Migration Assistant won't transfer files from 10.8 to 10.9 I tried to transfer my wife's files from her MacBook, running 10.8.4 to my MacBook Pro running 10.9.5.
We have identical logins on both computers.

I was using Migration Assistant on both Macs which are on the same local network.

I got the following error message:-

The selected source cannot be used for migration.

Your other Mac is not running the latest version of OS X. Please run Software update on your other Mac and try again.


I don't want to "upgrade" my wife's computer, just transfer her user files. It seems pointless that you can't migrate from an old Mac.
You shouldn't have any problems if you use Firewire/Thunderbolt Target mode (hold T at startup). Depending on what ports you have you will need a Firewire 800 cable or a Thunderbolt cable, or Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter if you're transferring to a newer Mac without a Firewire port from a model with a Firewire port.

I've just tested this with a dummy account on a 2011 MacBook Pro running 10.6.8 transferring to a 2012 MacBook Pro running 10.9.5 - via Firewire - and it transferred fine with no errors.