APFS 'protect' flag won't remove on M1 Mac after migration

sébastien249 wrote:

 Hi HwTech,

How did you utilize your TM backup when setting up this new Mac?

Copy to DONNEES

That’s not how you restore. Use Migration Assistant if it is your user account.

If it is another drone or Volume, open the drive in Time Machine, Select All, Restore To and select DONNEES

sébastien249 wrote:

 Hi HwTech,

How did you utilize your TM backup when setting up this new Mac?

Copy to DONNEES

@Barney-15E has you covered on the correct way to restore data from a TM backup.

You could also possibly "Get Info" on the "DONNEES" volume and select "Ignore Ownership". I don't think you mentioned this option previously. However, if this "works" I would be concerned that transferring the files the way you did could have introduced some other unforeseen issues since I don't fully understand the nuances of how the TM backup file structure works. It might be that some months/years down the road you may discover a problem that could be traced back to the improper restoration of data, but by that time it will be way too late to correct the mistake.

FYI, my "Data" volume shows "protect" while I'm booted normally. I do not have Filevault enabled, although I do have an extra APFS volume within the same Container which does use an encrypted APFS file system. When I mount that encrypted APFS volume....it also shows "protect". So I don't think that is your problem.

How did you utilize your TM backup when setting up this new Mac?

I'm assuming the "DONNEES" APFS volume is an extra APFS volume and is not your "Data" volume renamed. Is this "DONNEES" volume just a plain old extra storage area outside of your macOS user account? It may help to see the output of the following Terminal command (I'm assuming the "DONNEES" volume is on the internal SSD...if not, then remove the " internal" part of the command):

diskutil  list  internal

sébastien249 wrote:

.Has anyone successfully removed the protect flag from a non-FileVault APFS volume after an Intel → M1 migration?

MacBook Pro M1, macOS (latest)

• Volume migrated from Intel Mac via Time Machine backup

• Problem: every write operation requires Touch ID / password authentication

diskutil list internal

/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *500.3 GB disk0

1: Apple_APFS_ISC Container disk1 524.3 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_APFS Container disk3 494.4 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_APFS_Recovery Container disk2 5.4 GB disk0s3

/dev/disk3 (synthesized):

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: APFS Container Scheme - +494.4 GB disk3

Physical Store disk0s2

1: APFS Volume Macintosh HD - Data 156.8 GB disk3s1

2: APFS Volume Macintosh HD 12.6 GB disk3s3

3: APFS Snapshot com.apple.os.update-... 12.6 GB disk3s3s1

4: APFS Volume Preboot 9.1 GB disk3s4

5: APFS Volume Recovery 1.3 GB disk3s5

6: APFS Volume VM 20.5 KB disk3s6

7: APFS Volume DONNEES 170.7 GB disk3s7

you would suspect your user/admin user data Volume would be " Volume Macintosh HD - Data "...(?)

The most trouble free way to move to a new machine, is using the Setup Assistant on the initial boot of a brand new machine— you have one shot here, unless you start over: Set up your MacBook Pro - Apple Support

The second best way is use the Migration Assistant.

How to move your content to a NEW Mac: Transfer to a new Mac with Migration Assistant - Apple Support

Transfer your information to Mac from another computer or device:

Transfer your information to Mac from another computer or device - Apple Support

if necessary you can remove volumes from the Container if it got added in

Add, delete, or erase APFS volumes in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

if necessary you can erase and try again:

Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings