Migration Assistant - import some applications

Question

Level 3

840 points

Migration Assistant - import some applications

I have ordered a new iMac today and I was curious about Migration Assistant, when I import my applications from old iMac to my new iMac is there a way to only select certain applications? I have looked at it using my Macbook to my current iMac and there does not appear to be a way to select only the apps I want. Am I missing something or is this just the way it works? Also, if I can't select certain applications using Migration Assistant is there a 3rd party tool that will work that might allow this?

Thanks in advance

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Dec 13, 2012 8:14 PM

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Answer 1

sberman

Level 10

263,679 points

Dec 13, 2012 8:53 PM in response to iCrizzo

As this article says under "Wireless or Ethernet Migration", you do have a bit of flexibility in choosing exactly what gets migrated.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889

I would think at worst if you migrate too much, you can always delete the excess applications once they have migrated.

Enjoy your new machine!

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Answer 2

LousyFool

Level 4

2,662 points

Dec 13, 2012 8:59 PM in response to sberman

Allow me to add:

If you're migrating "too much", delete definitely the non-Mountain Lion compatible apps, or see that you at least uddate them to 100% compatible versions.

For app deletion, I recommend AppCleaner, it helps you to get rid of all sorts of files buried in the libraries.

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Answer 3

iCrizzo Author

Level 3

840 points

Dec 21, 2012 7:53 AM in response to iCrizzo

Thanks. Sadly the option Application option doesn't have a drop down arrow that allows you to check or uncheck applications from the list. It is all or nothing. I don't want to delete applications from my other iMac as I am keepig it as well.

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Answer 4

Lanny

Level 6

13,183 points

Dec 21, 2012 8:03 AM in response to iCrizzo

With a new Mac, you'll want to use Setup Assistant when you first turn on your Mac. Remember, using Migration Assistant, afterwards, doesn't allow migration for Users with the same user name.

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Answer 5

Dec 21, 2012 8:34 AM in response to iCrizzo

It might be useful to check application compatibility with Mountain Lion before you check applications in Migration Assistant. Not all applications install entirely within /Applications. PowerPC applications will not work in Mountain Lion. For each application you wish to migrate, you should confirm on the developers website that the application has support for Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8 +). Simply stating that the application is supported on OS X 10.6 or higher) is a recipe for subsequent aggravation.

There are important preparatory Apple guidelines before running Migration Assistant. For instance, make sure neither machine sleeps, and that Back to My Mac is disabled in iCloud preferences.

To be honest, I have never migrated applications with Migration Assistant. I prefer to research and reinstall third-party applications as their compatibility and my need permits.

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