Migration Assistant doesn't migrate or assist me

Trying to migrate from my son's Macbook Pro to his new Macbook Air. Both are running 10.6.8 and have had all the latest software updates run. Tried wired (with ethernet adapter for the MBA) and wireless - he doesn't have a Time Machine backup to try.
In each case we get through the point of entering the code from one computer to the other and things chug along, but the screen never comes up asking which items I want to migrate. The Macbook Pro displays a dialog saying that communication was lost from the other computer. I'm given the option to hit cancel which will abort the process (though it never does) or hit OK to continue to try (which never results in success. Meanwhile the MBA just says "processing."
This whole process has been very frustrating. I've read any applicable posting I could find here, but haven't found anything that solves the problem.
Here are some questions I had:
- do specific sharing preferences have to be set on both machines?
- I believe the ethernet port on his MBP works OK. I turned off Airport and was able to connect through ethernet to the Internet. Is there any other way to tell if the ethernet port isn't communicating?
- I tried doing the initial transfer while the two computers were with me for the weekend. Now he's back at school 4 hours away. Is there a way I can screen share with one or both computers to continue to troubleshoot them remotely? If so, pointing me to the source to do that would be helpful as I've not tried it before.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Patrick

Similar Messages

Migration assistant doesn't migrate all user files

I Wanted to do a semi clean install, so I decided to erase everything and install a fresh OS X Yosemite.
i Used migration assistance to only migrate my user account and all its files. Everything seemed to work fine, until I realized I was missing things. Some fonts were not copied over (/User/name/Library/Fonts) and most of my music was not copied over (~/Music/iTunes etc.). The only music that seemed to transfer were ones I purchased from iTunes or imported recently (with the latest iTunes). I got fed up with the entire process and didn't do any more investigation or debugging and am now doing a full restore from time machine. Luckily I have two time machine backups... Can't always assume everything will go correctly (one time machine is stuffed as it was preparing to backup my new installation with lost user files).
has anyone else had the same problems?
As a note I was able to locate those fonts manually on one of the time machine backups but it said the links we broken (they must be aliases) but since I knew the absolute path I could find them. Maybe that's part of the problem? Also I wonder if user permissions (eg ownership) could affect the restore user account process...
Ps: Apple this site ***** on my iPad mini. Fonts are way too small!

I did exactly that
If so, that would have been Setup Assistant, not Migration Assistant. From the sound of it, I'm not so certain that is what you did. They are very similar, but may produce different results. Setup Assistant appears on the first boot of the new Mac. It is generally far more problem free than Migration Assistant. If you select the option to migrate later you get MA. Have you checked to see if you don't now have another User where all your settings now reside. This can be the result of using MA.
If you didn't use SA on the first boot, it might be far less time consuming and aggravating to simply reinstall the OS and the bundled apps. This will produce a brand new option to use SA on the first boot.

HT4796 link to migration assistant doesn't work. Where can I find it?

link to migration assistant doesn't work. Where can I find it?

Do you mean the link in the article to Apple Support Downloads? It works for me, now, and should take you here:
If not, try this one: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1557
Sometimes an Apple server won't find the article you want immediately.

Migration assistant doesn't "see" Time Machine disk

Just got a new logic board, and they wiped the hard drive. My Time Machine disk mounts, and I can see the files. However, migration assistant doesn't list it as a source. (Yes it's formatted Mac OS Extended [Journaled])
Time Machine recognizes it and wants to use it as a new backup disk, but it doesn't want to show me anything from the old back up. I didn't do a new backup of the "new" computer. I don't back up applications just users.
2.2 i7 MbP 8GB 10.7.4
thanks
DLS

Just back home from a follow-up visit to the Genius Bar on this migration issue (from MacBook Air to new MacBook Pro).
Previous efforts to migrate had taken endless hours and seemed to hang at the 20-mins-remaining mark.
At the store, even after we manually turned off WiFi before connecting the Thunderbolt cable, Migration Assistant seemed to turn WiFi back on and start the migration over WiFi.
In the end, we used the Air (source) in Target Disk mode, which forced the computers to use the Thunderbolt cable. Migration took a little over half an hour, as opposed to 12 hours or more that Migration Assistant was saying earlier when apparently trying to use WiFi.

HT201250 I have had my mac stolen, I have an external HD I connect via USB for these time machine backups, I now have a new replacement mac and wish to restore from my external HD, migration assistant doesn't seem to recognise or see my drive ? please hel

I have had my mac stolen, I have an external HD I connect via USB for these time machine backups, I now have a new replacement mac and wish to restore from my external HD, migration assistant doesn't seem to recognise or see my drive ? please help

See Pondini's Excellent information here...
Setting-up a new Mac from an old one, its backups, or a PC
See the Second Chance to Use Setup Assistant here...
http://Pondini.org/OSX/SetupLion.html

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.

I'm wanting to migrate certain applications from my MacBook Pro over to my newer Mini, but Migration Assistant doesn't allow doing this by choosing which applications to migrate-how can I pick only certain ones?

I'm wanting to migrate certain applications from my MacBook Pro over to my newer Mini, but Migration Assistant doesn't allow doing this by choosing which applications to migrate-how can I pick only certain ones?

You only bought it four months ago, so it's still under warrantly.
Call Applecare or call your nearest Applestore to make an appointment. Tell them your mac has serious technical issues, describe them shortly.

Migration Assistant doesn't respect User Templates

Hi everyone,
I work doing Information Technology support for a small (of about 30-40 people) communications department. We just ordered about 9 computers, and they all came with Lion.
Some people that I work with are very change-phobic, and I've created a default user template that respects what they've been doing for a long time and includes what I need to do my job. The main things I've changed include reversing the natural scroll direction (I know, I know, I like it myself, but like I said, some people I work with are incredibly change-phobic) remote login settings, showing the Library folder, and including default login software (such as new backup software we've decided to deploy at the same time as new computer deployments).
I've found that creating new users on the system respects the user template:
(found at /System/Library/User\ Template/English.lproj/Library/Preferences/).
But when I migrate users (either choosing to migrate settings, or not migrate settings), it doesn't matter, as the OS defaults back to not including the new login software and reverting scroll direction.
I can't hold off much longer in deploying these computers, but I know that I'll immediatly get a lot of requests about how to put settings back to the way they were.
Is there a way to have Migration Assistant respect the default user template (when not migrating settings)?
Best,
Allen

Hi John,
While your link was certainly informative, it isn't really addressing my problem, though I appreciate your response.
I don't know if this may interest you, but you can force the Setup Assistant to run without reinstalling Lion. Just boot into single user mode (command+s), then remove this file:
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
You see, your mac, upon every boot, checks to see if that file is present. Its not really even a file that holds any information (its just a file named .AppleSetupDone). If the file is not present, your computer will run the "first-run wizard," or Setup Assistant.
It's also a trick you can use if you don't have an administrative account on a computer.
Anyway, I'm still hoping I can get answers about why migration assistant refuses to respect the defaults I've set at:
/System/Library/User\ Template/English.lproj/Library/Preferences/
Best, and thanks again,
Allen

Migration Assistant won't migrate or assist me

Trying to migrate from my son's Macbook Pro to his new Macbook Air. Both are running 10.6.8 and have had all the latest software updates run. Tried wired (with ethernet adapter for the MBA) and wireless - he doesn't have a Time Machine backup to try.
In each case we get through the point of entering the code from one computer to the other and things chug along, but the screen never comes up asking which items I want to migrate. The Macbook Pro displays a dialog saying that communication was lost from the other computer. I'm given the option to hit cancel which will abort the process (though it never does) or hit OK to continue to try (which never results in success. Meanwhile the MBA just says "processing."
This whole process has been very frustrating. I've read any applicable posting I could find here, but haven't found anything that solves the problem.
Here are some questions I had:
- do specific sharing preferences have to be set on both machines?
- I believe the ethernet port on his MBP works OK. I turned off Airport and was able to connect through ethernet to the Internet. Is there any other way to tell if the ethernet port isn't communicating?
- I tried doing the initial transfer while the two computers were with me for the weekend. Now he's back at school 4 hours away. Is there a way I can screen share with one or both computers to continue to troubleshoot them remotely? If so, pointing me to the source to do that would be helpful as I've not tried it before.
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Patrick

patricksgolden wrote:
I was surprised too when my son fired it up. We bought it at the Navy Exchange in Norfolk in mid-August. It was the last one they had in stock and must have been from a previous inventory. I've sent my son the link to get the free upgrade to Lion, but I told him to hold off until we can get the migration assistant stuff resolved.
If you ever heard of "Migraine Assistant" now you know where it comes from
I always Software Update, install programs from fresh sources, enter the serials, then transfer files manually into their same respective (Music, Pictures, Documents etc) folders on the new Mac as this way it keeps a new boot drive optimized for best computer performance.
All one has to do is use the same drive name and set up the same user name on the new Mac as with the old Mac.
Doing this way this way keeps the iTunes song location pathnames, playlists, others etc work just like before.
There are third party programs that cause all sorts of headaches using migration/setup assistant as they have part of themselves installed in the system, which migration and setup assistant doesn't transfer.
Also migration assistant transfers the user, so now there are two on the machine which the original that was created when the machine was setup has to be removed if not needed.
And to avoid another serious headache, stay away from OS X Lion, seriously for at least several months or more, you likely could sell that new Snow Leopard MacBook AIr for a few hundred dollars more than you paid for it right now.
Lion has a LOT, a LOT of issues, not only with the major changes inflicted, like Autosave, scrolling is backwards, there are no boot disks (requiring a fast and reliable Internet connection to install Lion again) and other nightmares as well a a LOT of third party software and hardware drivers are just not ready for it yet.
Lion will NOT run Rossetta based PowerPC software, so a lot of programs on the old Mac might not run anymore, requiring to pay for new ones, if ones exist yet.
You can download the Lion installer and create a backup image to burn to the DVD or boot off a USB and delete the installer on the Mac without installing. You can also hold the Option key in the MacAppStore on Purchases allows you to download it again. It might be available to download for free without installing forever, if not it's only $29. Not much to save yourself a ton of more headaches as they work out the issues and software gets updated for it.
Lion Up To Date Program (free Lion for machines like yours)
https://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/
You can create your own Lion boot disks/USB images using the methods here and elsewhere for USB boot. You must create the image before installing Lion, or the installer deletes itself.
http://eggfreckles.net/notes/burning-a-lion-boot-disc/
Also one has to learn all about the Lion Recovery Partition and Lion Recovery Disk Assistant as there are no boot disks, although Apple does sell a USB of Lion for $69
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
https://support.apple.com/kb/dl1433

HT3231 trouble migrating certificates. Migration assistant did not migrate them

There are two Problems.
1. Migration assistant while migrating somehow did not migrate certificates. Im not sure if all are not migrated or this specific digital certificate for my identity issues by a legitimate CA
2. When I try to manually export and later import, these Certificates and keys, they still don't work.
Here is what I'm doing
- I just replaced an SSD in place of HHD (was called MacintoshHD) where OSX (mountain Lion) was installed. I ofcourse created a recovery disk / USB and later on re-installed OSX on the new SSD through Recovery
- next I used migration assistant to migrate my old user and files etc.
- all seemed well, until, I landed on a local website, where the login is through my digital certificate. This certificate was missing. Seems migration assitant did not do its job well.

Quit mail.
Goto ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData
Delete the follow
Launch mail, it will re-import those files.

Migration Assistant won't migrate User Account settings

I have Mac OS 10.7.5 running on the internal hard drive of my mid-2011 iMac. Because I'm having some issues with it that I suspect is due to old data/settings affecting 10.7.5, I wanted to see if installing Mac OS 10.8 might fix them. I installed 10.8 on an external FireWire drive but just did a clean install of the OS initially without migrating anything from the internal drive. My plan was to migrate things slowly rather than everything at once. Well I hit a snag at the outset when I tried to migrate my User settings; Migration Assistant says it can't do with out renaming my user account! The problem is that I don't know why this is happening AND I don't know if MA is talking about the user account in 10.8 or the one in 10.7.
Any idea as to what I can do? I was thinking of wiping the external drive and starting over but this time have the User account(s) migrated as part of the install; might this work?
BTW, when migrating AFTER a new OS install, is it better to have MA in the NEW OS pull the data from the old OS or have MA in the OLD OS push the data to the new OS (is it even possible to do this? I've always had the new MA pull the data from the old OS.)?

OK, yesterday I wiped the drive and started over. When I got to the Setup/Migration Assistant, I was given 4 options:
Users; Applications; Settings; Other files and documents... Under the Users option was a drop down where I could select which users to transfer; I selected mine and left the other ones (a "Test" account & an "Apple Service" account). Under the Settings option I could select "Computer" and/or "Network"; I selected both.The Applications & Other... options did not have ant drop down selections; I de-selected both.
After the installation was complete, I let the iMac run for several hours with no hint of the slow down that happens on the Mac OS 10.7.5 system. I then used the Assistant and had my applications copied over. Oh, I also created new "Test" and "Apple Service" user accounts.
OK, so what exactly is migrated via the "Other..." option?

MacBook 10.4.11 to MBP 10.8 - Setup Assistant doesn't see drives?

All
I just posted this same info in an older thread but wanted to open an original post to ensure it got visibility. Thanks.
I have an older MB PPC running 10.4.11. I have been using SuperDuper to create bootable backups on an USB external drive (formatted to HFS+). Both the MB and the drive work as start up disks and all is in synch.
I purchased a new MBP and am upgrading from 10.7 to 10.8. Using Pondini's guides (thanks, http://pondini.org/OSX/Setup.html) I have tried the following methods but Setup Assistant never sees the source drive:
1. Connect USB with SuperDuper backup to MBP => Setup Assistant doesn't see it (selecting as a disk)
2. Start MB in Target Disk mode via Firewire connected to MBP => SA doesn't see it (selecting as disk)
3. Start MB in regular mode, launch Migration assistant and select to another Mac, MBP select from another Mac.... Never saw the disk and suggested I needed to update Migration Assistant. Reran Software Update and confirmed on latest. No luck.
NOTE: I had originally setup up the new MBP with an account and did NOT do Setup Assistant to migrate data. Ran into the same problems when running Migration Assistant not seeing the disks in the three modes above. Followed Pondini's advice and did a clean reinstall of Mtn Lion => booted from a USB boot thumbdrive, erased the main drive with Disk Utility, booted off the install thumbdrive with no issues until the disk recognition problems again)
Is the main issue that I am trying to migrate from too old of an OS X version (e.g. 10.4.11)? I can't find any specifications that say this is not allowed but I can't get it too work. Any help and additional suggestions very much appreciated. I have a family member anxios to get their new machine.....

Thanks, that's solved it, an incredible time saver!
The, uh, next issue has to do with Windows clients not seeing the Mac's DHCP server. Mac clients seem fine.
Mac Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Help! I am trying to get at my iPod (2nd Gen) from a new computer. I have iTunes loaded but the Setup Assistant doesn't come up to allow me to access my iPod Shuffle. When first using iPod, the Setup Assistant comes up but not 2nd setup?? Thx.

Please help! I am trying to get at my iPod (2nd_Generation) from a new computer. I have iTunes loaded but the Setup Assistant doesn't come up to allow me to access my iPod Shuffle. When using iPod in the 1st computer (which I no longer have), the iTunes Setup Assistant comes up but not on this 2nd setup on a new computer? The manual doesn't clarify how to do this. Thanks.

Try to connect in recovery mode, explained in this article:
iOS: Unable to update or restore
Before that, back up your device, explained here:
iOS: Back up and restore your iOS device with iCloud or iTunes
How to back up your data and set up as a new device
You can check your warranty status here:
https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do

Can't update from bootcamp 3.x to 4.x assistent doesn't download files

i want to update my bootcamp from 3.x to 4 i don't have a lion cd and the bootcamp assistent doesn't find the bootcamp files.

There is no update or ugrade without running Lion's Boot Camp Assistant.
Whether you need it or why but I doubt it will change anythingn.
Also it only supports Windows 7 - not listing what you use - and there is no Lion CD (won't fit) or DVD, it is electronic only.
www.apple.com/support/bootcamp has all the support articles.

Adobe Download Assistant doesn't show me CS6 Design Standard as an option. Why?

Adobe Download Assistant doesn't show me CS6 Design Standard as an option. Why?

Hi Elliot, the link that I had no longer works. Apparently we are not alone in this. I got the link by going to Adobe Support and starting a chat with an Adobe rep. I believe that I went through a series of windows under CS6 Design Standard and clicked a button that said, "I still need help." I think that started the chat. Good luck!

Migration Assistant doesn't migrate or assist me

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for