Trouble updating from Monterey to Ventura.

[MacInWin]

Is it possible that I'm the only one whose having these issues?

Yes. Strange, but true. You had a hardware failure. They do happen, rarely. But Apple has now made it good under warranty, so you have a working machine. I can't speak to a "work" machine as it is not possible to know what has been done to it, but when I was working for a tech company, most of the tech issues were due to things the company did, for whatever reasons they might seem to think needed being done. And the local techs knew it. Whenever I had to take my machine in for some problem, all they would do is replace it with one off the shelf, restore my data and wish me luck until next time the customization bit me. The company? IBM. The machine? Thinkpad, made by IBM.

Go figure.

 

[Jimmysb]

Yes. Strange, but true. You had a hardware failure. They do happen, rarely. But Apple has now made it good under warranty, so you have a working machine. I can't speak to a "work" machine as it is not possible to know what has been done to it, but when I was working for a tech company, most of the tech issues were due to things the company did, for whatever reasons they might seem to think needed being done. And the local techs knew it. Whenever I had to take my machine in for some problem, all they would do is replace it with one off the shelf, restore my data and wish me luck until next time the customization bit me. The company? IBM. The machine? Thinkpad, made by IBM.

Go figure.

Have to agree about "company" laptops/PC, our IT was locked down and tampered with to prevent unauthorised use, not by other people, but by the user that there were constant issues.

 

[Rod]

Sturg, I can fully understand your paranoia but you did have a hardware replacement which does seem to indicate something other than just a software problem but because you were able to boot in Safe Mode it's also possible there was a software issue too.
I guess your problem boils down to, what do you actually need off the TM backup? If there are essential or important files then by all means restore them but I'd be inclined to shy away from applications/utilities. If you really want an application then download a fresh copy from the developer (not a secondary source).
If you restore things a few at a time you will be able to identify and remove them if you do encounter a problem.
I'm running the same device you have, a 2021 14" M1 MBP, my software and files are a product of a wireless Migration from a 2015 13" MBP. I have never had a problem like yours although I have had hardware issues with keyboards and batteries in the past.
Over the years I have regularly performed "clean" instals of new versions of macOS. Although not so necessary nowadays it was a good way of getting rid of old redundant software and leftovers.
Essentially this meant booting from another source, erasing the internal HD, installing the new macOS then restoring all of my files from the clone and applications from the app developers. That's pretty much what you have done.
I preferred a clone rather than a TM backup for this purpose because the structure looks the same as the internal HD. Below is a screen shot of a CCC clone of this HD.



As you can see it is simply a Finder window. I could drag anything from that to the desktop of my laptop and it would be moved there or I could use Migration assistant to restore some or all items as part of a new instal.
The point is a lot of the data it is unnecessary. I don't need, for example, to restore my Library, System Library, Users or Previous content. Things like the Application Support library, Helper Tools, Graphics, Installer Sandboxes ect ect all get created anew as required.
Just my personal files and applications need restoring. Yes, I have to reset my System Settings (Preferences), Permissions, System Files access ect. but this is a good way of reviewing them and in some cases removing them.

 

[sturg]

Rod, ty for this. When I received my computer back from the repair, they created a new user name of Gregory Sturgill with the new operating system of Ventura. My old user name before the repair was Greg Sturgill. So I had a couple of decisions to make before migrating my data. ONE: Did I want to keep BOTH users, or REPLACE the new with the old from the TM backup. I chose to keep both. Was this a mistake??
Then, TWO, I had to decide to what files to migrate. I had several discussions with APPLE about which files to bring over. The tech was confident that my "Greg Sturgill" user files and the applications would be fine. He was adamant about NOT migrating the "Other Files & Folders" and the "System & Network".
Then after the migration I restarted the computer and was unable to login as Greg Sturgill". The progress bar would go halfway across the screen and freeze, JUST LIKE IT DID BEFORE THE REPAIR. UGH!!
But then I was able to login as the other user "Gregory Sturgill" and then logout of that and login as "Greg Sturgill" . I was relieved to see that all of my stuff was, or seemed to be, transferred over.
The only issue now is that I get nervous going back and forth between the two users as there a LOT of stuff that pops up on the screens. So, overall, it works, but....it's a little different.
Should I just delete the new Gregory Sturgill user and keep the other??

 

[IWT]

@sturg

Until truly expert opinion from our senior members comes along - don't do anything, please.

ONE: Did I want to keep BOTH users, or REPLACE the new with the old from the TM backup. I chose to keep both. Was this a mistake??

I'm inclined to think; yes.

The only issue now is that I get nervous going back and forth between the two users as there a LOT of stuff that pops up on the screens. So, overall, it works, but....it's a little different.

A big reason for doing nothing yet.

Should I just delete the new Gregory Sturgill user and keep the other??

Again, wait. I got the impression that the "new" Gregory Sturgill user was working okay, but the "old" wasn't because of major permission issues?

Sturg: I don't have a clue as to the solution for a complex problem such as this, but I do know when NOT to dabble.

See what others advise first.

Ian

 

[sturg]

I have a call back scheduled with the original APPLE tech for next week. Will wait patiently for others to weigh in here and for that call back. ty, Ian

 

[Slydude]

The only issue now is that I get nervous going back and forth between the two users as there a LOT of stuff that pops up on the screens. So, overall, it works, but....it's a little different.
Should I just delete the new Gregory Sturgill user and keep the other??

I think we need a bit of an idea of what kinds of things are popping up before we can answer that well. Under Venturaa some of these are probably reminder messages about one-time settings that need to be entered/changed such as your Apple ID/password, and perhaps a few other settings that I am not thinking of at the moment.

As far as the second account is concerned I would leave it intact. Having a second administrator account around isn't a bad idea for troubleshooting purposes. If your primary account starts having issues but those issues don't occur when doing the same tasks in the second account, that often indicates some software/settings issue rather than a hardware problem.

 

[Rod]

Yes, I agree with the general consensus here. Don't do anything, at least not yet. There is no harm in having another user account, it takes up very little space and over time you will probably be able to use just one.
It's like keeping the backup of your old operating system after upgrading in case you need to go back, good insurance.

 

[sturg]

I think we need a bit of an idea of what kinds of things are popping up before we can answer that well. Under Venturaa some of these are probably reminder messages about one-time settings that need to be entered/changed such as your Apple ID/password, and perhaps a few other settings that I am not thinking of at the moment.

As far as the second account is concerned I would leave it intact. Having a second administrator account around isn't a bad idea for troubleshooting purposes. If your primary account starts having issues but those issues don't occur when doing the same tasks in the second account, that often indicates some software/settings issue rather than a hardware problem.

Slydude, the best way for me to show you what happens would be to take a movie of it as it happens in real time, but I don't see a way to submit a movie here on this forum. I could, probably, send you a video to your email address if I had it. My email address is [email protected].

 

[Jimmysb]

Slydude, the best way for me to show you what happens would be to take a movie of it as it happens in real time, but I don't see a way to submit a movie here on this forum. I could, probably, send you a video to your email address if I had it. My email address is [email protected].

Put the movie on YouTube or similar, and paste a link on the forum.

 

[Rod]

Just my opinion, and no need to rush into it any time soon. I'd save all of your personal data on an external HD, erase the device as for resale (the process is easy to find on line) and start afresh. The M1 makes it pretty easy.
Most of your data except non native apps and some personal files will be restored from iCloud and iCloud Drive.
It will be like a new to you computer and yes you will have to reset all your preferences (settings) but you will have removed quite a few redundant files and data leaving you with one user account and a device in new condition.
Dare I say you will also learn a lot about setting up Mac computers but don't rush it.
Concentrate on getting your email, essential apps and browsers up and running first.

 

[Jimmysb]

I have to admit, that on my Mini purchase, as a Mac newbie, I did fluff my Migration, not fully understanding the function properly, ending up with 3 users, all me, and have considered a wipe and re-install, but I have decided I can live with it, and will not bother.
My user Library is Jim2, having had Jim and Jim3 as well at the same time, and without faffing about cannot rename this.

 

[Rod]

Yes, it's really no more than an annoyance and the users Home folders don't take up much space. If you have no other software problems and have the time you could create a clone backup of all your data and at the next major macOS Upgrade erase and restore everything from the clone using Migration Assistant.

 

[sturg]

Sorry I haven't responded back in a while. Been dealing with some health issues. So after having restarted the device several times, it's kinda "worked out some of the kinks". It seems to NOT be having so many things popping up. I think I am going to keep the other user name. My question is: Does the computer now SHARE storage space on the main HD between the two different users? Is the drive partitioned in some way so as to keep things seperated properly between the two different user names? I am at work now so I can dig into this when I get home and am in front of it.

 

[ferrarr]

Yes, both users have separate storage space on the startup drive. There is a "Shared" user account if you want to share data/files between the two separate user accounts.