Apple acknowledges application problems caused by System Migration to Intel-based Macs

We previously reported on a broad range of issues that can be caused by using the System Migration function to move from a PowerPC-based Mac OS X system to an Intel-based Mac OS X system [see articles 1 and 2]. These include problems with iLife application functionality and more.

Apple has now acknowledged this issue in a knowledge base document, stating:

"After using Migration Assistant or Setup Assistant to migrate applications from a PowerPC-based Mac to an Intel-based Mac, some of the migrated applications may not launch or function correctly. [...]

"If you find an application that does not open or function correctly, use the steps found in "Intel-based Mac: How to tell if an application is Universal" to see if the application is Universal. If the application is PowerPC (not Universal), check to see if a newer version of the application exists that may work better with Intel-based Macs.

"When Migration Assistant or Setup Assistant is used to migrate applications between two computers, it will bring over any applications it finds on the source computer that are not already installed on the destination computer. In some cases, a PowerPC-based Mac may have applications that will not run correctly through Rosetta on the Intel-based Mac."

Although Apple does not explicitly state it, the solution for many of these issues is to simply re-install the problematic application(s) from its original source.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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