Problem transfering info to mac

[derrickgoh]

My imac previously conked so i bought a new one. I have time machine backup from my previous mac. I booted up my new mac & got to the screen where it asks if i want to transfer info to my mac.

I select from time machine backup. It can detect my ext hdd and displays the name MyBook studio edition 2. However the spinning gear icon appears & it says looking for other sources. Its been 30 mins now so i figure something is wrong.

My old imac was firewire & so is my ext hdd so i bought an apple firewire to thunderbolt adaptor. I tried plugging into both thunderbolt ports on my mac & both firewire ports on my ext hdd. No use.

Can anyone help please?

 

[asriznet]

My imac previously conked so i bought a new one. I have time machine backup from my previous mac. I booted up my new mac & got to the screen where it asks if i want to transfer info to my mac.

I select from time machine backup. It can detect my ext hdd and displays the name MyBook studio edition 2. However the spinning gear icon appears & it says looking for other sources. Its been 30 mins now so i figure something is wrong.

My old imac was firewire & so is my ext hdd so i bought an apple firewire to thunderbolt adaptor. I tried plugging into both thunderbolt ports on my mac & both firewire ports on my ext hdd. No use.

Can anyone help please?

Hey Derrick, it seems that Migration assistant has picked up your Time Machine Drive. Have you clicked on the time machine drive and go to the next step? Because if you don't it will not go any further as it's awaiting for your action.

I believe you are seeing something like below picture?

If it's still doesn't work and your old imac is still functioning, I would recommend to do a direct ethernet connection between both iMac and run the migration assistant again.

You may refer to OS X: How to migrate data from another Mac using Mountain Lion and earlier for detailed instructions and screenshots.

 

[derrickgoh]

As homer simpson would say DOH!!! I didnt click on the MyStudio icon!!

Anyway when i did this the first time i thought it was a problem so i proceeded without migration asst and created an account called derrickgoh. So happens on my spoilt imac my account was also derrickgoh so when i tried to use migration asst to transfer my latest time machine backup it says there's a clash & i need to rename my existing one.

But i dont want to have 2 accounts on my mac. I googled & saw this article saying the only way is to boot up in safe mode & use erase & uninstall. This will wipe out my new mac (no data anyways) and this time round when i log in first time, after choosing language, country, etc i immediately import via migration asst.

Would this be the best solution? And since mavericks no longer comes on dvd, do i need to wait for my internet connection to be up before i can erase & uninstall? Many thanks!!

 

[asriznet]

As homer simpson would say DOH!!! I didnt click on the MyStudio icon!!

Anyway when i did this the first time i thought it was a problem so i proceeded without migration asst and created an account called derrickgoh. So happens on my spoilt imac my account was also derrickgoh so when i tried to use migration asst to transfer my latest time machine backup it says there's a clash & i need to rename my existing one.

But i dont want to have 2 accounts on my mac. I googled & saw this article saying the only way is to boot up in safe mode & use erase & uninstall. This will wipe out my new mac (no data anyways) and this time round when i log in first time, after choosing language, country, etc i immediately import via migration asst.

Would this be the best solution? And since mavericks no longer comes on dvd, do i need to wait for my internet connection to be up before i can erase & uninstall? Many thanks!!

To me, Erase and install is too drastic for that issue you are getting.

In theory: the account name on the old imac already existed on your new iMac, whatever option you select here, the output will definitely gives you more than 1 account(existing account in new iMac + migrated account from old imac).

It's not a big concern because once you have migrated your user account, you can delete the existing account that you initially created on your new imac.

Below are the 3 possible methods that I can thing of based on your situation.(option 2A would be my preferred choice)

1 - When you attempt a migration assistant and received a warning message that the account name exists, it then gives you an option to rename the account name. if you do this, it will migrate your data over with a different account name.

2a - You may want to change the account name of the existing account on your new iMac so that you won't get the warning message as per scenario 1 - OS X: How to change your account name or home directory name teaches you exactly how to do that.

2b - There's another way to change the name but involves more steps. On new iMac, create a new admin account and use a generic name on it like "Test" or "Admin". Once that is created, go ahead and delete the existing account that you initially created. Once it's deleted you can run migration assistant again and you won't get the warning message as per scenario 1.

3 - And lastly as you mentioned, doing an erase and install and make sure that you select the option to transfer information from time machine in the setup assistant. This to me is too drastic and time intensive and yes you need internet to do this(a good one if you want it to finish quick as it requires a download of OS X Mavericks which is about 5gb in size)

 

[B772ER]

I would create a new admin user account and call it test, then log into it and erase the original user account you created. Make sure you choose the 'Delete the home folder' option. Run Migration Assistant thereafter from your Time Machine backup and it should go through just fine.

 

[derrickgoh]

To me, Erase and install is too drastic for that issue you are getting.

In theory: the account name on the old imac already existed on your new iMac, whatever option you select here, the output will definitely gives you more than 1 account(existing account in new iMac + migrated account from old imac).

It's not a big concern because once you have migrated your user account, you can delete the existing account that you initially created on your new imac.

Below are the 3 possible methods that I can thing of based on your situation.(option 2A would be my preferred choice)

1 - When you attempt a migration assistant and received a warning message that the account name exists, it then gives you an option to rename the account name. if you do this, it will migrate your data over with a different account name.

2a - You may want to change the account name of the existing account on your new iMac so that you won't get the warning message as per scenario 1 - OS X: How to change your account name or home directory name teaches you exactly how to do that.

2b - There's another way to change the name but involves more steps. On new iMac, create a new admin account and use a generic name on it like "Test" or "Admin". Once that is created, go ahead and delete the existing account that you initially created. Once it's deleted you can run migration assistant again and you won't get the warning message as per scenario 1.

3 - And lastly as you mentioned, doing an erase and install and make sure that you select the option to transfer information from time machine in the setup assistant. This to me is too drastic and time intensive and yes you need internet to do this(a good one if you want it to finish quick as it requires a download of OS X Mavericks which is about 5gb in size)

The first option i saw (forgot what it was) was greyed out. If i use 2A as u suggested, i change the account name in my new imac so when migration asst copies my time machine backup over there is no error msg about same name.

But how do i make the old imac account an admin account when presumably the new imac account is already admin? Can have 2 admins? Also how do i delete the new imac account after that? Thanks again.

 

[derrickgoh]

I would create a new admin user account and call it test, then log into it and erase the original user account you created. Make sure you choose the 'Delete the home folder' option. Run Migration Assistant thereafter from your Time Machine backup and it should go through just fine.

Thanks but doesnt this mean i stil have 2 accounts? I create admin account to delete new imac account then restore time machine backup. That would still leave me with old imac account and "test" account no?

 

[asriznet]

The first option i saw (forgot what it was) was greyed out. If i use 2A as u suggested, i change the account name in my new imac so when migration asst copies my time machine backup over there is no error msg about same name.

But how do i make the time machine account an admin account when presumably the new imac account is already admin? Also how do i delete the new imac account after that? Thanks again.

The migrated account will be the same permission as what it was on your old mac.

If that account is an admin account in your old mac, it will be an admin account on your new mac too.

Just delete the other non usable account using the steps from below article.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13864

Note: there can have more than 1 admin account in an OS X system. You can even promote a standard account to Admin if you want to.

 

[derrickgoh]

The migrated account will be the same permission as what it was on your old mac.

If that account is an admin account in your old mac, it will be an admin account on your new mac too.

Just delete the other non usable account using the steps from below article.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13864

Note: there can have more than 1 admin account in an OS X system. You can even promote a standard account to Admin if you want to.

And presumably an admin can delete another admin?

Lets see if i got it right. Rename new imac account. Use migration asst to restore from time machine. Since old imac account was admin, it will remain admin when restored. After that delete the new imac account. Correct?

 

[asriznet]

And presumably an admin can delete another admin?

Lets see if i got it right. Rename new imac account. Use migration asst to restore from time machine. Since old imac account was admin, it will remain admin when restored. After that delete the new imac account. Correct?

You got that right!

Once migrated, it will bring you to the login screen, login to the migrated account and make sure all your data are migrated successfully then proceed to delete the other account.

 

[IronMac]

Please keep us apprised as to how this goes!

Good luck!

 

[derrickgoh]

Please keep us apprised as to how this goes!

Good luck!

Will do. Busy with other stuff but should have time tomorrow nightm

 

[derrickgoh]

2A solved the problem!

 

[asriznet]

2A solved the problem!

Great work!

 

[derrickgoh]

Great work!

Thanks to you.