What happens when Migration Assistant is opened on an old Mac?

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When Migration Assistant is opened on an old Mac, the functionality initiates a process that requires a fresh start for the migration task. In this context, all open applications will automatically quit to ensure that data is not at risk of being corrupted during the transfer process. This is essential because Migration Assistant needs to take full control of the system resources in order to effectively transfer your data, settings, and applications from the old Mac to a new one. Logging out of the user account helps to clear any session-specific data that might interfere with the migration.

The other options do not accurately represent the behavior of Migration Assistant:

  • While saving documents is crucial, it is not something Migration Assistant directly manages. Users are expected to save their work before starting.
  • Migration Assistant does not initiate a backup to iCloud; it is specifically designed to transfer data from one Mac to another.
  • The display of user progress might occur during the migration process, but it does not pertain to the immediate actions taken when opening Migration Assistant, which focuses on preparing the environment for a migration.