Is Migration Assistant completely safe?

[JayX]

My original thread is here - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/stuck-in-a-kernal-panic-loop-2012-mac-mini.2244745/ - , but a bunch has changed since.

To sum it up... came back from a trip and my 2012 Mac Mini was in a panic->reboot cycle. Couldn't stabilize it, but managed to get a Time Machine backup to complete (the last one previous was from May, I might've forgotten to reenable it... d'oh!) while in Safe mode but nothing else I did helped. Tried to run software update but it just hit about 1% on the update bar and went no further.

I purchased a replacement SSD, put it in the machine and restored from Time Machine. Everything seemed fine at first, but no - back to panic, reboot and then to the point where I couldn't get any pre-boot key commands to go anywhere. No recovery mode (internet or regular). Stupidly didn't try to do a fresh install to see if it worked.

Bought a replacement 2018 Mini that should arrive tomorrow, but now I'm stuck in a mindset of whether I should run Migration Assistant and just restore the 2012 machine and hope for the best? Naturally with the TM restore, it would be pulling system files from there and possibly that's where a corruption lies (if it is indeed a file issue). I'm nervous that doing a full restore could bring over whatever caused the panic and send my new machine into a similar, nightmare state that I'm absolutely stuck in due to the non-removable nature of the drive.

I read about how to restore individual elements from a TM backup, and am hoping this would be enough to get me back online (things like Plex library, Adobe Lightroom library, iTunes library etc that all point to my external drives might be tricky, but hopefully touch wood just work), does this sound like the safer option?

The machine is about 4 years old, so a 'fresh' install isn't offputting, it's just going to be time consuming getting everything set back up. I can deal with this if necessary though.

If I have the energy, I'll probably put the freshly formatted, original SSD back into the Mac and see if I can get it to install a fresh OS and see if it will run stable, but I had no luck with a USB installer and previously I kept getting an error code on Internet Recovery that doesn't appear in the KB or Google itself, which isn't of much help!

 

[ApfelKuchen]

The thing is, kernel panics can be due to a wide variety of causes, many due to software (and not just the OS). It seems you assumed there is something wrong with your hardware (replacing SSD, replacing entire Mac), but that's not necessarily a good assumption.

It's not likely this is due to a data file, but it's entirely possible that it's due to a particular app, kext, etc. If it's a fairly constant occurrence it's possibly a startup item. The OS collects panic logs, and an experienced tech can analyze the logs to isolate the cause.

One approach, now that you'll have a new Mac, is as follows:

The new Mac will have a fresh installation of macOS, eliminating one possible cause. Use either Setup Assistant (which starts when you boot the Mac for the first time), or Migration Assistant (if the Mac has already been setup/configured) and migrate only your user accounts (user data) from the Time Machine backup. Install all your apps "fresh".

 

[JayX]

Yeah, I couldn't narrow the panic reason down as every boot would provide a different application that apparently caused it, and it wasn't saving logs except for possibly the very first time it happened. It would also do weird things like mount a disk image I had ejected previously. I couldn't find anything consistent, regular boots with all the apps I would normally have running disabled would panic after 5 minutes, in safe mode I got it to stay stable overnight but at some point in the morning it panic'd again. After switching out the SSD I couldn't even get it to reboot into the OS after the first panic, it's essentially a brick right now as I can't get it to react to anything.

Yeah replacing a machine is definitely a big move, I can kinda justify it based on the age of the old one and means I can get everything back up and running while I consider my options with the old one. Kinda got to my wits end with hitting brick wall after brick wall, but might have one more stab at running things with a fresh format/OS install and seeing whether it can stay stable, if I can even get it back to that state. eBay 'parts and repairs' is the temptation right now.

Sounds like a good plan with the User Data only part, definitely sounds like a safer option for sure and then one by one get everything back to normality. I've only ever done a fresh install or full restore previously, so it's good to know there is something in between that should make life easier.

Appreciate the feedback and advice.

 

[Fishrrman]

Some questions:

Did you ever change the RAM in the Mini?
If so, did you KEEP the original RAM?

Have you tried doing a "Safe boot"?
Hold down the shift key at boot.
Does this change anything?

What do you have connected to it?

 

[Boyd01]

I setup a new 2018 Mini from scratch a month ago. In the past I have used Migration Assistant and it worked fine, but after reading about some odd Catalina issues, decided to start over again with this machine. I used a Carbon Copy clone to manually copy all my files and a few apps. Reinstalled other software from scratch. Exported bookmarks on the old machine and imported them on the new one.

Web passwords were a pain, had to re-enter all of those but I keep good records and used Keychain access on the old Mac for the rest. Definitely a lot more trouble, but I'm glad to have started with a clean slate. My old Mac(s) were still running Sierra.

 

[satcomer]

Yea but what I use Migration Assistant manually selection to just move saved email, saved documents and saved videos! I never transfer Network settings because Apple likes to change things around over the years!

 

[JayX]

Some questions:

Did you ever change the RAM in the Mini?
If so, did you KEEP the original RAM?

Have you tried doing a "Safe boot"?
Hold down the shift key at boot.
Does this change anything?

What do you have connected to it?

Yes, I put some details about the changes made in the linked post. I upgraded the RAM about a year ago with Samsung RAM, and I kept the original. As per post, it was something I was thinking could be an issue, so when I have some time after sorting out the new machine, I might put it back in when I reinstall the formatted original drive back and see if I can get a fresh OS installed and stable.

Yes, I got it to boot into Safe Mode on the original disc, which is how I got it to complete a TM backup. It lasted far longer than a regular boot, but it still panic'd eventually.

I have drives and a USB hub hooked up externally, but the same issues persisted with everything removed.

I setup a new 2018 Mini from scratch a month ago. In the past I have used Migration Assistant and it worked fine, but after reading about some odd Catalina issues, decided to start over again with this machine. I used a Carbon Copy clone to manually copy all my files and a few apps. Reinstalled other software from scratch. Exported bookmarks on the old machine and imported them on the new one.

Web passwords were a pain, had to re-enter all of those but I keep good records and used Keychain access on the old Mac for the rest. Definitely a lot more trouble, but I'm glad to have started with a clean slate. My old Mac(s) were still running Sierra.

It didn't sync things like the keychain and your bookmarks using iCloud? Or perhaps you're using Chrome? At least both old and new machines will be on the same version of the OS which I'm hoping will make things smoothly enough.

Yea but what I use Migration Assistant manually selection to just move saved email, saved documents and saved videos! I never transfer Network settings because Apple likes to change things around over the years!

Yeah I think I'll be selective on what comes over, no point moving things that havent been touched in 2 years afterall.

 

[Boyd01]

It didn't sync things like the keychain and your bookmarks using iCloud?

I'm sure it *could* have, but I was not using iCloud keychain and bookmarks. Have turned it on now though. Wasn't kneen on having the same bookmarks across devices before, I had different kinds of bookmarks on my phone, iPad and Macs. But will see how it goes now.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"Yes, I put some details about the changes made in the linked post. I upgraded the RAM about a year ago with Samsung RAM, and I kept the original. As per post, it was something I was thinking could be an issue, so when I have some time after sorting out the new machine, I might put it back in when I reinstall the formatted original drive back and see if I can get a fresh OS installed and stable."

Putting the original RAM back in is THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD TRY.

 

[JayX]

So of course the drawer where I absolutely 100% put the old RAM into has... no RAM in it. I will dig it out eventually though! When I have time if I can't find it, I'll test on single sticks etc, but right now it's not the biggest priority now I've got a running system again.