and general mail preferences.
~ /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Application Support/Safari (copy the whole folder)
~/Library/Application Support/iMovie (copy the whole folder)
~/Pictures/iPhoto library
~/Music/iTunes
~/Movies/iMovie
Thanks for any input! I know a lot of people here have done clean installs, so I appreciate anything you can share.

I have just used migration assistant to import photos (using an ethernet cable) from my PC. It has worked but they have gone into a new user on my MacPro. How can I merge them into the one user account.

I have just used migration assistant to import photos (using an ethernet cable) from my PC. It has worked but they have gone into a new user on my MacPro. How can I merge them into the one user account.

How many pictures (or how many bytes) are we talking? Now that the pictures are imported one way to cross users is to use a removable drive (although large volumes of files preclude this).
The other is to login as the user where the pictures are, then copy them into the public drop box of the user where you want the picture.
The arrow is showing (in ths example) copy files from the Pictures folder for my user to the guest user accounts public dropbox. When you do this you may have to authenticate and you won't be able to see the results of the copy until you log in as the other user.
All users are in the folder "/Users/"

Tiger User files to new iMac via enet or backup drive?

I'm completely new to Leopard. My new (refurb) iMac 2.66 from Apple is bundled with SL. All I want from the old Powerbook/Tiger User files are iTunes library files, images folders in Pictures and Docs. No need for needwork settings, will be going to new config./provider. No iMovie or iPhoto libraries needed.
My Tiger Powerbook is backed up on an external USB 2.0 drive.
Can't I just copy from the PB to the new desktop via Ethernet and add to the new OS User folders, and import iTunes library from the new machine for iTunes?
I can re-install Office 2008. Or should I use SL Migration Assistant or back-up software?
Any issues to consider? Feedback or a relevent thread would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

thenewdawg wrote:
Glenn. Thanks for the reply.
So I can discriminate which of my user files/folders to move with MA?
Yes, there will be some flexibility in what you want to move over.
I only need the noted files. I'll be using a different account on the new machine. I know how to set up a new account in Tiger, delete the old one, etc. I assume it's similar in SL. I just don't want a lot of orphan files from the old config., which is why I thought of just setting up the new machine, and using the back-up software or copying to the desktop.
Actually MA would be best rather than copying to the desktop as it handles the file permissions for. Just copying files over manually can end in headaches permissions-wise. That is why it might be best to allow MA to migrate over all or part of your old user account. Then you could maintain the same username and password and the Mac OS would recognize these files/folders as belong to you and not some other user account.
I have had upwards of 6 different Macs since the release of Mac OS X. And I have migrated over the very same user account from one to the other with each new Mac that I upgraded to without issue.
I'll be wiping the drive and re-installing the OS from the install disc without all the excess fonts, foreign language translators, drivers, demos, etc before I do anything else.
That works for me.

Migrating User files to new User ID on New Mac?

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