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Problem with loop after new Macbook Pro M2 Migration Assistant

I bought a new Macbook Pro M2 2023 and did the initial setup. I used the migration assistant to transfer the data from my old 2020 Intel Macbook Pro, the process was completed.


But now the machine is in a constant boot loop and won't boot.


I have already formatted and installed MacOS Ventura more than three times and the problem still persists.


Does anyone know how to solve this case definitively?

Posted on Feb 24, 2023 7:21 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 25, 2023 6:48 PM

Try booting into Safe Mode which will prevent third party software from automatically launching during boot & login, although from what I've recently learned this may no longer be as effective due to recent changes with macOS Ventura changing how third party apps are launched now.


Seems like you may need to perform a clean install of macOS on the new 2023 laptop in order to start over. There are two ways to do this on Apple Silicon. You can boot into Recovery Mode and erase the drive (only the Macintosh HD & Macintosh HD - Data volumes), or you can "Restore" the firmware which pushes a clean OS onto the internal SSD, but this latter option requires access to another Mac running macOS 10.15+ and a USB-C charging cable (not a USB-C Thunderbolt cable).


Recovery Mode instructions (you will need to follow the "erase disk" link within this article as well):

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


"Restore" firmware option:

Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon using Apple Configurator - Apple Support


After the clean install or firmware restore, you can try migrating/restoring just the macOS user accounts, omit the Applications as they are likely the cause of the problems. Manually download & install the most recent versions of your third party apps making sure they are compatible with both Apple Silicon and macOS 13.x Ventura.


Edit: Forgot to include a link for Safe Mode:

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support


3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 25, 2023 6:48 PM in response to jsnascimento

Try booting into Safe Mode which will prevent third party software from automatically launching during boot & login, although from what I've recently learned this may no longer be as effective due to recent changes with macOS Ventura changing how third party apps are launched now.


Seems like you may need to perform a clean install of macOS on the new 2023 laptop in order to start over. There are two ways to do this on Apple Silicon. You can boot into Recovery Mode and erase the drive (only the Macintosh HD & Macintosh HD - Data volumes), or you can "Restore" the firmware which pushes a clean OS onto the internal SSD, but this latter option requires access to another Mac running macOS 10.15+ and a USB-C charging cable (not a USB-C Thunderbolt cable).


Recovery Mode instructions (you will need to follow the "erase disk" link within this article as well):

How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


"Restore" firmware option:

Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon using Apple Configurator - Apple Support


After the clean install or firmware restore, you can try migrating/restoring just the macOS user accounts, omit the Applications as they are likely the cause of the problems. Manually download & install the most recent versions of your third party apps making sure they are compatible with both Apple Silicon and macOS 13.x Ventura.


Edit: Forgot to include a link for Safe Mode:

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support


Feb 26, 2023 1:41 AM in response to HWTech

Thank you very much for your help.


The issue was resolved and I'm not sure which of the two attempts I made that resolved it.


1 - In safe mode, I erased the disks, reinstalled MacOS Ventura, used the migration assistant and it didn't work. So I entered safe mode again and did a fresh install over the existing one.

2 - At the end of the reinstallation, I used the migration assistant and did not check the option to copy the system and network configuration files.


After a few hours migrating restarted and everything came back ok.


I'm not sure which of the two options worked.

Problem with loop after new Macbook Pro M2 Migration Assistant

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