Migrating Assistant Fails from iMac (2009) to new iMac

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Migrating Assistant Fails from iMac (2009) to new iMac

I have tried using. the Migration Assistant several times now to transfer my data/applications/etc to the new iMac. They are connected by Ethernet and on same local WiFi network. Each time, however, the migration fails when the old Mac seems to lose connection (restarts?) and the new iMac can't "refind" it when it starts the Migration process again. I end up cancelling the Migration and am getting nowhere slowly.

Is there another way to migrate/transfer or set up the new iMac that won't require a complete install of everything, app by app, file by file? Very disappointed so far ....

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Dec 3, 2021 9:13 AM

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Answer 1

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rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,856 points

Dec 3, 2021 9:18 AM in response to MulliganStew68

Migration Assistant works 100% of the time if you do it per the directions in Setup Assistant and Migration Assistant. As you have found using Ethernet and Wi-Fi are problematic. This is why it is critical you connect your 2009's Time Machine (you can also use a bootable clone backup EHD) to the new Mac via a USB connection and migrate. Any other method and you will run into problem.

If you do not have a TM (or bootable clone) from the 2009, then create one!

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,856 points

Dec 3, 2021 3:04 PM in response to MulliganStew68

When migrating from a larger drive to a smaller one then Migration Assistant is not the correct tool. To be honest you either should have moved large libraries such as Photos, Movies and Music to an external HD on the 2009 and then removed the libraries from the 2009 by Trashing them and emptying the Trash. Those type of libraries tend to take up the majority of HD space. If you did that then you can simply plug the EHD into the new Mac and begin using it. If you have less than 2GB on the 2009 then MA will work perfectly.

The ONLY other method is to move your data is to do it manually using Target Disk mode. If you are unfamiliar with Target Disk Mode please study Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode - Apple Support. This will take some cabling to connect the two together which can get expensive as you are going from a pretty ancient machine to a new device. You will need a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 1 (or 2) adapter, then a Thunderbolt 1 (or2) adapter to a Firewire adapter and finally a Firewire cable. Yikes, cabling madness.

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Answer 3

Dec 3, 2021 1:55 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Thank you rkaufmann87. Appreciate your experience and suggestions. In the past, yes, I've used backups in my migration approach. In this case, I thought against it because the Hard Drives aren't the same size. (Old is 6 TB -- half used -- but the new is only 2TB). In the Migration Assistant I've unselected my Photos (which I back up separately because of their size) to ensure I have a packet that is sized appropriately, but now I'm dealing with the failure above.

If the TM route is the only that will work, I guess I can map a TM backup that excludes some of the same files to create a right-sized package for installing. That make sense? Any other ideas?

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Migrating Assistant Fails from iMac (2009) to new iMac

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