When
Migration Assistant Doesn’t Work
What to do Before Migration
What
Needs to be Moved
Wrapping It Up
Written
By: Adam Rosen
15 August 2009
Since the early days of Mac OS X 10.3 “Panther” Apple has
provided a wonderful utility – initially part of Setup Assistant
and later (in 10.4 "Tiger") renamed as Migration
Assistant - to help move data between your old and new
Macs. With this utility and a Mac booted into FireWire Target Disk Mode,
or more recently in Leopard from a Mac over an ethernet or WiFi network,
you can easily migrate your installed applications, system settings
and user data from your old Mac to your new one.
On
the whole Migration Assistant works very well, performs successfully
more often than not, and has gotten better with every subsequent release
of Mac OS X. My only real gripe with the program (like most other software)
is it’s creative interpretation of "time remaining"
for the transfer process.
Like
most Apple apps, it ticks down from “5 hours remaining”
to “45 minutes remaining” in about 10 minutes, then is generally
reliable until approximately the two minute mark is reached. Once you
see “About a minute…” for time remaining, assume at
least a half hour. Soon you’ll get to “Less than a minute..."
which typically means twenty minutes or so. Once you grok this (or sit
through it enough times), it makes sense.
Kinda
like a dentist saying “almost done” when they’re only
beginning the really painful, uncomfortable part of the procedure. But
I digress…
When Migration Assistant Doesn’t Work
Despite
Apple’s best intentions and efforts, there are times when Migration
Assistant can’t or won’t work. One instance is when a user’s
account is corrupt, or not recognized as valid on the disk in the old
system or a copy of that system. Sometimes Migration Assistant will
start a transfer process but not complete, ending with an error or bringing
over some data over but not all. Perhaps you may be copying from a newer
to an older Mac (see below), or you may just want more fine-tuned control
over what does and does not get transferred than what Migration Assistant
provides.
Recently
in my consulting practice I had several needs to perform manual system
migrations. One was for a client who ran Migration Assistant twice trying
to upgrade his daughter from an older MacBook to a new MacBook Pro;
both times the utility brought over all the applications but not the
user data. The second time was for a downgrade
from Leopard to Tiger. Migration Assistant didn't support
moving the user account folder to the older Mac, just the applications.
In both cases a manual migration solved the problems.
Another
possibility involves an older Mac that doesn’t have FireWire,
isn’t running a Mac OS X version that supports network migration,
or isn't connected to a network at all. A workaround here is to pull
the hard drive from the old Mac and put it into a USB2 or FireWire external
enclosure, which Migration Assistant can access. However if the OS version
is too old (pre-10.1 or the Classic Mac OS) or somehow damaged, a manual
migration will still be required.
What to do Before Migration
IMPORTANT:
This procedure requires strong Intermediate to Advanced Mac User skills.
A manual
account migration is just a fancy term for copying things over. Mac
veterans are used to this from the days of yore. The key of course is
knowing what needs to be moved and how to connect the two machines.
If you aren't comfortable with how the Mac OS X file system works and
how to perform the steps below, seek assistance before you get into
trouble! Make sure you understand how to recover your setup and OS installation
on the new Mac (using a backup or the included Apple system restore
discs) in case something goes wrong.
Whether
you use Migration Assistant or transfer things manually, there are several
steps you will want to take on the old Macintosh before you begin. First,
make a backup of your whole system (preferred) or at least all your
user data. Then, deauthorize any activated (tethered) software that
you have installed (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite, QuarkXPress,
Pro Tools HD, etc.) by selecting the deauthorize/transfer license
(or similar) menu option in each program. This will allow you to reauthorize
your software on the new machine after a migration, or revert back and
reauthorize the old machine if things don't work out.
If
you’re not going to be using the old machine for your music or
video playback once you make the move, also deauthorize your computer
in iTunes so that you don’t lose one system from your limit of
5.
Next,
if you haven’t already done so, login to or create the user account
on the new Mac that you are going to migrate the data into.
If
both your Macs have FireWire you can use FireWire Target Disk Mode to
connect the old machine to the new – reboot the old Mac and hold
down the T key at startup. When the FireWire logo appears on screen,
connect a FireWire cable between the two Macs. The old Mac’s hard
drive should mount on the desktop of the new Mac as an external FireWire
drive.
You
can also use network sharing to connect the two machines; turn on File
Sharing on the old Mac, access it via ethernet or WiFi on the new Mac,
and mount the entire hard disk (rather than just the User Folder) on
the desktop as a server.
If
none of these ares options, you can backup the old Mac onto an external
USB2 or FireWire enclosure (make a clone or image copy for a full OS
X system backup), use a USB Flash Drive or an iPod with Disk Mode enabled
for data transfer, or as noted earlier remove the hard drive from the
old Mac and put it into an external enclosure for access.
What Needs to be Moved
(1)
All User Documents
From
the old Mac's home directory (known in UNIX parlance as ~), copy the
contents of the Desktop, Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures and Sites
folders (aka ~/Desktop, ~/Documents, etc.) Don’t
move the folders themselves, but rather copy all items from the old
folders to the same respective folders on the new Mac.
If
you find you don't have access to these folders - they are locked with
a red Do Not Enter badge - you've run into a permissions issue.
If the new Mac's user account name (shortname, in particular) is different
than the old account, file access will be blocked. A quick solution
is to select the entire source drive, do a Get Info (CMD-I),
authenticate by clicking the lock, then check the option to "Ignore
ownership on this volume". You can also do a Get Info on each folder
and adjust Sharing and Permissions for everyone to have Read
& Write status.
Also,
move any additional user created folders which may exist in the home
directory or at the top level of the old hard drive (/ in UNIX parlance).
If the system once ran Mac OS 9 (or earlier), some data may exist in
a top level Documents folder (/Documents) or other custom directories.
Moving
the user data may take a considerable amount of time if there are lots
of pictures, movies, and/or music files involved (including sometimes
an "adult media" collection). User documents are typically
the bulk of the data to transfer. If not everything is required some
pruning here can definitely speed up the process.
(2) Applications (A Mixed Bag)
Next
move all third-party, non-Apple software that's inside the Applications
folder (/Applications), along with any program folders at the root level
of the hard drive (these can usually be put back into the Applications
folder on the destination machine). Copy anything you have purchased,
downloaded or that otherwise didn’t get installed with the original
operating system - Microsoft Office, Filemaker, web browsers, graphics
programs, games, etc..
Do
not replace any Apple software in the Applications folder that exists
on both Macs – Safari, Mail, iCal, Address Book, etc..
Whatever Apple software programs are on the destination machine are
the best ones to start with – just move the non-Apple software,
then use Software Update to patch your system as needed. If you have
the Apple iWork applications (Keynote, Pages and Numbers), or a copy
of AppleWorks, these are safe to move over if they aren't already on
the destination machine.
If
your new Mac does not contain a copy of the Apple iLife Suite (iTunes,
iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb and GarageBand), you may need to reinstall
these apps from an iLIfe installation disc (old or new). Some iLife
apps can be easily migrated (iTunes, iMovie HD, old revs of iPhoto),
but some cannot. With the exception of iTunes, which can be freely downloaded,
I've found it's best to reinstall this package rather than migrate when
needed.
The
same applies to Apple's Pro Applications (Final Cut Pro, Aperture, Logic,
etc.) - if you are using this software, reinstall from the
original media or downloaded installers, rather than migrating. For
these apps this is usually the best practice even when running Migration
Assistant.
If
you were running Mac OS 9 or Classic Mode on the old Mac, and are transferring
to a PowerPC Macintosh running Mac OS X 10.4.x “Tiger” or
earlier, also copy the “Applications (Mac OS 9)” folder
and the “System Folder” from the old Mac to the root level
of the new drive. If you are moving to an Intel Mac or any Macintosh
running Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard”, Classic mode isn’t
supported and these folders do not need to be moved.
(3) Preferences and Application Support Files
The
key remaining components of a successful manual migration are Preferences
and Application Support files. There are several locations where these
items are stored. If you are in doubt about moving a preference, or
whether an item is or isn't an Apple file or folder, err on the safe
side and don’t move the item on the first pass.
The
following items are in the top level Library folder on the hard disk
(e.g., /Library):
-from
/Library, copy folders for non-Apple applications
-from /Library/Application Support, copy folders for non-Apple applications
-from /Library/Fonts, copy all unique items (e.g., don't
replace existing fonts with the same name
on the new Mac)
-from /Library/StartupItems, copy all items for the apps you still
wish to use
-from /Library/PreferencePanes, copy all items
-from /Library/Preferences, copy all non-Apple items
The
following items are in the Library inside your user home folder (e.g.,
~/Library):
-from ~/Library, copy folders for non-Apple applications
-from ~/Library, copy the Mail and Mail Downloads folders
-from ~/Library, copy the Safari folder
-from ~/Library, copy the Calendars folder (if present)
-from ~/Library/Application Support, copy folders for non-Apple applications
-from ~/Library/Application Support, copy the AddressBook folder
-from ~/Library/Application
Support, copy the iCal folder (if present)
-from ~/Library/Fonts, copy all items
-from ~/Library/StartupItems, copy all items for the apps you still
wish to use
-from ~/Library/PreferencePanes, copy all items
-from ~/Library/Preferences, copy all non-Apple items
-from ~/Library/Preferences, copy anything for the following Apple
apps: Mail, iCal, Address Book, Safari, iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD,
iWeb, GarageBand, Keynote, Pages, Numbers, Final Cut Pro, Aperture,
or Logic
Wrapping It Up
Move
all items to the same locations on the new Mac as on the old. Once everything
is copied, restart the new Mac, then launch each application and make
sure it works and your user data is present. You will need to reauthorize
any activated (tethered) software upon first launch – you should
have an activation waiting online from the transfer/deauthorize process
you did before the migration. Also reauthorize iTunes to play any music
or video files purchased through the iTunes Store.
Some
applications, particularly complex professional software with multiple
components (Adobe, Quark, etc.) may have problems running after
a migration of this nature, and/or complain that they are missing components.
Such problems often occur after running the automated Migration Assistant
as well. To fix this you can often download an “installation/migration
fix” from the vendor or reinstall from your original disks or
downloaded .dmg files.
If anything is still missing you can then go back to the source Mac
or transfer drive and try and find the needed item(s).
Keychain
Considerations
You
will need to re-enter passwords for some applications and web sites
after performing a manual migration. The keychain file where these items
are stored was (deliberately) not moved in this process to prevent possible
account corruption. However you can use the Keychain Utility
(located inside /Applications/Utilities) to view the contents of your
old user keychain if you’ve forgotten some passwords.
The
keychain file can be found on the old drive at: ~/Library/Keychains/login.keychain
This
article was also published in the Adam's
Apple column on Low End
Mac
