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Migration assistant stuck - transferring from Mac to Mac

I am currently trying to transfer all my data from my old macbook pro to new one. Every time I have tried to use the migration assistant it either stays stuck in the "starting up" part or the "checking for conflicts" part. The number of transfers is always at zero. I left both laptops plugged in overnight knowing it would take a while but this morning it still hadn't moved.


If I can't get it to work, can I just transfer everything on old Mac to Icloud and then download onto new mac via icloud? I'm really just wanting to transfer all my videos, pics, and documents.


Spec of old mac:

macOS High Sierra

Out of storage space

Macbook from 2012.


New mac

2019 version

macOS Big Sur

Posted on Dec 7, 2021 11:35 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Dec 8, 2021 11:12 AM

Hello daisy_dinot,


It sounds like your Mac get's stuck while transferring files with Migration Assistant.


Here are some resources that may help.

Review Move your content to a new Mac and Transfer your information to Mac from another computer or device for further details.

  • Under "Get Ready" if you haven't already, unsure both computers are fully up to date. Set up your new Mac as new without transferring any files and run any updates. From there you can run the Migration Assistant from the Utilities folder as seen under "Use Migration Assistant."


If it continues, you can try other options to transfer your files.


When it comes to iCloud. You can use Desktop and Documents in iCloud Drive if you have enough iCloud Storage Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive. Note:

  • Doing this only syncs the two folders and does not transfer any files outside of the two folders or settings.
  • If you are keeping your original Mac, what you do to it will also happen on your new computer unless you turn off the feature and download the documents. For instance, if you delete a file, it will also delete from the new computer.


Hope this helps.


Have a great day.


1 reply
Question marked as Best reply

Dec 8, 2021 11:12 AM in response to daisy_dinot

Hello daisy_dinot,


It sounds like your Mac get's stuck while transferring files with Migration Assistant.


Here are some resources that may help.

Review Move your content to a new Mac and Transfer your information to Mac from another computer or device for further details.

  • Under "Get Ready" if you haven't already, unsure both computers are fully up to date. Set up your new Mac as new without transferring any files and run any updates. From there you can run the Migration Assistant from the Utilities folder as seen under "Use Migration Assistant."


If it continues, you can try other options to transfer your files.


When it comes to iCloud. You can use Desktop and Documents in iCloud Drive if you have enough iCloud Storage Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive. Note:

  • Doing this only syncs the two folders and does not transfer any files outside of the two folders or settings.
  • If you are keeping your original Mac, what you do to it will also happen on your new computer unless you turn off the feature and download the documents. For instance, if you delete a file, it will also delete from the new computer.


Hope this helps.


Have a great day.


Migration assistant stuck - transferring from Mac to Mac

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