OS X Lion: Merge user accounts after Windows migration

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OS X Lion: Merge user accounts after Windows migration

Have just bought a new MacBook Air with Lion to my wife...

During the setup there was an option to run an assistant to move files, e-mail accounts and similar from an old Windows PC to the new MacBook Air. Unfortunately I didn't have access to my wife's old Windows PC at the time of the initial setup of the MB Air, but the instructions said it could be done later.

So we've installed MS Office and other things in the initial account. Yesterday I was about to start the "Windows migration assistant" and got all her outlook e-mails, photos, documents and stuff migrated from the old Windows PC into the MB Air.

Followed these instructions:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4796

In the instructions there's a note - reading:

Note: This process will create a new user account on your Mac to contain the Windows PC information that is migrated over. It will not merge the information with an existing user account on the Mac.

OK - so, now we've got the initial user account 'Maria' (which was setup during the primary installation and which holds all the MS Office programs and other settings and installations) - AND - a new user account 'Mia'.

The new user account ('Mia') holds all the old Windows Outlook e-mails, photos and documents, while the initial user account ('Maria') holds the MS Office package, other programs and settings.

So - is there any way to move the old outlook e-mails to the 'Maria' user account along with all the documents, photos and so on - in order to then just delete the new 'Mia' user account. Because it's not very practical to have two user accounts to switch between.

OR - is a complete re-install of the MB Air required and IF I would run the "Windows migration assistant" directly during the re-install would the files end up in the just one user account then ?!

Any help and recommendations would be wonderful...

THANK YOU !

Clabbe

Posted on Oct 1, 2011 7:09 AM

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Answer 1

RavLev

Level 1

9 points

Feb 17, 2012 3:43 PM in response to ClabbeW

Clabbe,

How did this go for you. I'm in exactly the same situation, having migrated all of my daughter's stuff (mostly iTunes) from a PC to her new MacBook.

Any advise?

Thanks.

RavLev

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Answer 2

Khrisi

Level 1

1 points

May 14, 2012 8:23 AM in response to RavLev

@RavLev

Don't know if you already did it,

but I was just in the same situation and this worked for me! thank you!

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Answer 3

Feb 20, 2013 6:26 AM in response to ClabbeW

I have a similar issue, but now involving an extra account...

I did the iMac setup out of the box and set up a user account let's call it "TrinGSter", but skipped the option to migrate any files at the time of original setup.

Then I ran the Windows migration assistant and as I wasn't sure how it would go and didn't want to port huge volumes of useless data across, so I only copied the music files. The migration assistant prompted me to create a new account "Tringster1". I then copied the music across, - planning to delete "TrinGSter" as described in the OP.

What I thought I was then going to do, was run the migration assistant once again and migrate the rest of the PC files - photos, docs etc. into the account I'd created "TrinGSter1. The problem is, it says this account already exists and I have to use a new name, so now it's prompting me to create a 3rd account.

This is now all starting to get a bit messy, as I'll have to create TrinGSter2, copy the files from that into Tringster1 and then delete the original TringGSter.

Is there an easy way to do this? I have no idea how to movefiles round on the iMac, I only unboxed it yesterday and am getting in a mess already! 😕

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