MacOS – Two different versions of Finder in OS X 10.8 after migrating from OS 10.3 Panther

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While setting up new Mac Mini I checked the option to move files and settings from my old Mac to the new Mac. The old Mac was a 2008 MacBook Pro running OS X 10.3 Panther.

Everything seemed to go well and all my apps copied over to the new machine, but when I open Finder I get the old Finder window, the one from OS X 10.3 Panther. If I open a folder using Spotlight I get an OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Finder window.

How can I fix things so my system only ever uses the Mountain Lion version of Finder?

Best Answer

The only way to fix this is to do a fresh erase and install to Mountain Lion and when you restore from the previous backup, do NOT transfer the settings. FYI, if you made a "Time Machine" backup you had to be much newer than 10.3.

If this is the case then the backup should be fully compatible. Just do not put a check mark in the settings box. I often recommend you also leave out "Other files & folders", but that is your call.

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