Migration Assistant not transferring

Hello Support Community,
I have just recently updated to Mavericks on my iMac. I had originally tried to do this with the installer app directly downloaded from the app store. However, it didn't work because of an error message (unfortunately I don't remember which one). It also said to repair the disc and try again, etc. When I installed Lion originally, I had to erase my hard disc and use my Time Capsule backup to restore all of the previous settings. At that time, it worked like a charm, so I figured I would try it again.
I made a boot disc for Mavericks and it worked in so far as I could get to the boot disc, repair and erase my hard disc, and install Mavericks.
The first time I installed, it worked out ok but it gave me an error message that the network settings could not be copied. I thought no big deal. So, I went to look for the data after the migration and I couldn't find it anywhere. I tried to logout and login as one of my new copied profiles, but they didn't exist. I also looked in the User settings, no second user. I tried to restart and look in the same areas, nothing.
So, I tried again. This time I re-erased everything and tried the migration assistant again with WiFi, this time, without the network settings. No error messages this time, but the same end result. No new users, no data.
I tried a third time, this time dragging my iMac into the living room (from where I am creating this post) and using the Ethernet cable. This time it worked much faster, and I had the same result.
Then at last, a fourth time. This time with the network settings again via Ethernet. Again, no error messages and also no copied data to be found anywhere.
Has anyone else had this problem or does anyone have a solution?
Thanks!

it wasn't necessary to upgrade the Powermac to 10.5 to use migration assistant.
Migration assistant in 10.5 offers 3 choices: migrate from another mac, migrate from a TM backup and migrate to another mac. that option is the last of the 3 and should be there already. you'll need an ethernet cable to use it.

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Migration Assistant not transferring files in Mac OS X 10.5

I was trying to use Migration Assistant to move files from a PowerPC G4 running 10.4 to a Powerbook G4 running 10.5. They didn't get along, so I did some research and found that they both need to be running 10.5 to work correctly. I upgraded the PPC to 10.5. Now the "Transfer to another Mac" option in Migration Assistant has been replaced with the "Time Machine" option. The PPC will not boot in Target mode, I think because of a dead PRAM battery. I do not have a Firewire hard drive big enough for the migration. How can I get the "To another Mac" option back in Migration Assistant?

it wasn't necessary to upgrade the Powermac to 10.5 to use migration assistant.
Migration assistant in 10.5 offers 3 choices: migrate from another mac, migrate from a TM backup and migrate to another mac. that option is the last of the 3 and should be there already. you'll need an ethernet cable to use it.

Migration Assistant: Problems transferring data from PC (XP SP3) to new Mac Pro 2012 - can not get Migration Assistant to work as PC will not display verfify passcode

Migration Assistant: Problems transferring data from PC (XP SP3) to new Mac Pro 2012 - can not get Migration Assistant to work as PC will not display verfify passcode
Hello, I am having problems migrating data from my old PC running XP (SP3) to my new Mac Pro 2012 using the Migration Assistant.
- I downloaded and installed the Windows Migration Assistant from Apple
- My Mac recognized PC and displays passcode
- The sasscode does not show / display on my PC
- My Mac is then stuck in "authenticating" loop and the PC is stuck "waiting for Mac to connect."
- Both computers are connected on same network (have connected PC on WIFI and using ethernet to Reuter)
I have looked on support site and only response I saw says to reinstall Windows Migration Assistant (which I have done)
Any ideas? If cant get this to workare there instructions for manually bring across relevant data eg itunes music and apps, photos, picasa data etc?

Why not turn off the Windows firewall and uninstall any other firewall software you have installed?
If you are using a Norton product uninstall it and discard it. To fully unistall most Norton products you have to go to the Norton website and download a soecial program to completely get rid of it. The normal uninstall feature built into the program will not remove all of it.

Using migration assistant I transferred my complete MacBookPro to my nex iMac. Now I find out that all jampacks are missing in GarageBand. Can anyone advise? Thanks!

Using migration assistant I transferred my complete MacBookPro to my nex iMac. Now I find out that all jampacks are missing in GarageBand. Can anyone advise? Thanks!

I would think the migration assistant transfers 100% of all contents...
When you are setting up a new Mac you can use Setup assistant the moment you boot the mac the first time. Setup Assistant will usually transfer everything. If you miss tha t moment and later launch Migration Assistant some library files will not be transferred. Migration assistant will not transfer system files, only User Files and Application files. I think, that is why your files are missing.
so could you please tell how this copying is done?
Best take an external drive with plenty of free disk space and plug it into your MacBook Pro.
Open the System drive, your Macintosh HD in the Finder and open the folder "Library", then "Application Support", then "GarageBand". Copy the folder
/Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Instrument Library/ to your external drive by dragging it there.
Then open again the folder "Library" on your Macintosh HD, and this time open the folder "Audio" inside. Copy the folder
/Library/Audio/Apple Loops/
to your externall drive. Eject the drive and plug it into your iMac.
Now compare the AppleLoops folders and instrument library folders and copy all missing items over to the corresponding folders in the iMac's Library.
Afterwards you need to reindex the loops, by dragging any loop you newly installed onto the Loop Browser in garageband, see: Rebuilding the Loop Index in GarageBand

Migration Assistant Not Enough Space

Hey all,
I'm having a problem with Migration Assistant that's driving me crazy. I just bought a new Macbook Pro with a 256GB internal drive, and I have a backup of my old computer from last year that is about 350GB in size. What I am trying to do is individually take over some items from the Time Machine so that I don't fill up the HD. Here is what I have done so far:
I took over 100GB of an iTunes library as well as other system settings and documents. I had left something like 50GB on my internal hard drive. Not enough for my 109GB photo library.
So, I purchased a large SD card (128GB) to be the permanent home for my photo library. However, I had to maneuver some things around to get this to work, which has been a HUGE pain.
What I ended up doing was copying my whole iTunes library, which was about 98GB to the SD card. I juggled some other things around beforehand, and even though my photo file on the backup is only 109GB, it kept telling me I didn't have space. So I did the whole iTunes library instead of parts of it...
I now have 150GB free. Migration Assistant still tells me I don't have enough space for the transfer. How is that possible!? That's an extra 41GB of data.
Anyone have any suggestions? I've already verified the HD on the macbook is fine via Disk Utility, not sure what else to do.

Well yeah, I could always buy a bigger external. I was thinking about exchanging the 128GB SD card for a 256GB, but I've been able to make it work in the meantime. I freed up another 10GB of data on the hard drive, and that allowed the photo library to come off the time machine back up. Then I cut down my iPhoto to 97GB instead of 111GB, and am in the process of transferring that to the SD card. I put the iTunes off on a 2nd computer in the meantime, and once I have iPhoto off this computer, I can make sure all my documents are on here, then erase the old time machine backup, and re-partition the drive to have half time machine back and half storage space for another iPhoto back up and miscellaneous items.
Thanks for the advice!

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!

Migration Assistant not connecting

I am setting up a new Mac Mini (running Lion, I presume) and trying to migrate files from an older Mini (running OS 10.5.8) during set up. I have them connected with an ethernet cable, but the old Mini doesn't "see" the new one and I can't get them to connect. I've tried it with the airport off (on the old one) and with the airport on, with cable and without. No luck. I'm fully updated on all software. Suggestions?
Let me give another piece of background that might be helpful. I tried this setup/migration on Friday and I got the computers connected, no problem. Migration ran for about half an hour, no problem, until it got the to the place where it was "transferring applications". Then, instead of the time remaining deminishing, it started increasing, going from 4 minutes remaining to about 2.5 hours remaining, before I decided to abort the migration and try again. I tried again, everything went exactly the same way, though I aborted shortly after the time remaining started to increase again. I shut everything down. Returned today and am having this new problem.
Would appreciate any advice you've got.
Thanks.

Thanks. I ended up just setting up the new machine and then migrating the files manually. Not ideal, but it worked fine. I appreciate the advice and will certainly keep it in mind should I run into this problem in future.
FWIW: I don't think the problem in the original migration problem was with the timer - it only took 40 minutes to migrate all the files from a similarly configured and loaded mini to a new mini that same day (with no time adding to the estimated time remaining). I waited over 3 hours for the second migration to complete and it never did finish up. Judging from other posts out there, the estimated time addition seems to be a symptom of the larger failure of the migration assistant.

I need some help with Migration Assistant for transferring data

I would like to transfer selected items from my iMac (G4) to a new MacBook Pro using Migration Assistant, Can I selectively choose things to transfer? And are there any problems going from a G4 to an Intel-based machine? I'm mostly interested in transferring iPhoto photos and music from iTunes.

Migrating data other than your home folder may replace Intel components with PowerPC ones on the MacBook Pro, which will cause slow performance. Dragging over applications manually by restarting the old Mac with the T key held down and then placing them in the new Mac's Applications folder will work with many applications, but not all; any applications for which this doesn't work will need to be reinstalled.
(21366)

Migration Assistant Not Progressing

Hi,
I bought a new mac in December and had problems then, so I decided to wait to transfer data until now. For this reason, I do not want to restart the process or have to reinstall Mountain Lion (as I saw suggested elsewhere).
I finally had Migration Assistant working. My macs found each other and it said it was transferring files. However, for over an hour now, the time is the same. My old mac says 19 hours 51 minutes and my new says 26 hours 17 minutes. Nothing has changed since it started (except the time kept going up).
What can I do? Again, I don't want to risk having to delete/reinstall stuff on my new mac.
Also, I am connected via my home WiFi network. Ethernet and firebolt are not really options (no idea where my firebolt plug even is).
Thanks.

WiFi is an extremely slow way to transfer large amounts of data.
Information.
Migration Assistant
Migration Assistant (2)
Migration Assistant – Tips and Tricks

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

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

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

Migration Assistant not recognizing other Mac via FireWire

I am trying to transfer files from my G4 Mirror Doors Power Mac to my new Intel iMac via the instructions that come up on the new iMac. I am running the latest version of 10.4 on the G4.
I have the two machines connected via FireWire. I restarted the G4 holding the "T" key down and sure enough, the floating "FireWire" icon comes up but shortly after that, the new iMac says, "There are no versions of OS X on the older machine" which is obviously not true.
I tried the Ethernet route and loaded the Install Disk from the iMac into the G4 as instructed but that disk did not recognize either of my 2 internal drives as valid for installation.
Any suggestions?

FWIW, I have had no problems using Migration Assistant or understanding its prompts, at least when using the version included in the recent Migration and DVD and CD Sharing Update. In this version or later, every option has both a title & descriptive info below it & there are no places I can see in which everything is called a document. You may want to check your MA version number & make sure it is version 1.2.3 or later, as described in About the Migration and DVD/CD Sharing Update. This may help avoid any confusion you have had.
However, keep in mind that MA is designed to migrate files from one backup or startup disk at a time. It will transfer items from one home folder on a connected drive to the corresponding one on the new drive but these items must be enclosed in a home folder (in /Users/) on that drive. If you have elected to store these items on a non-startup drive lacking that hierarchy, you must import them using some other method & decide where to put them on the new drive. MA cannot make that decision for you.
Moreover, if you tell MA to import only your "Documents" folder, it will not import such items as your Movies, Music, Pictures, or other home folders, so for example your ~/Pictures/iPhoto Library file will not be imported, nor will be your ~/Music/iTunes folder (which contains your iTunes database files, even if the iTunes Music folder containing all your music files is stored elsewhere).
Without knowing exactly how you have 'piecemealed' other files & folders into your new drive, I do not know what to tell you to do to best complete the migration process. If you can supply more info about that, & about where exactly the original files & folders are stored on the older Mac, perhaps I or someone else can give you more useful info about doing that.

Migration Assistant - not migrating...

I'm trying to move my user account from my desktop computer (G5 Dual) to a Powerbook G4 laptop. Laptop is set up and running 10.4.8 with an admin account installed. G5 is running 10.4.8 too.
Put G5 into target mode. Run Migration Assistant on Powerbook. All goes smoothly - pick the right HD from G5 to migrate from. Then... nothing. Migration assistant simply hangs at next screen (where you choose which user to migrate) - spinning grey dial thing for hours. No obvious progress.
Only one account on G5 - the one I'm trying to migrate.
Any idea what is going on? Any suggestions about what I could / should do to fix this problem?
I'm off travelling in a few days - so I would very much like to get some fix in place such that I can take my 'world' with me...

Hi Gavin,
I'm not sure why you are experiencing problems with Migration Assistant.
We could troubleshoot it, but given your time constraints try this:
If all you want is one user, you can just create a new admin user on your PowerBook, then copy the folders within the home directory on your G5 to your PB. In other words copy the contents of Desktop, Documents, Library, Movies, Music, Pictures, etc to your new user's corresponding directories.
Good luck and have a nice trip!
-mj
[email protected]

Migration Assistant not finding my new iMac

I had a VERY slow MA process going from old iMac to new iMac. So I did a little research and apparently it was so slow because by default I was getting a wireless process. So I turned off the Airport on the old iMac and conncected the machines with an ethernet cable. Now the new machine is not getting recognized by the old one. TIA for your help.

I feel the easiest, and most reliable, way of migrating data from an old Mac to a new one is using the Time Machine backup from an external drive.
The best source for help with this process comes from "The Great Pondini". Here's a link to his site that is, by far, the premier source for help with this transfer:
http://pondini.org/OSX/Setup.html
Since you've already booted your Mac up and tried Migration Assistant, Setup Assistant won't be available to you (it's only available upon initial bootup of a new Mac).
I would pay particular attention to user accounts when you look at pondini's site, as Migration Assistant can create some headaches for the unwary.
Enjoy your new iMac!

Migration Assistant not working with OS X Lion via Wireless Network?

Anybody know how to assist me here?
Basically, I have two iMacs on seperate floors of my home. They are newer models (both purchased last year) and I have upgraded both of them to Lion and just ran a system update on both of them to ensure they are both running the exact same OS with updates and all.
When I attempt to use the migration assistant over my network, it just says its attempting to find the other computer but never moves past that step, as if they aren't connecting or even finding each other at all.
I'm relatively new to the mac family and am very happy I've finally made the switch last year and am still learning the in's and outs and am simply stuck here and not sure what to do to get this to work.
Thank You

Try running software update to install 10.7.1. This update reportedly fixes your issue. Check out http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1437 for more information.
Good luck

Migration Assistant not recognizing old macbook

I am trying to transfer my files from my old MacBook Pro (2006) to my new MacBook Pro (mid-2012) using Time Machine Backup. From Migration Assistant, once I get to where it is "looking for other computers" it is not finding anything. I have my old macbook connected to my external HD using USB and my new macbook connected with firewire. Can anyone help?!

Solution may be found if you search in the "More Like This" section over in the right column.

Migration Assistant not transferring

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