Migration Assistant - Files/Folders

I am using Migration Assistant to move the files/folders from my current MacBook Pro laptop to my new iMac. Both are running Snow Leopard and are up-to-date in system software. When I start the process, the Migration Assistant calculates the aggregated size of the files that it will move and starts the process. It zooms to completion, reports that it finished successfully but there are no files on the destination iMac. What could the problem be? I don't immediately see anything relevant in the Apple Support area.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Your best bet may be to start over, and use Setup Assistant. See How do I set up a new Mac from my old Mac or its backups?, especially the green box there.

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Migration Assistant - Files Transferred, but no User Account

I used Migration Assistant to migrate a User account from an early 2009 Macbook Pro to a brand new Macbook Pro. The files transferred (they appear in Macintosh HD / Users), but there is no User account showing in System Preferences or at Login. The permissions are blocking me from accessing the files. I can change them one by one, but, naturally, I'd rather not. I'd love it if there were just some way for me to force the OS to recognize the User so that I can delete the Temp user and work from my original User (I tried to Migrate from the initial setup screen, but it wouldn't find my backup volume).
Some background--beginning a few months ago, I was having some technical problems, and on the advice of an apple-certified tech had attempted to create a new user account. It appeared to fix the problem, so I began manually migrating files, but slowly, so that if it was a software issue, I would be able to isolate the problem software. A month in and after only half of the files were transferred, the tech problem reappeared, so I wound up with half of my files in one user account, half in another. I went ahead and migrated the other half of the files, but wound up with serious permissions issues all over the drive (mainly in photos, music). That is the backup that I am migrating from onto my new replacement Macbook Pro. I don't know if it's the permissions problems that are mucking up the migrate, or what. I have several older backups (from a prior, prior Mac) with no permissions problems, but that's a last resort, as I'd rather avoid the headache of figuring out what files I've updated since those year-old or more backups.
Also, I've been running MA from a Time Capsule using an Ethernet connection. I bought a USB to USB cable, but the comp won't find the TC unless it's connected via network. Any better, faster connections? I use the machine for work, and I'd rather spend as little time migrating as possible.
Thanks in advance, folks.

Sorry for the confusion. My first Mac was a PowerBook--we'll call it "PowerBook." Then I had a 2007 MBP--we'll call it First MBP. PowerBook was migrated to First MBP with no problems except some unreliable Airport at times. I did an Erase & Install and transferred data folder-by-folder from PowerBook to First MBP, as I had read somewhere that Airport settings migrated from PowerBook might cause troubles when put on an Intel machine. (Some minor problems persisted, but those are most likely irrelevant here). Then, I bought a new MBP at the beginning of 2009 when Apple came out with the new design. We'll call that Defective MBP. I just received a replacement MBP, call it "Replacement MBP."
I bought Defective MBP and migrated First MBP to it using Migration Assistant. Defective MBP began having technical problems--it froze up, it said I had no Airport card installed, yet it passed all hardware tests. So I took it to Apple, who replaced the Airport card.
I then began seeing a third-party certified repair person to avoid making appointments. She was the one who advised me to create a new user account, because her tests were suggesting a software issue. I wasn't given detailed instructions on how to treat the temp user account. So, yes, I moved all files from "clwaltrip" (the original user account) to the corresponding folder in "catherine," what should have been the diagnostic temp account. By "corresponding folder," I mean that I moved the contents of Users/clwaltrip/Music to Users/catherine/Music, and so on--like a manual rebuild. I manually reset permissions on each of these folders to allow "catherine" Read & Write access, instructed Finder to Apply to Enclosed Items, and was still getting blocked by permissions all over the place. I eventually made sure that clwaltrip was empty of any important files and deleted the clwaltrip user account. I (very unwisely) attempted to set the permissions on Macintosh HD for "catherine" to "Read & Write". That, of course, required me to go back and repair permissions for days. (Yes, I am duly sheepish). (BTW, Defective MBP was sent in for service twice more during this period, the Airport card was replaced again, a cable was remounted, or whatever they did--nothing worked.) It was only a couple of days after the Macintosh HD permissions repair fiasco that I requested and was approved for a replacement (further issues were indicating a logic board fail, perhaps--drag and drop stopped working, etc). I backed up the single user account, catherine, from the Defective MBP onto the TC via Ethernet (likely with some remaining permissions issues not allowing "catherine" to access "clwaltrip"'s files even though clwaltrip no longer existed).
I received the Replacement MBP and attempted to connect to the TC during initial setup using Ethernet. No connection could be made--it would not even time out after a few hours of reading the time machine backup. I forced restart and tried again. It still would not connect to the TC backup on initial setup. So I forced restart (held down power) skipped that step in setup, allowed it to create a user account (named "clwaltrip" again), and ran Migration Assistant from the Utilities folder (That was when I plugged in the USB, but after no response, I unhooked it and moved exclusively to Ethernet connection to run Migration Assistant--Airport was off). From the TC backups, I selected the backup volume "catherine" mentioned above. No new user account was created, but the user FOLDER for "catherine" is there, complete with all files (see below for details). I have made the "iTunes Library" in Users/catherine/Music the iTunes Library for "clwaltrip" and had to change some permissions to do so. (It's interesting that under "Sharing and Permissions" for these folders, the users listed are "staff," "everyone" and "(unknown)"--presumably "catherine" should be in there somewhere, but it is not and does not come up on the list when I select "+" to add permission for a new user.) I have added "clwaltrip" and given it Read & Write access to Users/catherine/Music, Users/catherine/Documents and Users/catherine/Pictures and applied all to enclosed items. I have not yet checked to see how well those permissions changes worked, nor have I physically moved any files from Users/catherine to Users/clwaltrip.
I hope that all makes sense so far. I have backups of Defective MBP and First MBP, both before and after the Erase & Install mentioned in the first paragraph. (I actually have oodles of old backups and computers with most of my original files on them, if I need to start from scratch somehow).
So. Replacement MBP now shows ONE user account in System Preferences--clwaltrip, the one set up by the initial setup screens when I took the computer out of the box and could not get setup to access the Time Capsule, as explained above. But Finder shows TWO User folders--Users/clwaltrip (from initial setup) and Users/catherine (migrated from the TC backup of Defective MBP). I used the option to transfer accounts, settings--I checked all boxes, in other words, and I only selected the "catherine" account to transfer from the TC backup (because there was only one account on Defective MBP when I last backed it up, as explained above).
Yes, the Macintosh HD/Users/Catherine folder appears to be "orphaned" in that it does not show up in SysPref, but otherwise appears to have normal enclosed folders--Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Library, Movies, Music, Pictures, Public & Sites. And from what I can tell, it contains exactly what the "catherine" Home folder looked like on Defective MBP--same Desktop shortcuts, same enclosed items in catherine/Music, everything.
About the red "no access" badge--back when I had two user accounts on the Defective MBP, I used to see the no access badge when trying to access "clwaltrip" folders from the diagnostic account, "catherine". But I altered privileges while logged in as clwaltrip to allow catherine Read & Write access, in order to transfer the clwaltrip files to catherine. The red badge went away and it does NOT show up on the items in the Users/catherine folder when viewed from clwaltrip on the Replacement MBP.
You know, I think I knew that about the TC USB port at one point and just forgot. I'll put a Post-It on the TC to make sure I remember from now on.
Thanks for your patience!

PC to Mac Migration Assistant Files

I used Migration Assistant to move from my old PC to my new iMac. Unfortunately, I did this after the initial setup. The day I did this I could find the files in /user/. The folders were password protected.
Now I can't find /user/. Where are the files?

When you use Migration Assistant it creates another user account, please log out of your current account (click teh Apple Symbol in the upper left of the display and choose log out.) You should see another user account which is where your PC files are located. If you still cannot find them then call AppleCare, you have 90 days of free AppleCare telephone support. This may be the perfect time to use it. Also if you have not already purchased AppleCare I would VERY STRONGLY recommend that you do.

Migration Assistant & File Sharing Help

I used Migration Assistant to move files from my old Mac to my new one, but not all files were transferred. Looks like all the apps and settings made it, but I have a bunch of desktop files, and a second hard disk in the old Mac that didn't transfer.
The two computers are connected via ethernet.
I've tried turning file sharing on at both computers, but I don'e see any "shared folders" on either machine (first time I've tried it ever - I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to see and I'm not sure I've got it set up right).
Is there a different/better way to transfer files through the network, and can you lead me through it, or can someone lead me through the file sharing process. The on-line support articles I've read so far aren't very detailed and assume some knowledge that I apparently have yet to master.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Arnie

If you have allowed file sharing in Sys Prefs/Sharing on the old Mac, and if you have chosen Bonjour computers for the Sidebar of Finder windows in the Finder's Preferences on the new Mac, then your old Mac should appear in the Sidebar under Shared. I find that this works best with two horizontal Finder windows, one above the other with both in Column View stretched out to 5 or 6 columns. Use one for browsing to locations on your new Mac and the other to browse to locations on the old Mac.
Highlight your old Mac's name in the Sidebar of one of the windows and in the 1st column you will see an icon for the Mac and under that a button that says Connect. Press the button and you are presented with a dialog box. Enter the long name for your user account on the old Mac and its password. You should be immediately connected to the old Mac and you will have full access to your user account. You can now browse to anywhere in your account and drag & drop things from one window to the same location on your new Mac in the other window. If your account on the old Mac is an admin account, you should also have full access to everything on both of the hard drives on the old Mac.
If by chance when you highlight the old Mac in the sidebar and you are already connected as Guest then the button will say Disconnect. Press it and disconnect the Guest account and then follow the steps above to connect to your user account.
Dah•veed

Migration Assistant Files Location

Hi, I have recently used the migration assistant to copy about 1.5 GB of data (applications) from my mac mini to my air. I can't find it, but I know it's somewhere there because it says that the space is taken up. I checked for another user, but couldn't find one. Help?

Try using Spotlight to find your applications. Spotlight is invoked by clicking the magnifying glass in the upper right side of the menu bar. Type an application (or other known file) name and see what shows up.

Migration assistant = Offline folders

I have used migration assistant to move entire workspace to new Mac Pro and Lightroom now considers my folders "offline" as the library seems to reference the original drive name where it was stored.
Should I reinstall Lightroom and copy across the old library? If so, how do I do so?

Your best bet may be to start over, and use Setup Assistant. See How do I set up a new Mac from my old Mac or its backups?, especially the green box there.

What to do with transferred Migration assistant files?

My 5 year old MacBook Pro display stopped working. I used Migration assistant to transfer my files to another MacBook. Can I get rid of (trash) these transferred files?

I assume you want to trash them on the hdd that resides on the 5 year old MBP. Set it up for target disk mode and delete the files:
http://osxdaily.com/2010/04/07/how-to-boot-a-mac-in-target-disk-mode/
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH3838
Ciao.

Migration Assistant File Transfer via Ethernet 20+ Hours?

I have been trying to transfer all my files from my old MBP mid-2010 to my new MBP late-2013. I have turned off the Air Port (Wi-Fi) on both computers and connected them directly (not through a router) with an Ethernet cable and a Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet adaptor. At the beginning of the process, Migration Assistant indicated an estimated time to completion of less than 2 hours. However, now, after more than three hours into the process, the estimated remaining time indicated is more than 20 hours. The total amount of data to be transferred was estimated by Migration Assistant at the beginning of the process to be approximately 290 GB.
Is it normal for such a transfer to take such a long time?
Should I stop the transfer operation and start from scratch?
Should I have run a Repair Permissions in Disk Utility on the old computer before starting the transfer (just in case)?
What should I do now?
Thank you very much for your help.

If you have allowed file sharing in Sys Prefs/Sharing on the old Mac, and if you have chosen Bonjour computers for the Sidebar of Finder windows in the Finder's Preferences on the new Mac, then your old Mac should appear in the Sidebar under Shared. I find that this works best with two horizontal Finder windows, one above the other with both in Column View stretched out to 5 or 6 columns. Use one for browsing to locations on your new Mac and the other to browse to locations on the old Mac.
Highlight your old Mac's name in the Sidebar of one of the windows and in the 1st column you will see an icon for the Mac and under that a button that says Connect. Press the button and you are presented with a dialog box. Enter the long name for your user account on the old Mac and its password. You should be immediately connected to the old Mac and you will have full access to your user account. You can now browse to anywhere in your account and drag & drop things from one window to the same location on your new Mac in the other window. If your account on the old Mac is an admin account, you should also have full access to everything on both of the hard drives on the old Mac.
If by chance when you highlight the old Mac in the sidebar and you are already connected as Guest then the button will say Disconnect. Press it and disconnect the Guest account and then follow the steps above to connect to your user account.
Dah•veed

3008 or 8003 error, migration assistant file deletion

how can i fix getting a 3008 or 8003 error when trying to delete trash can? I deleted files after using migration asistant. I accessed my machintosh hd and clicked users and drug the new username file to the trash when I tried to delete the trash the 3008 error came up. i back up my computer with time machine and have found some posts on this happening when you try to delete a backup file.

The exact error message when I select the Time Machine backup (which is displayed with yellow triangle on the hard disk) is 'Volume contains an OS X installation which may be damaged.'
The older iMac has the system on the built-in SSD and the applications and files on the internal hard disk whereas the new iMac is a fusion drive. I wonder if this is what the problem is, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that someone in a similar situation was able to use the migration assistant without any problem (can't find it now, though).

HT4413 Migration Assistant files location

Where are the files after using migration assistant with a new Mac mini?

If you already had an user account set up on that Mac, in a new one.
(76288)

Migration assistant files?

I've recently tried to run migration assistat twice with no luck on my 2013 Mac Book Air 128GB SSD with OS 10.8 at the time. The unit i'm trying to get the info off is a 2007 iMac with an Intel Chip running 10.6.8. The first time this units froze and wouldn't do anything the second time it ran almost to the end and froze on the last 28 min. I've checked my hard drive and found thtat the space has been taken up but i'm not sure where to find the files that are supposably transfered onto this laptop.
I only did a transfer on my Aplications as my phonts and music were to large to fit on this laptop.

I've recently tried to run migration assistat twice with no luck on my 2013 Mac Book Air 128GB SSD with OS 10.8 at the time. The unit i'm trying to get the info off is a 2007 iMac with an Intel Chip running 10.6.8. The first time this units froze and wouldn't do anything the second time it ran almost to the end and froze on the last 28 min. I've checked my hard drive and found thtat the space has been taken up but i'm not sure where to find the files that are supposably transfered onto this laptop.
I only did a transfer on my Aplications as my phonts and music were to large to fit on this laptop.

HT4796 I downloaded the migration assistant file, but my PC cannot open it because it says it is not a valid W32.exe file.

I just bought my first Mac and need to transfer my PC files to it. I downloaded WndowsMigrationAssistantSetup.exe to the PC, but I cannot execute the file because the PC (running Vista) says it is not a valid W32 file.

I determined the problem was caused by downloading the file using Firfox. When I downloaded the file using Windows Internet Explorer it ran fine.

Migration assistant - what is other files and folders?

Am using Migration Assistant as we speak and wanted to know what info are contained in the " other files and folders " section. Its is 10GB of space and so wanted to make sure it is important stuff.

Here is a link to using Migration Assistant and includes information about the Other Files and Folders near the bottom of the page. In most cases you'll want to have everything selected to transfer.

After using Migration Assistant, I don't have access to open my files

The Migration Assistant made me rename the account from my old computer, MacBook Pro, because it was the same as the one on my new computer, new unibody Macbook. It was my name! So I changed the old account to a variation of my name and then Migration Assistant worked fine. All of my documents, files, pictures, music, etc. is now there but in a folder named (the other name) and it says I don't have permission to open the folder!! If I log out and then back in as that other name, all of my files are there and accessible, but I want them all in one place! Under one login, not two. Please is there an easy way to fix this, because I never would have used this Migration Assistant if I knew it was going to clutter up my new computer with two accounts and cause login issues. Thanks in advance....

System settings should be copied across as they are embedded in the ~/Library folder (and sub-folders) which you would have copied across to the external drive.
Once you have copied all of the data into the preferred account name then you should be able to delete the one you don't want. It will ask you if you want to delete the corresponding <home> folder associated with that account. My advice would be to operate your preferred account for some time until you are convinced that you have gotten all your data the way you want it and then delete the other account only after you are satisfied that all is correct.
Chris

Some of my applications and/or folders got corrupted after using Migration Assistant

Hello,
Had an iMac with Snow Leopard installed (1 single admin user).
Also had a Mac Mini with Snow Leopard installed (1 single admin user).
Got everything transfered to a single brand new MacMini with Lion pre-installed using the following method:
- Started the new Mac Mini from scratch and used Migration Assistant during setup process to import ALL data from old MacMini (user, applications, settings and other files) using ethernet connection.
- This went perfectly well with 1 or 2 minor errors regarding 1 or 2 startup items but resolved with erasing and re-installing them.
- Applied all available Software Updates to get an updated version of Lion (10.7.5)
- Then launched Migration Assistant from the new Mac Mini to import ALL data from iMac (user, applications, settings and other files)
- This went well as I got the same message than previous transfer (all data was transferred OK)
- Also got another message saying some X folder was not compatible with targeted system and same with some CHUD folder.
I finally got my 2 admin users gathered onto the single new Mac Mini in 2 separate admin user sessions.
If an app was already transferred from the old Mini but also installed on the iMac it did not get transferred from the iMac thus keeping the Mac Mini version.
For such apps I have permissions issues and some of the folders used by the 2 different admin users such as /Movies or /Documents are locked depending on which user session is opened.
I tried repairing permissionsusing Disk Utility but with no success.
I also tried to delete and re-install these applications but it did not work.
Last chance was to grant full access attributes to the related folders via their information panel or System Preferences (User & Groups tab) but it did not work either.
Could somebody please explain the background for this issue and how could I solve it?
I am thinking of re-installing Lion from scratch, transfer the old Mac Mini again (ALL data) and then import iMac user but only USER data (not applications and settings). Would it work?
Thanks for any help you could provide,
François

I was finally able to fix this by using a couple of preference management utilities. Either I missed a key preference file for each app, or there are some hidden preference files, but when I used the prefence management utitilities (such as Preferntial Treatment, PrefEdit, Defaulter, or PlistEdit Pro) I was able to look at the prefs for Firefox and Photoshop CS2 and see where the hostname for the my old G4 was listed. (in the case of Photoshop CS2 it was actually in the list of recently opened files!! I should have noticed that from within Photoshop)
Now that I've removed those entries from preferences both Photoshop and Firefox run without prompting that the old G4 had to mounted.
oh, also... I found that for both Photoshop & Firefox I could actually get them to work without mounting the old G4's root volume - it just took clicking past the pop-ups (about 10 of them for each app) and waiting a long time as it searched around for the next one (maybe about 10 minutes total ... normally I don't have time to waste like that, but I got curious and made the time).
Thank you for your suggestions. as I had suspected, Migration Assistant moved some preferences from the old G4 that had it's hostname embedded and for some reason the apps weren't clearing them out when they were launched on the new machine (again, odd since I didn't have Migration Assistant move the apps from the old G4 to the new G5 - I installed each app on the G5 as a new install (aka: a "clean install") to avoid just this type of problem).
My real thanks are to the authors of the above mentioned preference management utilities.
Quad Core PowerMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Migration Assistant - Files/Folders

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