Can this migration be cleaned up?

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Level 1

6 points

Can this migration be cleaned up?

Long story, not sure how to make it short. I have a mid-2010 iMac running High Sierra (iMacs of this vintage cannot run Mojave). I was having a ton of problems with it and finally threw in the towel and bought a brand new 27" iMac running Mojave. When I turned on the new iMac, it wouldn't let me sign on with my existing user name and sign on, told me I had to create a new user name and password. So I did that. Saw instructions to migrate what was on my old iMac to the new using Migration assistant. Couldn't get it them to connect via wifi so decided use WD My Passport back-up drive directly connecting it via USB. Migration finished and I ended up with both user IDs, each with it's own splash page, Mojave for new user ID and High Sierra for old user ID. All data is on the hard drive but I can't access any files - music, photos, documents with the new user ID information, only iCloud items. What do I have to add/delete until I have one user ID using Mojave with access to all of my files? Any advice? Thanks.

iMac 27", macOS 10.14

Posted on Jul 1, 2019 2:45 PM

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Answer 1

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NYCLJ Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 4, 2019 5:22 PM in response to NYCLJ

I tried the delete a user process but it didn't work. Files were locked under the new user name and were launching under Preview as my .pdf preference did not carry through to the new ID. Good news though - all problems resolved after a few hours on the phone with Apple support. They had me try a couple of different re-installation processes and the last one worked. They were puzzled by the problems, hadn't seen them before.

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Answer 2

rose_10

Community Specialist

Jul 2, 2019 10:03 AM in response to NYCLJ

Hey NYCLJ,

If I understand correctly, you migrated a user profile from one iMac to a new one. None of the local data is available in the new user profile? Can you access the data on the hard drive using either user profile? If you are able to access the data and you want to delete the unused user profile, this article explains how to do that.

Delete a user or group on Mac

Please don't hesitate to let us know if the steps resolved your issue or if you need additional assistance.

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Have a good one.

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Answer 3

NYCLJ Author

Level 1

6 points

Jul 2, 2019 5:31 PM in response to rose_10

Hi Sarah,

I spent a couple of hours with Apple support and we were able to export all of my photos and music again from my old iMac to the new one under the new User Profile. Although I can get Music and Photos to work now under the new user profile, all of my documents and their folders show up under the the old user profile and if I try to open them when I am signed into the new user profile they open in Preview, not in the proper application (PDF, Excel, etc) and it says "locked" -example attached. Is there a way to unlock all of those files and move them under the new user profile? I did open System Preferences/Users Groups and tried to remove delete a profile and it would not let me. Both profiles are designated as Admin, I don't know if that makes a difference. Any help you can offer would be appreciated. This is my 4th iMac and the first time I've had a problem switching to a new one.

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Can this migration be cleaned up?

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