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If I want to alternatively boot from an external or internal drive, possibly with different versions of MacOS installed, how can I make sure the account id/permissions match between those accounts on both disks (and any other external drives or time machine copies that are connected? I don't want to use migration assistant to add the account because I don't want all the files copied over.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iMac 21.5″, macOS 15.1
Use a cloning app like carbon Copy Cloner and just exclude any files you do not want. No issues with permission match.
The purpose of the clone process is that there will be no permission(or other authorization) issues. Once cloned just delete the directories (or files) you do not want any longer. Will only take a few minutes. Then you can update the clone to a newer OS as desired.
You don't have to clone anything with CCC. CCC will allow you to access other areas and prompt you for an admin password to access them. CCC can just copy files for you, plus you can select & deselect any items. Don't be put off by the "cloner" part of the name. CCC is a very versatile app from a great developer. This is the easiest method as suggested by @tbirdvet.
Otherwise, you need to make sure you create the new macOS user account in the correct order to the UserIDs match between the two systems. By default the first created user account will have the same UserID for both systems. If you have added & deleted accounts over the years, then trying to match them up will be tricky as you may need to create some temporary user accounts until you get to the UserID of the Mac you want to access.
You should also be able to place items into the "/Users/Shared" folder as well.
Migration Assistant has a Settings only migration available that will avoid the extra files copied over.
I've migrated stuff for 20+ years. This time I don't want any settings except the same user permissions so I can pick through the files I want. What settings would this apply?
I don't really want a clone, I want a fresh OS install (possibly a newer version than on the internal drive) and just the ability to pick through the old files without permission issues.
It takes many hours to clone the whole drive - and I think it will drag in old kexts that can't be removed in the newer versions of MacOS that treat the system as read-only.
Booting iMac from external SSD with same user ID
