pc to mac migration woes

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Finally decided to make the switch. Tried the migration assistant twice (assuming I did it wrong the first time) but am very disappointed in the result. Now there are 3 users with some of the data in each account. Much of the files didn't transfer and what did was a mess. Most file/folder relationship was blown apart and machine was running dead slow. Decided to start from scratch and reload the OS. I followed the instructions and erased the disc but the reload would not start. Dialog box says "6 minutes remaining" but it never starts. Any insights (besides, "you shouldn't have done that") would be helpful.

Thanks

Paul
 

Raz0rEdge

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We have no information to go on..what Mac is this? What version of OS X? What were you using as your source for Migration Assistant?
 
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MacInWin

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Also, had you already created an account when you ran Migration Assistant? If so, MA will NOT put the data into that account (it's a security thing) but will create a new account. From your description, that sounds like what happened.

Once we figure out how to get it back to original condition, the first time you boot, you will be offered the chance to migrate BEFORE it asks you if you want to create an account. Take that opportunity to do the migration and the files/folders will arrive in YOUR account, with the account name being the same as on the Windows machine.

And welcome to the Mac world!
 
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Sorry for the lack of info. Migrating from a windows 10 PC to an iMac OS-X sierra. Also, on my second attempt to migrate I called support and they had me run updates and sent instructions for MA which were the same as I used on 1st attempt.
 
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Also, had you already created an account when you ran Migration Assistant? If so, MA will NOT put the data into that account (it's a security thing) but will create a new account. From your description, that sounds like what happened.

Once we figure out how to get it back to original condition, the first time you boot, you will be offered the chance to migrate BEFORE it asks you if you want to create an account. Take that opportunity to do the migration and the files/folders will arrive in YOUR account, with the account name being the same as on the Windows machine.

And welcome to the Mac world!

Yes, I made the mistake of using the machine before migrating, then when I attempted the 2nd migration it made another user. Good news....the reload has started. Turns out there was a wiring problem.
 
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We have no information to go on..what Mac is this? What version of OS X? What were you using as your source for Migration Assistant?

Good news.....it started reloading, but slowly. I'ts been saying 5 minutes remaining for the last 10 minutes.
 

IWT


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@missallpc

A warm welcome to Mac-Forums.

I realise that you are still in the middle of things, hopefully to be resolved shortly.

As you have discovered and others have said, you now have more than one User Account.

The following article describes how you could go about merging accounts: http://pondini.org/OSX/Transfer.html

Good luck.

Ian
 
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MacInWin

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And if that doesn't work well, or you decide not to try it, another way to get it sorted is to restore your system to as it was when new (no accounts, no data) and then reinitialize it again, but do the migration when it is first offered. If you decide to go that way, we can give you the steps to do that.
 
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Thanks for the welcome. Since I had very little data in the mac I decided to reload the OS. The reload went well and the migration appears to have gone smoothly I haven't had a chance to look at it closely.

Thanks

Paul
 
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Jake, Ian, Ashwin, Thanks for the input. I did the reload and the migration and just have to sort thru it now. I have 19000 photos but didn't migrate them...instead I put then on an externl drive. I guess the next step is to load the apps (Photoshop, Office, etc) and figure out how to get the files into them. Since I'm a mac newbee I'm sure I'll be spending some time on the forum....hope I don't ask too many stupid questions

Thanks

Paul
 

chscag

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Welcome to our forums.

And... there are no stupid questions. Many of us have made the switch from the Windows world to a Mac. So ask away and we will try to help best we can. :)
 
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MacInWin

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Let me suggest you use Photos to sort the pictures. You can import them from the external drive, then organize them. Here is a link to the Apple online guide to Photos.

https://help.apple.com/photos/mac/1.2/

BTW, it's generally a good idea to look at the Apple support site for the "how to do" stuff first. Apple is pretty good at putting the user manuals online.

One word of caution: I don't know what versions of Photoshop and Office you have, but Adobe can be sticky about letting you transfer the license from Windows to macOS. Ditto for Microsoft. You may need to contact Adobe directly to see if they will transfer the license. And generally the Office versions for Mac are different from the Windows versions.
 

chscag

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Microsoft will not allow a license transfer between Windows and Mac, however, they now have Office 365 which can be used on both a Windows PC and Mac. Generally though, as Jake has stated, the Windows version has features that the Mac version does not.
 
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It seems subscriptions are the future. I have Office 365.....it's $69/year. Adobe has a version of Photoshop called CC which allows me to switch between my PC and the Mac just by deactivating one machine and activating the other.
 

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