MB Pro - migration from account > account

Hi MrJoke,

Usually Applications are universal to accounts, since they're (usually) stored in the system-wide Applications folder instead of the account-specific Applications folder. In regards to migrating your data, you have two options:

Use the new account's public Drop Box

Each account on your Mac has a Drop Box that anyone can deposit data into. However, only the owner of the drop box can see what's inside.

To transfer your data via the new account's Drop Box:

1. Log into your old account.
2. Open a Finder window, then press Command-Shift-G. Enter the below path:

   /Users

3. Open the folder belonging to your new user account.

   If the name of the new user account looks similar to the name of the old account, you can tell the accounts apart by looking for a house icon. The account that you're currently logged into will have the house icon.

4. Open the Public folder to reveal the Drop Box. Drag any files you wish to transfer to the new account into the Drop Box. If necessary, open a second Finder window to navigate to the places where you wish to copy data from.
5. When done, log out of your old account and log into your new account.
6. Open Finder and press Command-Shift-G. Enter the below path.

   ~/Public

7. Your Drop Box should appear. Open it and transfer the files inside to where you wish to put them in your new account.
8. (Optional) Delete your old account. Note that if you delete the home folder for the old account, all files inside it are gone forever unless you made a Time Machine backup.

Use the root user account

The user account named root is a superuser in macOS and Linux, and traditionally has full access to all parts of the system. This account is disabled by default in macOS and is prohibited from modifying core system files. However, it can easily be enabled again, and has sufficient privileges to view and modify data in any account.

WARNING: The root user account is too powerful for normal use. It should only be enabled when needed and promptly disabled afterwards.

1. Log into an administrator account and open Terminal. Execute the below command:

   dsenableroot

2. Enter the required passwords when prompted. Terminal will not show any characters as you type the passwords. You'll first be prompted for your own password, then twice for the new root password.
3. If successful, quit Terminal and log out. Then, log in with the username root and the password you set for that account. After logging in, you might see Setup Assistant first. Complete Setup Assistant to continue.

   If you see a selection of user accounts on the login screen, click "Other" and enter the credentials for root.

4. Open two Finder windows. In both Finder windows, press Command-Shift-G and enter the below path:

   /Users

5. In the first Finder window, go into the old user account. In the second Finder window, go into the new account.
6. Transfer any information you wish to keep into the new account, then log out of the root user account.
7. Log into your new account and open Terminal. Execute the below command:

   dsenableroot -d

8. When prompted, enter your password to disable the root user account. If successful, quit Terminal.
9. (Optional) Delete your old account. Note that if you delete the home folder for the old account, all files inside it are gone forever unless you made a Time Machine backup.