Migrating User Accounts

To select from multiple user

accounts,  or to select/omit data within one or more, click the "disclosure triangle" in front of the checkbox to see a list of them.  (It may take a few moments for the triangles to appear).

For each user you select, you can click the disclosure triangle and select or omit the contents of that user’s top-level folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, etc.)

Otherwise, you can’t "pick and choose" within any of those folders.

If you try to transfer an existing user account, you’ll get the message shown here. 

You can rename the account you’re transferring; replace the existing account (unless you’re logged-in with it);  or skip the account entirely.

Note that accounts transferred with Migration Assistant may not be recognized as the same ones as on your backups, or other drives.  Thus even though you migrated an account, that same account may not have permission to restore other items from the backups of that account.

Time Machine backups on an internal volume have a gray icon;  directly-connected disks a green or yellow icon, and list the name of the volume and computer that was backed-up, not the volume they’re on.  Time Machine backups on a network drive have a blue icon, and show the name of the partition and network device they’re on.

Other Macs and "clones" are shown with a gray icon if on an internal HD,  a yellow icon if on a directly-connected disk, or a blue icon for a network disk, with the name of the volume and computer they’re on.

If the disk you expect doesn’t appear, and you’re sure it’s connected, you may need to repair it, per Verify or Repair Disk.

Migrating Applications

This option will transfer applications only from the top-level Applications folder;  not an Applications folder(s) in user home folder(s), or elsewhere.  It will also transfer various support files in the top-level Library folder.

You must transfer either all apps or none;  you can't select or omit them individually (see Transferring Applications for an explanation).

But Migration Assistant  will only transfer apps that don't already exist in the top-level Applications folder on the destination Mac;  thus the new Apple apps that came with your new Mac will not be replaced by old ones (and the size shown may be very small).  But if the names are different, or they're in different places on the destination (such as sub-folders within Applications or elsewhere), you'll end up with both.

In some cases, there may be a few exceptions:

1. •If you’re on Snow Leopard, see  Mac OS X v10.6, OS X Lion: About incompatible software.
   

2. •Some 3rd-party apps may not work properly, or at all, if transferred from an older version of OSX.  Check with the maker about compatibility.
   

3. •If transferring from a PPC Mac to an Intel Mac, some PPC applications may not work properly, or at all.  See this Apple article:  Intel-based Mac: Some migrated applications may need to be updated.
   

4. •You may have to re-enter serial numbers/purchase codes for some 3rd-party applications.
   

5. •Some complex 3rd-party apps that were installed with special installers may need to be reinstalled from the original disc(s) to work properly.  Adobe apps are often subject to this.

Migrating "Other files and folders on <disk name> <Computer Name>"

This will transfer pretty much anything not covered above:

1. •Non-system files/folders at the top level of the disk, such as the (empty) Unix Desktop folder, the User Guides and Information alias, the Developer folder (if installed), etc.
   

2. •The Shared user folder      
   

There is special handling for duplicates in this category:  if the item already exists, the new one will have "(from old Mac)" appended to its name.

The following samples are from Snow Leopard;  if you're migrating to Leopard, the windows look a bit different, and those for what data you want to transfer are on separate windows, in a slightly different order.  

If you migrated from a different Mac, and want to use Time Machine to back up the new Mac to the old Mac's backups,  when the first one starts you should (on Snow Leopard) get a prompt about using a different Mac's backups.  See:  Would you like to reuse the backup . . .?  for details.  On Leopard, Time Machine will start a new set of backups automatically.

Don't be alarmed by the length of this page:  It includes many details that only a few users will need, in a few situations.  The usual procedure is actually simple:

1. •Start the Migration Assistant app.
   

2. •Specify whether you want to transfer directly from your old Mac or its backups, and connect to it.
   

3. •Specify what you want to transfer (Apps, User Accounts, Settings, etc.).
   

4. •Wait while your Mac does all the work  (copying your stuff).
   

5. •When it's done, you're in business!
   

See below for step by step instructions, including some unusual circumstances.

If you're transferring directly from a PPC Mac to one running Leopard or the first versions of Snow Leopard (10.6.0 or 10.6.1), there's a small chance of problems, so an extra precaution is recommended:  either make a separate full backup of the PPC Mac "just in case," or see A Basic Guide for Migrating to Intel-Macs.

If you have any user accounts on the new Mac with the same name as any you want from the old ones, there's a conflict:  they can't both be on the same Mac.

If you don't need any of the new account's data, create a temporary Admin user account, with a name different from any on your backups, log on with it and delete the conflicting account.   Then use Migration Assistant to transfer what you want and delete the temporary account.  If you do need some data from the new account, copy it elsewhere temporarily, then delete the new account via System Preferences > Accounts.  Alternatively, you can migrate the account, but rename it via Migration Assistant, then copy things from the other account.

Note that you cannot "merge" or combine user accounts with Migration Assistant, but you may be able to do it manually.  See Transferring Files from one User Account to another.

Before Starting:

1. •If you anticipate an issue with iTunes authorizations, see About iTunes Store authorization and deauthorization.
   

2. •If you use Time Machine, turn it OFF.   Everything you migrate to your Mac is considered as changed, so Time Machine will back it all up.  If there's a problem with the transfer, you may have to delete some or all of it and transfer it again.

Migrating Settings

If you're already connected to a network, you won't have the Network option.

If the Machine settings are transferred, that includes system-wide settings, such as Time Zone, System Keychain, EnergySaver, Time Machine, and Sharing.  Sharing includes the Computer Name.  That's easily changed after your new Mac restarts, via System Preferences > Sharing.

Note that Leopard doesn't have the three options;  just the single Settings option.