migration assistant questions for iMacs

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Level 1

93 points

migration assistant questions for iMacs

So my wife is running Sierra on a 2011 iMac and now has purchased a new iMac. Her video card is giving up the ghost on the old one, so decided it was time to move on. She has a Time Machine backup.

Her old computer was doing quite a bit of beachballing at times and I'm not sure why (perhaps the 100K emails she has in Gmail - does Spotlight index those constantly?). Anyway, I'm pondering if it is a better idea to install fresh or to use the migration assistant.

She uses Apple's Photo Library (about 20K photos) and has it enabled on her phone. Mostly she uses Safari, Evernote, Pages,etc. Her docs are uploaded to the Cloud as are the Photos (originals kept on her computer). Evernote,Photos, Facebook, her Roboform Password Manager are all programs that can be redownloaded fresh and then synced. Her contacts are in the cloud. Since Gmail is her email provider, those would all re-download fresh. So I'm wondering if I want to try Migrate Assistant with the concern that it would bring over whatever was causing her machine to run slow vs a fresh install. I realize that if she starts fresh, iCloud would redownload all the photos to her computer - not a big deal.

If I do use Migration Assistant, I understand it is important to use it when the new Mac first starts up for the first time and not skip this step , as afterwards if you should try to use it, you can get Users sort of messed up. True?

Anyway, thanks in advance for your thoughts. Don't want to spend weeks trying to fix a mess I could create.

Mark

Posted on Apr 2, 2018 4:18 PM

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Answer 1

babowa

Level 9

78,722 points

Apr 2, 2018 6:01 PM in response to ATHiker95

As for the beachballing, it could simply be 1) an older, slower processor, 2) a slow 5400 rpm hard drive, 3) not enough free space on the drive, 4) not enough RAM installed. Difficult to guess when you did not post any information on the specs. So, as to the new iMac: what model/year, RAM, hard drive/SSD?

If I do use Migration Assistant, I understand it is important to use it when the new Mac first starts up for the first time and not skip this step , as afterwards if you should try to use it, you can get Users sort of messed up. True?

It can. If you use it while setting up the Mac, it is called Setup Assistant and that is only offered once during setup. Migration Assistant can be used any time, but since you've already set up a User account, it can cause some duplication problems. I've used both and would use Setup Asst again as it ports over the user account and works great (but I don'w use the other one again).

I can't address any cloud downloads since I do not use it due to privacy concerns, but be aware that if you wish to re-download all of those photos and whatever else, it will take a very long time. Gmail being her email client, it will be easy as long as it is set up as an IMAP account (emails are kept online ) - does she access it via the Mail app or directly via a browser window?

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

149,360 points

Apr 4, 2018 9:40 AM in response to ATHiker95

ATHiker95 wrote:

Does it matter when using Set Up Assustant if she is migrating from Sierra to High Sierra? I’m afraid to try and upgrade her old computer because it is crashing too frequently now. Thus the reason for using a Time Machine backup

Thanks!

Mark

No not at all, SA and MA do not migrate the Operating System only data files, applications, and settings. If you don't want to include one of those leave that box unchecked (this will be obvious when you begin) however you should know that if you check a box it's an all or nothing situation. This means for example if you check the applications box ALL applications will be migrated, you cannot pick and choose which apps to migrate. Due to this it's wise to update all the applications on the old machine prior to updating. On occasion some apps will not migrate, for example MS Office is famous for this, however I suspect you won't have any problems. If your wife's old machine does have MS Office installed and it does not migrate it will need to be re-installed on the new machine.

SA is really simple to use, just connect the Time Machine drive to the new computer before starting it and then start it up and follow the on-screen instructions. SA will get to a point where it asks if you are migrating from another Mac, select yes and continue to answer the on-screen questions. It's typical Apple, EASY!

BTW, when connecting the Time Machine backup to the new machine connect via USB only! Why?....simple it works!

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Answer 3

rkaufmann87

Level 10

149,360 points

Apr 4, 2018 10:26 PM in response to ATHiker95

Without knowing what is going on with either machine it's difficult to say. I'd recommend following the procedures below so we can check. Do it first on her machine and let look there. If you want to do the same process on your machine please begin a new thread and post the report. That is important otherwise it gets VERY confusing.

Please post an EtreCheck report of your system and we can look for any obvious issues. Please click the link, download and run the app and then post the complete report it produces as your reply to this message.

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

149,360 points

Apr 4, 2018 3:59 PM in response to ATHiker95

ATHiker95 wrote:

Thanks! Quite helpful! Do you know what they're migrating over in terms of “settings” ?

Mark

Your welcome.

When SA migrates settings it migrates all settings, so your new computer will "act" just like the old one. For example if you have a specific screen saver you use, it will be the same, if you have mouse setting set the way you like them those will come over too, anything in Settings will come over. In short all settings that have been customized on the old computer will migrate to the new computer so it looks and acts just like the old machine.

Personally I tend to like this functionality as it make takes away the hassle of tweeking a new machine to act how I want it to. I've already done that work on the old computer, why re-do it again?

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

149,360 points

Apr 7, 2018 1:02 PM in response to ATHiker95

Mark,

You are way over thinking this whole thing. Simply follow the on-screen directions, don't worry about what it's going to ask, when it's going to ask it and any of that. Migrating from an old Mac to a new one is dead simple. Just relax, when the new machine arrives, plug in the old computer's Time Machine backup via USB and follow the on-screen directions.

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Answer 6

rkaufmann87

Level 10

149,360 points

Apr 5, 2018 10:22 AM in response to ATHiker95

Primarily Chrome, horrible application from a RAM perspective. Safari is much better at managing RAM.

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Answer 7

rkaufmann87

Level 10

149,360 points

Apr 5, 2018 8:15 AM in response to ATHiker95

You nailed it the KPs are due to failing hardware, we cannot tell with the tools we have to tell whether is the GPU, a hard drive or something else. However that is likely your problem as far as performance.

I see some software issues that I'd fix prior to migrating. They are

If you use any Google software uninstall them, typicaly can be RAM hogs which isn't good. Apple alternatives tend to be engineered to work better with the hardware.

Also, please remember to update all the apps prior to migrating.

Finally:

Uninstall ScamZapper.safariextz from Safari.

Uninstall com.tunabellysoftware.TGFanHelper.plist

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Answer 8

babowa

Level 9

78,722 points

Apr 5, 2018 1:51 PM in response to ATHiker95

FWIW, I try to avoid anything Google (mainly because I do not care for their business policy of selling your information), but also because it is all a resource hog.

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Answer 9

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

93 points

Apr 2, 2018 6:58 PM in response to babowa

I didn’t explain well enough. My wife’s older computer is a 21” i5 which has 12 GB of Ram and about 1/2 of 1 TB still available. She doesn’t have the new computer yet. 27” i5 iMac coming on Wed with 16GB of RAM and 1 TB Fusion drive. She uses Mail but could use browser version of Gmail. Sounds like you are recommending the Set Up Assistant

I might also mention that our Internrt download speeds are 100-114 down and about 12 up.

Thanks,

Mark

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Answer 10

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

93 points

Apr 4, 2018 8:54 AM in response to ATHiker95

Does it matter when using Set Up Assustant if she is migrating from Sierra to High Sierra? I’m afraid to try and upgrade her old computer because it is crashing too frequently now. Thus the reason for using a Time Machine backup

Thanks!

Mark

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Answer 11

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

93 points

Apr 4, 2018 9:04 PM in response to rkaufmann87

do you ever find that you also may bring across problems from your old machine? Both hers and my iMacs run much slower than when new and who knows for sure why? - more beachballing etc. So I guess I wonder if I would end up back with those problems or would the new Fusion drive and newer hard drive , etc obviate some of that?

Thanks!

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Answer 12

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

93 points

Apr 7, 2018 11:37 AM in response to ATHiker95

so once i plug time machine drive into new machine and start up the new machine, will it ask me to create a User Name and password or will it skip that step since it sees a time machine backup plugged in? If it does ask, do I put in the User name of the old computer (she has no password - just leaves that blank) or ??

Thanks,

Mark

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Answer 13

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

93 points

Apr 4, 2018 3:24 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Thanks! Quite helpful! Do you know what they're migrating over in terms of “settings” ?

Mark

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Answer 14

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

93 points

Apr 5, 2018 9:02 AM in response to rkaufmann87

The failing hardware is her video card. Lots of pixelation appearing on the screen.

Do you mean google chrome? Google photos ?

Thanks again for all the help

Mark

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Answer 15

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

93 points

Apr 5, 2018 6:35 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Here is a copy of my wife’s report

EtreCheck version: 4.1.4 (4A203)

Report generated: 2018-04-05 08:08:30

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 8:24

Performance: Below Average

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

General overall slowness.
Some beach balling.

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

Kernel panics - This system has experienced kernel panics. This could be a sign of hardware failure.

Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems.

Apps crashing - There have been numerous app crashes.

Apps with heavy CPU usage - There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage.

Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed.

Unsigned files - There is unsigned software installed. They appear to be legitimate but should be reviewed.

Low performance - EtreCheck report took over 5 minutes to run. This is unusual.

32-bit Apps - This machine has 32-bits apps that may have problems in the future.

Hardware Information:

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011)

iMac Model: iMac12,1

1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-2500S) CPU: 4-core

12 RAM Upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333
ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333
ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

4 GB DDR3 1333
ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

4 GB DDR3 1333
ok

Video Information:

AMD Radeon HD 6770M - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 1920 x 1080

Drives:

disk0 - ST31000528AS 1.00 TB (Mechanical)

Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA

disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk0s2 - Macintosh HD (Journaled HFS+) 999.35 GB

disk0s3 - Recovery HD (Journaled HFS+) [Recovery] 650 MB

disk1 - Seagate BUP Slim BK 2.00 TB (Unknown)

External USB 480 Mbit/s

disk1s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk1s2 - S********M (Journaled HFS+) 2.00 TB

Mounted Volumes:

disk0s2 - Macintosh HD 999.35 GB (654.00 GB free)

Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /

disk1s2 - S********M 2.00 TB (1.42 TB free)

Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /Volumes/SEAGATE TM

Network:

Interface Bluetooth-Modem: Bluetooth DUN

Interface en0: Ethernet

Interface en4: iPhone

Interface fw0: FireWire

Interface en1: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n

One IPv4 address

2 IPv6 addresses

Interface en3: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

iCloud Quota: 127.96 GB available

System Software:

macOS Sierra 10.12.6 (16G1212)

Time since boot: Less than an hour

System Load: 2.49 (1 min ago) 5.12 (5 min ago) 3.28 (15 min ago)

Security:

System Status

Gatekeeper Mac App Store and identified developers

System Integrity Protection
Enabled

Unsigned Files:

Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist

Executable: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/Helper-Tool

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

Launchd: /Library/LaunchAgents/com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist

Executable: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/Java Updater.app/Contents/MacOS/Java Updater -bgcheck

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

Launchd: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.pia.pia_manager.plist

Executable: ~/.pia_manager/pia_manager.app/Contents/MacOS/runner.sh

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

32-bit Applications:

37 32-bit apps

Kernel Extensions:

/Applications/Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate.app

[Not Loaded] SystemAudioRecorder.kext (1.1.0 - SDK 10.6)

/Applications/zoom.us.app

[Not Loaded] ZoomAudioDevice.kext (1.1 - SDK 10.8)

System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded]
6 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 176 Apple tasks

[Running] 103 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded]
41 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 172 Apple tasks

[Running] 105 Apple tasks

[Other] 2 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:

[Loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2018-02-03)

[Running] com.epson.scannermonitor.plist (Seiko Epson Corporation - installed 2017-06-06)

[Loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (? 759261eb
- installed 2016-12-12)

[Running] com.epson.ecpd.launcher.plist (EPSON - installed 2014-07-10)

[Loaded] com.epson.esua.launcher.plist (Seiko Epson Corporation - installed 2017-11-07)

[Running] com.epson.eventmanager.agent.plist (Seiko Epson Corporation - installed 2017-06-05)

[Running] com.epson.Epson_Low_Ink_Reminder.launcher.plist (EPSON - installed 2015-01-19)

Launch Daemons:

[Running] com.tunabellysoftware.TGFanHelper.plist (Tunabelly Software Inc. - installed 2018-02-10)

[Loaded] com.malwarebytes.HelperTool.plist (Malwarebytes Corporation - installed 2017-03-15)

[Loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-02-23)

[Loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (? e3fefdd2
- installed 2016-12-13)

[Loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2018-03-05)

User Launch Agents:

[Running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist (Spotify - installed 2018-01-26)

[Loaded] com.pia.pia_manager.plist (? 0
- installed 2014-10-25)

[Loaded] com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed 2017-08-10)

[Loaded] com.facebook.videochat.jholmes55.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-03-19)

[Loaded] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist (Citrix Online LLC - installed 2017-05-05)

[Other] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-jholmes55@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist (? 0
- installed )

User Login Items:

iTunesHelper Application (Apple, Inc. - installed 2018-04-05)

(/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Dropbox Application (Dropbox, Inc.

(/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Alfred Application (Mac App Store

(/Applications/Alfred.app)

ThinPrint Cloud Printer Connector Application

(~/Applications/ThinPrint Cloud Printer Connector.app)

EvernoteHelper Application (Evernote - installed 2018-01-06)

(/Applications/Evernote.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/EvernoteHelper.app)

Evernote Application

(/Applications/Evernote.app)

Spotify Application

(/Applications/Spotify.app)

Backup and Sync from Google Application (Google, Inc.

(/Applications/Backup and Sync.app)

Wondershare Helper Compact Application (Wondershare Software Co., Ltd

(~/Library/Application Support/Helper/Wondershare Helper Compact.app)

EvernoteHelper SMLoginItem (Evernote - installed 2018-01-06)

(/Applications/Evernote.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/EvernoteHelper.app)

TGProLaunchHelper SMLoginItem (Tunabelly Software Inc. - installed 2018-02-10)

(/Applications/TG Pro.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/TGProLaunchHelper.app)

Internet Plug-ins:

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 3.2.0.16
(installed 2013-11-07)

FlashPlayer-10.6: 29.0.0.113 (installed 2018-03-19)

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2018-02-10)

Flash Player: 29.0.0.113 (installed 2018-03-19)

o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2015-12-16)

googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2015-12-11)

Silverlight: 5.1.20125.0 (installed 2013-07-06)

JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 121 build 13 (installed 2017-03-29)

User Internet Plug-ins:

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: 1.0.105 (installed 2013-11-03)

ZoomUsPlugIn: 4.1.20446.0209 (installed 2018-03-28)

Safari Extensions:

feedly-1.safariextz - The feedly team - http://www.feedly.com (installed 2013-06-26)

Evernote Web Clipper.safariextz - Evernote Corp. - http://evernote.com (installed 2018-02-05)

RoboForm.safariextz -
- http://www.roboform.com (installed 2018-02-09)

SessionRestore.safariextz - SweetP Productions, Inc. - https://sweetpproductions.com (installed 2017-10-12)

ScamZapper.safariextz - Apple Club - https://sites.google.com/site/appleclubfhs/downloads/scamzapper-info(installed 2015-05-10)

Add To Amazon Wish List.safariextz - Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/wishlist?ref=cm_wl_saf_ext(installed 2011-10-26)

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Flash Player (installed 2018-02-23)

Flip4Mac WMV (installed 2013-03-29)

Java (installed 2017-03-29)

Time Machine:

Skip System Files:

Mobile backups:

Auto backup: Yes

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB - Disk used: 345.35 GB

Destinations:

S********M [Local] (Last used)

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 75

Oldest backup: 2017-02-03 09:54:06

Last backup: 2018-04-05 02:20:15

Top Processes by CPU:

Process (count)
Source % of CPU

mdworker (21) Apple 5

WindowServer Apple 3

kernel_task Apple 2

mds Apple 2

trustd (3) Apple 1

Top Processes by Memory:

Process (count)
Source RAM usage

kernel_task Apple 866 MB

mdworker (31) Apple 449 MB

mds_stores Apple 408 MB

Dropbox (3) 155 MB

Backup and Sync
Google, Inc. 151 MB

Top Processes by Network Use:

Process Source Input
Output

Dropbox 59 KB
139 KB

mDNSResponder
Apple 68 KB
12 KB

apsd Apple 19 KB
27 KB

assistantd Apple 5 KB 3 KB

Top Processes by Energy Use:

Process (count)
Source Energy usage (0-100)

WindowServer Apple 2

mds Apple 1

mdworker (31) Apple 1

sysmond Apple 0

Backup and Sync
Google, Inc.
0

Virtual Memory Information:

Available RAM 7.96 GB

Free RAM 2.94 GB

Used RAM 4.04 GB

Cached files 5.02 GB

Swap Used 0 B

Software Installs (past 30 days):

Name Version
Install Date

Skitch
2.8.1 2018-03-23

Clean up:

~***********************************************************5@m***************** **************t

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/OSServices.framewor k/Versions/A/Support/CSConfigDotMacCert

Executable not found

Diagnostics Information (past 7 days):

2018-04-05 07:48:11 Last Shutdown Cause: 3 - Hard shutdown (once)

2018-04-05 02:46:21 Epson Customer Participation.app Crash (once)

BUG IN CLIENT OF LIBPLATFORM: os_unfair_lock is corrupt

2018-04-04 01:47:25 Software Update.app Crash (once)

*** Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInvalidArgumentException', reason: '-[NSXMLChildren name]: unrecognized selector sent to instance 0x7f8a1e668d40'

abort() called

terminating with uncaught exception of type NSException

2018-04-04 00:43:58 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent CPU (once)

2018-04-03 21:29:04 Evernote.app CPU (once)

2018-04-01 23:43:47 Safari.app CPU (once)

2018-04-01 22:20:07 Kernel Kernel Panic (once)

3rd Party Kernel Extensions: None

2018-04-01 19:18:56 Pages.app Hang (once)

2018-04-01 16:37:42 quicklookd.app Crash (once)

quicklookd seems struck trying to quit, crashing

abort() called

2018-03-30 22:16:49 Wondershare Helper Compact.app Crash (once)

End of report

Thanks!

Mark

(kernel panic reports are due to her failing video card)

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