Home Forums Mac Software Mac Operating Systems Ventura questions (easy)

You may consider yourself practically obsolete, if you wish. But, I am at the awkward stage -- between antique and artifact -- and I am not buying it. You are still very much in the game and still learning.

Caution: If you don't use Migration Assistant you'll have to reset all of your network, etc. settings.

Your best bet is to let Migration Assistant do its job - It WILL take some time. - and then trash whatever it brought across that you no loner need.

If you connect the two machines back to back using Target Disk Mode, your old machine will appear as a disk drive mounted on the new machine and Migration Assistant should only take several minutes to complete the transfer and save you hours -- even days -- of time and tedious effort.

Here’s what I would do….as a person who always prefers the least complicated method. If you know you are going to delete a bunch of documents, you have a choice to make: “Delete them before the transfer” or “Delete them after the transfer” or “Delete some now and the balance after”.

First thing to do is pick one way or the other. I would definitely NOT combine the task of making deletion decisions while I’m getting my new machine match the old one. That has the potential for errors that may be a pain in the patoot to fix.

You have until Tuesday to be making deletion decisions in a leisurely (thoughtful) fashion and, if you’re not done by then, do the rest after taking joemike’s advice.

FYI, when I changed to my current machine, I used Target Disk and it worked like a charm.

Don't presume gender based on a reference to a husband.

You may not like this but the easiest and safest way to do that would be, in step-by-step sequence

1. Backup your old system to an external hard drive using Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper (the HD will remember the data far longer than any SSD, thumb drive, and will be usable longer than a CD or DVD.)
2. Store the HD in a safe place just in case you do need some of that old data. A safe-deposit box would be good -- if you have one. (NOTE: If you lose that old data, Murphy's Law guarantees you will need it at the mos inconvenient time. If you have the backup, it is unlikely it will ever be needed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
3. Delete all the data you believe you no longer need from your old computer.
4. Connect your old and new computers back to back using Thunderbolt or USB cable
5. Boot your old computer into Target Disk Mode
6. Boot your new computer and use Migration Assistant to move everything from the old computer to the new computer.

Depending upon the old and new Macs, that will require at least one, possibly two, adapters, but until Bensheim specifically identifies both, there's no way to know.

Can the job be done sans cables?

There is no wireless way to use Migration Assistant. I suppose, if she elected to forego Migration Assistant and manually renter all of her settings, and reinstall all of her applications, she could copy the data files to an SD card(s) or thumb drive(s) and transfer them that way, but it could take several days and there would be a substantial risk of data loss and/or typos in the process. (I have been through the manual process once and with luck I will never have to do it again. I would think the price of a 1Meter Thunderbolt cable and one Firewire adaptor would be well worth their cost. She might not even need an adaptor.

It just dawned on me that If she has all of her apps and settings set to be shared on iCloud, those could be restored simply by turning that on in her new computer and waiting for all of the mail, passwords, etc. to populate on the new machine, in fact, IF she has Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive ON and Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Desktop and Documents folder ON unless she has her data files other than in the Documents folder those too can be automatically repopulated on the new machine. It will take some time, and she may have to shuffle some things around to suit, but that would be as close to wireless as you are going to get. I know your reluctance to use iCloud, but that is a very handy side benefit.

Well, she can just do it via ethernet like she originally intended, particularly since it sounds like both new and old Macs have got ethernet ports, the problem being that she can't avoid importing all that old business stuff, so she'll just have to grin and bear the looong wait, and she can then either offload what she doesn't want or just trash it.

While iCloud sounds like a desirable option, I doubt that it will come into play here. but thanks for pointing it out. As for my future, an external clone of "Data" will do the job.

Many thanks for this helpful advice, and many thanks too, to everyone else who has replied so energetically.

I really don't think the data transfer will take that long. Here's a screen shot if only I could remember how to post it.... screen shot of disk usage

62GB of data to transfer isn't huge, but the critical factor will be transfer speed, which will probably be on the slow side.

Brew up some tea, and enjoy the wait.

Good luck!

I just cleaned my keyboard. I thought - new computer coming, dirty keyboard.

It looks FANTASTIC and even brand new. It only took about half an hour.

I unplugged it and took it to the dining table, first putting down some newspaper. Then, starting at the left side and working in sections, I sprayed it with some isopropyl and waited a few seconds. Then I rubbed each key with an antiseptic wet wipe, tackling the base between each key with a cotton bud wrapped in wet wipe. Then I moved on to the middle section and finally the right hand section. Then I plugged it back in again.

Ta-Daa!

I always keep a box of isopropyyl alcohol prep pads around for that. They are useful for cleaning the keyboard, trackpad, and screen on my various electronic devices and there is no risk from the detergent, water, perfume, or lotion which are often present in wet wipes. I even use them in my shop for removing the sub-microscopic sanding dust before applying the final finish on a project.

I have a can of contact cleaner that works well, too. I spray it on camera lens cleaning cloths and start rubbing. The tricky stuff needs a Q-Tip (cotton bud here). I also keep isopropyl alcohol. When I bought it from the pharmacy (chemist here) I got an aggressive, "What do you want it for?" I said, "For cleaning my tape heads." Shows you how long ago I purchased it.

Apple recommends water to start on screens and 70º isopropyl alcohol for tough smudges.

The "Geniuses" weren't aware of that last time I was at the Apple Store, and the stuff they brought out that they use didn't make a dent in my problem, which 70º ultimately solved.

I have even heard of big box store techs recommending running keyboards through a dishwasher cycle, but I am sticking with isopropyl alcohol prep pads. They work and they are safe.

UPDATE

I'm going round in circles here. Never known anything like it. Computer arrived, unpacked it, set up on desk next to this one, plugged in ethernet cable, borrowed keyboard from husband's iMac. Switched it on.
First thing I had to do was set up an Apple ID. WHY? Anyway, I got through all that and proceeded to desk top, changed the lurid background colour. Then tried Migration Assistant.
It wouldn't "see" this older iMac.
I thought, ok, I'll twiddle with some other settings and come back to that.....

Then I realised I had to tell the new iMac about my network, so I found that, chose my router from list it could detect in this area, eventually found my wifi password to get into it, typed that in, then lo! new iMac CAN SEE this other older iMac. Good.

Retry Migration Assistant. It wants my ADMIN PASSWORD to proceed.
I haven't told it an Admin Password yet, so I tried the "computer account" password.
No. It won't have it.
Again and again.

THEN it must have gone to sleep, because now when woken up, it wants my password to get back in. Now I'm completely LOCKED out!

I phoned the website who sent it, they only communicate by email, so I'm back to you folks for some help, otherwise it's just a useless shiny thing on the desk here.

Waaaaa!!!!

Creating an admin password is one of the first things you do when you unpack a new Mac and go through the setup procedure.

It sounds like you didn't have to go through that procedure...that the vendor did it for you, so they might have given you no password as your password.

Next time you're asked for your p/w, try just clicking on return and see if that gets you in.

By the way, whoever sold you this Mac and didn't send it to you in "factory mode," i.e., requiring initial user setup is a jerk!

(Is there, perhaps, a note from the vendor that's got your p/w that you overlooked?)

OK, it's up and running, I'm typing on it now.

I was talked through the Terminal screen, where I successfully reset the Admin password (to what my previous one was!) PHEW!

The vendor didn't do that, he isn't a jerk.

Now I'm trying out everything to see what's changed from Mavericks. I had to download latest versions of Numbers and Pages from App Store (which I did with some trepidation, having been round the houses about five times with their security protocols - endless security numbers sent to my mobile phone, endless logging in repeatedly, but that worked. There's another app I use which the developer's website says to buy from aforesaid App Store, didn't think I'd have to pay again, but that's small potatoes in the scheme of things.

More follows, no doubt.......

Well, if the vendor didn't do it, who did?

The vendor sent you a "new" Mac that wasn't in factory setup mode as it should have been. You most assuredly should NOT have had to go through Terminal to be enabled to log in to a new computer.

Yes, the vendor IS a jerk...an incompetent one to boot!

I wonder why Migration Assistant didn't bring that app across from your old Mac to your new one?

If you initially bought it from the App Store, you can download it again without paying.

And, by the way, it's a good idea to get into the habit of saving installers when you buy apps from other than the app store so you've got them to reuse in instances like this.

In attempting to set up my new iMac I had to go through the torture of setting up an Apple ID, which could well have waited. What happened was this, but I cannot remember the details as I grew more and more exasperated.

My ID was shown as : Firstname Lastname
Then it changed to: firstnamelastname (all lower case with no space)
THEN it changed to: myemailaddress

By then I had set up two passwords: one for the Apple ID and the other for my computer log in. Understandably, I could not tell which sodding password it wanted. Both were rejected. In despair I rebooted, and was stuck on a log in screen which rejected both passwords. I appealed to the vendor who sorted all that mess out by getting me to do the Terminal Screen thing (which was a new, and nerve-shredding, experience).

Back into the iMac, I could proceed. I rejected its attempts to get me to complete my Apple ID again. I found that I could do Migration Assistant by asking the two iMacs to do this in the correct order. That took one hour, I timed it.

To my amazement, the trash can from the other iMac came over intact (does anyone else realise this will happen)? Some of the apps didn't work but I downloaded them from Apple store, having completed the Apple ID. They're here now but I haven't checked their functionality yet compared with original documents/spreadsheets.

A priority was those commercial websites which stopped working for me on Mavericks (previous iMac). I had to upgrade Firefox. That took a bit longer than expected, but it's here. Two of those websites are now ok. I'll assume others are too.

Bookmarks transferred over seamlessly, BUT they are very gappy, with one line then a space then a line then a space. Mr. Google says many people have complained about this too, and it's Firefox not Apple.

Back to systems preferences, Screen Saver does not work. It just shows a boring display of solid colours, not the attractive images selection which I'd chosen. Mr. Google says many people are also complaining about this, and it's Apple/Ventura, not me, not my computer.

Widgets are ridiculously limited and near useless. (I did ask about this higher up this thread.)

Helpful comments welcomed, as ever.

I'm back on this Ventura trying things out to see what does and what does NOT work.

Printer works, Phew.

Scanner sort of works then stops. HP do not support Mac OSs beyond 10. I tried Image Capture which sort of works then stops.
Now I have to buy a new scanner which WILL work with Ventura, if such a thing even exists?

Photo Library. Oh yeah it's still there and I can open them one by one, but there is no display as there was before on the previous iMac. When researching this particular issue, a message popped up saying Mac do not support Photo Library beyond Monterey. IMPRESSIVE!!!

I quit using HP some years ago because of recurring driver issues. For what it is worth, the Fujitsu Scansnap line of scanners has maintained good Mac support for decades. They are really fast, but they are double-sided sheet feeding, not full page. I also use a Canon G-3060 printer/flat bed scanner that uses Apple Air Print drivers. I look for printers and scanners that are Air Print© compatible, that way there is never a question of drivers. Even better, the Canon has used less than half of the original ink fill in two years of use and is wireless.


They were not competitive with Photos (née. iPhoto) that comes on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, so it didn't pay to keep up with Apple's fast development schedule. Try exporting the images from Photo Library on your old Mac and then importing them into Photos on the new Mac via the same connection you used for Migration Assistant.