> On Feb 28, 2017, at 9:54 PM, Ryan Schmidt <[email protected]> wrote: > > I've just used Migration Assistant to migrate from one Sierra system to > another. Since both systems are the same macOS version, I wasn't planning on > following the Migration instructions in the wiki. (I was planning on > rebuilding gmp, since I know it builds for a specific processor.) I ran into > a problem that I haven't heard discussed before and I don't see addressed in > the Migration instructions. > > The problem is that the Migration Assistant explained that it would relocate > users' home directories to the /Users directory -- all those users accounts > that MacPorts had created for the various ports I've installed over the > years. (cyrus, postgres, rabbitmq, snort, squid, etc.) And also MacPorts' own > macports user account. It not only moved the home directories into /Users, it > also added the standard directories (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Library, > Movies, Music, Pictures) to each one, and edited the user account so that its > NFSHomeDirectory attribute points to the new location. > > Obviously, I didn't want Migration Assistant to do any of that. But I didn't > appear to be given much choice. For each user account, there was only a > checkbox, which I kept checked because I wanted the users transferred to the > new machine. I did not know what would happen if I unchecked the checkboxes: > Would those user accounts and their home directories not be migrated? Would > the user accounts be migrated without their home directories? Would the user > accounts be migrated with the home directories kept in the original locations? > > It looks like MacPorts automatically recreates its home directory in the > normal location, but does not update the NFSHomeDirectory attribute of the > user account. > > What should users do if they are in this situation? Manually move each home > directory back to where it belongs, delete the standard directories, and edit > the user account's NFSHomeDirectory attribute? (That's a lot of work.) Is > there anything users can do during or before migration to avoid this > situation?
I have no answer but building a port migration tool sounds like a good GSoC 2017 project. — Brad
