Using Migration Assistant with Time Machine or Super Duper data

Can I use Migration Assistant with a Time Machine or Super Duper backup on an external drive instead of the original computer? I'm thinking of upgrading my Mini to a new one but only have one monitor. Not in the mood to hunt down an old monitor & buy adapters, etc. If I can, are there any tradeoffs using a backup instead of the original Mini? And is TM or SD preferable for this purpose? The current Mini runs 10.6 SL.

KevinD wrote:
Can I use Migration Assistant with a Time Machine or Super Duper backup on an external drive instead of the original computer?
yes to both.
I'm thinking of upgrading my Mini to a new one but only have one monitor. Not in the mood to hunt down an old monitor & buy adapters, etc. If I can, are there any tradeoffs using a backup instead of the original Mini?
none.
And is TM or SD preferable for this purpose?
makes no difference.
The current Mini runs 10.6 SL.

Similar Messages

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.

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...

Relocating music files after using migration assistant and time machine

Hello
I recently purchased an i7 MBP because my previous 15 in was stolen. Luckily I had a time machine backup of the old machine - my previous MBP was the Intel 2 Core Duo model just before the refresh to the i5/i7s
So far what I did is ran migration assistant to bring my files over
Everything seems to be fine, except when I got to iTunes much of my music is listed but I get the exclamation mark symbol next to most of the music and movies and apps
I am trying to figure out how to fix this and relocate my files
I know I could access my time machine backup by browsing other time machine disks, but I can't browse the music folder in a previous backup because I don't have the permisson to access it
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Victor:
If you correctly transferred your music files the problem is with your iTunes Library file.
Open iTunes and quickly press the option key. A window will show to ask you to select the library file. Browse for it and it should fix the problem.

Error using migration assistant and time machine

Daughter dropped water on our old macbook pro. Got a new one and trying to restore using backups to our time capsule, but we are receiving this error using the migration assistant: "Make sure that all of your network devices are connected and turned on. It appears that some backups are already in use. If you don't see the backup you need, make sure it is not currently mounted by another machine and try again."
any suggestions on how to transfer the data from time capsule to new macbook?

Do you see the backups in the Select Your Disk window?
If so, can you connect to them?
Make sure Time Machine is OFF on all Macs on your network. If any backups are trying to run, cancel them. If they won't cancel after a few minutes, see #D6 inTime Machine - Troubleshooting.
Also be sure no other Mac is looking at them. If you continue to get that message, disconnect all users, per #C12 in the same article.
If none of that helps, the backups may be damaged (could have happened when the old Mac died). Try to Repair them, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting

Migration assistant versus time machine

I am about to get a new mac, is there a reason to prefer migration assistant or Time Machine
to transfer the data from the old to the new? Will any method allow my computer to recognize
the time machine data as its own? Thanks

Jhalev wrote:
I am about to get a new mac, is there a reason to prefer migration assistant or Time Machine
to transfer the data from the old to the new?
Your best bet is to use +Setup Assistant+ (when your shiny new Mac first starts up), per the link supplied by Baltwo. You can transfer from your old Mac, or it's backups. It's probably best to do it directly from your old Mac, but if it doesn't have a FireWire port, or isn't available, and your backups are on a external HD, you can use that instead.
Will any method allow my computer to recognize the time machine data as its own? Thanks
Not exactly. Time Machine will do a new, full backup of your new Mac. But you will get a prompt about whether you want to "reuse" the backups. See #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 the +Time Machine+ forum), for details.

Using network drive with time machine. IS IT POSSIBLE?

There are lots of discussion on using network drives with time machine. I have not been able to make them work. Could somebody tell me if this is possible

Time Machine does not back up to network drives, except Time Capsules or USB drives connected to an Airport Extreme, or a drive on a Mac running Leopard.
Here's the official word: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1733
You may find some "hacks" that might make it work, in some cases, to a degree. But use them at your own risk.
First, since this is *unsupported by Apple,* there's nowhere to go when there's trouble.
Second, you're risking a future update preventing it from working, and perhaps rendering your backups useless.
If you still think this is a good idea, do yourself a favor before you bet your backups on it: be sure it really works, at least for now:
1. Get a copy of CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper! or the like, and make a full bootable clone of your internal HD, on an external disk. Test it by booting from it. Then reboot from your internal HD.
2. Let TM do it's first, full, initial backup.
3. Attempt a full system restore (like you'll need when, not if, your internal HD fails), via the instructions in item 14 of the of the Frequently Asked Questions post at the top of this forum.
Again, even if it works today, tomorrow is another day . . .

I used migration assistant and my ethernet cable to move data and apps from my 5-yr old Intel-based iMac to my brand new Intel-based iMac running OS Lion. The old machine was running OS 10.5.8. Not all my files transferred (or I can't find them). Help

I used migration assistant and my ethernet cable to move data and apps from my 5-yr old Intel-based iMac to my brand new Intel-based iMac running OS Lion. The old machine was running OS 10.5.8. Not all my files transferred (or I can't find them). I've seen recommendations to select the old computer in System Preferences, but that didn't work. Help. Thanks!

IMO, wrong choice. Start over, using a FireWire cable and following the steps in Pondini's Setup New Mac guide.

Cloning VS Migration Assistant VS Time Machine restore

Dec 2006 MBP, disk has never been defragged or re-formatted from day 1, so it's pretty cluttered up.
New HDD coming in today, what do you think is the best way to transfer my system, apps and files to the new drive in a clean way?
(running OS X 10.5.8 now, think I want to do an upgrade to OS X 10.6 while I'm at it...
Should I do that before/after transfer? How does that affect Migration Assistant or Time Machine?)

My preference would be to make a bootable clone on my internal on an external. The clone will allow extraction of users, files, apps, and data at the end of an erase and install. Also, if your Sno install goes bad, then you can clone back to your internal to get back where you started. My preference for installing Sno is an erase and install.
Upgrading ought to be pretty much as good as, as good as, or better than (depends on who you talk to) erasing and installing, and having done so everything still should be in place except for archived incompatible programs after the install. Having a bootable clone is just as important in the case of upgrade as in the case of erase and install.
You bootcamp partition won't be affected under either install method. But, keep in mind that if you want to change its size, then erasing and installing will give you the opportunity to do so. No migrating needed for the Boot Camp partition.
Message was edited by: donv (The Ghost)

TS1963 migration assistant and time machine

How do I use My Book WD drive with all my time machine back ups from my dead 2006 iMac intel base to restore to my new 2012 iMac.
I was using snow leopard and now have Mt Lion?
Thanks,
Ken

Here you go:
How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac
Despite the title you can use a Time Machine backup as the "source" Mac for Migration Assistant's purposes.
Scroll down to Time Machine or other disk migration
A wired connection is recommended. Migration over wireless is subject to all the variables involved with wireless networking, and could take an unacceptable amount of time to complete.

Migration Assistant and Time Machine

I had an iMac G5 and bought an iMac Intel. Used Migration Assistant to load iMac Intel. Still using iMac G5. Time Machine can't tell difference between two, when one is on the other won't let Time machine mount. Time Machine thinks the new iMac Intel is the iMac G5. I trashed the TimeMachine preference fie on the iMac Intel but it did not help, suggestions.

axk2 wrote:
Thanks, yes the new Mac is running snow leopard. Can two network computers back up at the same time to one time machine.
Ah, a bit of terminology clarification: +*Time Machine+* is the software in Leopard and Snow Leopard that performs backups, to various places, including a +*Time Capsule,+* which is a piece of Apple hardware.
Yes, that's very common, often to a Time Capsule, or a shared drive on another Mac on the same network.
Your problem apparently is, you told TM to "take over" the old Mac's backups. The old Mac cannot use that set any more.
So you'll need to start it fresh. On the old Mac, go to TM Preferences > Change Disk. First select the "none" drive, then the destination. That should start a whole new set of backups for the old Mac, in a separate sparse bundle on the Time Capsule. The first backup will be a full one, so connect to it via an Ethernet cable if possible -- it will be much faster.
Also be sure there's enough room on the TC's internal HD for a new full backup of the old Mac, plus a lot of extra space, so TM can keep a reasonable "depth" of old backups of it. If there isn't enough, post back with the sizes of the data on both Macs and the size and amount used on the TC.

Migration assistance and time machine in OS X Lion

I use Mac OS X Lion. Before that I had Mac OS X. I had all data in my Western Digital 500 GB external hard drive (as time machine). After switching to Lion, when I try to use Migration Assistant, the application does not find the time machine. Would any one give me some assistance. Thanking you in anticipation.

Have a Look Here
http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/MigrateLion.html
From Here
http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/Index.html

Confliciting info - Migration Assistant from Time Machine Backup

I want to do a clean install of ML, There are certain applications that I did not want to migrate. I was told that you had no choice, it would migrate all of them.
when using Migration Assistant from a Time Machine backup.
Is this true before I start
Thank you in Advance

That's correct (whether you migrate directly from another Mac, or its Time Machine or "clone" backups). See Transferring Applications for an explanation and possible workarounds.

Using migration assistant with firewire disc

I am trying to transfer my settings and applications etc. from a firewire disc that was previously connected to my old but good G4. The iMac and the external volume have the same OS and there is no problem booting from either volume. When I first tried using Migration Assistant, I selected the transfer from another volume on this computer option and the process started and then the drive stopped transferring; I had to Force Quit Migration Assistant. I repaired permissions on both volumes and tried again. This time the process got as far as listing the accounts, which I selected only to get a message that there was a name duplication and to alter the account name for transfer; the result was to flip back to the same message. Since then I have been unable to get even that far. Any ideas?

Perhaps you could give me some assistance?
My HD was just replaced by Apple. I decided now was the time to upgrade to 10.4. This I did and used software update to bring everything up to date.
I had cloned by defective drive to an external FW and would like to use Migration Assistant to move as much as possible back to the new PB drive. I realize I could run into some trouble since I don't know what info was lost on the defective sector(s).
When I try MA, it recognizes the external drive but the user accounts will not show up in the next screen--the "rotating bars" (I don't know what it's actually called) just goes on and on. I left it running for over 6 hours with no result.
Should I just do a straight copy of the user folders? Can I do that with the applications folder?
Al PB 1.5GHZ Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Any issues using FreeAgent Desk with Time Machine?

I have a Free Agent Desk product #9ZC2AG-501, 1 TB.
I reformatted it for HFS+ and use it on USB (this model only has a USB interface) with a hub and my Mac Book Pro running Lion (10.7.2).
Although I have observed this "problem" with previous O/S versions I think it is happening more often now.
Time Machine will make the initlial backup fine (takes 6-8 hours), then it will make incremental backups fine for several weeks, maybe 2 months.
Then I will get a TM error. And next reboot, I will usually get a "OSX Can't fix this drive.." error message - I can see a disk repair task runs first, I assume the O/S does a check before it mounts the drive. Sometimes if I run Disk Utility and ask it to verify or repair the drive or volume it completes and the drive works again.
More often latelty, it will tell me it can't fix the drive and I should save what I can and start over.
Since its a backup anyway, I just erase or re-partition it and TM starts up again.
And the scenario repeats.
The drive errors varry. Usually very drastic-looking things like "scrambled index" or "corrupted index" or "invalid structure".
I don't see how or why an external drive would care what O/S is being used with it. But I would like to know if there is some deep technical reason this model cannot be used with Time Machine? So I can either fix it or know to give up.
The USB info for the hub and drive is:
Hub:
Product ID:          0xf103
Vendor ID:          0x2001 (D-Link Corporation)
Version:          1.00
Speed:          Up to 480 Mb/sec
Location ID:          0xfa400000 / 2
Current Available (mA):          500
Current Required (mA):          0
FreeAgent       :
Capacity:          1 TB (1,000,204,884,992 bytes)
Removable Media:          Yes
Detachable Drive:          Yes
BSD Name:          disk1
Product ID:          0x3008
Vendor ID:          0x0bc2 (Seagate LLC)
Version:          1.38
Serial Number:          2HC015KJ
Speed:          Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer:          Seagate
Location ID:          0xfa430000 / 5
Current Available (mA):          500
Current Required (mA):          2
Partition Map Type:          GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status:          Not Supported
Volumes:
disk1s1:
Capacity:          209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
BSD Name:          disk1s1
Content:          EFI
RcookeBU:
Capacity:          999.86 GB (999,860,912,128 bytes)
Available:          644.05 GB (644,050,997,248 bytes)
Writable:          Yes
File System:          Journaled HFS+
BSD Name:          disk1s2
Mount Point:          /Volumes/RcookeBU
Content:          Apple_HFS

I have this same drive. It's a USB drive intended for PCs not Macs. At the time, Seagate offered Free Agent drives specifically for Macs. They weren't just pre-formatted to HFS+. They also came with different energy-saving settings in the firmware. The Free Agent Desk for PC that you and I have has additional energy-saving features designed for Windows-only. When used with a Mac, the drive will "sleep" or spin-down at the wrong time, even during Time Machine backups, resulting in file system corruption on the Seagate drive.
Seagate support recommended disabling the drive's sleep features using a Windows utility, but that didn't actually solve the problem. In fact, there is no way to completely eliminate the problem, but you can reduce it greatly by disabling sleep and hard disk sleep on your Mac (via System Preferences).
For me, disabling sleep completely allows me to use Time Machine on the disk, but clones will still fail periodically.
You can try to live with it or put it on Craigslist and sell it to someone with a PC.

Using Migration Assistant with Time Machine or Super Duper data

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