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bearcatrp · Jan 30, 2009, 11:33 PM

How well does this work? My main concern is my photos and a few programs. Am afraid it will do a half ass job. This would be done from my old mac pro to my new one. Opinions?

AKcrab · Jan 31, 2009, 12:03 AM

It works perfectly. We use/recommend it all the time.

Art Vandelay · Jan 31, 2009, 12:33 AM

Plus it's not like it deletes the originals either. If it was to screw up, you still have the originals on the old Mac that you can try transferring again.

mduell · Jan 31, 2009, 12:53 AM

Poorly; I've never had an unqualified success with it. It usually manages to copy (most of) the users files, but there's always a few things (generally settings/configuration) screwed up and difficult to resolve.

Veltliner · Jan 31, 2009, 01:49 AM

I'm against the migration assistant.

It' s bloatware. It bloats the size of the files you need to an amount several times that large.

I did it once with the migration assistant. You start out with a new system that is clogged with unnecessary files like a system that's years in use.

I erased the result of the migration assistant.

Better is to drag the files across, the old Mac being in target mode. Takes 15 minutes. Complete list of files to transfer can easily be found on the internet or using the search feature on this site.

AKcrab · Jan 31, 2009, 02:05 AM

Originally Posted by Veltliner

It' s bloatware. It bloats the size of the files you need to an amount several times that large.

I did it once with the migration assistant.

Once? That's a pretty big sample size, thanks for sharing.

Better is to drag the files across, the old Mac being in target mode. Takes 15 minutes. Complete list of files to transfer can easily be found on the internet or using the search feature on this site.

The poster is afraid of a "half assed job". Unless you know what your doing, your method could potentially be just that.

edit: 15 minutes? Yeah, if you have a 2GB photo library and a 2GB iTunes library...

bearcatrp · Jan 31, 2009, 10:08 PM

Well, am going to give it a shot and see. Again, my main concern is iPhoto and iTunes. I've rebuilt when I moved from a iMac to my 1st mac pro and that sucked doing it manually. Very time consuming with a large library. For those who have done this, this won't screw up anything from the mac, will it? I do still need that the way it is. Going to be pissed if it nukes my mac. Thanks in advanced for the help.

Art Vandelay · 04:33 AM

Like I said before, it doesn't touch the source Mac.

Veltliner · Feb 1, 2009, 01:51 AM

Originally Posted by Art Vandelay

it doesn't touch the source the Mac.

Cryptic.

Quo vadis?

Veltliner · Feb 1, 2009, 01:53 AM

Originally Posted by bearcatrp

Well, am going to give it a shot and see. Again, my main concern is iPhoto and iTunes. I've rebuilt when I moved from a iMac to my 1st mac pro and that sucked doing it manually. Very time consuming with a large library. For those who have done this, this won't screw up anything from the mac, will it? I do still need that the way it is. Going to be pissed if it nukes my mac. Thanks in advanced for the help.

Everybody decides for himself.

I think it's not too much work.

It takes 15 minutes: I meant the preparation, not the actual copying time for large libraries.

I did it with a check list.

Veltliner · Feb 1, 2009, 01:56 AM

Originally Posted by AKcrab

Once? That's a pretty big sample size, thanks for sharing.

You don't have to knock your head against the wall more than once to know it's not good for you.

Regarding the migration assistant, it was about my liking it or not.

Or do you draw statistical charts about your ice cream preferences?

"Ate bubble gum icecream fifteen times. Didn't like it. Let's eat it five more times, and then I might have a viable sample"

King Bob On The Cob · Feb 1, 2009, 03:30 AM

Originally Posted by Veltliner

I'm against the migration assistant.

It' s bloatware. It bloats the size of the files you need to an amount several times that large.

I did it once with the migration assistant. You start out with a new system that is clogged with unnecessary files like a system that's years in use.

It's not like it copies caches or anything. It will just copy software you've installed (Minus a few things in /var and stuff in /System).

It does NOT bloat files. It copies them via AFP, just like doing it manually.

In case you were wondering, you can check exactly what files it's going to pull over.

Open Terminal and run

Code:
sudo /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SystemMigration.framework/Resources/FindSystemFiles -ZuR

bearcatrp · Feb 1, 2009, 03:23 PM

Worked like a charm. Was leary at first but gave it a shot. Hell of allot faster than transfering files and reconfiguring each program. A little advice for newbies: after you update your computer for the first time, run migration assistant. Keeps the initial user size small.

ghporter · Feb 1, 2009, 05:51 PM

So my wife and I are looking at stepping her WAY up-from an 800MHz G4 iBook to a 2.66GHz iMac. She'll be going from Tiger to the latest Leopard in the step up. Is there anything about such a migration to be concerned about, be aware of, or otherwise not trip over?

bearcatrp · Feb 1, 2009, 05:57 PM

I don't think you want any ppc programs porting over unless thats your plan. Might be easier to just start fresh.

ghporter · Feb 1, 2009, 06:38 PM

With Target Disk Mode I can just choose her personal folders and thus get her data without worrying about programs; what about with the Migration Assistant?

OreoCookie · Feb 1, 2009, 07:07 PM

Stop worrying, it'll be just fine. Migrate her data only, I bet you'll find that most apps have been updated in the mean time anyway.

ghporter · Feb 1, 2009, 07:19 PM

Cool. Now to wait for the tax refund....

AKcrab · Feb 1, 2009, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by bearcatrp

I don't think you want any ppc programs porting over unless thats your plan. Might be easier to just start fresh.

The PPC apps won't hurt anything. You can use the system profiler to show you a list of ppc apps after the migration and upgrade/delete them at will.

steve626 · Feb 3, 2009, 01:51 AM

Originally Posted by ghporter

With Target Disk Mode I can just choose her personal folders and thus get her data without worrying about programs; what about with the Migration Assistant?

I used Migration Assistant (actually Setup Assistant, which runs the same thing) to migrate from my daughters iMac G5 10.4 to the new iMac Intel 10.5. I told it migrate EVERYTHING. It's now been nearly two months and from what I can tell, everything works, even her WACOM tablet and Canon scanner and Canon printer -- drivers seemed to be migrated and installed properly without any effort on my part. It even migrated Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop Elements (two different versions) and we didn't need to input user codes or anything like that. When first run, the newer version of Mail updated the older mail files/folders, same for iphoto. Actually -- one thing did change -- the desktop background. She had to restore the picture she was used to.

I have also used Migration Assistant to move from 10.3 to 10.4 on a different pair of iMacs. Same experience, everything moved over without any effort on my part.

So that's another two data points, though not a statistical sample. I asked in the Apple-centric store where I got the Intel iMac if it was better to move things over by hand, and they said that everyone (including the salepeople who work in the store) uses Migration Assistant and they don't hear about problems.

Veltliner · Feb 3, 2009, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

Cool. Now to wait for the tax refund....

Be glad you're not in California.

It'd be a long wait...

ghporter · Feb 4, 2009, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by Veltliner

Be glad you're not in California.

It'd be a long wait...

Wrong kind of tax refund. I'm in Texas with no state sales tax; I'm waiting on my federal refund.

AppleGirl1990 · Mar 22, 2009, 11:53 AM

If i purchase a portable computer and i use Target mode to copy just my iPhoto Library file to the new computer, will i still be able to access all my slideshows, picture books and other folders which i setup in iPhoto?

I'm not sure if all those things are within the iPhoto Library file (as it's just 1 file) or if those types of things are kept all over the computer in different locations. Or does copying the iPhoto Library file only copy the actual pictures?