Restoring using Migration Assistant

My wife's old G5 iMac died a few days ago. It was running Leopard & iLife 08. We have just bought a new iMac for her. Can someone advise on (1) any do's and don'ts restoring data from time machine, (b) specifically - are there any issues restoring data, such as photo's, onto a machine that is running iLife '09 from a data source from an iLife '08 set-up? Many Thanks edward

there should not be any issues using migration to migrate ilife 08 data to a machine with ilife 09. but migrating from PPC to intel using MA might cause issues with other things. see this link for details
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=435350&tstart=0
however, most users migrate without any issues. still, I would recommend migrating user data only and not migrating any applications. Migration Assistant will give you that option.

Similar Messages

  • HT5097 How do I find my files after a TC restore using Migration Assistant?

    How do I find my TC backup?
    My difficulties started with my MacBook Pro going totally dead.  Took it to the Apple Store, where they identified a problem with the RAM.  They fixed it, and also reinstalled Lion, but without my applications - Pages, iPhoto, my documents etc. 
    When I got back home, I used Migration Assistant, which I found in Utilities, connected to the Time Capsule with an Ethernet cable, and it said at the end that it had transferred all my info.  During the process I had to create another ID.   I added a "1" to my old id, of course...easiest thing to do....and then I changed the Login procedure so I could switch to that user ID.  I'm not sure that worked, because when my MacBook Pro went to sleep, I found the original icon, rather than the one for the name1 name.  So that may be part of the problem, but I don't know.
    Anyway, then I entered Time Machine, but all that is there is the last few days/hours of activity. 
    I don't know much about computers, but I think that the new name1 user ID and the restored data may be linked somewhere and if I could just find it perhaps this would get resolved.
    I can see the applications now, but when I look for, for example, Pages documents, there is nothing there.  Ditto for iPhoto.  For iPhoto I also tried file>import, which brought in some old files from MobileMe, but not the photos I had on my MacBook. 
    I would prefer not to have the name/name1 and just have everything back as it was, but I don't know how to do that either.
    Hope someone can help me!  Many thanks!!!

    Never mind!  I finally figured out - duh - that if I logged out and then logged in under the new name1 ID, I could find everything!  HOOORAY!

  • What's best: restore using migration assistant or time machine back up?

    Hi,
    here's the scoops, wondering what to do:
    1-tech support at apple store did a clean install of os lion on my macbook.
    2-I have a back up from time machine
    3-I want to restore everything but applications
    4-Problem is: "I think" it's better to use the back up rather than install one certain program (quickbooks) again
    5-Should I just use migration assistant to restore everything after setting the computer as a new one; or restore using time machine, without the applications, and restore quickbooks from the back up by itself later on?
    Sorry for the sillyness of this question..
    Thanks

    Where is Pondini...

  • Problems with Restoring using Migration Assistant

    Hi
    I'm trying to restore my files from time machine using Migration Assistant. I keep getting this message which I don't understand. Can anyone advice ? Thanks.
    +NTFS-3G could not mount /dev/disk1 at Volumes/Untitled because the following problem occured: Error reading bootsector: Input/Output error. Failed to mount 'dev/rdisk1':Input/output error NTFS is either inconsitent or there is a hardware fault or its a SoftRAID/ FakeRAID hardware. In the first case run chdksk/f on Windows then reboot into Windows. The usage of the /f parameter is very important! f the device is a SoftRAID/ FakeRAID thenfirst activate it and mount a different device under the /dev/mapper/ directory, Ie.g. /dev/mapper/nvidia+eahaabcc1). Please see the 'dmraid' documentation for more details.+
    Jojos

    I don't do Windoze, but that looks like you've backed-up a virtual machine via Time Machine, and there's a problem with it.
    First question: why are you restoring, and why are you using +MIgration Assistant?+
    If you want to restore everything from your backups, do a full system restore, per #14 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).
    Most folks exclude those from Time Machine, and back them up separately.
    Your best bet is to skip the contents of the folder they're in while running +MIgration Assistant+, then restore everything else in that folder selectively, via the "Star Wars" display. You may or may not be able to restore the vm file(s), but at least you should be able to get everything else that way.

  • Time machine freezes after restore using migration assistant

    after an erase/install done in an Apple Store, I restored my Mac Book from the Time Machine using the migration agent.
    To do this I created a temporary admin account and performed the Restore of all users and contents in the backup.
    Now logged in as my old user ID the time machine backup starts and identifies that the entire MacBook content needs to be backed up.
    TM Backup runs through the prepairing stage and reaches the "Baccking up 'xxx' MB from 'yyy' GB" message.
    Then it gets stuck after 120 MB has been backed up. I did run the backup for 2 entire nights in the 2nd night it got stuck after 0 kB had been backed up.
    What to I need to do to get TM running again?

    If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
    Launch the Console 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. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
    Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
    View ▹ Show Log List
    from the menu bar.
    Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes) in the String Matching text field. You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard." Note the timestamp of the last such message. Clear the text field and scroll back in the log to that time. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them (command-C) to the Clipboard. Paste (command-V) into a reply to this message.
    If all you see are messages that contain the word "Starting," you didn't clear the search box.
    If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
    When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
    Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
    Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — anonymize before posting.

  • Using Migration Assistant to restore after hard drive failure?

    My MacBook's hard drive recently went kaput. The replacement arrived today and I attempted to do a TM restore when booting from the Snow Leopard disc. However, it inccorrectly states "This disk does not have enough space to restore your system." The new hard drive is exactly the same as the old one; both are 640 GB. I have researched this issue for hours and no one seems to know how to fix it, and frankly I am shocked that Apple has failed to recognize this serious problem.
    So, my question is, can I use Migration Assistant with a fresh install of SL and get exactly the same results as I would if I had restored via Time Machine? Will I lose any data in the process that I would have had, had I done it via TM?
    Another thing: I was messing around in the Migration Assistant window just to see how it worked. I selected everything that was available to be restored. However, it stated there was still around 150 GBs of free space on the drive. I had nowhere near that much free space on the old drive, and one would think that that would have left TM with enough space to go through with the restore. How is this sudden new, free space accounted for?

    If you haven't already, use Disk Utility (which should be available early in the Snow Leopard installer boot process) to partition and format the new disk.  Select the drive (not the volume), select the Partition tab, click on the Options button, then select "GUID Partition Map Scheme" (or whatever the exact wording is).  Then format the volume as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)".

  • Attempting to use Migration Assistant to restore a Time Capsule backup to a mounted partitioned drive?

    Had a power surge and my Mac Pro did not fare well. Was able to boot from one of the drives in read only mode, so I did a Time Capsule backup of everything on the drive. Reinstalled Mountain Lion. Booted the computer up and am trying to use Migration Assistant to take the Time Capsule backup and restore it to the 1TB drive. When I use Migration Assistant, it says that there is not enough space on the drive to do the restore. I looked in Disk Utility and saw that the start up disk is another one of the 1TB drives with about 600GB used, therefore not enough space to do the restore. I want to restore to the original drive, but it says it is a "Mounted Partitioned Drive". Can I use Migration Assistant to restore a Time Capsule backup to this mounted partitioned drive?
    Thanks in advance for any help - greatly appreciated.

    I am not sure, never had to go there, I have multiple bootable clones of the system online and off, and a couple 1500VA/900W UPS units powering everything.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
    http://www.recovermymac.co.uk/data-recovery/time-capsule-data-recovery/
    This is a great article:
    http://pondini.org/OSX/SetupLion.html
    Most questions about TimeCapsule and TimeMachine are under Mac OS X forum as in -
    https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/os_x_mountain_lion#/?tagSet=1468

  • Trying to use Migration Assistant to restore from Time Machine backup but it keeps "Looking for other computers..."

    Hi!
    I just bought a new MacBook Pro 15" and I wanted to transfer my old files from a previous Time Machine backup done with my old MacBook Pro 15".
    Both computers have Mac OS X 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion) installed.
    I always used Migration Assistant without any problem to accomplish this task, but now I don't know why it's stuck on a screen displaying "Looking for other computers...". What? What computer? I'm trying to restore from a Time Machine backup on an external hard drive, so I don't understand what computer it is looking for.
    Do you have any idea to solve the problem?
    Thanks!

    At the screen in Migration Assistant titled "Select a Migration Method," select From a Time Machine backup or other disk.
    How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac

  • Restore from Time Capsule using Migration Assistant

    When I try to restore my backup from Time Capsule using Migration Assistant it cannot find any backups on Time Capsule HDD.
    Time Capsule works just fine, using TC Application I can restore single files, there is also XXXXXX.sparsebundle file on Time Capsule HDD which I can mount with no problem and see all of my backups.
    Where is the problem?

    Hi,
    I just ran into the same problem, neither the Migration Assistant nor "Restore from Backup" from the 10.5 Install DVD would find a valid backup on my Time Capsule (which kinda renders it useless).
    After some googling and trial and error I found a workaround using Terminal. I don't know why mounting the sparebundle image with Disk Utility wouldn't work, but it isn't available when your computer crashed anyway... So here is my method:
    -Boot from the System DVD, choose the language
    (-Goto Utilities and start the Disk Utility and reformat your drive, if on Intel check that you partition it with GUID, NOT Apple Partition Scheme NOR MBR, restart from DVD) only if something went wrong with your disk like in my case
    -Goto Utilities and start Terminal
    -In Terminal first make a directory for the mount, type: mkdir /Volumes/MyBackup
    -Then mount the Time Capsule and link it to the folder you created, type: mount -t afp afp://myuser:mypassword@IPAdressOfMyTimecapsule/VolumeWhereMyBackupIs /Volume/MyBackup
    -The AFP-Volume is now mounted, but you can't see anywhere.
    -Quit Terminal, this will bring you back to the 10.5 Installer.
    -Goto Utilities and choose "Restore System From Backup"
    -The Dialog will ask you for a Backup Source. You should now see your Time Capsule and an already mounted Time Machine Volume at the location you specified in Terminal.
    -Select the Time Machine Volume and press Continue, it'll take a while you show you all the backups, choose the one you want, choose a destination, drink tea.

  • I bought a mac 2 days ago and transferred some files on there using migration assist which I did not want to. How do I restore my imac to factory settings so I can start again?

    I bought a mac 2 days ago and transferred some files on there using migration assist which I did not want to. How do I restore my imac to factory settings so I can start again?

    Look in /Users folder. You can go to System Preferences > Users & Groups, open the lock and "-" delete the account it created.
    This is a problem whenever you use migration assistant after the initial install. The proper way to run Migration Assistant is in Setup Assistant when you first boot your Mac. I don't know why Apple isn't clearer about this issue.

  • I'm attempting to transfer files, address book, etc from an external hard drive to my new Mac-mini using migration assistant.  The external drive is showing up on my desktop but Migration Assistant is not seeing the drive when searching for devices

    I'm attempting to migrate files, address book, maile, etc to my new Mac Mini using an external hard drive and Migration assistant.  I followed the instructions on using Migration Assistant to do this but Migration Assistant is not seeing the external drive, which is displayed on my desktop

    I've been chasing this problem all afternoon. I had to reformat my internal drive on my MBP and reinstall Mountain Lion   Start up assistant wouldn't see my extrnal drive with the Time Machine files on it.  After many tries, I skipped the restore there and let the system boot.  I could see my external drive from Finder and the files looked OK.  I was told to use Migration Assistant and it had the same problem.
    I saw a hint on one of these posts that the icon that you see and is label Macintosh HD is actually your backup disk and it is telling you that it has a copy of your internal Macintosh HD.  I went ahead and told it to continue and it started to restore my apps, settings, and documents.  It's been going for a couple of hours, and is close to being done.  I expect to see my old system restored when it is finished.
    Wish that Apple would put some type of note that it is seeing the backup. That is most confusing and seems to be a problem for lots of users.
    It's been a month or so since your post  Did your get it to work?

  • After Restoring with Migration Assistant internet accounts are not working properly

    Hello!
    My Macbook Pro's HDD fried a week ago, so I swapped it for a new one. I had a backup from about 30mins before the issue happened, so I thought everything would go fine with Time Machine. Well, not quite. After installing Mac OS X Mavericks from the Disk Utility and telling the system to apply the latest backup on Migration Assistant during the installation, everything started up the way I left it, but several problems showed up and I have been trying to troubleshoot them.
    Issues:
    1. I used to have Facebook, Twitter and two Gmail accounts logged via the Internet Accounts preferences. Used the gmail accounts for notes, contacts and calendars. Now, they all show up on the menu, but when I click on any of them it tells me they aren't connected and asks me for their password. When I put it down, it gives me an "Unable to verify account" message. If I delete the accounts and try to reinsert them, I get the same message. What's even more weird: When I restart, they are all there again.
    2. Notes doesn't update properly. It shows me all the notes up until like 4 weeks ago, and whenever I even click on the app's window, it tells me it can't connect to Gmail and asks me for its password again. Several other apps that require syncing, like Calendar, have the same issue.
    Troubleshooting attempts:
    1. It's not a problem with these accounts, as I've been able to  sync them no problem if I create a new user. But I had some serious work being done and I don't really want to get a fresh start.
    2. I tried doing a clean install and when the Migration Assistant showed up I asked to transfer everything except personal documents and data. It worked, but I lost all my personal files that are not on dropbox (not many, but there were a few important things). Also the wifi didn't connect at all, kept saying it was self assigning an IP or whatever. This did not happen before.
    3. Not using migration assistant at all, but restarting the system and restoring a time machine backup, even an earlier one from that same day. Mac gets stuck on spinning wheel during boot :/
    This killed my weekend's productivity already, as each clean install and time machine restoring takes 3hrs+. I don't know what to do at this point.
    Macbook Pro, Early 2011, 13". Old HDD 320gb, new one 500gb. OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 (the backup is from 10.9.3)

    ragob66,
    Welcome to the Apple discussions!
    Try this:
    *Accessing Time Machine Backups From Another User Account or Computer*
    Yes, you can do this using the Time Machine interface.
    Attach the drive containing the TM backups to your computer.
    Control-click the TM icon in the dock and select "Browse Other Time Machine Disks...".
    Highlight the desired disk and click “Use Selected Disk”. This will now allow you to browse those TM backups via the ‘time travel’ window. From here you can restore what files you need access to. Bear in mind that any files moved will have the permissions of that previous user account. Thus you may be prompted for the user name and password of that previous account. However, once verified you should be able to adjust “Sharing & Permissions” in the files “Get Info” window.
    Let us know if this resolved your issue.
    Glenn

  • Can't access old backups after reinstalling Lion and restoring with Migration Assistant

    Scenario: App Store developed a random, repetitive, failure to update certain apps.  After trying two different solutions which only worked for a couple of weeks (including archive uninstall)  Apple Support and I decided to go the full hog and do a full Lion reinstall.  Did a full final backup with TM and proceded to reinstall from the recovery partition.  All went well.  I gave my new account the same name as my old original one (and this might be the root of the glitch I will describe).  When Lion was working again I used Migration Assistant to recover all the users, applications, and information. 
    As my new main account and my old one (coming from Mig Assist) had the same name, MigAssist asked if I wanted to merge them.  I said "yes".  All fine.  Everything was apparently there.
    Later that day I tried to access my bank and discovered that my 1Password db was an old version.  I went to TM to retrieve the one from my pre-reinstall backup.  As I had mapped my mac back to the sparsebunddle file in TC it seemed I had access to all my files going back 1.5 years.  It showed my oldest backup as Sep 2010 and 700 gb used.  All seemed normal. 
    Unfortunately, the purple bars before the moment of reinstall are all faded and I can't retrieve any information from them. Nothing before that moment is available, not from the Finder or from withing any other application.
    My new merged main user appears as "carlos 1"  when it should have been just "carlos".
    Do you guys have any advice that could help me?  Thank you in advance.
    My TC is a 1TB 2009 one.

    Carlos. wrote:
    As my new main account and my old one (coming from Mig Assist) had the same name, MigAssist asked if I wanted to merge them.
    No, there is no "merge" option:
    You can rename or replace, not merge.
    Unfortunately, the purple bars before the moment of reinstall are all faded and I can't retrieve any information from them. Nothing before that moment is available, not from the Finder or from withing any other application.
    My new merged main user appears as "carlos 1"  when it should have been just "carlos".
    You have two separate accounts now. 
    See Problems after using Migration Assistant for an explanation of what's happened (the blue and pink boxes) and a possible fix in the tan box -- but that won't work if you've done any backups since using Migration Assistant.
    If you have done backups, your best bet is to do a full system restore, selecting the last backup from before you did the Migration.  See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #14.

  • What is the best method for moving to a new Retina MacBook Pro from an Early 2011 15-inch MacBook Pro using Migration Assistant?

    I'd like to transfer all data to the new MacBook as seamless as possible. Don't want to reinstall software. Using Migration Assistant in past was successful, but I always used Firewire or Ethernet.
    Apple's Thunderbolt cable is too expensive at $49. Wifi is way too slow. (Transfering my 500GBs was going to take over 100 hours.) Do I need to get a Thunderbolt-to-Gigabit Ethernet adapter and cable? That's about the same price as the Thunderbolt cable. Is transfer over USB 2 possible? Would I be better off restoring from my Carbon Copy Clone on my USB 2 external drive?
    I do not use Time Machine.

    Stephen Coles wrote:... Do I need to get a Thunderbolt-to-Gigabit Ethernet adapter and cable?
    That's what I used, although I already had the ethernet cable. Just directly connected both machines (after turning off Airport on the old one), no router or anything else, and ran Migration Assistant on both ends. Transfered a user account with about 30Gb data, nothing else. 

  • Trying to use migration assistant , it has been at one minute to go for the las 5 hours what do I do

    I am using migration assistant and it is at one minute remaining for the last 5 hours, what do I do?

    Hello troubledupdate,
    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
    For more information, take a look at:
    Resolve iOS update and restore errors in iTunes
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1275
    Have a nice day,
    Mario

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