Migration Assist - assistance required!

Hi I used migration assistant to transfer files from my time machine backups from my macbook to my new mac mini. all seemed to go well (took ages as i expected) however the HDD shows capacity reduced (as if the files are there).
My question is this:
where the **** are the files? it should have transferred itunes music and loads of photos. But i cant any when I search.
I'm stumped....

They will be in the additional user account you transferred. That would be the old Home folder on your backup. You will need to log into that account to access the files. Migration Assistant does not transfer individually selected files. It can transfer your entire Home folder, Applications, support files. It cannot merge a backed up Home folder into the new Home folder.

Similar Messages

Does Migration Assistant require and up and running Windows machine?

Our home Windows desktop just died. The contents of the hard drive are still intact. We are getting an iMac to replace it. Can the Migration Assistant work with just the hard drive (connected via usb in an enclosure) or does it require a Windows machine running? If I need a running machine, is there any work around or, failing that, does anyone know any good programs to help migrate files? I could just copy manually, but that might take a while.
Thanks!

BillyoGump wrote:
Can the Migration Assistant work with just the hard drive (connected via usb in an enclosure)
No, you must install Windows Migration Assistant on the PC and connect it to your network (or Mac).
If I need a running machine, is there any work around
Yup.
See the Manually Migrating section towards the bottom of Switch 101: Migrate your Windows files or system to your Mac.

Windows Migration Assistant

Hi there.
Every time I start the software on my Win 7 64-bit I get an erroer about the msoeacct.dll in windows/system32. And then the programm itself tells me I have to close / shutdown Windows Mail.
I don't have Windows Mail open nor any program which could use it afaik.
I also tryed everything to fix the problem. Delete the msoeacct.dll. Install a new one. Put in sme from a another folder in my PC. Delete the Windows Mail folder with the progamm itslef. Deinstall Windows Live Mail, re-install MSIE and so on. But I can not find the error nor fix it.
Pls help me if you can. Thank you.

Hey alistairmck,
Thanks for the question. After reviewing your post, it sounds like you want to know about Windows migration assistant requirements. I would recommend that you read this article, it may be able to help you resolve or isolate the issue.
Switch Basics: Migrate your Windows files to your Mac
On your PC, Download Windows Migration Assistant , then open it.
Make sure both computers are turned on and connected to your wired or wireless network. If needed, you can use a single ethernet cable to create a simple network between the two computers.
Click Continue on the PC.
On your Mac, open Migration Assistant by clicking Launchpad in the Dock, and typing Migration Assistant in the search field.
When you're asked how you want to transfer your information, choose "From another Mac, PC, Time Machine backup, or other disk".
Click Continue on your Mac.
When prompted, enter your name and password.
Click Continue to quit other applications. Other applications can't be open on your Mac during the transfer.
Select "From another Mac or PC".
Click Continue.
Once your PC appears in the Migration Assistant window of your Mac, click Continue.
On your PC you should see the passcode that was displayed on the Mac. Click Continue.
On your Mac, select the information you want to transfer to your Mac, then click Continue.
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Have a nice day,
Mario

Migration Assistant Question re Tiger to Leopard

I am planning on updating a friend's Mac Mini from tiger (10.4.9) to Leopard, via the Retail Leopard DVD.
Trying to look for time shortcut here, she has no backup beyond a flash drive, I will bring over an ext FW HD for full user folder data backup at the start of the process.
And I plan to do the Archive and Install with Preserve Settings. (I am too leery of Updating Leopard ontop of Tiger.)
My questions,
(a) Will Leopard ask to run the Migration Assistant after "Archive and Install" -- or does it ask this only after a full Format (erase the HD) Install type?
(b) If I were to run Migration Assistant manually after the Leopard installation, can it pull data from a backup of Just the User folder (and of course sub folders) and the Applications folder -- assuming I was pressed for time and only backed up those to external HD, not taking the longer time to clone the whole disk clone of System, Library, Etc etc)?
Or does Migration Assistant require a fully operating Mac or Cloned HD.
(My guess, based on the reading of Apple's info pages, is that it will only work from a full OS X machine or full clone.
And that it would only pull over user data - as per: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1554 "can transfer data (including account settings and home folders)")
Any one have any experience with that sort of safe but faster installation?
(I only ask because she (friend) is very time sensitive and does not want to be twiddling thumbs during a full clone of the Tiger (Mac Mini) HD first.... sigh...)
Thx.
Message was edited by: Bruce

BruceTech wrote:
(a) Will Leopard ask to run the Migration Assistant after "Archive and Install"
No. But if you select "Preserve Users and Network Settings", the user home folders will be left undisturbed, so Migration Assistant won't be needed for those things.
It's been a long time since I installed Leopard, but apparently "Archive and Install" will also preserve the Applications folder. It's mainly the System and Library folders that will be affected buy such an installation.

When I use migration assistant it won't let me use my account name that I'm signed in with. It requires me to select a different user name and then creates a separate account where my files live. Why can't I select the user name and account name I have?

I'm trying to migrate my music and pictures over to my new iMac. When I use the migration assistant it connects to my PC fine but it won't let me use the account name and username that I have created as the admin. It requires me to create a new user account - so then I have two separate accounts to log in to which i don't want. How do I get it to let me use the current account that I have to move my files to?
Thanks!

Migration Assistant creates a new account and migrates all the information you have requested to that new account. There is no way around that. However once migrated you can move the data to the account you want to. Here are some instructions for doing so:
Transferring files from one User Account to another.

HT4889 Am I wrong or does Migration Assistant not work in Mountain Lion (10.8.2) when migrating from a PowerPC running Tiger (10.4.11)? Apple really needs to get on the ball or face losing people buying their new desktop products.

The title alone speaks to my frustration about this issue.
Used the process that was recommended by Apple to migrate from my "Lampshade" iMac (PPC running 10.4.11) to the new iMac (Intel running 10.8.2) and I got bupkiss...
Just a spinning wheel (not beachball) and no drive recognized using Migration Assistant for both nor when using Target Mode on the iMac running 10.4.11 and Migration Assistant on the iMac running 10.8.2. Which is ironic, or more accurately oxymoronic, since the iMac in Target Mode (10.4.11) is recognized on the desktop of the iMac running 10.8.2 but not in the Migration Assistant. And before you can misdiagnose..it is not the Thunderbolt connection since I have the Apple recommended Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter and also used the Firewire 400 to 800 cable to expedite the transfer.
On a personal note...
I'm not bashing Apple for this...they are "head and shoulders" above the competition in what they do but I've been burned a few times so I feel I can share a small bit of loyal customer advice...I understand your iOS and mobile products hold huge sway in company focus and market-share but I find it a tad unwise to slack on the desktop applications. I don't recall any app for the iPhone/iPad family being made on the iPhone/iPad...only from desktop applications if I recall correctly. And how can I clearly "Move my Mac even further ahead" as your marketing states when I can't even migrate my files from my old Mac to my new one in a simple fashion as per your instructions?
I thank anyone in advance with an answer or even a workaround for this issue and please have a great day.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4889
Migration from Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger to OS X Lion
Migration from Mac OS X v10.4 computers to OS X Lion over your Wi-Fi or a wired network is not supported. However, if both Macs are equipped with a FireWire port, you can use Target Disk Mode to transfer your data:
Verify that both Macs are equipped with a FireWire port. Note that different model Macs may have different FireWire connectors, which will require an appropriate cable, such as FireWire 400 to FireWire 800.
On the Mac you want to transfer data from, Restart, and immediately hold the T key.
Wait for the FireWire logo to appear on the screen. If it does not, restart and try again.
Connect both Macs via the FireWire cable.
On the Mac you want to transfer data to, Open the Migration Assistant application.
Select the option "From another Mac, PC, Time Machine backup, or other disk" and click Continue.
Select the option "From a Time Machine backup or other disk" and click Continue.
Select your other Mac's volume, such as "Macintosh HD", from the list, and click Cont
EDIT: Actually I realize you did follow these directions and if your drive is seen on the new Mac it should work. You're entitled to free Apple support with the new purchase, I'd give them a call.

After Restoring with Migration Assistant internet accounts are not working properly

Hello!
My Macbook Pro's HDD fried a week ago, so I swapped it for a new one. I had a backup from about 30mins before the issue happened, so I thought everything would go fine with Time Machine. Well, not quite. After installing Mac OS X Mavericks from the Disk Utility and telling the system to apply the latest backup on Migration Assistant during the installation, everything started up the way I left it, but several problems showed up and I have been trying to troubleshoot them.
Issues:
1. I used to have Facebook, Twitter and two Gmail accounts logged via the Internet Accounts preferences. Used the gmail accounts for notes, contacts and calendars. Now, they all show up on the menu, but when I click on any of them it tells me they aren't connected and asks me for their password. When I put it down, it gives me an "Unable to verify account" message. If I delete the accounts and try to reinsert them, I get the same message. What's even more weird: When I restart, they are all there again.
2. Notes doesn't update properly. It shows me all the notes up until like 4 weeks ago, and whenever I even click on the app's window, it tells me it can't connect to Gmail and asks me for its password again. Several other apps that require syncing, like Calendar, have the same issue.
Troubleshooting attempts:
1. It's not a problem with these accounts, as I've been able to sync them no problem if I create a new user. But I had some serious work being done and I don't really want to get a fresh start.
2. I tried doing a clean install and when the Migration Assistant showed up I asked to transfer everything except personal documents and data. It worked, but I lost all my personal files that are not on dropbox (not many, but there were a few important things). Also the wifi didn't connect at all, kept saying it was self assigning an IP or whatever. This did not happen before.
3. Not using migration assistant at all, but restarting the system and restoring a time machine backup, even an earlier one from that same day. Mac gets stuck on spinning wheel during boot :/
This killed my weekend's productivity already, as each clean install and time machine restoring takes 3hrs+. I don't know what to do at this point.
Macbook Pro, Early 2011, 13". Old HDD 320gb, new one 500gb. OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 (the backup is from 10.9.3)

ragob66,
Welcome to the Apple discussions!
Try this:
*Accessing Time Machine Backups From Another User Account or Computer*
Yes, you can do this using the Time Machine interface.
Attach the drive containing the TM backups to your computer.
Control-click the TM icon in the dock and select "Browse Other Time Machine Disks...".
Highlight the desired disk and click “Use Selected Disk”. This will now allow you to browse those TM backups via the ‘time travel’ window. From here you can restore what files you need access to. Bear in mind that any files moved will have the permissions of that previous user account. Thus you may be prompted for the user name and password of that previous account. However, once verified you should be able to adjust “Sharing & Permissions” in the files “Get Info” window.
Let us know if this resolved your issue.
Glenn

How to migrate when Migration Assistant isn't helping

I'm helping a friend move from her old MacBook (OS X 10.4.11) to a new MacBook Air (OS X 10.7.1). Her home directory on the MacBook is Filevault-protected.
The first thing that I tried was using Migration Assistant to migrate via wi-fi. However, the two machines just stall at the "searching for other computers" stage. Neither computer is ever able to see the other (I had a similar experience migrating a Snow Leopard MacBook Pro to a newer machine, making me think that wireless migration just doesn't work).
I tried on a non-Apple wireless network, and on a network using an Airport Express. I also tried having the Air create an ad hoc network, and connecting the MacBook to that. In all cases, Migration Assistant on the Air was not able to detect the Macbook and just stayed at "searching for other computers" indefinitely.
The Air doesn't have a Firewire port, so a Firewire connection is not an option. I believe that it's not possible to connect two machines using USB and have Migration Assistant work over the USB connection.
I don't have the USB-to-Ethernet adaptor, so Ethernet isn't an option. The MacBook is running OS X 10.4.11, so making a TimeMachine backup is not an option.
I used Carbon Copy Cloner to create a disk image of the MacBook's disk on an external drive, in the hope that Migration Assistant could import from that. However, Migration Assistant on the Air won't migrate user data from a Filevault-protected home directory.
It looks to me as if the best route is for me to remove Filevault protection from her home directory, image the disk to the external drive, and then migrate from that image.
However, my understanding is that disabling Filevault protection requires free space on the hard drive equal to the size of the protected user home directory (at least temporarily). There simply isn't that much space available.
Is there a way that I can duplicate the user's home directory to the external drive, removing FileVault encryption as I go? Or can I clone the user's home to the external drive, and then strip FileVault from the copy there?
Any suggestions or tips would be gratefully received.

Also, I want to add that in the accounts section I DO NOT see two accounts there. I have been reading the forums and some suggested that after using MA it creates another user profile and all the files should be there. However, I do not see another profile. Also, I think it is strange that it took less than 1 minute to transfer my files! Help!

Can I do a clean install of 10.5 and use migration assistant from backup ?

I want to install OS 10.5 on to my Macbook. If I do a clean install rather than an archive and install can I then use migration assistant to transfer my accounts and emails from the cloned Superduper backup I have made on an external drive?
Or is Archive and Install better?

I think 99.9% of the people know what you want to do by "clean" (ie, erase or reformat) and that insures there aren't any file or directory problems when you start, that the new OS is all that will be taking up space. Clean has two connotations: Windows or OS 9. There are lots of words that are "no longer used" but everyone knows what "initialize" or reformat means and does.
If you said, "Scratch that" you could mean, "scratch that idea" even though you can't actually scratch anything. And the idea isn't in stone (scratch out) or written with a pencil where you could erase the word or line. Or draw a line through words to "scratch out the line." There can be multiple meanings. Some languages have 5 words for "blue" to denote different shades of blue, and meaning.
Your drive is 60GB which is on the small side so that is one more reason to reformat.
And because installers will create and delete a lot of files, and scatter around, I would do another SD backup (and leave your old backup as is) so you have a copy of Leopard you can boot from and that would be just Apple OS (maybe after applying the 900MB of updates required to get to 10.5.4+).
Migration Assistant has posed some problems for some with how account data is imported into a new group account. Check out http://www.macfixit.com

When migrating from a pc to macbook pro migration assistant caused multiple user accounts how do I get the data all in to one account now that it is migrated ?

I am switching over to apple from a PC platform and I have tried to use migration assistant to transfer the stuff on my PC to my macbook pro. When i tried the first time the two went to sleep due the long time required to transfer 13 GB of data and the transfer failed. I tried to transfer again only opting for some of the data but when I did it created a second user account . I tried again and now I have transferred most of the data but I have it in three user accounts. Not what I wanted to do. Is there an easy fix for this or do Ineed to start from scratch ?

Open the Users folder on the internal drive, drag all of the other home folders to the desktop, and then move the files inside to the desired locations.
(91949)

Restore from Time Machine / Migration Assistance Utility

Sorry if this is obvious, but just want to restore wo further user complications.
_Back story:_ 2006 iMac running Snow Leopard won't boot. Genius Bar determines HD needs reformatting. Reformats and installs OS v10.5.7, not Snow Leopard. Explained to follow new setup and when prompted select from Time Machine (external HD) and restore. At home I do, it won't. Everything is recognized (External HD, Time Machine, File), but tells me OS on machine older than Time Machine files and to upgrade iMac (and can try again from Migration Assistant Utility).
Continue with prompted new setup and created User Account. iMac now ready and like new. Installed Snow Leopard. Run Migration Assistant Utility and select restore from Time Machine.
Issue: External HD recognized by iMac but not by Migration Assistant Utility. Only selection choice is internal HD. Additionally when connecting external, always get prompted (separate prompt from Migration Assistance) if I want to setup Time Machine and I've been declining. Do I have to set up Time Machine before? It didn't require that when doing new user setup.
Thanks for any and all assistance.

Chad Krukowski wrote:
Than you! that is what I wanted to do, a full restore. Unfortunately was following the direction of the genius bar.
Yup. The Geniuses (like most Apple folks) don't actually use Time Machine on their work computers, and aren't real familiar with it, so this sort of thing isn't all that unusual, unfortunately. You could even have gotten similar advice from AppleCare, depending on the expertise of whoever you happened to get. Sigh.

Migration Assistant- Recovering from a hard disk failure

Was running on OS X 10.8.5 on MBP 8,3 (2011 17")
Many issues with slowness, and software, and then boom, the hard disk failed.
No software recovery worked. Drive has been shipped for physical recovery.
I did not use migration assistant to set up the new hard disk. Not going to live with migrated issues like the last 2 years….
I have a 3 month old backup that has most of my static data. It's a bootable clone running on a Lacie Thunderbolt external.
Here is what I did:
1. Installed new SSD
2. Formatted new SSD, installed Yosemite 10.10.1
3. Did fresh installs of Adobe Creative Cloud Apps, Bought new Extensis Suitcase 6, reinstalled Office 2011
4. Reset up the email boxes from scratch (some issues- so did not want to migrate)
5. Imported HTML bookmarks from old Safari.
Now, I thought I would get the easy part…. run Migration assistant to selectively bring over about 500gb of desktop files, docs, photos and music.
It won't work. It forces me to create a new user on the machine.
How do I work around this to get the permissions changed and moved to the new machine/account?

I thought I would mention the issues with Third Party SSD and Yosemite:
http://www.macworld.com/article/2849366/mac-wont-boot-about-yosemite-and-your-th ird-party-ssd.html
Also to address some of your slowness and software issues in Yosemite that many people fail to read... Many of the Features require a newer MAC than the Hardware requirements to run the OS...
Upgrade to OS X Yosemite.
Free on the Mac App Store.
http://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrade/
1. Check your Mac hardware.
These Mac models are compatible with OS X Yosemite:
    •    iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
    •    MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
    •    MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
    •    MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
    •    Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
    •    Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
    •    Xserve (Early 2009)
2. Check your version of OS X.
You can upgrade to OS X Yosemite from the following:
    •    OS X Snow Leopard (v10.6.8)
    •    OS X Lion (v10.7)
    •    OS X Mountain Lion (v10.8)
    •    OS X Mavericks (v10.9)
Now if you Notice the Check you Mac hardware shows older models than the Feature Requirements:
3. Check Feature Requirements:
    Handoff and Instant Hotspot
    AirDrop
    AirPlay Mirroring
    Power Nap
    Supported by the following Mac models:
    ⁃    MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
    ⁃    MacBook Pro (2012 or newer) <-- Yours is 2011
    ⁃    iMac (2012 or newer)
    ⁃    Mac mini (2012 or newer)
    ⁃    Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Just an FYI,

Migration Assistant Question (From 10.4.11 to 10.5.5)

I have a question regarding Migration Assistant in regards to upgrading from Tiger to Leopard. I do backups of my entire internal HDD onto an external firewire drive using SuperDuper. I do not make a bootable drive, I backup to a disk image that can be mounted. My question is thus: when I upgrade and choose Erase and Install (if I want to), would I be able to use migration assistant on the disk image (once it is mounted) to move all my files over? Or would I have to make the external drive bootable in order to do this?
Any help you could give me would be great!
Message was edited by: pr0digal

Migration Assistant only works with Firewire drives, not disc images stored on Firewire drives. You would be better off re-cloning your drive directly to the Firewire drive to make a bootable image.
However, you need not do that to upgrade on the same computer. You have two upgrade options: Upgrade Install or Archive and Install. The latter puts a fresh install of Leopard on the hard drive without erasing the drive, and it saves your old system in a Previous System Folder. There is an option to transfer your user account(s) and network preferences. I would recommend using this option. The procedure follows:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

I installed and performed the Migration Assistant to transfer all my files and documents from my PC to iMac. Nothing shows up in Finder on imac but Boot Camp Assistant window is on the screen. What is it, is it necessary, how do I proceed?

I installed and ran Migration Assistant on my PC to tranfere files and documents to my iMac. The process seemed to go as directed until the end when "Boot Camp Assistant" showed up on my iMac screen. There was no mention of this in the Migration Assistant info. It seems I cannot proceed without it. What is it for, is it required, what is the process?

I installed and ran Migration Assistant on my PC to tranfere files and documents to my iMac. The process seemed to go as directed until the end when "Boot Camp Assistant" showed up on my iMac screen. There was no mention of this in the Migration Assistant info. It seems I cannot proceed without it. What is it for, is it required, what is the process?

VMware Fusion 3 Migration Assistant to migrate physical PC onto existing VM

I posted this on Twitter: VMware announces VMware Fusion 3 details for Mac OS http://bit.ly/43BLHJ
Good to see Fusion 3 coming. I have a question about its Migration Assistant and wonder if anyone can answer based on their use of the assistant in version 2.x
I wonder if it means installed applications on a physical PC are also copied over fully functional to the new virtual machine or just user settings and documents from the PC?
I have an HP Pavilion 17" laptop I despise (noisy hard drives and fans actually can bring on headaches). So this would be good to migrate to my MacBook Pro.
The problem then is, is there a way to migrate the external physical PC onto a VMware based set up I already started using or if that set up will become redundant? Anyone have ideas?
Imran

According to the Migration Assistant dialog, programs, computer settings, and documents will be copied. It requires that both the Mac and the PC be on and connected through the same network.
For your info, VMWare also offers a free stand-alone utility that does what I think you're looking for. It's called VMWare Converter, and it can be found here:
http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/
(For all I know, this is what the migration assistant uses.)
It can be run from the system you want to convert or (more ideally) you'd run it to copy the system that you want to convert, without the operating system actively running (basically, run the converter from another computer and have the hard drive with the OS to be virtualized mounted). It takes a while, but it ultimately produces some virtual machine files that can be used by VMWare.
I've used it once before, when I was switching my fiancee over from a terrible HP Pavilion laptop (15") to a Macbook. It was rather incredible - her entire system was cloned perfectly, and easily accessible through VMWare Fusion. Some useless utilities could be removed (things like special keyboard control software and Intel's wireless client manager, as the hardware that those programs utilized was no longer there) but otherwise all data and programs were copied perfectly. You'd never know that it was a copy of a real machine, it was so perfect. Really fantastic stuff.

Migration Assist - assistance required!

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