Buying a new Mac is hugely exciting. But if there’s one thing that takes the edge off the thrill, it’s the prospect of transferring files from your old Mac to the new one. It’s not just documents, of course, it’s applications, settings files, caches and everything else that’s involved in setting up your Mac just the way you want it.

2020-3-20  I want to use Migration Assistant to transfer my data from a Macbook Pro to a Macbook Air. I'm told that I need my product key for MS Office 2011. How can I recover my MS Office 2011 product key? Ask Question Asked 7 years, 6 months ago. What is the best way to move Microsoft Office 2011 to a new Mac?

Some people, of course, like starting from scratch on a brand new machine. For the rest of us, who just want to get up and running as quickly as possible, there’s Apple’s Migration Assistant.

The Mac Migration Assistant makes it easy to transfer all your files from one Mac to another. It can also transfer files from a Time Machine backup or an external clone drive. And, if you’ve just come over from the dark side, it will even transfer files from a Windows PC!

Preparation for Migration Assistant

Before you do anything else, it’s a good idea to backup your old Mac using Apple’s Time Machine or another backup application. Better still, make a bootable clone of the startup disk. If something goes wrong with your old Mac’s disk during the migration process, you can still migrate from either the Time Machine backup or the clone.

Using Migration Assistant is very easy, but there are a few things to check and prepare before you get started.

• Check that both Macs are running the most up-to-date versions of their operating systems. If not, update them.
• Make sure all the applications on your old Mac are up-to-date.
• Make sure your old Mac is running OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or later.
• Check that your old Mac has a computer name by going to the menu and selecting System Preferences, then the Sharing pane. Check there’s a name in the Computer Name box. If not, add one.
• Connect both Macs to an AC power outlet.

With that all done, you’re ready to start! The next step is to connect the Macs to each other. There are number of options for this. If both Macs are running macOS Sierra or later, you can just place them next to each other and make sure WiFi is switched on both machines. Clever, huh?

If one or both are running macOS El Capitan or earlier, make sure they are both connected to the same WiFi or Ethernet network.

Target Disk Mode

If, for some reason, you can’t connect them wirelessly, you can connect them using a cable and use Target Disk mode. Target Disk mode can be used with Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), Thunderbolt 2, or FireWire cables.

You can connect USB-C to USBC (or Thunderbolt 3) using a Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C cable, though not the USB-C charging cable that comes with the MacBook Pro. To connect USB-C to USB-A, you’ll need a USB-C to USB-A cable that supports USB 3.0. You can also use Apple’s Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 adapter combined with a Thunderbolt 2 cable to connect Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2. And any Firewire cable can be used to connect Firewire-to-Firewire.

Once you’ve connected the two Macs, go to System Preferences on the old Mac, click Startup Disk and press Target Disk mode then click Restart. Or, if the old Mac is powered off, boot it while holding the “T” key. The old Mac will now mount as a disk volume on the new Mac.

Using Migration Assistant to transfer files from one Mac to another

Now you’ve connected the two Macs together, or used Target Disk mode, you’re ready to use Migration Assistant.

On the new Mac

1. Go to the Utilities > Applications. Double-click Migration Assistant to launch it.
2. Click Continue.
3. Choose the first of the three options on the next screen: “From a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk.”
4. Click Continue.

The next four steps only apply if you didn’t use Target Disk mode to connect the two Macs. If you did, you can skip them. Likewise, if you wanted to migrate from a Time Machine Backup or cloned drive, you would give these four steps a miss.

On the old Mac

1. Open Migration Assistant from the Utilities folder.
2. Click Continue.
3. This time, when you see the options for how you want to transfer data, choose: “To another Mac”
4. Click Continue.

Back to the new Mac…

1. You’ll be asked whether you want to migrate from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk, choose from a Mac.
2. Click Continue.
3. If you see a security code after you click Continue, check your old Mac and make sure it is displaying the same security code.
4. Click Continue on the old Mac.
5. You should see the name of your old Mac appear in the Migration Assistant window on your old Mac. Click it.
6. Click Continue.
7. You’ll now see a list of the data on your old Mac. If you want to transfer everything, check all of the boxes. If not, check only the boxes that describe the data you want to transfer.
8. Click Continue.

At least one of the options you’ll see on-screen in Step 7 will be a user account. If you have more than one user account on the old Mac, you’ll see them all listed. If you choose to transfer them, the whole account will be transferred and a new account created with the same name. If you already have an account on the new Mac with the same name as one of the accounts you’re transferring, you’ll be asked whether you want to rename the account on the old Mac. If you do, a new account will be created on the new Mac with the new name you provide. If you don’t rename the account, it will overwrite the account with the same name on the new Mac.

The transfer could take several hours, depending on how much data there is to copy, so go and make a coffee!

Transfer files from a Time Machine backup with Migration Assistant

The process of transferring files from a Time Machine backup is the same as described above, except that you can ignore all the steps that involve the old Mac. And, when you’re asked whether you want to migrate from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk, choose Time Machine backup. On the next screen, choose the backup you want to migrate.

Tip: There is a way to reduce the time it takes to transfer all files from one Mac to another — get rid of data you don’t need before you start. The fewer files Migration Assistant has to transfer, the quicker it will be.

The best way to get rid of files cluttering up your Mac is to use CleanMyMac X. It identifies files you can safely remove from your Mac, including system junk, unnecessary Photos files, and large and old files. It can also safely uninstall applications you no longer need. Give it a try and you’ll find you can reduce the amount of data you need to transfer by several gigabytes.

Transferring files from one Mac to another using Apple Migration Assistant is very easy. It can take some time to complete, but you can reduce that time by getting rid of unwanted files using CleanMyMac X.

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Welcome to the fold. You're anxious to use your Mac, but you've amassed years of data on that PC. Switching platforms doesn't mean starting over: You can still use those old files. Apple makes it easy with a free utility called Migration Assistant. Here's how it works.

What is Migration Assistant and how do I get it?

Migration Assistant is a utility Apple includes in the Utilities folder of every Mac. You'll see it when you first start up your Mac, when your Mac asks you if you want to transfer data over from another Mac, a Time Machine backup, or a PC. Apple makes the app freely available for download for transferring to your Mac. You'll need specific software, depending on what macOS or OS X operating system you're transferring to. You'll need to download the Migration Assistant software to your PC before you begin. Below are the following software links, depending on which Mac operating system you're migrating too.

Migration Assistant will help you transfer files from a PC running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 operating systems. The Mac and the PC both have to be running Migration Assistant.

Both should be on the same network in order to find each other. The data migration may take several hours depending on what's being transferred and what means are used: Wi-Fi is slower, a wired Ethernet connection is faster. But one way or the other, your patience will be rewarded.

What actual data gets transferred will depend on which version of Windows you're using, and what programs created your data. Bookmarks from Internet Explorer and Firefox will be brought into Safari, for example. iTunes content and image files should make it over as well. System settings will get pulled over. You'll be able to specify what other files you'd like to bring over, too.

Email, contacts, and calendar information are where it gets a bit tricky. The bottom line is that Migration Assistant will pull over your email account information, and if you're using Microsoft Outlook, it should pull over your email messages, your contacts, and your calendars. Other programs may vary. Apple has posted a detailed chart of what gets migrated over to help you understand.

What you need before you start

Before you get too excited and try to start transferring your PC's data to your new Mac, you'll need to have a couple of things at the ready.

• You must have the administrative username and password associated with the PC.
• Both computers must be on the same network, either through Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
• You should perform a drive performance check before running Migration Assistant or you may not be able to properly use the software.

1. Click on Start on your PC.
2. Click on Run.
3. type cmd into the Run window.
4. Press Enter.
5. type chkdsk into the Command window.
6. Press Enter.

If your drive performance check uncovers issues, you'll need to run a drive repair process.

1. Type chkdsk drive: /F (Change the name 'drive' to whatever the name of your Windows startup disk is) into the Command window.
2. Press Enter.
3. Press Y when prompted.
4. Restart your PC.

You will need to repeat the steps above until the drive performance check returns without any issues. You can then use Migration Assistant to move your data to your Mac.

How to migrate your data from your PC to your Mac

Assistance Programs

First, connect your Mac to your PC either through Ethernet or by making sure both computers are on the same local Wi-Fi network.

On your new Mac:

1. Launch a Finder window.
2. Click on Applications in the sidebar.
3. Double-click or control-click on the Utilities folder.
4. Click on Migration Assistant.
5. Click Continue.
6. Click From a PC. when prompted to select how you want to transfer your information.

7. Click Continue.

On your PC:

1. Make sure you've downloaded and installed Migration Assistant on your PC.

2. Launch Migration Assistant on your PC.

   • Launching Migration Assistant on the PC is a one-way trip: It's only designed to transfer data from your PC to a new Mac. After launching it, Migration Assistant for Windows will try to connect to its Mac counterpart. A security code will display on the screen.

3. Confirm that the code on your PC is the same on your Mac.

4. Select the files, folders, and settings you want to transfer from your PC to your Mac.

5. Click continue.

There are other ways to move files between Macs and PCs. Thumb drives will work on both machines, so you can manually transfer whatever files you want to use, for example. But Migration Assistant provides an elegant, convenient and absolutely free way of managing the transition to becoming a Mac user, as long as you have the time to use it.

Have any questions?

Put them in the comments and I'll help you out.

Updated September 2019: Updaated for macOS Catalina.

Windows Migration Assistant

macOS Catalina

Mac Migration Assistant Programs Microsoft Office 2013

Main

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