Upgrading to an Intel Mac? Don't use the Migration Assistant.
November 27, 2006
On April 1 of this year I upgraded from a 15” Powerbook to a 15” MacBook Pro. To make life easier for transitioning from one machine to another, Apple includes a utility on their systems called Migration Assistant. It’s a fantastic tool that copies your current environment onto your new machine. Everything on your new computer is as it was on your old; All of your customization and programs stay intact.
I used this tool to transfer all of my files and settings, and it worked like a charm. However, every once in a while my new laptop would slow down for no apparent reason. (1.5GB of RAM running TextMate alone should be enough.) Eventually I realized that the system was slow; Not overall, but little things that added up to a lot of waiting. Odd quirks of behavior eventually sprang up—nothing serious, mind you, but indeed bothersome.
Most of the slow downs seemed to be caused by the fact that I had used the Migration Assistant. I believe the reason for this is the switch in architecture from the Powerbook’s G4 to the MacBook Pro’s Intel.
So this last weekend I backed up all my files and re-installed OS X. (I also installed Windows XP via Boot Camp. I love Half-Life more than real life!) Even since I have reinstalled all my programs (including the PPC apps like Flash, Adobe CS2 and Office) and re-customized everything I have noticed a huge performance increase. Everything is more responsive. Applications open faster and perform better in general, OS X feels quicker, and I don’t have that weird problem of waiting nearly two minutes after boot up to start a program.
I don’t know what caused the slowdowns, but re-installing sure seemed to remedy the situation. This reinforces, in my mind, that using the Migration Tool across architectures is a bad idea.
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Comments
Wish I had googled "don't use migration assistant" before so doing. From iMac G5 to brand new Macbook (3/28/08). However, it did not work like a charm. I cannot find a single file transfered and it shows a 53 GB dent in my HD. I don't know, I want to reinstall OS X now, but I don't know how. I was so angry. Why do they portrait it to work if it doesn't? Ugh. Anyway, thanks for telling me. I've learned to google negative phrases as well now.
Posted by Jason
@Jason,
Your files are there, just not in the account that you created before you used Migration Assistant.
The files in the home folder of your newer Mac's account are in the Deleted Users folder, which is in the Users folder. If you transfer information the first time Setup Assistant asks you to, you would have avoided this situation.
Posted by Peter