Multiple administrator accounts after migration to new iMac

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Level 1

14 points

Multiple administrator accounts after migration to new iMac

I bought a new iMac after I stupidly, accidentally fried my MacBook Pro. Fortunately I had just backed up the MacBook before upgrading it to High Sierra so I was able to use Migration Assistant when setting up the new iMac.

The problem is, in the portion dealing with name and password I got very confused. I tried using my name and password from the MacBook but was told I already had a user under that name and to choose another. Bottom line, I now have 3 administrator accounts, all different names, 2 of which have the same password, and 1 with a different password.

The one with the different password is the only one that has exactly what was on my MacBook Pro, so obviously that is the only one I want. The other two have mostly a clean slate but with some things from the MacBook Pro showing up as well.

Is there a way to clean this up? If I try to delete the two accounts that contain some of the MacBook Pro info, will that adversely affect the one account that is in the exact shape I want? If I can delete those accounts will I still have the programs, etc in them out there somewhere taking up space?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but if someone out there could help me get started on this I would truly appreciate it!

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017), macOS High Sierra (10.13.6)

Posted on Sep 24, 2018 9:40 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

dwb

Level 7

33,244 points

Sep 25, 2018 2:18 PM in response to bpgf

It sounds like you have an account that has everything you need. It is safe to simply delete the other two accounts, doing so will have no impact on the third account. To delete the accounts, open System Preferences and select Users & Groups. Click on the lock and enter the admin name and password of the account you want to keep. Select the account(s) you want to remove. (Note, you cannot be logged into an account you want to delete.)

You'll have three options: save the account's directory as a disk image, leave the account's directory on the hard drive, or remove the account's directory. You'll probably want to choose the last option.

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,488 points

Sep 24, 2018 10:08 AM in response to bpgf

when you use Migration Assistant instead of using Setup Assistant to migrate your data, MA creates a second user account where all your data is migrated to. You can use that new account as your normal user account. You could attempt to merge the 2 accounts, however it is easier to simply use the new account.

If you want to try to merge the two look over How can I merge two users on my iMac?

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Answer 3

bpgf Author

Level 1

14 points

Sep 24, 2018 6:51 PM in response to dwb

Thanks for your answer. Before I do that procedure though, I have one other quick question: When I go into Finder (using the account that has everything I want) and click on iMac under Devices I find an icon for Macintosh HD. Is that because everything I wanted migrated from my MacBook Pro hard drive? I assume that is supposed to be there? Or do I rename it, remove it, or just leave it alone? I'm guessing "leave it alone" but am curious to know what it is exactly. (The icons below are the ones that show up in my iMac listed in Finder.)