Migration Assistant user question

I'm going to use MA to move from one MBP running Leopard to another. Do I set up an initial account with a new user and migrate the existing files over, or would I do create the same user the new machine first? This might be obvious when I start but I want to have ducks in a row before I power up new machine first time.

I used migration manager when first powering up iMac fresh out of the box to move over an account from old computer 1. Everything worked as expected.
A few hours later, I tried to repeat in order to import another account (account 2)from a different source (back up disk with mirror image of boot disk from old computer 2). This time, not so good results. Migration Manager completed its importing task, and I can see a folder for account 2 in the users folders, but I have no way to login under the second account. I don't see account 2 inthe login window, nor do I see it in the account list under the Accounts Preference Pane. How can I get account 2 as an option in the login window?
Thanks

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Migration Assistant & User Accounts

When using MA, for transferring a user account from an iMac G4 to a Mac Pro, I was going to transfer with the same Admin User name, bob on iMac and bob on Mac Pro. MA required that I change one of the account names. When migration was complete, I had two Admin accounts on the Mac Pro, of course (Wish I could have foreseen that!).
Now - what to do? Delete the transferred account and start over? Or, MOVE certain folders, apps, files and libraries to the Mac Pro's main Admin account?
If the suggestion is to MOVE stuff, what is the better way (I know that I will be looking at Permission changes)?
Also, will iTunes libraries, iMovie projects, Safari bookmarks be a problem to move manually?
Thanks in advance for any help . . .
bob

Hi Bob,
You won't be moving as much stuff as you think you will. Basically you'll just be installing apps that need to be on the boot disk because they put needed items in the system folder. There aren't really all that many apps that do that. Apps with code keys, well, you might want to try transferring preferences there, but I have a bunch and I just tracked down the keys again. Apps for me that needed a whole new install were PS4 and AE4, they tightly bond with the system, and can't be dragged from one HD to another. Most everything else, games, what-not, will work just fine dragged. Again though you need to know your codes, if applicable.
The bulk of your files from your old system you can hold on to any way you want to. You could keep them on the old drive or move them where you wish. You could do what I did,.. make a clone of your old system to an external drive and keep it around for awhile as a library of sorts. In the meantime you could wipe out the data on the old drive and have a nice new disk for daily use.
Chances are good that most of what Apple puts on your machine should stay there. Other apps from other manufacturers go by a case by case basis. Permission problems shouldn't be a problem. With every new install, or dragging a free floating app with no system folder ties, new permissions will be generated, just as when you first installed them.
Maybe your Mac can have two accounts with the same name, though I wouldn't try it. Since it's a new Mac why not just wipe out your disk and reinstall off the Install and Restore disks that come with your Mac? Then just start over again and make an account with a different name.
The problem as I see it with Migration Assistant is even if it goes without a hitch, can one be sure they are not importing things that will degrade the new Macs performance?
I didn't want to go the route I did, installing everything all over again onto a fresh system. But the more I tried to move my G5s "mind" to the Mac Pro, the more mentally disturbed the Mac pro became.
I guess peoples experiences vary, but in the end I felt good about the fact that I had a brand new computer without any of the miasma of my previous systems. And really, it's one of those things that are worse thinking about than actually doing. It's actually kind of fun and interesting to see how much gunk you thought you needed, but in fact, never needed at all.

Migration Assistant: User Name Confusion

Working through the screens of Migration Assistant to move data from 1Book G$ to MacBook, I'm asked to rename my User Name. Not sure why, or more importantly, rename it to what? If I do a re-naming, after the migration is finished, can I go back and re-re-name my User Name? Somehow that screen on the Assistant has me blocked.

You are doing something wrong. You should not get that dialog box. You should end up with a single User, the same name and password, and everything should look as it did on your G$ (LOL. I presume you meant G4).
So, the process should be:
1. Target mode the G4
2. Startup the new computer
3. When it asks from what you are transferring, say another computer, and then follow the instructions to hook up the cable.
4. The next screen should ask about which user to use
5. The next screen will ask what to migrate (you want it all)

Deleting an older user account and migration assistant question

Hello,
So I'm out of the loop big time. I've had my current 17" iMac since 2006 (10.5.8) it's the white border one. Anywho I just got my new 27" i7 iMac and feel really stupid trying to migrate from the old computer to the new one. I couldn't figure it out so had to call Apple help.
First off I put the ethernet cable in the back of both machines thinking it was the Firewire and chose the Firewire option and kept wondering why it wouldn't work. Then it dawns on me I have the ethernet cable in. So I try to transfer that way and get stuck on the Install Mac OSX install disk and install the CD or DVD setup something or other. Well I stick the DVD in my old iMac and open the install disk and see nothing that says CD or DVD setup. I call the Apple line and realize that because my new iMac isn't hooked up to the internet I can't use the ethernet option (okay why I didn't realize that I don't know but it's been a long week and I haven't migrated a computer in a long time).
On top of all that the lady tells me the new iMac has a 800 Firewire and my old one only has a 400 Firewire (so that is why I couldn't get my Firewire 400 cable to work).
So she tells me it will take ages to set up wirelessly but I need to click no and not transfer data to the new iMac, then setup my internet then go back into migration assistant on both machines and click the network option. It is taking ages to do this.
I told her I was on the forums and that doing it this way would create a new user account and she said just to delete the old one once the new one is created. Is it that simple? My old user account is called Pink Tuley and new one is called Tuley. So once the migration is complete (think it's going to take hours on end, my old machine is 160GB with about 140GB of it full) do I just delete the older Pink Tuley account?
Yes, this is a long winded question I know.
Message was edited by: spiralgirl

elmac,
I'm currently migrating my old iMac to my new iMac via the internet wirelessly. I did what the Apple support told me to do since I don't want to go out and buy a new Firewire cable (I have a 400 one now and would have to get one that has a 400 and 800 on each end which I could have bought at the store had I known).
Instead I chose not to migrate and set up my iMac with the internet, and now I'm migrating via migration assistant opened up on both machines using using the network option. It's okay if it takes forever to do as I've waited this long (I had to wait 5 weeks for my Macbook Pro HR-AG to arrive).
My old user account is called Pink Tuley and I thought there would be mass confusion if I named the new user account the same name so I chose Tuley for this one. Once I'm all migrated do I just go into the user accounts on my new iMac and delete Pink Tuley?
Message was edited by: spiralgirl

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 Question (From 10.4.11 to 10.5.5)

I have a question regarding Migration Assistant in regards to upgrading from Tiger to Leopard. I do backups of my entire internal HDD onto an external firewire drive using SuperDuper. I do not make a bootable drive, I backup to a disk image that can be mounted. My question is thus: when I upgrade and choose Erase and Install (if I want to), would I be able to use migration assistant on the disk image (once it is mounted) to move all my files over? Or would I have to make the external drive bootable in order to do this?
Any help you could give me would be great!
Message was edited by: pr0digal

Migration Assistant only works with Firewire drives, not disc images stored on Firewire drives. You would be better off re-cloning your drive directly to the Firewire drive to make a bootable image.
However, you need not do that to upgrade on the same computer. You have two upgrade options: Upgrade Install or Archive and Install. The latter puts a fresh install of Leopard on the hard drive without erasing the drive, and it saves your old system in a Previous System Folder. There is an option to transfer your user account(s) and network preferences. I would recommend using this option. The procedure follows:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Migration Assistant. extra User, double the files - only 10 GB left on HD

I restored my system after a login "freeze", following an upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard. Apple help advised to use Migration Assistant to back up everything from Time Machine. Now I have an extra user ID (as they said I would) but the file structure doubled! This leaves me only 10GB on a 500GB drive - which I read is not good. Do I wipe the drive and start over but instead restore files one by one, or do I delete all the files in the new user ID, or is there some other idea I should consider? It appears there are dups of all the files from user to user, but I fear they are linked and deleting one will delete the other. Help.

Studio B player wrote:
Apple told me to go back to the originally supplied OS X (Leopard 10.5.x), then use the Snow L upgrade disc - is this really required ?
Yes, because your machine came with 10.5, there is a free iLife suit on the 10.5 disks that is not on the 10.6.3 retail disks.
BTW the 10.6.3 disks have the full 10.6 on it too, just no iLife. So you could have installed 10.6.3, Software Updated and installed another iLife if you needed it. A option to keep in mind for the future if the 10.5 disk no longer boots.
Last question ( for now;), what about apps I've downloaded (no disks)?
You need to download new copies from original sources. Your basically rebuilding your machine from the ground up to be reliable. If you have licenses, just email the developer and tell them your TM drive got screwed up, you had to rebuild your machine from scratch and need a new license code.
Programs need to be installed in most cases with the developers installer as they can place files in certain locations on your computer, including copy protection methods etc.
Once you have your brand new pristine system, then clone that to a couple of new blank external drives, date them, leave one as original, the other you set to update by tweaking CCC's settings to clone/backup according to your preferences.
Good Luck.

Migration Assistant questions

I've been having issues with my MacBook .... intermittent it won't start up (freezes on gray screen), that I suspect indicates the hard drive is about to die. I've duly backed up everything via time machine to an external fire wire drive and ordered up a new hard drive.
I propose to do a fresh install of OSX from disc on the new drive and then migrate across my settings (don't want to restore from time machine in case it isn't the hard drive and is system software faults)... but hope someone could just clarify:
1. Will migration assistant bring over Mail, Address Book, Safari bookmarks, iTunes library and iPhoto library?
2. Should I de-authorize my iTunes on the old hard drive (subject to it staying alive long enough) before I remove it?
Any other tips appreciated
Steve

Options to further know if it's your HD.
You can perform a hardware test on the computer. check here to learn how to do this : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509
Try booting from an install disk. hold the option key down when you power on your computer. choose the install disc, Run disk utility to verify the disk or use other similar software like disk warrior to see if the HD is bad.
TO ANSWER YOUR DIRECT QUESTIONS: with important information about Time Machine and Migration Assistant Utility
1. Will migration assistant bring over Mail, Address Book, Safari bookmarks, iTunes library and iPhoto library?
Yes. Migration Assistant Utility transfers documents, music, photos, applications, network settings, and preferences. It works on a user level by basically moving over your user account with everything in it. Migration Assistant DOES NOT transfer over the Operating system so you will have to install a fresh copy on the the new hard drive anyway.
Pulled from the Apple Site.
" If you’re setting up a new Mac(or HD) with files from an old Mac, *Time Machine* can help simplify the process. Just use Migration Assistant to copy portions of any Time Machine backup to a new Mac, or select *“Restore System from Time Machine”* in the Utilities menu on your *Mac OS X install disc*. Choose any date recorded in Time Machine to set up your new Mac exactly as your previous Mac was on that date."
2. Should I de-authorize my iTunes on the old hard drive (subject to it staying alive long enough) before I remove it?
You can leave this authorized because you are not installing in a new computer. iTunes will never know you changed hard drives
Good Luck
Matt
Message was edited by: msurowiec

Migration assistant now seeing my User file only back ups on my time machine, nor am I able to drag the entire user folder to my new desktop.

I cannot recover my system on a clean install when I try to either use migration assistant or drag and drop of my backed up user profile. I did not back up anything else. I can see the file on my external drive but migration assitant does not see it as a restore and when I drag and drop the file to my desktop, the system informs me I do not have permissions to transfer all of the files.
What can I do?
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Persol

persol19 wrote:
Yes, there were no system files included. Soley the items that are incopassed within the user file.
Rats. It's awful that Apple doesn't warn folks about that.
Since I am not able to use them as backups, what is the best way to restore all of my previous preferences, calenders, notes, adressbook, etc.?
Would it be best to replace each file in the library of the new machine with the coresponding folders of the new machine?
That's going to be difficult, but is about your only option (assuming you have no other backups).
Part of the hassle is, you have to do it "piecemeal" -- you can't just delete the old home folder, or any of the "default" sub-folders (Desktop, Documents, etc.), and drag in the one from your backups -- you'll get a message about it being a required folder, so you can't delete it.
So you'll have to do it with the contents of the sub-folders.
Make a large pot of coffee.
For future reference, many long-time users consider a good backup plan to start with a minimum of two full backups, via two different apps, on two different pieces of hardware. These should be updated regularly.
For "primary" backups, Time Machine (built in to OSX) is quite good. You might want to review the Time Machine Tutorial, and perhaps browse Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.
#27 in the FAQ link has some suggestions for "secondary" backups.

Mavericks Migration Assistant - Migrate user data to a separate user drive?

I have a question about upgrading to Mavericks with a separate user drive that I haven't been able to find an answer to, so I thought I'd ask for some guidance before actually trying to attempt it.
I have a late-model Macbook Pro (A1260) running 10.8.5 happily with 2 hard drives inside - a smaller SSD boot drive let's call BOOT 1 DRIVE, and a larger drive I use for my user folder which I'll call USER DRIVE. Now it's time to upgrade to a little larger SSD let's call BOOT 2 DRIVE. I have Mavericks already freshly installed on it (10.9.1) with a temporary blank user account. The MBP boots fine into the drive connected externally so I know it's all ready to go - all I have to do is swap out the drives and I'm good on the OS.
Now the tricky part: I want to transfer my user data from my old system 10.8.5 to the new 10.9.1 and ultimately have it reside in the same fashion - on the larger USER DRIVE. How do I do this? A few scenarios I ponder:
A) I'm assuming because this is migrating from an older system to newer system, you can't just create a new user in 10.9.1 with the same user name and point it to the existing home folder in USER DRIVE, but instead have to use Migration Assistant to transfer and update 10.8 user data to 10.9 user data?
B) Locially, you would boot into BOOT 2 DRIVE (10.9.1), and use Migration Assistant to transfer user data from the old 10.8 system (the system knows that the user data resides on USER DRIVE) to the new one but there's not enough space on the new BOOT 2 DRIVE to house all the data and even if it could, then what ? - transfer the user folder directly to a clean USER DRIVE and then point to it?
C) I have both BOOT 1 DRIVE and USER DRIVE cloned on separate volumes, so I could boot into BOOT 2 DRIVE, wipe clean USER DRIVE, and then migrate from the cloned drives - except in Migration Assistant, it says to transfer from "another Mac or Time Machine, or a startup disk". Would I be able to pull from the USER DRIVE CLONE and then have Migration Assistant write to the freshly wiped USER DRIVE?
Perhaps I'm overthinking this? Google pointed me to this post which seems to have some of this information covered even though it feels dated. Reading through it makes me believe that Senario A is actually my closest bet with some user account name swapping or something? Is it that User data doesn't need to be "updated" for the newer OS and you can just create a new user account with the same name and point it to the older USER DRIVE?
Any advice from the mac smarts out there would be appreciated.
Thanks!

SOLVED!
In case anyone stumbles upon this and is wondering what I did:
My hypothesis was correct - waaayyyy over thinking it.
I installed BOOT 2 DRIVE, swapping out the old BOOT 1 DRIVE. Then I renamed the new account to the same name as my previous account, users -> advanced options -> and pointed to the same home folder on USER DRIVE.
DONE
Initially, I made a new account and screwed things up a bit - after reading the post of the above, understood that the new user account should have the same UID as the previous one....
Anyway, all good now - happy camper.

User profiles deleted with migration assistant

I just bought my daughter a new MacBook Air to replace her 3 year old MacBook Pro. When she tried using Migration Assistant to transfer her files, it totally wiped out her user profiles so she couldn't log into the MacBoook Air any longer and she had to reset her MacBook Air completely. After resetting her MacBook Air and starting from scratch, she tried using MA again, but this time none of the new files showed up anywhere. What gives? Why is this not working. The two laptops are linked via a single ethernet cable.

Apple Support Communities is a public discussion forum. Your question may draw conflicting responses from different people. Each one speaks only for himself or herself (apart from "Community Specialists," who speak for Apple.)
All responses should be understood as comments, not as technical support. Some of what passes for advice here is good, some is wrong, and some is dangerous. Use caution, do your own research, and make backups before acting on advice from anyone.

New iMac Question - Rosetta & Migration Assistant

I'm getting a new 27-inch iMac in the next few days but I have a couple of questions beforehand. I still need to use some Rosetta-based apps so will I have to install Rosetta on the new 27-inch iMac or is it already pre-installed? Seems to me that I've read somewhere that Rosetta is a "custom-install" with Snow Leopard.
This leads me to the next question about the Migration Assistant. I will need to transfer my data from the old hard drive to the new 27-inch iMac. The easiest way being with the Migration Assistant. In the past, when I've bought a new Mac and right after connecting the new Mac and my old Mac together via FireWire and starting the new Mac up for the first time, I've just transferred the data right away before even setting up a new user account on the new Mac. But if I do this now and Rosetta isn't yet installed, will my old apps and related files be transferred properly?
I guess what I'm getting at is this - should I boot the new 27-inch iMac up first, then install Rosetta (if an install is needed), then set up a user account on the new 27-inch iMac and then run the Migration Assistant to transfer data from the old hard drive? Or should I just run the Migration Assistant on the very first startup of the new 27-inch iMac and transfer the data right away?
I hope this makes sense. Thanks for any help you can offer. I'm trying to plan this out properly in advance and I don't want to mess anything up.
Gerard

I know this was long ago - a day or 2 after July 3, 2009 (purchase date of our iMac) - but here is what happened:
Connected old computer (eMac) to new iMac to start "Migration" software. Waiting for boot and recognition extremely long.
Choices came up to migrate EITHER software or files.
I swear I selected "files" but it migrated software, over an enormous time.
Takes too long to migrate, so when I discovered no files were transferred, I went to old computer to copy data to DVD and "migrate" manually.
Went through that process on eMac; DVD burned; eject DVD and take to iMac.
I "trashed" the folders from the eMac (they were not needed on the old computer).
Guess what? The DVD DID NOT burn all the folders that I told it to burn.
Data lost: Several years of tax information! Teaching files! I don't even know what else!
Best of all, after talking to a certified Apple technician who happens to be a friend, he doesn't think there is any way to recover that data.
Why in the **** would I migrate applications (is that legal?) to a new computer?! That software's FIRST focus should be to preserve DATA, also known as FILES.
I know that I made some errors in this - - ERRORS IN CONFIDENCE IN APPLE!
Can you help? Can you send me software to recover my files? Can I have it today or tomorrow? That's when I need the info for my tax filing and FAFSA applications for 2 (TWO!) children to go to college next year.

Migration assistant from Time Machine - more questions

I have recently used Time Machine with Migration Assistant to transfer account information from an old iMac I am decommissioning. At first, I decided to simply transfer account information documents, and not any programs. However, after completing the Migration, I tried to use it again to copy across programs. However, the second time I used it, the Assistant did not recognize the Time Machine backup for the old iMac (even though the sparsebundle exists). Furthermore, when the older iMac began its Time Machine 'cycle' (eg, it has not been fully shut down yet), it did not recognize this bundle either, and created a new TM backup.
Can anyone help? I am most concerned with ensuring I have what I need on my new computer. But also would not want to have to get rid of the old sparsebundle, as it might contain information I need in the future.

Have you run any backups of the new Mac? If so, how did you answer the "Re-use" prompt, per #B5 in [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
It sounds like you did, and selected "re-use." If so, that may be the problem. The old sparse bundle was "converted" to belong to the new Mac, so all the new backups belong to it.
That would also explain why backing-up the old Mac started a new sparse bundle -- the old one is now associated with the new Mac, not the old one.
Migration Assistant uses the last backup from the sparse bundle you select; you can't pick and choose which one you want.
Your best bet may be to use the +*Browse . . .+* option, per #17 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum). See if you can find the last backup of the old Mac. If so, you should be able to selectively restore from it. You'll need to restore to an "alternate location;" see #15 in Troubleshooting.

Questions about Migration Assistant

I'm getting ready to move the contents of my G4 iBook to a new Intel-powered MacBook. I assume Apple's Migration Assistant can handle a lion's share of that job but I have a question...can I change the UserName (and ShortName) on the new computer and still migrate everything over with the Apple utility? For example, a particular concern is how to handle the information contained in Keychain. When that file gets moved over, how do I make it the default Keychain and set it to unlock with the new computer's password?
And any other issues I should be aware of when moving from a G4 machine?

Actually you cannot migrate a user folder that has the same name as one already created. However, because you are moving from a PPC to an Intel Mac there are some cautions of which you need be aware:
A Basic Guide for Migrating to Intel-Macs
If you are migrating a PowerPC system (G3, G4, or G5) to an Intel-Mac be careful what you migrate. Keep in mind that some items that may get transferred will not work on Intel machines and may end up causing your computer's operating system to malfunction.
Rosetta supports "software that runs on the PowerPC G3 or G4 processor that are built for Mac OS X". This excludes the items that are not universal binaries or simply will not work in Rosetta:
Classic Environment, and subsequently any Mac OS 9 or earlier applications
Screensavers written for the PowerPC
System Preference add-ons
All Unsanity Haxies
Browser and other plug-ins
Contextual Menu Items
Applications which specifically require the PowerPC G5
Kernel extensions
Java applications with JNI (PowerPC) libraries
See also What Can Be Translated by Rosetta.
In addition to the above you could also have problems with migrated cache files and/or cache files containing code that is incompatible.
If you migrate a user folder that contains any of these items, you may find that your Intel-Mac is malfunctioning. It would be wise to take care when migrating your systems from a PowerPC platform to an Intel-Mac platform to assure that you do not migrate these incompatible items.
If you have problems with applications not working, then completely uninstall said application and reinstall it from scratch. Take great care with Java applications and Java-based Peer-to-Peer applications. Many Java apps will not work on Intel-Macs as they are currently compiled. As of this time Limewire, Cabos, and Acquisition are available as universal binaries. Do not install browser plug-ins such as Flash or Shockwave from downloaded installers unless they are universal binaries. The version of OS X installed on your Intel-Mac comes with special compatible versions of Flash and Shockwave plug-ins for use with your browser.
The same problem will exist for any hardware drivers such as mouse software unless the drivers have been compiled as universal binaries. For third-party mice the current choices are USB Overdrive or SteerMouse. Contact the developer or manufacturer of your third-party mouse software to find out when a universal binary version will be available.
Also be careful with some backup utilities and third-party disk repair utilities. Disk Warrior (does not work), TechTool Pro (pre-4.5.1 versions do not work), SuperDuper (newest release works), and Drive Genius (untested) may not work properly on Intel-Macs. The same caution may apply to the many "maintenance" utilities that have not yet been converted to universal binaries.
Before migrating or installing software on your Intel-Mac check MacFixit's Rosetta Compatibility Index.
Additional links that will be helpful to new Intel-Mac users:
Intel In Macs
Apple Guide to Universal Applications
MacInTouch List of Compatible Universal Binaries
MacInTouch List of Rosetta Compatible Applications
MacUpdate List of Intel-Compatible Software
Transferring data with Setup Assistant - Migration Assistant FAQ
Because Migration Assistant isn't the ideal way to migrate from PowerPC to Intel Macs, using Target Disk Mode or copying the critical contents to CD and DVD or an external hard drive will work better when moving from PowerPC to Intel Macs.
Basically the instructions you should follow are:
1. Backup your data first. This is vitally important in case you make a mistake or there's some other problem.
2. Connect a Firewire cable between your old Mac and your new Intel Mac.
3. Startup your old Mac in Target Disk Mode.
4. Startup your new Mac for the first time, go through the setup and registration screens, but do NOT migrate data over. Get to your desktop on the new Mac without migrating any new data over.
4. Copy the following items from your old Mac to the new Mac:
In your /Home/ folder: Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, and Sites folders.
In your /Home/Library/ folder:
/Home/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Application Support/iCal (copy the whole folder)
Also in /Home/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need including folders for any third-party applications)
/Home/Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist (* This is a very important file which contains all email account settings and general mail preferences.)
/Home/Library/Preferences/ copy any preferences needed for third-party applications
/Home /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/Safari (copy the whole folder)
If you want cookies:
/Home/Library/Cookies/Cookies.plist
/Home/Library/Application Support/WebFoundation/HTTPCookies.plist
For Entourage users:
Entourage is in /Home/Documents/Microsoft User Data
Also in /Home/Library/Preferences/Microsoft
Credit goes to another forum user for this information.
If you need to transfer data for other applications please ask the vendor or ask in the Discussions where specific applications store their data.
5. Once you have transferred what you need restart the new Mac and test to make sure the contents are there for each of the applications.
Written by Kappy with additional contributions from a brody.
Be careful about what you migrate. Migrating an entire user folder is not a good idea when moving from PPC to Intel. Stick to your movable folders as described above.
PPC applications may not work after migration. If they don't then simply reinstall them.

User Not Found Using Migration Assistant and Time Machine

My iMac running Leopard kernel panicked which forced me to do a hard reset. After rebooting, the account I was logged in as disappeared. Fortunately, that wasn't the admin account. I logged into my admin account and thought I would use Migration Assistant to recreate the missing account (I did run Disk First Aid first to ensure the hard drive was in good working order). However, Migration Assistant does not list the missing user account when reading my Time Machine backup. I do see the user if I go directly into into Time Machine. I'm guessing that Migration Assistant may only be looking at the most recent backup which obviously doesn't contain the missing user.
Suggestions on how to restore the missing user or how to get Migration Assistant to read all of the users in my Time Machine backups?

BobParr wrote:
I'm guessing that Migration Assistant may only be looking at the most recent backup which obviously doesn't contain the missing user.
Correct.
Suggestions on how to restore the missing user or how to get Migration Assistant to read all of the users in my Time Machine backups?
How many backups were done after the problem occurred? One possibility would be to delete those backups (see #12 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum), so the last one has the missing user's data, and Migration Assistant can find it. If you do that, once everything's properly restored, boot up from your Leopard Install disk, then reboot normally. That will trigger a "deep traversal" in the next backup, where TM will compare everything on your system to it's backups, thus assuring that nothing was lost via the earlier deletions.
Another would be to do a full restore from Time Machine, per #14 in the FAQ.

Migration Assistant user question

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