Migration Assistant question

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Migration Assistant question

Hi, I used MA to transfer from my 5,1 IMac running 10.8 over to a new Mac Mini with 10.8.5. The Mini came direct from AppleStore with

10.8 pre-installed and this was my next step. I wondered in retrospect if i might be transferring over any problems that i've had sporadically

with the OSX on the IMac .. things like Finder crashes, random app. crashes, Window crashes when scrolling large directories of files and

other glitchy sorts of things.... It didn't occur to me but someone suggested that I should not have transferred System or User files.

Is it too late to re-do the Migration Assistant process to the new computer - or possibly unnecessary(?) -- I have a full backup of the

source machine on an External HD. Just wondering if it's worth doing again and if so, how I would do it in a way that the new machine

is back in the state it was in 'out of the box.'

Thanks for any thoughts. Much appreciated!

Mike

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 21, 2014 2:50 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Jan 21, 2014 2:54 PM in response to MIKEinMICH

To go back to out of box state:

Install or Reinstall Mavericks or Mountain Lion from Scratch

Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.

OS X Mavericks- Erase and reinstall OS X

OS X Mountain Lion- Erase and reinstall OS X

Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible

because it is three times faster than wireless.

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Answer 2

MIKEinMICH Author

Level 1

20 points

Jan 21, 2014 3:07 PM in response to Kappy

Great, so i gather you think it's a good idea to go ahead and redo it?

Also i don't recall seeing options in MA that allow one to pick and choose too many items...

maybe i'm missing something - otherwise i would deselect a lot of things i don't need on the

new machine.

Thanks again,

Mike

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Jan 21, 2014 3:10 PM in response to MIKEinMICH

Yes, given what you've already stated. I see no issue with migrating over your data files and documents. But don't transfer much else. Reinstall your third-party software making sure it's fully compatible with the new version of OS X. If it isn't, then be sure to look for upgrades before you reinstall.

Do not reinstall any system software, system files, preference files, etc. I would also not transfer over the /Home/Library/ folder which could contain corrupted files that have caused the problems you have observed.

Make this installation as "clean" as possible. Better to take the time to install stuff from scratch, than to try and find why something is not working.

I always start from scratch with every new system even when i'm just installing a new release of OS X.

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Answer 4

MIKEinMICH Author

Level 1

20 points

Jan 21, 2014 3:27 PM in response to Kappy

Thanks! Appreciate the info!

Mike

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