Migration Assistant Not Working As Expected In Big Sur

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Hi ... I'm sure this question has been answered, but I was not successful in finding any relevant posts using the search tool, so ...

I recently got a mini with Big Sur installed on it. It has a 256GB SSD. After upgrading to the latest maintenance level on Big Sur, I wanted to use migration assistant (MA) to transfer files from the older mini (running El Capitan) to the new mini. The El Cap mini is using around 60GB of space on its hard drive, so it should easily fit on the new Big Sur mini.

Started up MA on Big Sur, told it to transfer files from another mac. Both minis are on the same wifi network, and I can access files on the El Cap mini through the network from the Big Sur mini. BUT - all MA does is show a spinny icon and says it's looking for other servers. Not sure what the issue is here - can you help?

Regards,
Bill S.
 
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Hi ... I'm sure this question has been answered, but I was not successful in finding any relevant posts using the search tool, so ...

I recently got a mini with Big Sur installed on it. It has a 256GB SSD. After upgrading to the latest maintenance level on Big Sur, I wanted to use migration assistant (MA) to transfer files from the older mini (running El Capitan) to the new mini. The El Cap mini is using around 60GB of space on its hard drive, so it should easily fit on the new Big Sur mini.

Started up MA on Big Sur, told it to transfer files from another mac. Both minis are on the same wifi network, and I can access files on the El Cap mini through the network from the Big Sur mini. BUT - all MA does is show a spinny icon and says it's looking for other servers. Not sure what the issue is here - can you help?

Regards,
Bill S.
File sharing needs to be enabled on the source Mac. Systems Preferences -> Sharing. Click on the padlock and enter your password. Under Service, click on the File Sharing box to turn it on.

On the target Mac, from Finder, Go -> Computer. When the Finder window opens, double-click on Network to make sure the other Mac is connected. Proceed with Migration Assistant.

Depending on the amount of information to transfer, this might take time. You may wish to try connecting the two with a cable (USB, Thunderbolt, or Ethernet, depending on available ports) in Target Disk Mode. Basically, you need to start up the source Mac and immediately hold down the T key until you see the indication on the screen. Then connect the two and the new Mac should recognize it as an external drive.
 
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1) Yeah - it helps to read the directions - thanx. After following the Apple tutorial, which is essentially the same as your notes, I got it to work. But ...

2) None of the mail accounts or mailboxes got copied over. Is there a technique for copying over the mail accounts and saved mailboxes from one mac to another?
 
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1) Yeah - it helps to read the directions - thanx. After following the Apple tutorial, which is essentially the same as your notes, I got it to work. But ...

2) None of the mail accounts or mailboxes got copied over. Is there a technique for copying over the mail accounts and saved mailboxes from one mac to another?
In my experience, whenever I did a full recovery, my mail always had to be (automatically) imported from iCloud, except for messages that I keep in the On My Mac mailbox. It takes a little while for everything to get updated.

Now that I think about it, all my other mail accounts (Google, Pair, Yahoo!, and Comcast) all get updated as well. I’m not sure if it has to do with my setting them up in the Apple Mail app. It has been a great number of years since I tried using another mail program other than Apple Mail, so I cannot even recall if there were any issues in this regard.
 
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Researching this, it appears as though I can export the mailboxes on the El Cap mini, and then, since I can access the El Cap mini's hard disk from the Big Sur mini, I can simply copy the .mbox files over to Big Sur mini and import them. So this is a possible solution if no one has any better ideas, but this seems like a task that could/should be automatable, and that is the kind of solution I'm looking for. Very surprised that migration assistant didn't do this for me.

As for iCloud solutions, never mind - I don't use iCloud. All that is is your files on someone else's computer, and I consider that too much of a security risk. What's more, if the iCloud servers or the network that they're on goes down, you lose access to your files. Not for me, thank you.
 

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