Transfer User Folder from Archive and Install

I installed Leopard today and did an Archive and Install. It preserved my old user folder, but I can't seem to make it a user. I tried copying it into the user folder and it is now in two places, but does not show up on my login page. All the information is there, I just don't know how to tell Leopard to make that folder a user. Any suggestions? Is this possible? or do I have to transfer all the data manually to a new user I create?
All of the data is on the same drive, so Migration Assistant does not appear to be helpful. Any support is appreciated

Create an account with that short name in the Accounts pane of System Preferences.
(37782)

Similar Messages

Missing user folder from Workspace and FR studio

Hi All,
Recently we upgraded the workspace and applications... Initially there were all the folders, but i noticed that user folder from workspace and FR studio was missing... If anyone have come across this issue please let me know how to solve it.
Awaiting for response, Thanks in advance

Just to make sure I understand. When you double click the hard drive icon either in the sidebar or on your desktop (if you have it shown there) there is no users folder shown? If that is the case then it must somehow have become invisible. If there was in actuality no user folder at all your Mac would not boot.
If that is the case then you may have to use the terminal to get it back. I can't help you with that though, sorry. Another possibility is that there is some sort of corruption in a cache file. You could use a tool such as YASU or others to do a light cache cleaning which may solve the problem.

Can I copy newer system (10.6.8.) from previous system folder after archive and install with (10.5.4)?

Rightyho,
had trouble with extensions in 10.6.8 and had to re-install with original disks 10.5.4.
Did an archive and install.
In my (dated) Previous System Folder are Appl / Library / System / User folders.
Copied my User folder back no problem.
Can that also be done with the newer system? No info in support.
Time Machine won't migrate because of newer system and I have only a disk image of Snow Leopard and can't burn double layer DVDs.
When I tried to order SL DVD from Apple they told me it'll take 3 weeks ...

http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

No User accounts after Archive and Install ?

Today I tried to salvage a 20" iMac G5 for a friend. He had done something that screwed up his hard drive. Disk Utility Disk Repair run of the startup partition always failed. Using an external FW disk, I was able to use Disk Utility Repair successfully, but drive would still not boot. Decided Archive and Install was the right way to go, did that and everything seemed OK but I found I could not log in to his account. Thought it was just a lost password, so tried using the OSX Tiger Install DVD to Reset Password. His *Macintosh HD* Startup drive shows only the "root" user available, neither of the two previous user account names appear.
I can think of nothing to do to recover except an Erase & Install (I have his User files saved). Is there an alternative?
I would assume performing another Archive & Install would yield the same result.

I continued work on this issue today. First, I checked and the three User account folders were present in the Users folder along with the one new account created as part of the Mac OSX Tiger A&I. For some reason, not one of these 4 was accessible from the Login screen; it acted exactly if there were no user accounts.
Purchased and installed DiskWarrior 4 on the FW drive and rebuilt the directory of the iMac's internal drive. Ran all other tests available w/ DW. Still no joy on logging in. I should NOT have had to see the Login screen at all if the new user had been created properly.
Punted. Copied everything I thought I would need to the external drive, then did an Erase & Install of OS X Tiger. Applied all updates, no problems logging in. Copied all the original User/username files and folders and restored a few apps.
Finally, after much wasted time, I have all but one App running and all data files, folders, pics, music restored.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 fails because I apparently failed to save a .plist file somewhere and now I learn too late that PE 3.0 will not install on a 10.4.x system. Sigh.

How do I do back to previous system folder after archive and install?

Did an archive and install (retaining my existing user account), only to discover it was unnecessary. (Turns out the problem was hardware-related.)
How do I go back to using my previous system folder?

FloydianSlip wrote:
Huh. Hardly seems to be worth "archiving" if you can't go back to the archive.
The purpose of an *Archive & Install* is to install a fresh, known-good copy of the OS, while preserving in the archive all the files from the previous copy of the installed OS that you might potentially need for some reason. (This is why it is called an Archive & Install.)
However, since any of these archived files might have been damaged in some way since they were installed or created, or in some way conflict with a freshly installed OS, they cannot be considered "known-good" without further testing & should not be reintroduced haphazardly into the "live" system.
The value of this install method should be obvious if you consider that if the OS is sufficiently damaged it will not run the computer, either at all or well enough to recover from whatever damage is done. Without this option, you would have to erase the existing startup disk completely (with the *Erase & Install* method), losing everything created or installed besides what is contained in the OS installer.
The closest equivalents to the kind of archive that you can "go back to" are cloning the entire drive or using the 'restore from Time Machine' option from the installer DVD's Utilities menu, assuming you use Time Machine.

Previous System folder vs. system folder after archive and install

Hi there - I am very new to mac but love the products and am excited to be a part of the culture.
Because I am having battery-type problems I was told to do an archive and install to see if it was a software problem.
My question is, I followed the instructions apple gave for doing the archive and install. And it says that you can delete the previous system folder if everything is the same or you can move stuff over.
The problem is I want to delete the previous systems folder but it is very different than the new one and I don't even know what I would copy.
Briefly, the new system folder just has one folder inside called library with a bunch of folders inside of that.
The previous system folder called previous system 1 has folders entitled application, library, mach.sym, private, system, and users. Why are they different and what can I do?

The previous system, in most cases can be safely deleted. You can't revert to it anyway, so there's no fall back option to worry about. If you've saved everything in your user folder (or home folder - same thing) your data is safe. The previous system may have some preference files for apps you run, perhaps even registration data for apps that require serial #'s when you install them. If everything runs fine, and your data is where it's supposed to be, you can safely delete the previous system. I'd suggest making sure everything runs OK for a week or so, make sure all your apps work and all your data is there, then delete the previous system.
Jeff

Where is the "Archive" file from "Archive and install"?

I did an Archive and install when I upgraded to 10.5. I also made a bootable clone (external HD) of my Tiger.
Now, I'd like to know where the Archive file is? And is it ok to delete?
Need to free space on my internal HD.
Thanks

Open the folder Previous Systems on your hard disk, go through the highest numbered or most recent folder for items you want to keep; once done, throw it away and empty the Trash.
(25395)

Can't access old user folders after archive and install

I had a disc failure on my old iBook G4 (no wonder) and after repairing the disc and archiving and reinstalling Tiger 10.4.11, I can't open any of my old user folders. Mostly I need the iTunes library in one user folder. How do I get at it? Will setting it up as a target disc give me access to that music?

These are the likely files that hold Network settings...
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.networkConnect.<12 digit number>.plist
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.internetconnect.plist
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plist
/Library/Preferences/com.apple.sharing.firewall.plist
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist
/Library/Preferences/com.apple.networkConfig.plist
/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.nat.plist
Reboot after replacing.

I'm a Pro Tools user, who just did an "Archive and Install" installation of 10.5.8 over my 10.4.11 on my 2 Ghz G5, now Pro Tools won't launch. I checked the extensions folder and sure enough, the digidesign extensions were left behind. Can I revert back

I'm a Pro Tools user, who just did an "Archive and Install" installation of 10.5.8 over my 10.4.11 on my 2 Ghz G5, now Pro Tools won't launch. I checked the extensions folder and sure enough, the digidesign extensions were left behind. Can I revert back to the "Archive" of my 10.4.11 System from the "Previous Systems" folder? If not, what's the point of creating the "archive"?

Did you select "Preserve User Settings"?
Archive and Install installation automatically moves existing system files to a folder named Previous System, then installs Mac OS X again. (See tip 3.) You cannot start up your computer using a Previous System folder, nor can you "re-bless" the Previous System folder. (See tip 1.)
You can choose to preserve your user and network settings before installing. This option automatically moves existing users, Home directories, and network settings. This also skips the Setup Assistant after installation.
Note: Because the "Preserve user and network settings" option moves, not copies, existing users, Home directories, and network settings, from the Previous Systems folder to the newly installed System, these items will not exist in the Previous Systems folder after the Archive and Install is complete.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1710
Read this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2196
BTW, it is never recommended to do a major OS change without having a full, bootable backup.

Video podcasts won't play after archive and install

I'm one of the folks having capture issues with FCP 4.5 and OS X 10.4.9. So I decided to archive and install to 10.4.8. Now it seems I'm having all kinds of video problems, including downloading and playing video podcasts in iTunes (7.2). When I download a podcast, say "Tiki Bar TV", the file downloads, but in the podcast screen, I get an error message which reads,
"There is a problem adding the video to iTunes. The file might be corrupted, or a file type that iTunes cannot play." For the record, I have never run into anything like this before. And it's the same way with every video podcast.
I had some similar wonkiness going on with QuickTime, too. But after I installed a divx plug-in, and flip for mac, everything seems to be okay with the QT. iTunes is still a mystery. Any ideas on what my next step should be would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Ben
PowerMac G5 Dual 2.5Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.8) 3GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, ATI9800XT

There are files that are not brought along with Archive and Install.
Some are invisible and not accessible without enabling "root" access and even then you have to know exactly which files have to be moved from the 'previous System' folder.
Archive and Install never works with Apple's Pro apps.
If Niel's suggestion doesn't work you'll have to erase your hard drive and reinstall everything making sure you first backup important data to another hard drive.
(don't forget to save your mail and addresses)

FCP won't launch after Archive and Install

After the fiasco of the 1.1 update for the Alu-iMac's I had to do an archive and install on my system to return it to 1.0.
Everything is now working fine but FCP6 won't launch. It bounces in the dock once and then nothing. LiveType and DVD Studio 4 will open but Color, Motion and FCP won't.
I have trashed preferences and repaired permissions with no luck.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

There are files that are not brought along with Archive and Install.
Some are invisible and not accessible without enabling "root" access and even then you have to know exactly which files have to be moved from the 'previous System' folder.
Archive and Install never works with Apple's Pro apps.
If Niel's suggestion doesn't work you'll have to erase your hard drive and reinstall everything making sure you first backup important data to another hard drive.
(don't forget to save your mail and addresses)

Help! Restore Display Preferences after Archive and Install

Hi there, Tiger was acting up, so I did an Archive and install, but now have lost my display preferences. Any idea how I can restore them?
I have all my old preferences saved in the Previous System folder the Archive and Install creates, I'm just not sure what file to pull out and where to put it to restore my display preferences. The wife is a graphic designer, so she needs the display prefs the way she had set them up. Thanks!

First, did you Repair Persions since the install, then reboot... they really sould still be there, but it looks like it's here on mine...
Machintosh HD/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist
Of course you'll need to look in Prevoius Systems.
Also, ColorSync and others may hold mor info.

Archive and Install from external DVDROM?

My Dvd-rom is broken so I bought an external optical drive. Lately, my software (such as Word and Powerpoint), have not been opening correctly. Apple Support suggested that I do an Archive and Install.
Will I be able to do this from an external optical drive?
Thanks,
Danielle

Yes, as long as the external drive is bootable. Insert the installer DVD into the external drive then restart the computer. After the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the icon for the external DVD then click on the downward pointing arrow button. The computer should boot from the DVD. Follow these instructions for the Archive and Install:
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.

Failed Archive and Install - Have I lost all my user files?

In another thread I have reported printing problems while running OS 10.4.11 on a Cube http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1401894&tstart=0. Tonight I decided to do an Archive and Install to try to fix the problems. I got a message saying that the installation had failed and that I should try to reinstall. When I did so I was given the option to Archive and Install but the check box for Save Users and Network Settings could not be checked. Rather than trying to reinstall I quit the installer and specified an OS 9 system folder for booting. After booting into OS 9 I examined the Users folder and found no folders corresponding to my two user accounts, only a shared folder. The OS X Applications folder appears to contain all my applications.
It seems that the failed installation erased my user accounts. Is that correct? If so, how can I recover them?
Of course I did a backup of my user files before installing, right? NO!!!! My last backup was eight days ago.
John Link

Yes, an Archive and Install will not erase the disk or your files. If you use the option to preserve user accounts and preferences those will be transferred into the newly created system. However, your existing system is a failed installation so if you do another Archive and Install it cannot transfer your user account because it is not in the existing system. Plus you will need sufficient free space on the hard drive for yet another system - about 6-8 GBs.
Once you backup your personal data and your Home folder, I would suggest you just erase the hard drive, reinstall OS X from scratch, then copy your Home folder backup to the newly installed system. These articles, How to get files from a previous home directory after Archive and Install and Mac OS X- How to recover a home folder (directory), explain the process. Although written for an Archive and Install scenario it is essentially the same procedure you would have to follow.
How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the startup or source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.

How can I add users after archive and install

Hi Gang,
I had a crash on Sunday and had to do an archive and install to get this computer back up and running.
It's a PowerBook G4 and I am running 10.4.
I reinstalled from my OS X 10.4 disc. After the install, the Login screen had none of my families user names. I had to go back to the disc and create a new password for a System Administrator.
I did a software update to OS X 10.11.
I am in now and can see the "Users" folder with everyone in it, but I can't figure out how to move it back into the system.
Please help.
Thanks,
Tom

Hi Gang,
If you go to "Users" in System Preferences, and add the user with the same name, it found the user and asked me if I wanted to import the data.
It worked beautifully.
Thanks,
Tom

Transfer User Folder from Archive and Install

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for