Migration Assistant

Migration Assistant is a brand new utility that's part of Mac OS X 10.4. It enables you to copy user information from another Macintosh to the one you are using. This makes it possible to transfer your information from an old Mac to a new one or to add user accounts from another Mac.

The Migration Assistant is very easy to use. It provides clear instructions for completing every step and walks you through the process of copying user information. Simply double-click its icon to get started and follow the prompts. Figures 84 and 85 show examples of the first two screens you'll encounter.

Figure 84. The first screen of the Migration Assistant gives you a good idea of the kind of assistance it provides.

Figure 85. The Migration Assistant can copy user account information from two sources.

Tips

• The Mac OS X Setup Assistant may automatically perform the same tasks as the Migration Assistant, depending on your answers to questions during setup. I discuss the Mac OS X Setup Assistant in Chapter 1.

• The Migration Assistant can only copy user information from a Macintosh connected via FireWire cable or from another volume or partition on the computer it is copying to.

• The Migration Assistant requires that you authenticate as an Administrator when using it. This prevents unauthorized users from adding accounts to the computer.

• Most users will never need to use the Migration Assistant.