Migration Assistant constantly says "Loading Backup"

Thank you Eric Root! I had the same issue as others on this issue, where my iMac was stuck saying "loading backups". I rebooted in to Recovery Mode and was able to quickly start restoring from backup. Thank you so much for the suggestion!!!!!

Thank you! I was having a minor panic attack experiencing this issue. For others trying to fix this problem, here are instructions for Recovery Mode. "To use Recovery Mode, reboot or start your Mac and hold the Command and R keys simultaneously on your keyboard as soon as you hear the familiar startup chime (I pushed these keys immediately after I heard the computer start up). Keep holding as your Mac boots, which may take a few moments depending on its specific configuration."

I get a feeling that the Migration assistant fails/freezes on "Loading data" if there's an OS version conflict between the backup data and the running OS version. Especially if the backup data is on a newer version that the running OS. I had this issue with newer OS on the backup which Migration assistant apparently could not handle when trying to load to the older version on the Mac. This "loading backup" went on "forever". Once I started up in recovery mode and chose restore , then it worked !

maxrobert's observation helped me with this problem. During a repair by Apple my MacBook Pro's disk was wiped. I tried to restore to the Time Machine backup I made just before taking it in for repair. After getting the laptop back, my attempts to restore were stalling on the "Loading backup..." popup in the Migration Assistant when I attempted to restore. Using Cmd-R and restoring from Recovery mode wouldn't work either.

A look at the laptop showed that Apple had rolled back the OS to the original version of Sierra. I had done the backup with the latest version of High Sierra.

Instead of attempting to restore, I set up the laptop as a new installation I applied the OS upgrades necessary to get to the latest version of High Sierra. With that in place, I did a Cmd-R boot to Recovery Mode and did a Restore from Backup successfully.

With the OS upgraded to the version I had used for the backup the Time Machine restore worked as it should.

Has similar issue. I figured out, that if backups keep loading, these will show up on previous page and you can access backup from there. Just click back button and backup will show up there as extra "Time Machine..." Click it and it will show the backup information.

Same issue here. I have two time machine backups on my AirPort Time Capsule. One for my old 2011 15" Macbook Pro and one for my fiancé's Macbook Air. The Macbook Air backup shows as available for restore from migration assistant, but the on I want, the one for my old Macbook Pro just says "Loading Backup" forever. If I go back after exiting it doesn't even show up anymore. The time machine backup completed successfully just the other night. Both machines are running Yosemite. New machine is brand new 15" Macbook Pro Retina.

If the 2 computers have the correct cable connections, try the Target Disk Mode.

Target Disc Mode

I just got a new mac mini 2014, I'm trying to transfer all the old info using Migration assistant.

I have a total of 4 machines backing up to my time Capsule.

When I open up the choose when backup to transfer information from all of the backups start with loading backup after a short wait all but the one I'm looking to use comes back with a Last Backup and a date.

On the one I'm trying to use is stuck on "Loading backup..." I have waited 3 hours for it to show a backup date but nothing.

All my photos and irreplaceable info are on that backup. I sold my old machine in order to buy the new one and I don't have any other way to get the files back.

This is not looking good.

I wonder if I have to wait for days for it to appear / return from "Loading backup..."

Dave

Same issue. The size of the backup has no bearing as the one that is accessible for me is the same size as the one that is inaccessible. That being said because of the nature of incremental backups it may be larger than what appears. Either way you should not have to wait days for it to recognize the backup. It should happen immediately.

I never found a solution so I had to go to my cloud backup to restore this machine I am using. I use Crashplan and was able to recover all my information but I am extremely disappointed in the effectiveness of the Time Machine Capsule. The reason I bought it and paid a premium over a USB drive was for compatibility. I could have just plugged a 3TB drive into the back of my router and been done with it.

In the end this is why I keep two backups one local and one remote, but I should not have to resort to cloud backup because Time Machine is a piece of junk. It should only be necessary for mechanical failures or damage to the the local backup.

This is bad news as I have no other backup.

Try booting into the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart) and see if you can restore from Time Machine there.

Tried that, I do get some restore options but when I select one of them it says that the hardware has changed. I had a mac mini server late 2012 and I got a mac mini 2014, there is not a server version so I don't know.

The lesson here is do not get rid of another computer before you get you new one and migrate every thing to it.

It ***** Apple did not account for a hardware change like this.

This is the first time apple products have let me down, and in a big way.

Check out: Setting-up a new Mac from an old one, its Backups, or a PC

You are welcome.

Command R worked a breeze from start up, solved my problem too, thanks everyone.