windows migration assistant

Question

Level 1

0 points

windows migration assistant

Hi everyone.

I have just changed to an Imac from Windows and am trying to use the migration assistant to transfer my iTunes music, photos, documents etc. I am using an ethernet cable. Both computers recognize eachother but the assistant (on the mac side) is stuck at "inspecting your computer". It never comes up with a list of stuff to transfer. I tried also with wifi - same result.

Would anyone have any suggestions?

Many thanks for your help

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6), Windows Vista on the PC

Posted on May 20, 2012 5:04 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

den.thed

Level 9

77,176 points

May 20, 2012 5:40 AM in response to Ixtcuintli

Have a look at > Switch 101: Migrate your Windows files or system to your Mac, perhaps you are missing > Windows Migration Assistant for Lion v1.0 for the PC.

Personally I prefer using an External Hard Drive formatted MS-DOS FAT-32 for sharing files between Mac's and PC's.

Reply

Answer 2

Ixtcuintli Author

Level 1

0 points

May 20, 2012 9:11 AM in response to den.thed

Hello den.thed

Many thanks for your reply. The migration assistant just seemed a hassle-free way of transferring a lot of my data. However, I do have a backup copy of all my important files (documents, photos, iTunes music etc) on an external hard drive.

In the meantime, I see that another user has the same problem i.e. the directory structure of the PC is never displayed on the mac so I cannot choose which files to transfer. I'm sure that it is not that difficult to transfer them manually but just a lot more time-consuming.

If you can think of any reason that the pc will not share the directory structure, please let me know (I have tried disabling the anti-virus and also windows firewall. to no avail).

Many thanks

Reply

Answer 3

den.thed

Level 9

77,176 points

May 20, 2012 10:08 AM in response to Ixtcuintli

1. At the bottom of the Switch 101 article, click on the little reveal arrow next to "Manually migrating" for more info.

2. You may need the > Windows Migration Assistant for Lion v1.0 to help the migrating process if you choose that method of transfer.

Reply

Answer 4

Ixtcuintli Author

Level 1

0 points

May 22, 2012 4:07 AM in response to den.thed

Thanks den-thed

I gave up on the migration assistant and am now transferring directly from a hard drive. A bit tedious, but I'm getting there.

Thanks for your help.

Reply

Answer 5

den.thed

Level 9

77,176 points

May 22, 2012 4:36 PM in response to Ixtcuintli

Your welcome!

Reply

Answer 6

fredct

Level 1

15 points

Dec 10, 2012 7:38 PM in response to Ixtcuintli

I know it's too late for the original poster, but I was having this problem as well. I quit migration assistant multiple times, relaunched, and it kept getting stuck on 'inspecting...'

I went ahead and rebooted both the Mac and PC, tried again, and it worked! Not sure which needed to be rebooted (although my hunch would be Windows because the Mac was brand new), but either way... when in doubt, reboot!

Reply

Answer 7

tauby

Level 1

0 points

Mar 6, 2013 3:37 PM in response to fredct

Thanks, fredct. I was having the same issue, but rebooting both machines worked for me too. Who knows why. (The two machines are connected directly via Ethernet - a Win7 box and a new Mac Mini.)

Reply