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Can’t even use my new Air [emoji22]

swarlos

swarlos

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 18, 2015
1,444
2,050
Hey everyone,

So I got my Air early yesterday and was able to set it up initially but then my dumb but tried to use Migration assistant and it screwed things up. So I erased my hard disk and now when trying to reinstall Big Sur I keep getting this error.

I’m super frustrated as now I can’t even use my new computer.

Any ideas?

5b70e758d9da0d91843a80c9e028d6f4.jpg
 
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Reactions: edhchoe
There are a few threads about this. Also, on the main Macrumors page (the Blog section), there is a post about this, i.e. this is a known issue...

EDIT: Here is the post:
www.macrumors.com

Restoring Apple Silicon M1 Macs Leading to macOS Installation Errors

Several customers who purchased a new Mac with an M1 Apple Silicon app have discovered an issue when attempting to restore the machine, which leads...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com

Another edit, seems they are trying to address the migration issue, too:
www.macrumors.com

Windows Migration Assistant Updated for macOS Big Sur

Apple overnight updated its Windows Migration Assistant software to include compatibility with macOS Big Sur. As spotted by iMore, version 2.3.0.0...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com
 
Last edited:
swarlos said:
Hey everyone,

So I got my Air early yesterday and was able to set it up initially but then my dumb but tried to use Migration assistant and it screwed things up. So I erased my hard disk and now when trying to reinstall Big Sur I keep getting this error.

I’m super frustrated as now I can’t even use my new computer.

Any ideas?

5b70e758d9da0d91843a80c9e028d6f4.jpg
Click to expand...
Apple has a document on how to resolve this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211983
 
teecuptech said:
Brilliant. Would be great if you shared the resolution process for others
Click to expand...

So I talked with  support for about an hour.

I had to do first aid on my disk3 partition and erased that disk and then attempted to erase the  SSD but it wasn’t working.

I then erased the Macintosh HD. I believe I restarted at this point then chose the reinstall Big Sur option. It would normally stop at the 34 min mark and give me that “unable to personalize installation” error but it went through this time!!

I did use to terminal to correct the date and time also. Not sure if that helped either. I should have written the steps down but after being so frustrated last night and it finally working I got super excited haha.
 
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So, am I going to have issues trying to do Migration Assistant with my new MacBook Air when it comes on 11/24? I currently have a mid 2015 MBPRO. Now, I am afraid to try it. Any advice so I don't have issues? Thanks!
 
JLH81 said:
So, am I going to have issues trying to do Migration Assistant with my new MacBook Air when it comes on 11/24? I currently have a mid 2015 MBPRO. Now, I am afraid to try it. Any advice so I don't have issues? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Don’t use migration assistant LOL.

I’d say use airdrop, iCloud Drive, OneDrive or an external drive.

Luckily I don’t have very much that I needed to transfer I was just doing it to make it easier but that didn’t work out.
 
I will avoid using it. How do I copy/transfer the photos on my current MBPRO to my new AIR? Where do I go to copy that file? That is the main thing I want to transfer.
 
JLH81 said:
I will avoid using it. How do I copy/transfer the photos on my current MBPRO to my new AIR? Where do I go to copy that file? That is the main thing I want to transfer.
Click to expand...

I would use AirDrop or use iCloud library for your photos. I do and they were instantly on my Air after signing into iCloud.
 
JLH81 said:
I'll use iCloud. Where do I sign in with my account?

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...

4d271210965c495d3e0a4567233789ba.png

Just make sure iCloud photos is enabled under the photos section of settings.

Then as you’re setting up your new Mac there will be a prompt to sign into iCloud.
 
If you have everything already in iCloud, you should be fine. From the Mac \ System Preferences, you should be able to log into your iCloud/Apple account, no?
 
Perfect! Thank you! Last question - What is the best way to move over MS Office that is on my current MB? Or, would I be better to just purchase the newer updated version?

Thanks!
 
JLH81 said:
Perfect! Thank you! Last question - What is the best way to move over MS Office that is on my current MB? Or, would I be better to just purchase the newer updated version?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Are you using office 365?
 
I'm not sure? I just know that I have the MS Office suite installed on my current computer. I have no idea what the activation key code is though.
 
JLH81 said:
I'm not sure? I just know that I have the MS Office suite installed on my current computer. I have no idea what the activation key code is though.
Click to expand...

Mmm you might be able to download it again from your Microsoft account. That’s what I did but I’m getting access to 365 because of school so it might be different for you.
 
JLH81 said:
I'm not sure? I just know that I have the MS Office suite installed on my current computer. I have no idea what the activation key code is though.
Click to expand...
In any Office application, go to File \ Office Account and verify.
But, I will add, if you do NOT pay a monthly subscription, around $4.99 (if in the US), then I doubt you have Office 365 (or Microsoft 365 as it is called now).
 
Is Microsoft 365 the best way to go, or is there a better option currently? I need a good Word document application.
 
I'll give it a shot! Does anyone know if you can download Microsoft Office 2019 through the App store? I'm guessing I have to get it from Microsoft directly though.
 
I used migration assistant just fine. It copied all files from my 2015 MBP to the new one flawlessly. I was running the release candidate of Big Sur.

Never even realized there might be an issue. Grateful that wasn’t the case due me.
 
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