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Level 2

201 points

Migration Assistant in OSX 10.8.2

I have an ailing MBP 13" 2.26 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo w/ 8 gig of RAM, that depsite reinstalls of OSX 10.8.2, using Repair Permissions, etc in Disk Utilities from the installer disk, the Mac is still running irraticaly.

As a prior Apple Solutions Expert I find the best way to troubleshoot this is to wipe the drive clean and reinstall the software, etc. prior to replacing the HD altogether.

Can the Migration Assistant be used to successfully reinstall the User's Account data, such as for Mail data, etc., from a typical FW backup? And if so, are there any precautions, tips or techniques I should be aware of before starting, etc.?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), 8 GIG RAM

Posted on Jan 29, 2013 10:18 AM

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Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Posted on Jan 29, 2013 10:24 AM

Yes, but don't use Migration Assistant, use Setup Assistant, it's cleaner.

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33 replies

Merkaba22 Author

Level 2

201 points

Jan 30, 2013 6:09 PM in response to Pondini

Here's the thing, after double checking on the forums yesterday morning, before starting the process (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4743201?answerId=21048733022#21048733022), I was told that both SA and MA would "see" a typical FW backup, ie. not using TM (since I find TM too dumbed down for an old Apple Solutions Expert like me, haha) -- it has been my long standing hope that MA could do as I was informed it now do in OSX 10.8.x.

I found that neither SA or MA could see the FW dirive, subsequent inquiries directed me, perhaps erroneously, that these two apps only support USB -- I copied all the data from a FW drive to a USB drive with nothing to show for the effort.

Along the way I decided, in the clean install, to use TM to backup the original backup on the FW, which it did -- SA and TM failed to recognize that as well -- I found the work around for making both the Home Library and the Library in the backup visible and relied on the tried and true ...

So far, the only glitch is that the signatures I have in Mail show up in the selection (middle) column (Mail > Pref > Signatures) but the actual signature data is missing and is not availabe or appearing in a new mail document .... If you can direct me on that, that resolution would be very nice.

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Jan 30, 2013 6:28 PM in response to Merkaba22

Merkaba22 wrote:

Here's the thing, after double checking on the forums yesterday morning, before starting the process (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4743201?answerId=21048733022#21048733022), I was told that both SA and MA would "see" a typical FW backup, ie. not using TM

Ah, to most folks here, "a typical FW backup" is a Time Machine backup. That's clearly what the other posters and I thought you meant.

Setup and Migration Assistants also work with "clone" backups, also popular here.

So, what is your (not so) typical backup?

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Jan 30, 2013 7:23 PM in response to Merkaba22

Merkaba22 wrote:

So far, the only glitch is that the signatures I have in Mail show up in the selection (middle) column (Mail > Pref > Signatures) but the actual signature data is missing and is not availabe or appearing in a new mail document .... If you can direct me on that, that resolution would be very nice.

Generally you can recover your signature by copying it from a piece of Sent mail.

Migration Assistant in OSX 10.8.2