Transferring Mail from 10.6 backups to 10.9

[macstatic]

I've just done a clean install (erase drive/install) of OSX 10.9 Mavericks on my wife's iMac which previously ran 10.6 Snow Leopard and I'm now trying to transfer back all her email (Mail.app) but without much success.
Having read "Copying your Apple Mail to a new Mac" I simply copied the following two over from the backup drive to the same location in OSX 10.9:

"Mail" folder (~/Library/Mail/)
"com.apple.mail" preference file (~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail)

WHat happens when I run Mail.app after this however is that a lot of updating seems to go on, then out of the blue I'm asked to set up an email account. So apparently not all the setup files have been transferred. Have I missed any folders or files?

 

[Bruno09]

Hi,

the folder's structure of the ~/Library/Mail folder has changed from Lion (10.7), therefore what you did cannot work.

First, are the mail accounts pop, or imap ?

 

[macstatic]

They're all POP accounts.
I noticed that the Mavericks System Preferences now include email accounts unlike the email apps themselves taking care of that.

So would using Migration assistant allow me to import everything email related from the backup drive without any hassle? I've actually never used Migration assistant before because I like the idea of installing a fresh copy of OSX, all the apps and transferring only the settings/files I actually need (omiting all the old left-overs), hence the time consuming process of copying a folder at a time related to a specific app.

 

[Bruno09]

See if this can help (post #14, 17,...) : https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1422832/

 

[macstatic]

Thanks, but unfortunately it didn't help.
I got the same "Mail update" progress windows as before and in the end I was asked to set up an email account.

But something in the above thread gave me an idea as someone said in this posting:

He told me to FIRST upgrade the old Macbook Pro from Snow Leopard (10.6.8) to Mountain Lion (10.8.2), and then, SECOND simply to copy the "Mail" and "Mail Downloads" folder

So having 3 backups I simply upgraded one of the cloned 10.6 backup drives to 10.9 and this time running Mail.app it worked perfectly! I also noticed iPhoto etc. was available (and worked!) which wasn't the case when I did a clean install of Mavericks on the iMac. I tried to search for more information on the matter but it was a bit unclear. She doesn't have an Appstore account, but it seems you have to pay for it.

Since I want to do a "clean" install (i.e. wipe the iMac hard drive and install OSX 10.9 from scratch), what would be the best way to proceed in order to put everything back? Copy the files/folders manually back (from the 10.9 upgraded clone backup drive) and reinstall the additional apps from scratch or use the Migration Assistant? I have a feeling that the latter will include just about everything including preference and support files that aren't necessarily Mavericks compatible. The bottom line is that I want to do a clean installation (I keep reading about people who have upgraded only to get performance loss and other problems).

 

[Bruno09]

Thanks, but unfortunately it didn't help.
I got the same "Mail update" progress windows as before and in the end I was asked to set up an email account.

I think it would have worked after you set up the mail accounts.

So having 3 backups I simply upgraded one of the cloned 10.6 backup drives to 10.9 and this time running Mail.app it worked perfectly!

Of course, if you first upgrade from 10.6 to 10.9, the problem no longer exists.

I also noticed iPhoto etc. was available (and worked!) which wasn't the case when I did a clean install of Mavericks on the iMac. I tried to search for more information on the matter but it was a bit unclear.

After your clean install of Mavericks, put a copy (don't install) of any iLife or iWork app from Snow Leopard to your Mav. Applications folder.
Go to the App Store : the updates will be available.
And the updated apps will work, because these versions are standalone apps, when previous versions (on Snow Leopard) were not.

Since I want to do a "clean" install (i.e. wipe the iMac hard drive and install OSX 10.9 from scratch), what would be the best way to proceed in order to put everything back? Copy the files/folders manually back (from the 10.9 upgraded clone backup drive) and reinstall the additional apps from scratch or use the Migration Assistant?

Definitely : a true "clean install" means you do NOT restore from a backup, nor use Migration Assistant.
So yes, this is the only way : "Copy the files/folders manually back (from the 10.9 upgraded clone backup drive) and reinstall the additional apps from scratch".

 

[macstatic]

I think it would have worked after you set up the mail accounts.

Maybe, but I prefer not to reenter all the email account details if I don't have to.

Of course, if you first upgrade from 10.6 to 10.9, the problem no longer exists.

Yes, but I meant as opposed to doing a clean Mavericks installation (erase/install) then using the Migration Assistant to import the email and email settings.
Perhaps the Mavericks installer actually uses the Migration Assistant when upgrading, so it's the same thing in the end.

After your clean install of Mavericks, put a copy (don't install) of any iLife or iWork app from Snow Leopard to your Mav. Applications folder.
Go to the App Store : the updates will be available.
And the updated apps will work, because these versions are standalone apps, when previous versions (on Snow Leopard) were not.

So Mavericks checks to see if iPhoto, iMovie etc. is already present, and if yes it allows for (free?) upgrading?
I think I tried running a copy of iPhoto (taken from the Snow Leopard backup disk) but it wouldn't run. I suppose the migration assistant would convert it somehow as it looked like the same old version after doing that, and it ran perfectly.
But I understand you're saying I just need to have the apps present on the drive, regardless of them working in Mavericks or not.

Would my wife have to create an Apple ID and log into the Appstore first, or can it be downloaded without an account?
You're probably wondering how I got the Mavericks installer in the first place: I logged into the Appstore using my own Apple ID on my own Mac in order to download (and make a backup) of it, and copied the installer to her external backup drive where I installed it from.

Definitely : a true "clean install" means you do NOT restore from a backup, nor use Migration Assistant.
So yes, this is the only way : "Copy the files/folders manually back (from the 10.9 upgraded clone backup drive) and reinstall the additional apps from scratch".

That's what I thought. Takes a lot of time and you have to take care not to forget any non-obvious files (e.g. "~/Library/StickiesDatabase"), but in the end I believe it's worth it.

 

[Bruno09]

Perhaps the Mavericks installer actually uses the Migration Assistant when upgrading, so it's the same thing in the end.

The Mavericks installer converts the ~/Library/Mail folder from the "old" structure (Snow Leopard) to the new one (Lion and after).

So after you have upgraded a clone from SL to Mav, you can just copy the ~/Library/Mail from the clone to your fresh installed Mac and all will work fine.

This is what I meant by "if you upgrade from SL to ML the problem no longer exists".

So Mavericks checks to see if iPhoto, iMovie etc. is already present, and if yes it allows for (free?) upgrading?

Yes exactly, regardless of where the apps came from (DVDs or App Store).

The SL versions of the apps will not work on Mav, but the App Store will "see" them and offer to upgrade them for free.

This is only true for iLife11 and iWork09 apps.
(does not work with previous versions).

Would my wife have to create an Apple ID and log into the Appstore first, or can it be downloaded without an account?

I don't remember.

However, I think that since your wife has an iMac, she should have an AppleID.

 

[macstatic]

The SL versions of the apps will not work on Mav, but the App Store will "see" them and offer to upgrade them for free.

This is only true for iLife11 and iWork09 apps.
(does not work with previous versions).

Aha! She never had iLife '11. iLife '09 came with her iMac.
So that means she has to purchase upgrades
Funny thing is that iPhoto is a free download at the Appstore, but once I try to download it complains that I need at least OSX 10.10! So I'm stuck with the current version. Are there any iPhoto upgrades beyond 8.1.2 which are free and still available for downloading?

The good news is that I managed to get Garageband, iMovie and iDVD to work (all copied over from the SL to Mavericks upgraded external hard drive) but iPhoto gave me "An error has occured" or something like that. I eventually had a look at the crash log and for some strange reason I was missing a file (/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iLifeSlideshow.framework/Versions/A/iLifeslideshow), so I simply copied "iLifeSlideshow.framework" from the external (upgraded) hard drive over to the iMac and it worked immediately!

Originally Posted by macstatic View Post
Would my wife have to create an Apple ID and log into the Appstore first, or can it be downloaded without an account?

I don't remember.

However, I think that since your wife has an iMac, she should have an AppleID.[/QUOTE]

She bought the iMac back in 2008 and it came with DVDs so she never had any reason to get an Apple ID.
I did create a new ID, but I wasn't able to download anything beyond the Mavericks updates (which were available even without an ID login).

 

[Bruno09]

I was missing a file (/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iLifeSlideshow.framework/Versions/A/iLifeslideshow), so I simply copied "iLifeSlideshow.framework" from the external (upgraded) hard drive over to the iMac and it worked immediately!

I have done this many times when "installing" a 9.x.x version of iPhoto I had extracted with Pacifist from an "Applications install DVD" grey disc, to a SL Mac, in order to replace a 8.x.x version without having to buy iLife'11. Hum
But it worked...

If you want to get the last version of iPhoto that works on Mavericks (iPhoto 9.5.1) you need to find any version of iPhoto 9.x.x : copy it to the Applications folder (it would not work, don't run it) then go to the App Store and the update will be available (9.5.1).