Transferring files from one Mac to another

[Raven]

I'm setting up my silver door G4, OSX10.4.11, for my wife to replace her eMac.
I dumped all my work files first, and then transferred all her work files, emails, photos, etc using the Target Disk mode routine. So far, so good.

She started using it and found I missed a few things. Just asking her how to do this right...

iTunes: Do I just transfer the Music folder (4 gb) from her eMac and replace it in the G4?

Bookmarks: where do I find them? Is it a simple replace one for the other?

Mail: I had already transferred the USERS/HERNAME/MAIL folder. Her Mail Folders in the Mail window showed up, but no IN or SENT Folder or mail messages. I see an INBOX.mbox and SENT.mbox in a POP folder. Should these be the ones I'm looking for? If so, how do I activate them in

Mail Address Book: Where and how?

Thanks for your help, again!
:-)

[RobW]

I'll start with the iTunes transfer. (BTW, for bookmarks--which browser?)

Best way I've found to transfer my iTunes--including playlists, etc., is to do it via the backup feature. Go to file->library->backup to disk. Depending on the amount of songs, etc that you have, you may need more than one DVD. (It'll prompt you to do this.)


 [attachment=1827:backup.jpg]

When it's done, put your burned DVD(s) into the destination Mac, select "restore" and allow it to take over from there. One thing you'll need to do is to authorize the new Mac to play purchased songs. (You'll have to sign in to iTunes when you go to play one of the songs.) Depending on how many Macs you've already authorized, you may need to deauthorize one of the previous Macs you've authorized. (I think the number is 5, but I'm not sure.)

[jchuzi]

For Bookmarks: I assume that you are using Safari. The Bookmarks folder is found inside ~/Library/Safari. Probably, it would be best to copy that entire Safari folder, which will transfer all her Safari settings (history, passwords, etc.). If you are using a different browser, post back. Also, copy ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist.

For Address Book, copy ~/Library/Application Support/Address Book as well as ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.plist and com.apple.AddressBook.abd.plist (if she has that one).

Note: ~ is Unix for Users/her account

[Paddy]

QUOTE

Depending on the amount of songs, etc that you have, you may need more than one DVD.

I'd need TEN DVDs to do that with my library, Rob!!

Me? I'd do it the way suggested in this article - providing of course, that you've got the same OS and same version of iTunes on both computers:

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/...new-hard-drive/ (scroll down to "Moving your Content to a New Computer")

[Raven]

Thanks Paddy, for the info.
But really... a 9 page doc to transfer iTunes files? Aargh!
It certainly went much easier with iPhoto.
Maybe I'll use RobW's way. Sounds simpler. :-)

Just keeping up with Macs these and all the software I use is a challenge.
Thank goodness for Techsurvivors!!!

I'll report back.

[RobW]

QUOTE(Paddy @ Mar 29 2010, 11:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE

Depending on the amount of songs, etc that you have, you may need more than one DVD.

I'd need TEN DVDs to do that with my library, Rob!!

Me? I'd do it the way suggested in this article - providing of course, that you've got the same OS and same version of iTunes on both computers:

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/...new-hard-drive/ (scroll down to "Moving your Content to a New Computer")

Paddy, Raven wrote:  

QUOTE

... iTunes: Do I just transfer the Music folder (4 gb) from her eMac and replace it in the G4? ...  .

"4gb" didn't sound all that large to me. It was much more in line with the size of iTunes folders I've moved from one Mac to another, so burning to a DVD using the backup/restore feature seemed like the easy way to go. Plus, for those of us who are a bit lazy about backing up, it leaves me with a nice backup to work from down the road.

[Xairbusdriver]

I'm not sure what "9 page document" you are talking about in Paddy's link. I didn't see anything about pages at all. What I did see was a very comprehensive and well explained document about what to do, why to do it and how to do it. And, just as importantly, it explained what will happen if you try doing it differently. It may have more information than you absolutely need, and you can probably skip everything about the Windows part, but it is all great knowledge, well presented and, if read and followed, will provide a great trouble-shooting method for correcting mistakes as well as fixing things later on. I am bookmarking that page and hope many of you will do likewise.

OTOH, it demonstrates why some of us are skeptical about letting "Apple" handle all our media. Many of us are organized and the Mac makes doing that even easier. But 'organizing' is only part of the job and that's where "Apple" comes in. However, "Apple" has spent years creating and modifying how their media apps perform and the method is not always obvious to us mere users. We just like the simple, easy to use interface, who cares about what's happening behind the screen. Would that it were so simple! If so, there would probably be no TS! So, knowing what's going on "back there" can be very helpful, even if that knowledge is much simplified. It could easily prevent a major disaster and certainly much frustration.

Thanks, again for the question and the various solutions! You all just made TS even more valuable!

[Raven]

Moving forward! - Bookmarks, Address Book have been transferred.

I copied and replaced the complete MAIL folder into the G4. Twice. Everything seems to be there, but the SENT messages are missing. Not that they are important.  The "Sent Messages.mbox" folder has icons in them that are dark in colour. They were white when they started in the eMac. Not sure if that is relevant. Just wondering what would have happened?

I need to upgrade the G4 to iTunes 9.0.3, so both Macs are the same.
But when I download it from apple.com, it downloads a "Safari4.0.5Tiger.dmg.dat" file.
That I could not open when it was finished.
Q. What's DAT, and what's with that? ;-)

Xairbusdriver,
I printed out the iLounge article. It is NINE pages of information! I only want to turn on the light switch... do I really need to know how electricity works? Just kiddin. That's a discussion for another time. :-)

I tried backing up iTunes to disc. Except the eMac only burns CDs. I tried to a 2gb flash drive. But that won't work.
Q. Could transfer using FW Target Disc Mode?

[Paddy]

Missed the reference to "4gb", Rob. (one DVD's worth - if Raven could burn DVDs. As it is, it's about 6 CDs and not necessary, IMHO.

The relevant bit of that article:

QUOTE

If you’re simply looking to move your iTunes library to an entirely new computer, the process is actually quite a bit simpler than relocating the content, provided certain conditions are met:

1. You are moving your iTunes library between two computers using the same operating system and iTunes version; and
2. You plan to store the iTunes library database and content in the same relative locations on the new computer

If this is the case, then transferring your iTunes library to a new computer is quite simple: Just copy the entire iTunes folder and all sub-folders from your “Music” (Mac) or “My Music” (Windows) folder on your old computer to the corresponding folder on the new computer.

Both of these computers are networked aren't they? If so, just transfer over the network. Otherwise, yes, FW Target Disk Mode will work too.

[Raven]

The eMac can only burn CDs. So, I'll try the Target Disk mode.
But...

 I need to upgrade the G4 to iTunes 9.0.3 & Safari 4, so both Macs are the same.
But when I download it from apple.com, it downloads a "Safari4.0.5Tiger.dmg.dat" file.
And an iTunes9.0.3dmg.dat file.

What's DAT and how to install that? ;-)

[Paddy]

There is something wrong with the download, Raven. You should have a file called  "iTunes9.0.3.dmg" and something similar with Safari.

Try changing the file name - remove the ".dat" and see if that works.

I don't know what causes this and I haven't found a fix. Found one post at the Apple forums with the same issue, but no solution:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?m...3�

If the usual fixes don't work (repair permissions, repair disk, clean caches) I might be inclined to reinstall the OS.

You also might want to try downloading the correct version of Safari for the G4 on your iMac and then moving it over to the G4.

Again - do you not have the computers networked? I'm assuming that if they're going online, you can network them together. Transferring files that way should be a lot easier than FW Target Disk Mode etc.

[Raven]

Gees, if it's not one thing, it's another...
(Please don't ask me to reinstall the OS. That might be another nightmare for me! ;-) )

RECAP:
Trying to use Disk Utility to Repair Disk from a back up HD...
to see if I can get rid of the DAT extensions when I download the latest iTunes and Safari to be able to transfer those files from our eMac to our G4. (whew!)
My back up HD has OSX10.3.9, but no Disk Utility. Isn't it part of 10.3.9?

I have Disk Utility on the main drive in 10.4.11. Can I make a copy and transfer it to the back up HD so I can use it? Or something else? Even if it doesn't solve this problem, it would be good to have it on a back up HD, n'est pas?

[jchuzi]

OS 10.3.9 should have Disk Utility in Applications/Utilities but don't use it on a 10.4 disk. That's definitely asking for trouble because the 10.3.9 version was not written for later OSs. It very well make "repairs" that damage the 10.4 disk. This refers not only to Repair Disk but also to Repair Permissions.

[Xairbusdriver]

QUOTE

I printed out the iLounge article. It is NINE pages of information!

Use a smaller font and/or larger paper!

Absolutely agree with the advice NOT to use the utilities on a 10.3 OS to 'fix' anything on a 10.4 or 5 or 6 OS. Never use a utility built for one version of the OS to work on anything in another version of the OS, No matter if the versions are newer to older or older to newer. If you don't print out those articles, you'll not be aware of the changes made in those things and will create all kinds of problems for yourself and your Mac (or PC, car, radio, etc.). "Too much knowledge can be dangerous, too little knowledge can be deadly!" Paper is cheaper than hardware.

[Paddy]

Bill, do you not have any 10.4 install disks (from which you can run Disk Utility)?

Running Disk Utility won't get rid of the .dat extension - you can remove that in the Finder. (have you tried this? Select the file name - without opening the file - and then remove the extension) I want you to run DU to make sure that you've not got some major directory errors etc. that may have caused the files to download incorrectly in the first place. At this point, we're grabbing at straws, as I cannot find any similar problems with solutions online.

You can run the G4 in Target Disk Mode and repair the HD from the eMac, or from your iBook which seems to be running 10.4.11. You do need the same version of the OS on both machines.