Migrating without Migration Assistant

I installed something or some program that kept causing shutdowns of my iMac. Archive & reinstall couldn't fix it. And since I'm no pro at reading Console logs I couldn't figure out what it was. So I decided it was about time I did a full reinstall of 10.5 anyway. Thought it might speed things up to not have all that program clutter.
So, are there any guides out there on how to migrate without the migration assistant? That way I can possibly keep my iTunes Library files without having to re-rate and organize everything? How about Mail and Stickies and iPhoto? Is it as simple as moving the old files to the same place they were in?
I'm afraid using the Migration assistant on anything might bring over whatever was troubling me.

I used the migration assistant and unchecked the applications. The transfer went smoothly enough but my horrid restart problems have begun again! See my other post http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1950807&tstart=0
I can only imagine that this means the root of this problem was not in my applications but in my preferences or network settings?
HELP!

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How do I transfer my home folder to my server without migration assistant?

I am having a hard time migrating my user folder to my mini. My wife is the first user account, but I want to put my account on there as well. Without migration assistant, I am not sure how to do it?
The Apple Genius guy told me to just copy my home folder to the "users" folder on the mini,
then go to "system pref's" and "create a new user that "exactly matches the name on my copied data, especially the short name.
At this point it is supposed to ask me if I want to "link" the accounts and I say yes, however, I can't get to this point.
Everytime I try to copy the home folder over, I can't drop it in the user folder. If I try to copy to the desktop or other folder only some data will transfer. It is obviously a permissions issues. I have selected my user folder, "get info" and I "applied to enclosed items" but I am not familiar with permissions like this. I remember the "ignore permissions" option.
So there ya go? How would you guys do this?

The permissions associated with the Users folder are those of the admin user. I suggest you try using the Terminal in your Utilities folder. You should first boot the computer into the main admin account. The command line would look something like this:
sudo cp -a /Users/useraccount /Volumes/volname/Users/useraccount
Press RETURN. Enter admin password when prompted. It will not be echoed to the screen. Substitute your account name for useraccount, and the name of the mounted drive on the Mini to which you want to copy your user account for volname.
The above command will copy your Home folder into the /Users/ folder on the other computer. Now, there may be a better solution for you, but you haven't told us about the other computer from which you are trying to migrate. If both computers have Firewire ports then there is an easier and faster solution.

How to use migration assistant without creating dual user accounts

I want to use migration assistant to transfer apps, software & files on my macbook pro to my new macbook air. How can I do this without creating two user accounts for myself on the m-book air -- my account from the m-book pro & the one that the air makes me create as soon as I do start-up? Can I just use the same name & password for both? or will that make things go badly awry?
Thanks!

If you have not booted the MBA for the first time and gone through the Setup Assistant, then I would use the Setup Assistant to make the transfer before you even create another user account. However, if you've already created the new user account on the MBA, then create a new admine one with a different username than the account you will migrate. Log into this new account, delete the first account you made, then use Migration Assistant to transfer your account from the MBP.

Migration assistant without firewire

Can anyone suggest a way of using the Migration Assistant without firewire?
The firewire port on my iBook is fried and that's where my life is stored. I just got my new iMac and wanted to use Migration Assistant to move everything over to it. Without firewire is there some other way of moving all my data except piece by piece?

No, not that - but it is a useful app. Carbon Copy Cloner has good feedback too(mostly - some users here reckon it's rotten) - & it's free/donationware(?) I believe.
Being firewire-less, using such an app would still be slow & you'd have the same doubts about what to copy/overwrite as doing it totally manually.
Most of your home folder can likely be straight-forward copy/replaced - but I think I'd be more careful about the library folder & only copy folders from that which don't exist on the new mac. Bring the home/library/mail folder over complete - but just leave it on the desktop & use mail-file-import mailboxes.
Addressbook : I'd use file-export vcard after selecting all the addresses on the old mac - then import on the new. Unless you've got directories to retain, in which case copying the home/library/addressbook folder would retain these.
Before replacing any file/folder on the imac - close all applications & keep a backup of the file/folder in case things go pear shaped.
for apps - select the ones that don't exist on yr imac - & drag 'em over (all at once) into the apps folder on the imac. Some may not work unless you run an installer for them on the imac - but likely most will. Come right back if any apps have specific setups that you don't want to have to go through manually.
It can be easier to copy the whole hd over first - put it in a folder so you can't get confused - then you can leave the slow transfer to run. After that's finished, you just move what you want from the copy you made on the imac - which will be much much faster. It makes it seem much less frustrating imo.
Actually - don't drag/drop the hd icon - make a folder on the imac & drag the apps,library,users & system folders over into the folder you made.
anyway - don't trash, keep original imac files/folders somewhere until you're happy that everything works right. Then eventually trash them and the HD copy.

Migration Assistant created account without a Drop Box

I migrated a friend's account from old Pismo running Tiger to my Mac Pro running Leopard. The last time I had seen the Migration Assistant was years ago under Tiger, & it was crystal clear and idiot proof. The Leopard Migration Assistant has more stages to the operation, and a lot more choices, some of which weren't immediately clear to me. The end result was the account was created without a Drop Box! I thought I was telling it not to copy his Drop Box, and never realized I was telling it not to create it. Now, the question is, after this ridiculous Human Interface Failure, how can I create a Drop Box for this account? I need to move stuff across the User account barrier sometimes, and it is presently not possible.

OK, I noticed the Drop Box doesn't look right, so I will try your terminal commands, thanks.
Ooops - Looks like I have more problems. The Migration Assistant really screwed me up. When I opened the Terminal, it was displaying "Last login...." and it says my computer is now called my friend's computer. Also, I am not sure how to use your commands, because how does the computer know what folder it applies to, if I am in my account, and the drop box is in my friend's account? Did you mean for me to run the commands from within my friend's account?
Message was edited by: Gary P

How migrate all mail (boxes and accounts) from 10.6.8 on Mavericks (without Migration Assistant)?

How migrate all mail (boxes and accounts) from 10.6.8 on Mavericks (without Migration Assistant)? Install the system (10.9.1) on a blank disk, copied the program and set up manually. Mail accounts and folders does not work to install and configure. Migration Assistant does not want to use, as it copies everything, and you only need to e-mail. Read a lot, but nothing works.

Try reindexing the mailbox. This can take awhile if you have a lot of mail.
Reindex messages.
If that doesn't work try deleting MessageUidsAlreadyDownloaded3.
Quit the application.
You need to look in your user Library. Either hold down the option key while using the Finder “Go To Folder” command and select your user Library in your home folder or use the Finder “Go To Folder” command and enter ~/Library/Mail/V2/Mail Data/MessageUidsAlreadyDownloaded3. Move the file to your desktop.
Open the application and test. If it works okay, delete the file from the desktop.
If the application is the same, return thefile to where you got it from, overwriting the newer ones.
If you prefer to make your User library permanently visible, use the Terminal command found below.
Show User Library
You might want to bookmark the command. I had to use it again after I installed 10.8.5. I have also been informed that if you drag the user library to Finder it will remain visible.

Tips for Restoring Without Migration Assistant?

I'm upgrading my HD this week and looking for a humane way to restore my data without using Migration Assistant, used for the past five restorations...corrupt files and all. I long for a fresh start but dread the old, tedious method of restoring data by hand. Is there an easier way? If not is there a guide for what settings files I can safely bring over and what to avoid? I'll have a bootable SuperDuper or CarbonCopy Cloner backup.

I'm actually with you 100% on this baltwo. There really is very little that can't be resolved with a fresh reinstall of Snow Leopard's default installation. So the options are as follows starting with the easiest and progressing to the more difficult:
A. Clone the legacy OS & User Accounts back over to the new drive, followed by a default SL Install + Software Update to freshen the OS if so desired.
B. Install the OS and use Migration Assistant to restore all User Accounts and Applications.
C. Install the OS and use Migration Assistant to restore ONLY user data (Photos, Music, Videos, Documents, etc...). Followed by reinstalling all 3rd-party apps and manually configuring all previous settings (i.e preferences & networking).
D. Install the OS and manually moving only desired user data and reinstalling all 3rd-party apps and manually configuring all previous settings (NOTE: This option is reserved for only the most extreme circumstances as it involves a serious commitment of time and introduces the potential for permissions issue when trying to integrate legacy user data with a virgin user account).
Like baltwo, I have never had to perform options D, and option C perhaps only once. My user accounts, and all of their data, have successfully been migrated across some 5 Macs since the option to do so was introduced. I believe I still have some data within my primary user account that was generated back in the OS 8 & 9 days.
Rest assured, when problems arise they are rarely the result of data found within your user account and are more likely the result of corrupt OS or App files. As a result I have never hesitated to migrate my complete user account over when I upgraded my Mac. OS Software and Apps may come and go, but my user account is rock solid and completely portable with the help of Migration Assistant. I think baltwo would agree.

Best way to transfer files without using migration assistant

upgrading from snow leopard to mavericks goes ok, but migrating files hangs with "less than a minute to go". What is the best way to transfer user files without using migration assistant?

I keep backups of essential documents in Dropbox, and then the files can sync when I reinstall Dropbox.
For larger collections of files, for example, my Documents folder, or iTunes or iPhoto libraries, I transfer them from a Time Machine Backup- just by going into the backup manually and restoring the folders.
If you have files that can fit on a flash drive, then you can use that, which is very fast.

HT2518 i have used migration assistant to move emails in outlook to mac but some of emails moved without contents, any solution for this problem?

i have used window migration assistant to move emails in windows pc to mac. mails mostly moved without problem but some of them moved without content. i tried to find out if there is anything common in these emails of problem but cannot identify any hint. please help

The Dropbox folder is a subfolder of the home folder, which has the same name as the user account. It's under the Users folder at the top level of the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.)

How do I move my mail from snow leopard to mavericks without using migration assistant

I'm doing a clean install of Mavericks on a new MacBook Pro. I want to move over my mail data on a MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard without using migration assistant (it brings over too much stuff I no longer need). I can find the library just fine by holding down the option key while clicking on the "go" menu. However, the folder setup looks quite different than in Snow Leopard. What do I need to bring over, and where do I put it?

Thanks for your help.
Just to close the loop, it took a little more than this. I had to start over with the following steps:
Restart the new computer by holding down the option and R keys.
Erase the harddrive of the new computer.
Reinstall Mac OSX. Name during setup as unique from that on the source computer.
Set up a system administration user with a name unique from anything on the source computer.
Connect the two computers with firewire/lighting cable.
Turn on the source computer holding down the t key (target disk mode).
Using Migration Assistant bring in the users only.
Log into the account with the mail problem, open mail, and rebuild the mailbox.
It seems to be working now - fingers crossed.

How to move to new computer without migration assistant?

I am getting a new iMac and need some help with how to move photos, mail, music etc. I am going from iMac power pc to an intel based iMac. I do not have a firewire cable, and am not anxious to spend any more than I already have on computer equipment just to transfer files. Is there a way to move things using flash drives or something to recreate my iTunes library, photo library, mail and such?
Any easy, step by step instructions?
Many thanks in advance,
Jane

Jane C wrote:
It all has me a bit nervous, which is another reason I find myself leaning toward just moving music, photos, calendar, addresses, and some documents manually.
Keep in mind that:
1. You still have to connect the computers together in some way. A Firewire connection is many times faster than an Ethernet one.
2. Kappy's manual migration method specifies copying over a long list of *home folder items* for good reasons. Basically, you should consider your home folder's contents as an interrelated set of items designed to be used together. If you try to pick & choose among them, there is a good chance some things will not work as expected, at least not without more work to (for example) reset user preferences or go back & find missing application support file(s) you neglected to copy over on the first try. This can become tedious & frustrating unless you understand the function of each file.
3. There is very little chance that using Setup or Migration Assistant will cause any operating system 'malfunction' of any sort, & even less of one that this will cause any issues that are more difficult to resolve than an inadequate partial manual migration.

When starting Migration Assistant it cancels transfer without warning Why?

I have a new used macBook Pro which I have restored to factory settings then all updates and installation of Mavericks. Now I am attempting to transfer everything from my Mac Mini, also Mavericks, using Migration Assistant. Both computers recognize each other and all appears well until just after thenew computer finishes checking the old one. It calculates space then before I can do anything I get a message saying Transfer Cancelled. The old computer logs off and needs restarting and I'm forced to quit Migration Assistant on both computers. What is wrong? Anyone know? Thanks

If you are migrating to a larger internal HD, then, percentage wise, these files would be taking up less space on your machine. Where are you getting these percentages from?
Finder Menu > Apple Logo About this Mac > More Info > Storage
#only shows disk usage in GB, not as % figures.
"The Software ran without a glitch and the new machine is functioning normally."
I suspect nothing is wrong and all your data was transferred.

I transferred data from my external hard drive to my restored Mac Book Pro via migration assistant and now my external hard drive in time capsule has red minus signs. How do I get rid of that without getting rid of any of my data?

I used Migration Assistant to transfer my data from my external hard drive via Time Capsule to my restored Mac Book Pro. When I now go into Time Capsule I there are red minus signs in the corner of all the folders that are contained in my back up. How do I get rid of this and access my previous back-ups?

Select the drive and Finder > Get info and at the bottom "ignore permissions on this volume"
You can copy the files, but the ownership on the files still belongs to the other user account, once your done copying, then perform a #6 Reset Users Permissions and that will set all the ownership to that account.
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
Another method is to copy the entire folder, then change it's permissions.

Migration assistant stalled ( 110 hours, after 30 hours ). How else can I transfer my data from PC to new iMac without wireless migration assistant?

i am a new mac user
i have a new imac
was trying to transfer data from old pc to imac using migration assistant ( wirelessly )
i had done it once already, but i noticed that although it took about 8 hours, very little data from the c drive was actually transferred ( i had not noticed i had to designated folders to copy )
so i did it again, targetting folders on the D drive and my external hard drive F - lots of data ( about 300 GB )
after an hour i noticed that the estimated time for completion was 88 hours ! i did let it run for about 30 hours anyway and hoped for the best ...
this morning when i woke up the time remaining was estimated at 42 hours, but then it suddenly jumped to 110 hours !!!
when i came home 8 hours later, it was still at 110 hours, so i stopped it - i assumed it had crashed ...
i got a message that one folder on my pc might have been lost - corrupted
incredibly, after more than 30 hours, no data had actually been transferred to my new mac !!!!
in any case, i see now that migration assistant created a new user account anyway, which i do not want
SO
how can i transfer data from my pc laptop to my new imac, preferrably with a direct cable connection as opposed to wireless, directly into my main account
and i how can i delete the other account migration assistant created in the initial "successful" transfer
thanks
chris

baltwo wrote:
Csound1 wrote:
Connect an ethernet or firewire cable between the 2 Macs, Wireless is the worst way to do it (as you have found)
Concur; however, the OP has one Mac and one PC (non-Mac). Details are in http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2518
Ah yes, forget the Firewire cable then, use ethernet.

How to transfer files from an iMac without upgraded Migration Assistant to a new iMac that doesn't have a firewire port?

Hello.
I just purchased a new iMac. He's awesome. However, he didn't come with a Firewire port. (Bummer, because I have one from the last time (2007) I had to transfer stuff from my iBook...)
When I turned him on, he wanted to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from the older iMac; she doesn't have the most updated Migration Assistant, though. (She works just fine, but she only has Snow Leopard.)
Okay, so what I'm wondering is if I just have to use a huge external hardrive to move everything? If I do that, will my programs (Microsoft Office) move? I fear they won't move/transfer that way. Ugh.
PLEASE HELP.
Ideas? Advice?
Thank you in advance!

Firewire 800 (what the new iMac has) is 9 pin. FireWire 400 is 6 pin (what your old iMac has). Hopefully you didn't damage your new iMac by trying to insert a FW400 cable into its FW800 connector. The numbers are important in the case of the ports. They don't interchange!!! Get the proper cable or risk damaging your new iMac.

Migrating without Migration Assistant

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