Just to note that for some of us, "hang[ing] on to an old system, for a time, until you production is back up and solid” is not a feasible option, if one is trading in to Apple the old machine: Apple provides only a 14-day window in which to receive the old machine (after one receives the return carton).
OnSun, 31 Jul 2022 18:44:15 -0400, [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>" <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > > ... in my experience working in IT for more than 2 decades is that it is > almost always better to manually migrate rather than use Apple's Migration > Assistant. > > First, consider what the Migration Assistant is doing... it is duplicating > your user accounts, copying third party applications, and the user settings > in ~/Library. That is all it is doing, and it is absurd how long it takes to > do these seemingly simple tasks. > > Rhetoricals: > > Are there a dozen distinct user accounts? Or is it a single account? > > How many applications are migrating? Are these Applications that required an > installer and have kernel extensions, or are they just bundles that install > with drag and drop? > > How vital or unreplaceable are these applications' user settings? > > > My recommendation is to start with a clean install of macOS with a mind > towards the next migration. Create your user account. If you are the sole > user, create an ~/Applications folder in your home folder, and install every > drag and drop application that you use there (this only works if it is a > single user on the machine, as other users won't have access to your user > folders). One by one, reinstall the applications that require an installer > and need to live in /Applications. Manually copy your documents over, which > is easy if they all live in ~/Documents. If you really need the settings... > you can manually copy your entire ~/Library over: > > (on new system) > sudo rm -rf ~/Library > > sudo cp -vpn /Volumes/old.machine.in.target.mode/Users/you/Library > ~/Library > > sudo chown -R you:Staff ~/Library > > But it is better to leave your old ~/Library behind and as you use your > applications on the new system, manually restore your settings and > preferences on the fly. The pain doesn't last forever. > > Reinstall XCode. > Reinstall macports from scratch. > On the old system, run > > port requested > temp.txt > > Use this created text file as a guide to restore all your ports, and consider > editing the file into an macports install script, just a list of install > commands for each port you had requested before, and run it. > > Sync your browser bookmarks to the cloud, then resync them down to the new > system's browser, or export bookmarks to a file and import them to the new > browser. > > > Then the next time you migrate, after creating a new account and logging in > on your new hardware, put one machine in target disk mode and copy and > replace the new user directories with your previous user directories, > wholesale, which if you created an Applications folder in there, this will > neatly reinstall all your applications that did not require an installer, > bring over all your documents and settings, and much much faster than > Migration Assistant. Then reinstall the applications that require the > installer. Reinstall XCode and macports and repeat the requested command as a > map, and reinstall all your ports. > > Hang on to the old system, for a time, until your production is back up and > solid. > > The next migration will be easier because it is mostly just copying your user > directories in one go, reinstalling a few other applications, reinstalling > XCode, macports, and individual ports. > > I guarantee you far better performance on the new system by rebuilding it > like this rather than using Migration Assistant, and the migration itself > will take far less time. --- Murray Eisenberg [email protected] Mobile (413)-427-5334 503 King Farm Blvd #101 Rockville, MD 20850-6667
