Migration Assistant loops on Dupliate Account Found

When I try to migrate and it finds Duplicate accounts, it seems that whatever I answer, when I click next, it goes back to Step 4 Machine Settings, and when I click migrate on that it just goes back to the duplicate account found dialogue, and so on forever.
How should I proceed?

OK, so what did happen when you created an account with the same name as an existing account.
What user did you log in as? (the one with the same name or another).
Did you check all the check boxes when asked what you wanted to migrate? In particular did you say you wanted to migrate Applications?
When you clicked on migrate, did it bring up a dialogue box saying 'Duplicate Account Found'? Which accounts did it claim were duplicate? Which options were available? Was one of them greyed out? Which option did you select, and what then happened?
Thanks, because I don't see how to migrate when I have duplicate accounts.

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Migration Assistant created 4 duplicate accounts

After using Migration Assistant to move my account from my Dual 800 G4 to my new MacBook Pro (both running 10.4.6), I noticed 3 additional copies of my account in the Accounts pane in System Preferences.
Only one shows up in the login window at startup. In the Accounts pane, they all show the same name and short name.
In NetInfo Manager, all 4 appear in the /users directory and all have identical information (name, home, realname, uid, generateduid, writerstimpassword, gid, writers_realname, picture)
While this isn't causing any problems so far, I think I need to get rid of those duplicates. Is NetInfo Manager the right place to do that? I'm worried that deleting one might delete them all...
Thanks!
15" MacBook Pro & PowerMac G4 Dual 800MHz Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Deleting the duplicate entries in the NetInfo Manager should not delete them all; if you find that it does, you can reset or restore the NetInfo database, and recreate a new account with the original short name if needed. To back up the current NetInfo database manually, open the Terminal in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder, and enter 'sudo periodic daily' without the quote marks. You will be asked to provide your administrator password, which won't appear in the window as it is being typed.
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Migration Assistant, now two user accounts

Hi, I've just purchased a Macbook Pro. I've just completed the migration assistant and its transferred all my files, photos and itunes to my macbook but under a different user account to the one my computer was set up with. Any ideas how I can merge the two (transfer the info over) and delete the second one?
Many thanks, Louise

A = First user account created on the new machine (Admin)
B = User account migrated over (account status unknown)
1: Log into A and make sure B is a Admin user in System Preferences > Accounts
2: While in A, transfer files via the Users/Shared folder
Programs usually are installed into the Applications folder for all accounts to use, but some have particular settings saved into each user account.
Best thing is to just use the program again and make new settings which get saved in User B.
Once you have everything up on A, then delete B from the System Preferences > Accounts.
Optional: for more security,
it's best to create a new Admim user while logged into A, lets call it C, and then logging into C and changing A to Standard user from Admin, then using A all the time like normal.
It's a little more work involved using the computer when your accessing the Applicaitons folder (rarely), and having to manually check for updates, but your computer is much more secure as A is now a Standard User with little "powers" so in case something bad happens it can't do much to your computer (unless you give it your Admin password of course.)
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

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.
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HT2518 After using Migrate Assistant, I made several accounts for every attempt to migrate files from PC to Mac. How can I put all accounts together into one? How can I transfer the files from the other accounts to my primary account?

Okay, so I did the entire Migrate Assistant process to transfer all my files and what not to my MacBook. Problem is that I did it on seperate occasions and now I have several accounts.
How can I transfer my files from the other accounts to my primary account and delete the other accounts?

Problem is that I did it on seperate occasions and now I have several accounts.
If you had read carefully, Migration Assistant asks what you want to do in this event. That would have precluded the redundancy.
Part of the fundamental design of OS X is to separate user accounts so that one user can't interfere with another. It's not possible to directly merge an account with another, but you can copy whatever you need to the Shared folder - it is in your Users folder.
Log in to one account, prefereably a smaller one, and drag the files and folders into Shared. Log out, log into the account you want to be "primary" and drag the files from Shared into their appropriate locations. When you have copied everything you need delete the redundant account.
Do this for each of them.
Or, you can just run Migration Assistant again and follow the prompts that address the situation you described. It involves creating a secondary, temporary account from which you can administer the transfer. When it is complete you delete the temporary account(s).

Migration Assistant created new user account & can't delete it

Hi - I'm a new Mac user (MacBook Pro). I seem to have an extra account and am not sure why. Here's what happened:
I setup my MacBook Pro and did not run Migration Assistant at that time. I later ran Migration Assistant to migrate PC files to the MacBook. A second account was created after the migration. All my PC content is in the second account. None in the original account. When I look at the Users & Groups in System Preferences, I see that both accounts are Admin accounts.
I do not want the original account that was created for me on the MacBook Pro before I trasnferred any of my PC files over. I just want to keep the account that was created to house all my PC files when they were migrated over. However I cannot migrate that original account - the " - " is just greyed out.
Please can someone advise how I delete it. I do not want two admin user acconts - just the onen with all my PC files in.
I realise I should have done the PC transfer at start up using "set up assistant" but for whatever reasons I chose to delay it by a day or so and hence used Windows Migration Assistant.
Please tell me how I can delete the surplus user account created for me originally when I used the Mac for the first time.
Thanks in advance for all feedback and advice. This is my first Mac after 20 years of Windows, so big step for me and still learning! So easy to understand instructions please would be bonus
thanks all

Unfortunately I see that no one has been able to help me with this . . . so instead of addressing the question above. can someone please tell me how to reset my Mac to "factory settings", ie how it was the day I bought it and before I switched it on for the first time. Delete everything on there now. That way I will do set up properly and transfer data from my PC first of all instead of revisiting it.
Please can someone tell me how to do this
Many thanks

Migration assistant and 2nd user account

Yesterday I set up my new Mac Mini and used Migration Assistant to transfer files from my PC to my new Mac.
I can't now access the files as a 2nd user, as I am being prompted for a password. I can't remember setting a password for a 2nd user account. If I did it would be the same as my Administrators account.
Any suggestions on how I can access the 2nd user account?
I presume I will later on be able to transfer files from 2nd user account to my Mac account and then delete the 2nd user account.
I am a new Mac user.

From the main account on your Mac, the one you are now signed into, open a Finder window and go to the Users folder and right click on that second user account. Select Get Info from the list that comes up. When that opens scroll down to the bottom and click the small Lock icon and type in your Admin password. Once the lock icon is open click on the Plus ( + ) sign and add your current username, the one you are now logged into to the list for Sharing & Permissions and then give it both Read & Write access. Then on the icon with the little gear and downward facing triangle click that and select Apply to Enclosed items. That will propagate those permission down to all folders and files in that second user account.
you should then be able to access all the folders in that second user account and copy those files over to your main account. Once you have done that you can go into User & Groups in System Preferences and delete, remove, that second account.

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.

How to use migration assistant without creating dual user accounts

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

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

Which FireWire Cable for Macbook Pro to Macbook Pro Migration Assistant?

Hi,
I've just purchased a new Macbook Pro 15" (standard - not retina display) and am planning to transfer my files via the Migration Assistant. My question is, I currently have a mid 2009 macbook pro (2.8GHz, 4GB) and was wondering which firewire cable I need to purchase - there are so many different types!
Thanks!

ds store wrote:
Hold T and boot the old Mac's drive to the desktop of the new one or do so during Setup Assistant or later with Migration Assistant.
Setup Assistant runs only once, at first startup when fresh out of the box or when freshly reinstalled from scratch. Migration Assistant is a regular application found in the Utilites folder.
If you're going to move all your stuff over, the easiest and least problematic way is via Setup Assistant. Since the computer is in a completely blank state when SA runs, it can create identical user accounts, permissions, etc., as the original source. MA is an app that runs on an already configured and running system and, hence, can't duplicate user accounts, modify permissions that are already in use, etc.: this can cause vexing issues for new users that may not be to well versed in multiuser operating system administration.

Problems with migration assistant

Hi, I used Migration Assistant to move my account on an iMac G5 to a new Intel iMac. I ran the assistant from a user with the same name as the user I was transferring. Of course the assistant told me I had to rename the imported account, which I did. Once migrated, I created a new admin account, deleted the original admin and renamed (also the shortname via a procedure found on the Apple site) the new imported account.
I also own a powerbook on the same network, also with a user with the same name/short name and previously I never had problems in transferring files between this and the iMac G5. Now, after the migration, I cannot copy any file between the users, although I can GET the files from one users to another.
Any clue?

If your old machine is an iBook, the Migration Assistant likely won't always work. Many have had issues migrating from PowerPC to Intel with the Assistant. Instead, this user tip is recommended:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=435350&tstart=0

Migration Assistant/ Set-up Assistant/ Copy and Paste/ Other?

Hello Wise Ones,
I have just installed a new HD and am wondering how to transfer my old files, a sparsebundle/image, from an external HD to this brand spanking new HD.
For context,
1) Acquired an external HD.
2) Saved a File Vaulted account onto that HD (Western Digital HD; used WD Smartware).
3) Upgraded from Tiger to Snow Leopard.
4) Time Machine backs up the information of Guest account but not the main account, the Filevaulted account.
5) Rigamarole follows, but sparsebundle/image becomes mountable and files accessible.
6) Internal HD fails.
7) New Internal HD installed just yesterday.
8) Migration Assistant restores the Guest account files. But the sparsebundle/image is not an option.
So, as it stands now I have two accounts on the computer: the newly created account and the migrated old (Guest) account. I seem to have all of the programs I think I should have. But, as you might imagine, my Documents, Movies. Pictures etc folders are empty.
The external HD shows me all of my created files. So, if need be I can just copy and paste those Documents, Movies, Pictures, Desktop folders, yes? (Alas, Migration Assistant doesn't -- um, pickup, recognize -- that sparsebundle/image.)
But what of the inner workings? Most notably, what of a Library folder. I see it there on my sparsebundle/image. It appears to be on the same tier as the Documents, Desktop, Movies folders. Meaning, I'm guessing that this Library folder is personal to this account, not to the computer as a whole. Therefore, if I select my account found on the new HD and find its Library folder, and then paste over it with this sparsebundle/image Library folder then all will be okay? Thus I'll have all of my mail messages/inboxes and all of my Safari Bookmarks and other goodies?
So, um, the best way to proceed? Migration Assistant; Set-up Assistant; Copy/Paste; or other?
Thanks again for your insights and patience.
Lex
P.S. Would it matter that the the sparsebundle/image folder has an account name that is different than the name for this new drive and this new personal account? So, damaged HD was named Lexy. But sparsebundle/image account has the name Lex. With this new HD the HD is named, Smith and the personal account is named LexSmith.

Not sure about the File Vault password protected thing is the problem with migrating. If you have room on the drive, try opening up the image and copy the user account from the image file straight to the drive itself, thereby eliminating the use of the image. Then try the migration.
Other than that, I can only suggest manually copying the files from each folder to your new user folder.
If it's your whole user account and it's a different name than the user account on the new computer, you might try to copy the whole user account over to the user folder and then see if you can switch user to that account.

Migration Assistant Failures - And Solutions

I used Migration Assistant to transfer my account from an Air to a new MacBook Pro. I share the problems I ran into and the solutions I used in the hopes it helps someone else.
First failure: the six digit confirmation number from the target (Mac Book Pro) would not display on the source (Air). For some reason when I turned IPv6 on in Network preferences | WiFi | Advanced | TCP/IP | Configure IPv6 - to "Automatically" - the source displayed the confirmation number from the target. The target already had IPv6 on Automatic - in fact all our OS X devices has it on Automatic - except for the Air for some odd reason.
The Migration Assistant took some time to finish the transfer - but, it did finish - or so I thought.
Second failure: When I started the new user that was transferred - I got a number of errors. In looking at the user home folder - I found that the library and other permissions were badly mangled. Even OS X asked for permission to repair the library - I typed in my password as requested - clicked OK - but, it never worked.
The scenario 1 posted by Linc Davis fixed all the permissions immediately (see link and the part of the solution I successfully used below).
Linc DavisDec 25, 2014 9:40 PM Re: "The operation could not be completed" Creating an iMovie
Re: "The operation could not be completed" Creating an iMoviein response to patrickredsox
Back up all data before proceeding.
This procedure will unlock all your user files (not system files) and reset their ownership, permissions, and access controls to the default. If you've intentionally set special values for those attributes on any of your files, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it, but you do need to follow the instructions below.
Step 1
If you have more than one user, and the one in question is not an administrator, then go to Step 2.
Triple-click anywhere in the following line on this page to select it:
sudo find ~ $TMPDIR.. -exec chflags -h nouchg,nouappnd,noschg,nosappnd {} + -exec chown -h $UID {} + -exec chmod +rw {} + -exec chmod -h -N {} + -type d -exec chmod -h +x {} + 2>&-
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.
You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
The command may take several minutes to run, depending on how many files you have. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear, then quit Terminal.

So I Found the issue.... It was stored in Private/var/zz/cleanup at startup
I found the profile name (home file) in the cleanup at startup folder and deleted it. System is working and now I have my disk space back.
I followed the directions that Linc Davis suggested in this post: How do I resolve 43+ GB of missing storage on the Macintosh HD?

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

Migration Assistant created admin user w/ Macintosh HD volume on desktop

Hi,
Summary:
MBP 17" (running Leopard) logic board died
Retrieved hard drive from MBP and put in USB 2.0 caddy
Bought Mac Mini 2.5 intel core i5 w/ latest Mountain Lion
Used for a couple of days as main Administrator user, set up a VPN etc, every working fine.
Made a back up using Time Machine on a USB connected My Passport Edge for Mac
Used Migration Assistant to transfer user account from MBP HD (with Leopard) - this was the main adminstrator (not root superuser) of the MBP
When prompted, renamed the Leopard user account to MacBook so no conflict with new Mountain Lion administrator user
Transferred everything but applications and download folder of the main (administrator) user on the MBP.
All appeared successful.
Restarted Mac Mini and logged into the User account created by Migration Assistant---all files there etc so far so good.
Then I noticed that this migrated user still had Admintrator rights and appears to have reset some of the global settings effecting the original ML admin user (the one I eventually want to carry on using)
First inkly of this was that the VPN server I set up was no longer recognised by Safari in any accounts on the machine.
Logged into original ML administrator user and changed the migrated MBP user to a 'standard' user with no rights to do change settings on the computer.
[still can't get Safari to recognise the VPN proxy server]
Decided I'd better make a back-up to the Time Machine on the My Passport, but had to follow these instructions http://pondini.org/TM/A4.html for a 'Full Reset of Time Machine'. Which did the job.
Then I logged back into the migrated MBP user account to look around. There on the desktop is a volume called 'Macintosh HD' (the same as the main computer default name that is used my Mountain Lion.
When I do a get info on this volume it tells me the following:
Kind: Volume
Created: Friday, 19 October 2012 (which is an odd date)
Modified: Today ...
Version 10.8.2
Formal: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Capacity: 499.25GB
Available: 361.32GB
Used .....(127.93 GB on disk)
          Sharing and Permissions
               You can only read
               system Read & Write
               wheel Read only
               everyone Read only
Can I delete this volume off the desktop or will that mean I lose all the files and folders for this user? Why is there a 137GB volume on the desktop?
Also, as it's called Macintosh HD (the same as Mountain Lion's Computer name) isn't this likely to be causing some clashes?
I will eventually be deleting this migrated user, once I have all the emails, notes, etc off Entourage's Main Identity imported into Outlook 10. In the meantime this volume on the desktop is worrying me.
My question is: what should I do about this double Macintosh HD volume on the migrated MBP user account?
Thanks for your help.
Cheers,
Tracy

There are settings in Finder's Preferences to show Hard Disks on the desktop. So, that is likely normal. Deleting it would be bad.

Migration Assistant loops on Dupliate Account Found

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