Migration Assistant: What does "machine" mean?

[Doctor Q]

When you run Migration Assistant, it offers to copy the documents of selected users, to copy applications, to copy network settings, and so on.

One of the choices is "Machine". What does that mean?

I'm not talking about Time Machine. I'm talking about one of the checkbox choices under "Settings".

 

[GGJstudios]

Wouldn't that mean an entire computer, including OS, applications, user files, etc?

 

[Doctor Q]

You might think so, but if it means the whole computer it should be a radio button choice, an alternative to choosing what specific parts of the system to migrate.

Instead it's just one of the choices under the Settings heading about specific parts of the system you might want to migrate, like Time Zone.

Perhaps it means the hostname. Perhaps it means hardware-model-specific files, or perhaps it means something else. I can't find any Apple documentation (or forum threads) that explain it.

All of the writeups and screenshots I find on the web (example) show choices than I'm getting. I'm using Mac OS X 10.6, transferring files from another Mac via Firewire.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Oh, that... is that the equivalent of "Files and Folders on Boot Drive" in Leopard and earlier? That's my guess - if it's appearing at the screen where you choose what you want copied over.

 

[Doctor Q]

A new Apple Migration Assistant tips and tricks document gives only a vague answer:

Controlling what is migrated

With Migration Assistant you control the data that is migrated from another Macintosh computer. By clicking the triangle next to a user's name, you can select which User Accounts to migrate and choose which folders to migrate. You can also choose whether to migrate Applications, Network and Computer settings, or Volumes. Migrating only what you need can reduce the time it takes to complete your migration.​

 

[Mal]

It's various computer-related settings like the sleep times, things that aren't set on a user basis (although it also doesn't include the network settings, because those have their own section). If you're looking for more details, I can't give them to you, but it's computer-wide settings that aren't network related, essentially.

jW

 

[Doctor Q]

Thanks! Next time I'll know!

 

[Taelvin]

Does anyone know the details on what this does exactly? I'm interested in the fine print.