All files locked after migration...please help!

[UncleHauser]

Brand new MacBook Pro M3 user coming from a Windows 10 laptop. Transferred files via migration assistant and everything is showing locked. I've already tried to change permissions to no avail. This has been so frustrating. Will be returning my Macbook if I can't figure this out. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[webbga]

I am not certain if this will fix your issue, but it may be worth a try. I performed this on a previous Mac I had some years ago and it repaired my permission problems.
1. From your Applications folder select the Disk Utility App.
2. Select your hard drive in the left column.
3. n the menu bar at the top of Disk Utility go to the First Aid and select it
4. This will enable you to run First Aid on your disk and repair any errors.

 

[fisherking]

migrated from a time machine backup? another mac? and did you do this during the initial setup of your new mac, or after you'd set the mac up?...

also, you could call apple & get help, might be worth it.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Something tells me you didn't get things set up correctly "from the beginning".

First, you need to answer a few questions.
When you first got this mac...
- did you set up a "new" account first...
and then...
- connect your backup and try to use migration assistant?

If you did it that way, well, that's the WRONG way.
REASON WHY:
Because even if you used the same username and password (as on your old Mac), when you create a "new" account and THEN try to migrate data, the new Mac will "think" the data that is being migrated is still associated with your OLD account on the OLD Mac.
Hence, "permissions problems"...

More questions:
Tell us what your OLD Mac is?
Tell us what your NEW Mac is?
Tell us if you kept a backup drive?
If you do have a backup drive, what app did you use?
(time machine, carboncopycloner, superduper, etc.)

Having said all this, WE CAN GET YOU FIXED UP.
But you must be willing to "take instruction", and then do what is requested.

Very briefly:
- Put the new Mac aside. Go to the old Mac and run your backup again on an external drive.
- Put external drive aside for the moment.
- Go to the NEW Mac, and use the "erase all content and settings" option (we'll tell you how to do that). This will "wipe" the NEW Mac back to an "out of the box" condition
- NOW connect the backup drive
- Begin setup (just as you did the FIRST TIME you took it out of the box)
- When setup assistant asks if you wish to migrate, YES you do.
- "Point the way" for SA to see the backup
- Give SA time to digest everything
- SA will present you with a list of stuff to migrate (accounts, apps, settings, data).
- I suggest you "migrate everything", and let setup assistant do its thing.
- When done, you should see your login screen, just as before...

Another way to do it:
Take your new Mac AND your backup drive to a brick n mortar Apple store genius bar (you have to make appt online).
They will help you do the migration.

 

[gilby101]

Because even if you used the same username and password (as on your old Mac), when you create a "new" account and THEN try to migrate data, the new Mac will "think" the data that is being migrated is still associated with your OLD account on the OLD Mac.
Hence, "permissions problems"...

Transferred files via migration assistant and everything is showing locked

Just to add to this. The permissions on a folder/file are based on the UID of the username, NOT the name itself. UIDs start at 501 upwards as usernames are created - historical Unix reasons for this.

So you have almost certainly got a different UID associated with the new username. Migration Assistant is best used at installation, and not after any users have been installed. Follow @Fishrrman instructions to start again.

 

[UncleHauser]

OP:

Something tells me you didn't get things set up correctly "from the beginning".

First, you need to answer a few questions.
When you first got this mac...
- did you set up a "new" account first...
and then...
- connect your backup and try to use migration assistant?

If you did it that way, well, that's the WRONG way.
REASON WHY:
Because even if you used the same username and password (as on your old Mac), when you create a "new" account and THEN try to migrate data, the new Mac will "think" the data that is being migrated is still associated with your OLD account on the OLD Mac.
Hence, "permissions problems"...

More questions:
Tell us what your OLD Mac is?
Tell us what your NEW Mac is?
Tell us if you kept a backup drive?
If you do have a backup drive, what app did you use?
(time machine, carboncopycloner, superduper, etc.)

Having said all this, WE CAN GET YOU FIXED UP.
But you must be willing to "take instruction", and then do what is requested.

Very briefly:
- Put the new Mac aside. Go to the old Mac and run your backup again on an external drive.
- Put external drive aside for the moment.
- Go to the NEW Mac, and use the "erase all content and settings" option (we'll tell you how to do that). This will "wipe" the NEW Mac back to an "out of the box" condition
- NOW connect the backup drive
- Begin setup (just as you did the FIRST TIME you took it out of the box)
- When setup assistant asks if you wish to migrate, YES you do.
- "Point the way" for SA to see the backup
- Give SA time to digest everything
- SA will present you with a list of stuff to migrate (accounts, apps, settings, data).
- I suggest you "migrate everything", and let setup assistant do its thing.
- When done, you should see your login screen, just as before...

Another way to do it:
Take your new Mac AND your backup drive to a brick n mortar Apple store genius bar (you have to make appt online).
They will help you do the migration.

I'm coming from a Windows 10 laptop to a MacBook Pro M3. I may have already created my new account before the migration. I don't remember. But the migration was done via wifi not usb it's not a lot of files. Mainly pictures and documents. No settings obviously since coming from Windows.

 

[fisherking]

why are you 'migrating'? you could just make a folder and copy everything there (probably easiest to do this with an external drive or flash drive); migration assistant is much deeper, good for (also) copying over settings, email, everything...

if it's just some content, just copy it over...

 

[gilby101]

Brand new MacBook Pro M3 user coming from a Windows 10 laptop

I have just read that again! From Windows! My post (and some others) missed that and assumed it was from another Mac. Sorry about that.

Are you using Apple's instructions from here: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT204087

But if you just want to transfer photos and documents, I would copy those - either from a network share on the PC, or via an external drive formatted as exFAT (preferably formatted on the Mac).

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I'm coming from a Windows 10 laptop to a MacBook Pro M3. I may have already created my new account before the migration. I don't remember. But the migration was done via wifi not usb it's not a lot of files. Mainly pictures and documents. No settings obviously since coming from Windows."

OK.
We need to overcome the permissions issues.
There's another way to do this.

You'll need an external drive.
It -might- need to be "in Mac format" (not sure if this trick works with a PC-formatted drive).

The drive could either be a USB hard drive, a USB SSD, or even a USB flash drive.
Just so long as it's in "Mac format" and is big enough to hold the files and folders in question.

To format a drive for Mac, open disk utility.
Go to the "view" menu and choose "show all devices".

Now look at the list on the left.
Identify your external drive.
Click on it and then click "erase"
Erase it to "Mac OS extended, journaling enabled, GUID partition format".

Quit disk utility.
The drive is now ready to use.

NEXT:
You must locate and then COPY all of the "problem files and folders" from the MacBook drive to the external drive.

You can do this with the finder.
Just copy them over.
When you've done that, now locate these files on the MacBook drive and drag them to the trash and empty the trash.

In other words, "clean them off of" the MacBook drive (for the moment, we're going to restore them next).

Now...
Click the icon of the external drive ONE TIME to select it. (don't "open" it)
Bring up the "get info" box for the external drive.
To do this, you can just type "command-i".
You should now see the get info box.
Go down to the bottom -- see the "lock icon"?
Click it and enter the password for your account on the MacBook.
The lock should "UN-lock".
Now, go to the area "Sharing and permissions".
There should be an item "ignore ownership on this volume".
Put a CHECKMARK into it.
Now, close get info.

OK, what this does is to overcome permissions problems.
Now you can copy files and folders from the external drive back to the MacBook, and whatever you copy will automatically "come under the ownership" of your new account.

Try it, and get back to us with your results.
Good luck.

 

[MrScratchHook]

Migration assistant from pc to mac is suicide...delete all the files you migrated over. buy another external drive, format it, then drag all your wanted files from old drive to new drive.