Migration Assistant in OSX 10.8.2

I have an ailing MBP 13" 2.26 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo w/ 8 gig of RAM, that depsite reinstalls of OSX 10.8.2, using Repair Permissions, etc in Disk Utilities from the installer disk, the Mac is still running irraticaly.
As a prior Apple Solutions Expert I find the best way to troubleshoot this is to wipe the drive clean and reinstall the software, etc. prior to replacing the HD altogether.
Can the Migration Assistant be used to successfully reinstall the User's Account data, such as for Mail data, etc., from a typical FW backup? And if so, are there any precautions, tips or techniques I should be aware of before starting, etc.?

Well, I bit the bullet, whiped the drive and did a clean install off a USB Drive -- unfortuately, the Setup Assistant does not see the FW drive and I had no other choice but to skip ahead and establish a temp account -- the install appears fine, did upgrades for Safari and iTunes and the FW drives are visible on the desktop.
However, Migration Assistant, as well as Setup Assistant, fail to recognize the FW drives as well. Kinda prblematic as it stands -- ideas?

Similar Messages

I am trying to transfer files from my PowerBook G4 (OSX 10.4.11) to my new iMac (Mountain Lion). Migration assistant tells me I need to upgrade migration assistant on the G4, but I can't find a download that will work for anything older than OSX 10.5.

Yes, my PowerBook G4 is still trucking along. It is running OSX 10.4.11, but I just bought a new iMac that is running Mountain Lion. I just tried to use Migration Assistant. It told me to update Migration Assistant on the G4, but I can't find an update for anything earlier than 10.5. Is there a way to get my files transfered, or am I going to need to update the OS on my computer I was getting ready to retire?
Thanks!

You never know, someone might remember. What happens in detail when you try to use it, and HOW are you trying to use it?

HT3263 I am trying to transfer files from my MacBook Pro (using Mac OSX 10.6.8) to MacBook Air (Mac OSX 10.7.4) using Migration Assist via WiFi connection. The two macs cannot find each other. any suggestions

I am trying to transfer files from my MacBook Pro (using Mac OSX 10.6.8) to MacBook Air (Mac OSX 10.7.4) using Migration Assist via WiFi connection. The two macs cannot find each other. any suggestions

Try this article - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889.
If it doesn't help, post back in this thread.
Best of luck,
Clinton

HT1338 After migration from MacBook 13' running OSX 10.6.8 to MacBook Pro 15' Retina OSX 10.8.2 using Migration assistant, the Bluetooth assistant mentions "name not available" and it cannot detect my Magic trackpad. There is no mention of any mishap.

I just migrated from MacBook 13' OSX 10.6.8 to MacBook Pro 15' Retina OSX 10.8.2 with the use of Migration Assistant. When attempting to install my Magic Trackpad, the Bluetooth Assistant mentions "name not available" so that the device cannot be detected. In have disconnected the firewall.Thanks for assistance.

Create a new, temporary admin account and see if you can set it up in that account.

How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from osx lion to osx snow leopard

I have MacBook with osx Lion and I need transfer my user acount to another mac computer (Mac mini) because my MacBook was broke and I send it to service. On Mac mini I have osx Snow Leopard. Is possible to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from osx Lion to osx Snow Leopard?

Sorry, but there's no way to "go back" with Migration Assistant.
Can you upgrade the Mini?

Migration Assistant doesn't recognize old iMac OSX

I just bought a new iMac 20 inch running Tiger. In the migration assistant (first initial setup), it asks if I would like to transfer files and settings from an old iMac using a FireWire cable (I do). After it prompts me, I boot my "old" iMac (PowerPC G4 running OS 10.2.8) in FireWire Target Disk Mode (pressing "T" while restarting). Then connect the FireWire cable from my old iMac to the new iMac. The migration assistant says that OSX is not installed on my "old" computer (which it is).
I've done some research on this forum about this topic. I've checked if my old Mac needs a firmware update (it doesn't). How can I fix this problem - I would really like to run the migration assistant from the get-go. Any assistance would be very appreciated. Thanks.
iMac Mac OS X (10.4.4)

One thing I don't know if it is relevant, but I found having the same username already created on my new machine when I ran the migration assistant caused it to fail.
If you haven't created anything essential on your new Mac, run the restore disks over again, and create an alternative user name:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61802
Once that is done, then try to run the Migration Assistant from the Applications -> Utilities folder, and then login the old username and delete the new one.

Migration Assistant with Thunderbolt to Firewire Adapter?

Hey gang-
Finally retiring my mid-2007 iMac with a new Late-2013 iMac. Yayyyy!
I've always been happy with Migration Assistant, but wanted to ask the experts if Migration Assistant will work with the Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire Adapter. I'm planning on connecting the old iMac Firewire 800 port to the new iMac Thunderbolt port via the adapter. On a related note, I assume that same as always, I will need to boot the old iMac into Target Disk mode, right?
Thanks!
Dave

Of course. You can connect both iMacs with a FireWire 800 cable and a Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter without any problem. The problem would come if the old iMac has not got FireWire 800 ports, but the Mid 2007 iMac comes with one.
In order to use Migration Assistant and transfer files from another iMac through FireWire, you need to put your old iMac in Target Disk mode as you said. To do this, simply hold the T key while your old iMac is starting up until you see the FireWire icon in the display. Then you can set up your new iMac, and you will be asked to transfer your data.
If you have already set up your new iMac, use Migration Assistant (in /Applications/Utilities) > http://pondini.org/OSX/MigrateLion.html

Migration assistant screw up, Mac Pro not seeing wifi/TC

Hi
I've been using a MacBookPro (MBP) for almost 5 years now, with a 1TB Time Capsule (TC1) using Time Machine (TM). I am the sole user, HDD is 270Gb used/50Gb free; using Mavericks, v10.9.2. On Friday, I used Sophos anti virus home edition, to scan the MBP. It comes up with no threats identified, and I uninstall Sophos.
Yesterday I took delivery of the Mac Pro (MP) with the 3Tb Time Capsule (TC3).
I booted up the MP, with the TC3. I did not, at this stage, connect the TC3 to the internet. Using TM, I backed up the MP. TC3 flashes the amber light.
Using Migration Assistant (MA) I tried to copy the MBP to the MP, 3 times. This did not work. At the point where the target machine has listed what is available to transfer, I click Continue and MA on the MP closes, on the MBP it says something like connection lost. The screen where this happens, lists 3 items available to transfer Application, Documents/Date and Computer settings; with a content of 128kb indicated, which is clearly wrong! The connection was an Ethernet cable direct from the MBP to the MP.
At this stage, I decide to connect the MP to the internet using TC3, there's some settings to be changed on TC3 using Airport Utility and it connects ok. TC3 has a steady green light.
I run 2 software updates on the MP. I surf the net briefly, to make sure it's ok.
I try again to use MA. This time, the dialgoue box listing what's available to transfer is different. There are 2 or 3 more options, colour is present, the font is different, the box is about the same size. The MP would not let me take any screenshots as all other applications are closed when MA is running. I don't think it gave me the size of what was being transferred, but it looked more hopeful, so I Continue and the transfer starts, with an estimated time of 33 minutes.
The transfer completes.
The MBP, as you would expect, has not changed, the MP has, but not in the way I expected. Applications appear to have all transferred (without checking them), no Documents/data and no Downloads appear to have transferred; I ticked to transfer everything.;I know I can reconnect the Ethernet cable and simply copy the data across.
But the main problem appears to be, the MP does not see the wifi.
Ethernet cable is removed.
The MP asks if I want to give permission to eeEvents manager (I presume calendar related) and say yes. It also asks if I want to install a Java run time, no.
In System preferences/Network it tells me a new Thunderbolt bridge has been found and asks if it's ok, to accept it, yes. It tells me the Ethernet cable is disconnected, rightly so; it says Airport is not connected.
I open Airport utility, no sign of the TC1 or TC3 despite it searching. Apart from TC1, the MP, MBP and TC3 are sat within a couple of feet of each other.
I turn on TC1/TC3 (separately and not at the same time, then at the same time), but the MP does not see them. I've reset TC3, rebooted the MP and still the MP does not see it.
I don't get any errors or warnings coming up.
I think my next option is to try and reset the MP to the factory settings, but this won't work, as I've no internet connection to reinstall OS X. No disc is sent with the MP.
Any suggestions as to what to try? Otherwise, I'll be off to the Apple Store tomorrow for a One to One!! :-(
Thanks for any help and Happy Mother's Day!!

Take the MP and connect it via ETH to your main router.
Restart the machine holding down command option R, you should see a spinning globe
Open disk utility and reformat the MP HD as Mac journaled
Then install OSX on this drive

Migration assistant sent info from my PC to my iMac as an entirely separate account...how do i merge them? one acct gets my email, and the old PC info is on a different login

i used migration assistant to transfer my info from my PC to my new iMac, but it created an entirely new account on the Mac with all my info. i can get email on the new iMac, but everything else is on the separate login (which i cannot access email on due to a missing password.). how do i transfer everything into the new iMac account?

Migration Assistant worked the way it was supposed to by creating a second account. When you turned on the Mac for the first time it started Setup Assistant, that was the best opportunity to migrate your data from the PC to the iMac and only have one user account. You can start over (recommended) or begin moving data from the new user account to the initial account that was setup when the machine was turned on. Please look over Pondini's instructions for transferring files from one account to another in:
http://pondini.org/OSX/Transfer.html
However I'd recommend starting over, Pondini discussed that somewhat in Lion Setup Assistant tips.

What is the best way to migrate mail from OSX 10.4.11 (Tiger) to OSX 10.7 (Lion)

Greetings,
Does anyone have experience migrating mail boxes from OSX 10.4 to OSX 10.7?
I have an old 1.5 Ghz PowerPC G4 laptop with a lot of email (about 8 years worth). I just purchased a new Mac Mini with OSX 10.7 Lion and I'd like to migrate 2 groups of files, mail and photos. I figure the mail might be the most difficult, hence this request for information.
I have read where you can run a migration assistant for OS 10.5 and 10.6 to OSX 10.7 but there are only a few articles about the earlier OS.
Also, I would like to migrate ONLY the mail box into an existing user account. I would rather not migrate older files and applications that I have on the older PC.
Can anyone point me to articles about doing this?
Thank you,
Tim Kern

Hi Linc,
Thank you for yout suggestion.
Export the import makes sense. Do you know of any "How to..." articles for exporting from Tiger?
Thanks again,
Tim Kern

Migration Assistant can't see my USB ext HD for Time Machine!

Here is a question for Pondini!
I've read through many of the threads here, including Pondini's tutorials on how to set-up Time Machine, use Migration Assistant, etc. Alas, I'm not a technical person and have hit a wall.
Here's the scenario:
Last week my iMac running Mountain Lion crashed. The hard drive was initially "repaired" using Recovery, erasing all data then restoring the drive from Time Machine backups stored on a Hitachi 2TB Touro USB3 external HD. But soon after the system froze again and a 2nd restore did not work. I concluded that my almost 5 year old HD was gone.
Where I stand now is that the iMac's HD has been replaced with a new one which came preinstalled with Snow Leopard. I absolutely want (need!) to restored my Mac from Time Machine to get back all my settings and info.
During the iMac first boot Setup Assistant did NOT see the external hard drive even though they are connected properly. (Note: My older iMac is undoubtedly USB2 but the external HD is backwards-compatible USB3. THAT is the connection, from the external HD directly into the back of the Mac. It is mounted on my desktop and files can be accessed through Finder.) So I then proceeded to set-up my "new" computer with basic settings, which is how I came to see my external HD was properly mounted and connected. I also upgraded the OS on this new HD to Mountain Lion so it would be the same as my most recent Time Machine back-ups.
Since then I have tried using Migration Assistant to migrate from Time Machine on my external drive but it still does not recognize any drives - Migration Assistant just searches endlessly for other computers. Argh! I've tried all the tips I've read in these forums and none have helped. I scanned my external drive for errors using disk utility but none were found.
On my external drive there is a folder in the root called Backups.backupdb. Double-clicking it simply opens the folder in Finder, to reveal folders with names familiar to me - the previous HDs computer name, then a bunch of dated folders within that, including a lone file called 2012-08-17-062839.inProgress. I suppose my HD may have died while backing up to Time Machine.
WHAT do I do?
Let's say the worst case scenario is that I cannot use these Time Machine backups. Is there any way to root through them for data I can hand-copy to my iMac's new internal drive? It would be grueling but at least it's something. How can I retrieve years of email? Luckily photos, music, videos, etc were backed up manually into a separate folder (also in the root of my external drive).
THANK YOU!!
Danielle

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 you had
- if Setup Assistant fails, use the recovery partition for system restore
- Use Recovery Disk Assistant http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1433 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.

Permission issues after Snow Leopard clean install, Migration Assistant+Time Machine restore.

Hello, here's the situation.
I've done a clean install, for various reasons, I've got backups including one done just before the clean install. Following directions somewhere else I set up a user account called "test" just for the purposes of reimporting PART of my old system, since one of the reasons I did the clean install was to clean up my system (get rid of all those little ghosts of old programs, the old programs themselves, files and settings I not longer want etc.) so I didn't want to just import the whole thing. So I imported just the user account and a few folders such as music and photos that I knew I wanted back on. Then I restarted so that it would log back into my old user account that's been restored using Migration assistant. So far so good. I enter time machine and start restoring Applicatons, their associated support files, a few preference panes, some other files and folders I want back on, so and and so forth. Then I enter my old home folder and see that many of the subfolders I don't have access to, I check their permissions with Get Info and see that read/write access has been granted to my test account, which is ridiculous since it didn't exist when they were backed up. Some searching reveals that on the first Time Machine back-up after a restore like this it should as at the start whether I want to inherit he old backups, so I tell Time machine to do a backup, figure that it shouldn't take much, seeing as there's nothing new, and I've put it all in the same place as in the backup. It doen't give me any such prompt, instead just starts indexing/preparing hundreds of thousands of files, and tells me that the backup should take about 135 gb of space. I stop the backup, give up on working this out myself, and come here. Help?
Of note
The "harddrive" (it's a partition, I've got Windows on the other part) is not named the same as it was in the backups, would this affect it?

I'm not familiar with Lightroom.
Where is the "Lightroom 2 catalog" folder in the second message, and what are it's permissions?
Note that +Repair Permissions+ only repairs permissions on files installed by OSX or certain Apple apps, and you should use the version of Disk Utility that's on your OSX volume, not your Install disc. See: [About Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions feature|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1452].

Error "The Connection Failed" in Time Machine, Migration Assistant and Restore From DVD

I am receiving this error when trying to connect to my Time Machine Backup in my Time capsule. I input the proper password to access my Time Capsule and It returns me to the screen with the caption "The connection failed" under the Time Capsule name in the "Select your Disk" screen. What would cause this error. I am connecting via WIFI (AirPort) and have full signal. I am using Mac OSX 10.6.8
I recently had my 1TB hard drive replaced and I am attempting to restore using Time Machine, migration assistant or from the startup dvd (tried multiple ways, no success). The initial setup of mac OSX 10.6 would not let me connect or other attempts after erasing hard drive and reinstalling OSX from disk.
Worked on it all weekend and don't have enough beer to drown the frustration, any help is appreciated.

You are correct TM is not at all easy to do a full restore.
To answer your question: Yes TM disk does show up in finder.
After my initial startup setup I was able to start TM and access all my previous backups. I migrated some files and was able grab the data from finder. Not satisfied with that I tried to do a restore to that previous date, to no success. I then erased the HD and reinstalled OSx and tried again from the setup screen. That didn't work, sulked over some beers. I then tired with Migration assistant...same result (more beer).
In starting TM after trying MA, only one backup was showing in the Star screen (today). None of my previous backups were showing. Since exiting TM it has been "Making Backup Disk Available" ( xGB of 6.29GB). Considering the size, I can only assume that these are my previous backups.
I have reviewed Pondini's posts, FAQs, and tutorials. I am a little scared to try and locate the drives through Terminal as in Pondini's TS #6 guide. If I can get my previous backups to show up, I will be happy with dragging files from Finder to restore my data and slowly work at restoring my settings/applications.

Migration Assistant Copied System Preferences from a Third HD!

I used Migration Assistant to copy files off an iMac and onto a new HD in a MacPro. I purchased a second HD for the MacPro especially for this occasion because I wanted to leave the original MacPro HD intact. At this point, I had two HD's in the MacPro. After installing Snow Leopard, Migration Assistant copied all files and users as expected but something very strange happened:
1. iMac is 10.6.5 but new HD has 10.6
2. System Preferences were taken from the existing HD in the MacPro
I knew there was something wrong because the desktop image was from the original MacPro HD.
What's more annoying is that I completely wiped the new HD using Disk First Aid and removed the original HD from the MacPro so I could start the entire migration process again. Before quitting Disk First Aid, I noticed that it said 800mb had been used even though I had zero'd out everything.
Again, for the second attempt I decided to remove the original HD from the MacPro and just leave the new drive in there, but it did it again.
1. Question - If I had assigned Migration Assistant to copy files from the iMac HD why did I end up with System Preferences from the original MacPro HD?
2. Question - After completely removing the original MacPro HD from the machine, why did Migration Assistant set up the new HD with the System Preferences on an HD that I had completely removed from the machine?
I know all I have to do is use Software Update to bring it back up to 10.6.5 but it's really annoyed me because now I am wondering about of all the 500 gigs and what files may have been affected (hopefully none). I've had a quick look through the contents but I won't be able to tell because there are so many of them. And do I really want to spend time digging around in the Library of the iMac to copy across the System Preferences to the new HD and then remove what shouldn't have been there in the first place? I don't think so, and I shouldn't have to.
I do wish Apple would have their software do what it says and not go digging around on another HD that was lying dormant for this exercise, especially after removing it for the second attempt. It's wasting so much of my time.
Any thoughts, opinions, excuses and remedies would be greatly welcomed.
Thanks in advance.
Message was edited by: inknpaper

inknpaper wrote:
I used Migration Assistant to copy files off an iMac and onto a new HD in a MacPro. I purchased a second HD for the MacPro especially for this occasion because I wanted to leave the original MacPro HD intact. At this point, I had two HD's in the MacPro. After installing Snow Leopard, Migration Assistant copied all files and users as expected but something very strange happened:
You mean you installed OSX on the new drive. Apparently you used a 10.6.0 disc.
Then, presumably, your Mac re-started (from the new disk), you set up a user account, then started +Migration Assistant.+
Migration Assistant doesn't install or copy OSX; whatever version of OSX you put on that drive is still there.
2. System Preferences were taken from the existing HD in the MacPro
Extremely doubtful.
You have an extra user account (the one you set up after installing OSX and before doing the Migration). Unless you changed it, that account will have the default desktop picture.
Are you sure the account you transferred has a different desktop picture than it did on the iMac? If so, is it the default?
What's more annoying is that I completely wiped the new HD using Disk First Aid and removed the original HD from the MacPro so I could start the entire migration process again. Before quitting Disk First Aid, I noticed that it said 800mb had been used even though I had zero'd out everything.
Yes; that's the partition map and empty directories.
1. Question - If I had assigned Migration Assistant to copy files from the iMac HD why did I end up with System Preferences from the original MacPro HD?
As above, I don't think you did. Be sure which account you're logged-on to.
For best results, start over, and use +Setup Assistant+ instead of +Migration Assistant,+ so you don't end up with extra accounts. See [Setting up a new Mac from an old one or its backups|http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/Setup.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum), and note the green box there.

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 in OSX 10.8.2

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