Prev: synchronizing two macs
Next: Do you partition your HD?
From: Newbie on 23 Jun 2010 23:26
I am most grateful for all the responses. I ended up getting a Firewire
cable (it is 9 pin to 6 pin) and used Migration Assistant. Speed was
good, but I have a new problem:

1. I am not the owner of these files I just transferred! You see, MA
didn't like the fact that I had the same name in both computers! So on
the new computer I had to choose a different name for the owner of the
old files. As a result I am not the owner.

2. This led to a whole host of permissions issues. I can extend the rwx
permissions to "all" as a quick fix, but the truth is there are some
files where I don't want to do that!

So, I am back to square one.

I have the firewire connection, old computer in target mode. Now, how
can I transfer my old files to the new computer while preserving my
ownership and the permission structure I had carefully created? I don't
mind starting over. I just want to get it right.

Thanks.
From: Newbie on 24 Jun 2010 04:36
Michael Vilain <vilain(a)NOspamcop.net> wrote:

> Make sure the username on both machines has the same UNIX id #. That's
> what the filesystem uses to store the "who owns this file" value. How
> to do that depends on the version of MacOS X you're running. And you'll
> most likely have to do it on the command line...

Having dealt with all this for a few hours, I can appreciate that there
is a fine art here and the task cannot be fully automated. Here is what
I mean...

My old PB is running 10.4. I have Apple apps in /Applications, most
non-Apple ones in my home directory, but the some non-Apple apps
insisted on going to /Applications. The new Imac is running 10.6.

Transferring user files at the very beginning seems to be one way to
avoid ownership issues. However, if I transfer all old files wholesale,
then I'd have essentially have 10.4 experience, not 10.6.

So I don't want to transfer any old Apple stuff - I want what comes
with 10.6. However, I do want to transfer my old settings for Apple
apps, supporting data (caches, cookies, bookmarks, etc), my home
directory, and any non-Apple apps I had.

After a few false but educating start my plan for tomorrow is to:
(1) Wipe out new HD
(2) Reinstall 10.6 from disk
(3) Transfer old files with Setup Assistant so ownerships are ok
(4) Not transfer the Application folder

After this I'll probably have to sit down and manually tweak whatever
seems necessary.

Are there any obvious flaws in this plan? :)
 | 
Pages: 1
Prev: synchronizing two macs
Next: Do you partition your HD?