Regarding Migration Assistant and case sensitive files, won't transfer

Question

Level 1

8 points

Regarding Migration Assistant and case sensitive files, won't transfer

I bought a new mac, and wanted to transfer my files in one swoop. I opened File migration and it will not copy due to case sensitive files on one system, the new mac, and not on the other system my old mac. I have no idea why they are different or who decided to make them different. Mac is usually plug and play. So now how do I transfer my old files? I tried plugging in my hard drive to transfer from time machine, but again case sensitive. It asked me if I wanted to reformat the external drive. Not sure how that would help as it was full of the files I wanted to transfer.

I am aware of other threads with the same issue, but I still have not seen the solution, on how to transfer files from my old macbook pro to my new one, without wiping the hard drive on the new one and wiping out all the software I just uploaded and then I am not sure what to do with the case sensitive / vs no case sensitive.

It appears to me that the new macbook has a change, that has created greif for the end user, and creates a scenario of incompatibility between one mac and another. One of the reasons I use mac is its ease to interface software and devices.

What is the solution here? Is there a fix I can download? that would be helpful. If I can't use this new mac with my other mac devices, then I have wasted a ton of money on Apple.

Please tell me there is a solution on your end.

Dedicated ( to date) mac user.

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on Jul 19, 2021 9:27 AM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

210,431 points

Jul 19, 2021 9:49 AM in response to sweetmadness

Are you trying to copy files with Migration Assistant from Mac A to Mac B?

A better way would be to copy the files from the Time Machine back-up for Mac A to Mac B with Migration Assistant with the TM drive connected directly to Mac B.

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Answer 2

Jul 19, 2021 9:57 AM in response to sweetmadness

On a file system case sensitive you might have 2 files named:

file

and

File

On a file system case insensitive these 2 files are just one file.

Therefore you can only migrate a case insensitive file system toward a case sensitive one,

because the reverse operation would map 2 ≠ files on a uniq one. Thus the second one would be written on

the first one causing a file loss.

Typically in my example, the second file named:

file

would overwrite:

File

and destroy it.

From the situation you describe, your migration is the right way and should work.

On which of your 2 Mac is running Migration Assistant?

Could you check each of your source and destination volumes with:

[cmd]+[i]

and look for case sensitive?

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Answer 3

Jul 19, 2021 11:23 AM in response to sweetmadness

Are you sure that it's the new mac that has a case sensitive file system?

Can you check this in Disk Utility?

Did you reformat the drive in the new mac? AFAICT the default has not been and still is not case sensitive...

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Answer 4

sweetmadness Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 14, 2021 9:33 PM in response to Zorba_le_grec

Well I took it to a technician. We both decided that due to the new file system in Bug air and the difficulty if not impossibility of transferring and continuing to share files between my old MacBook and my new one that we would revert back to a previous OS. So for now until Mac fixes the incompatibility doesn’t f file sharing between OS systems then a will not use big sur. N idea why all of a sudden Mac creates an OS that is not compatible with previous OS file sharing.

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Answer 5

sweetmadness Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 14, 2021 9:36 PM in response to Zorba_le_grec

I’m not a tech so none of these options work. I want to plug and play files as I always have with a new computer. This is not good for Apple. I see nothing but frustrated users on the horizon. May be time to go back to PC. ….

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Answer 6

sweetmadness Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 15, 2021 3:58 PM in response to Old Toad

When i tried doing this, it asked if i wanted to reformat drive, which of course would wipe out the files i wanted to transfer. Shouldn't be this difficult. I took it to the shop and same issue, he suggested reverting back to previous OS and that works.

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Answer 7

sweetmadness Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 15, 2021 3:58 PM in response to Zorba_le_grec

When i tried doing this, it asked if i wanted to reformat drive, which of course would wipe out the files i wanted to transfer. Shouldn't be this difficult. I took it to the shop and same issue, he suggested reverting back to previous OS and that works.

Reply