Migration over firewire not transferring anything

Question

I am trying to migrate everything from my old macbook pro to my new one over to my new one over firewire. I have tried twice and it starts at 1hr 30min and goes to 50min to 2hrs 30min and then finishes with in 30min total. Once it finished nothing had finished, it transferred the application names, but not the applications, no documents, no pictures, no downloads, nothing except app names transfered. Could somebody please help?

Answer 1

Step 1, restore the new machine.
1: Hold Command and R keys down, boot the new computer.
2: Disk Utility, select the Maintosh HD partition, click Erase and move the slider one step to the right, the middle choice selection and click erase. Wait.
3: Quit when finished and select the Lion installer, install OS X with your AppleID and password on a reliable fast Internet connection.
4: When completed reboot and setup like a new machine, use a different name than on the other Mac.
5: Install your free iLife here
Restoring iLife applications after Internet Restore of OS X Lion
If you reinstall Lion on a new Mac that shipped with OS X Lion installed, on an erased or replaced hard drive, you can download iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand from the Mac App Store.
After installation, start from Lion.
Double-click the App Store icon in the dock.
Enter your Apple ID and password.
Click Purchases.
If you haven't previously accepted your bundled iLife applications within the Mac App Store, you should see your iLife applications appear in the Accept portion of the screen. Click Accept.
You may be asked for your Apple ID and password once again. Your iLife applications now move to the Purchased section. These applications are part of the software that came with your Lion based computer. Your account will not be charged for them. Click Install to compete installation of your applications.
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
Step 2, use Migration Assistant.... or....
1: Connect the machines using Firewire
2: Hold T boot the old Mac so it's drive appears on the desktop of the new Mac.
3: You can use Migration Assistant in your Utilities folder, however you might have the same problems again.
or
Step 3, Manual install
1: Go to System Preferences > Accounts
2: Create a new user with the same name as the old one on the old Mac (or series of users if more than one)
3: Log out of the first account created on the new Mac and into each new user, transfering files manually from the T booted old Mac's drive.
4: Note, transfer files into their same named folders, Pictures into Pictures, Movies into Movies, etc.
Leave the User/Library folder on the old Mac, it's changed and won't work on the new Mac.
5: Install compatible programs from fresh sources again on the new Mac, don't transfer from the old Mac.
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