One of the laptops has the thunderbolt port and the other one has the firewire 800 port. You need to do it over your network wireless or wired or by backing up the old mac to an external drive and plugging that in to the new one, or by removing the hard drive of the old one, and plugging that into the new one. This is the fastest method, but requires that you have the respective cables and adapters handy. And any firewire cable can be used to connect firewiretofirewire. Your second option is to transfer your file through firewire. Dec 09, 20 how to transfer large amounts of data between macs quickly. It doesnt work for all older versions of mac os, but its worth a try. Migrate data by directly connecting your two macs using an ethernet, firewire, or thunderbolt cable.
Mac mini mac pro macbook air macbook pro macos catalina tvos watchos 6 wwdc 2020 guides. If you have a firewire cable and would prefer to start with a clean install of applications and settings rather than using the migration assistant, the intelbased imac systems also can be connected to another firewireequipped mac by using firewire target disk mode. Can i hook up my new imac to my macbook via firewire and take some software from that and put it onto the imac. Another way to use firewire to transfer data between two macs is to reboot one of them not both while holding down the t key. And if the two machines are not in proximity, physical storage devices can be used to carry the files from one mac to the other and for even larger distances, online services are the way to go. The three options i remember are over the network horribly slow, via a firewire cable which i didnt have, or from a time machine backup. This utility allows you to directly read and transfer the contents of your old hard drive via ethernet cable, a firewire connection, a wireless signal or an existing disc backup. How to transfer large amounts of data between macs. First, insert your install dvd disk in your mac with dvd drivers and reboot this mac holding t for firewire target mode.
Transfer extremely large files between two macs make. How do i transfer files from my old mac to my white imac. If youre upgrading from an older mac running os x to your new macbook or macbook pro, and need to import your old files, heres great news for you. How to transfer your data from an old macbook to a newer.
Because target disk mode on modern macs relies on a thunderbolt connection, and youre connecting one mac directly to another. If you have massive amounts of data to move from one mac to another, file sharing over wifi may not be the best approach. If one mac has a thunderbolt port and the other mac has a firewire port, youll need a thunderbolttofirewire adapter cable. If you have a firewire 400 or 800 cable and compatible macs or an adapter and would prefer to start with a clean install of applications and settings rather than using the migration assistant, the mac mini also can be connected to another firewire equipped mac by using firewire. In order to use airdrop, both wifi and bluetooth must be. Highspeed data transfers between two macs with thunderbolt. This feature is the same as setup assistant, which only runs during the setup of a new mac. How do i transfer files from my old mac to the macbook. All files, programs, and settings from my old mac were copied over, though i still had to make several adjustments to the preferences in many programs. While in target disk mode, your mac will act as an external drive and appear in the finder on your other mac. A firewire or thunderbolt cable between the two computers. Boot your mac from another mac with dvd driver via. How to access your data on macbook with broken display.
Migration assistant copies all of your files to your new mac so that. You needs to put one of the computer in target disk mode press t on startup and connect another usbc equipped mac with a usbc cable or usbc to usb adaptercable for older computer note that the usbc cable that come with your macbook pro 2016 does not work there are a more complicated method and this requires a thunderbolt 3 cable or use a. You cannot use usbusb directly between machines, or thunderbolt as neither computer supports it. Transfering files from one mac to another using firewire it is easy to transfer information between 2 macintosh computers using only a firewire connection cable. How do i transfer files from my old mac to the intel mac. If you have an isight camera, you can use the firewire cable that comes with your isight camera to connect your computer to another mac to transfer files. Get your thunderbolt, firewire, or ethernet cable ready direct connection is the fastest way to migrate your data from your old mac to your new. You can connect two mac computers using a firewire or thunderbolt cable, then. You will see disk mac 1 as a disk that is able to boot with orange color on. Connect two macs using a thunderbolt, firewire, or ethernet cable. In the migration assistant app on your mac, click continue, then follow the onscreen instructions to transfer info from a mac. Jan 20, 2020 but, for some people transferring data from one computer to another looks like a complicated process.
Although firewire has all but disappeared, thunderbolt can offer the same functionality for modern macs with thunderbolt target disk mode and thunderbolt networking. Go to the other computer the one you will transfer the files to and open finder. The setup assistant on the new macbook pro actually tells you to connect to an ethernet. If you have a firewire cable handy and your older mac is running macos x 10. When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer to another mac. Transfering files from one mac to another using firewire.
How to transfer stuff from one mac to another macrumors. To confirm the connection is working, open the system preferences app from the apple menu on the mac that is not running chronosync. Note that if one computer has a firewire 800 port and the other has firewire 400, you will need an adaptor cable to make the connection. Back in the day, when firewire was a standard for any mac, we could use firewire to directly connect one mac to another and transfer files at a very respectable speed the so called target disk mode or ip over firewire. It can also transfer files from a time machine backup or an external clone drive. On the mac you want to use as the disk in target disk mode, do one of the following. May 19, 2014 simply put, a firewire equipped mac had a special mode that turned it into an external storage device that was accessible by connecting it to another mac using a standard firewire cable.
Once youve connected the two macs, go to system preferences on the old. This forces the system into firewire target mode, at which point it can be connected to another macintosh computer via a firewire cable and used as a remote target drive disk. Turn off the computer you want to transfer the files from. Like ethernet, firewire is being phased out of apples mac systems but can be added using a thunderbolttofirewire adapter. This wikihow teaches you how to move files from one mac computer onto another mac computer. That mac will start up in what apple calls firewire disk mode. Reboot your old mac, and as it turns back on, hold down the t key on your keyboard, before the apple logo appears on your screen. If you are a mac user, you can transfer all the information you want from one mac to another with ease using migration assistant app. How to transfer large amounts of data between macs quickly. Before you transfer information from a mac, connect the two computers with a cable ethernet, firewire, or thunderbolt or make sure they are connected to the same wired or wireless network. You choose one mac to copy the data from and the other to copy it to. Take to genius bar and id say they should assist for free seeing as you just purchased a new mac. Connecting two macs to migrate data from one to another.
Youll need either a firewire cable or a thunderbolt cable for this. Each mac needs either a thunderbolt port or a firewire port. Hi, i need to buy a firewire cable so i can transfer photos and my itunes library from my older macbook to my new imac. And, if youve just come over from the dark side, it will even transfer files from a windows pc. Back when firewire was standard on the mac, it supported a number of features that made it possible to directly connect macs to one another and transfer data at high speeds. When you set up a new mac, the setup assistant offers to copy your files. How to boot your mac in target disk mode for easy file transfers. To start the connection, boot the first computer with information you want to. Plug one end of your firewire cable into your old mac, and the other end into your new mac. How to transfer information from one mac hard drive to a new. To start the connection, boot the first computer with information you want to transfer or access by holding down the t key. This did not only help us in sharing files between 2 macs, it even allowed you to boot one mac from the dvd or cdrom drive on the other mac, which is great.
The next quickest way if you dont have a time machine backup of your old. This method can also be used to in conjunction with migration assistant to transfer you entire home folder, applications and support files, and system preferences. After the second step, turn on mac 2 and hold the option key. All you need to do is connect the both macs via an ethernet cable. To use macintosh computers as firewire disks themselves, hold down the t key during system start up. Access files, use migration assistant, and boot from another mac.
Feb 05, 2014 all you need to do is connect the both macs via an ethernet cable. So this was our five ways to transfer files from mac to mac. Next, connect this mac to the mac with no dvd driver and reboot it holding down alt. The migration assistant can transfer data from a number of sources including your old mac, a time machine backup, an external drive, and even a windows pc. Jul 12, 2018 connect mac 1 with the other mac using firewire 800 cable or thunderbolt cable for the next we will call this second mac with mac 2 there are 2 options you can do.
However, for larger files, thunderbolt cables or file sharing seem to do the job just perfect. You needs to put one of the computer in target disk mode press t on startup and connect another usbc equipped mac with a usbc cable or usbc to usb adapter cable for older computer note that the usbc cable that come with your macbook pro 2016 does not work. If one mac has a thunderbolt port and the other mac has a firewire port, youll need a thunderboltto firewire adapter cable. Tdm was integral to migration assistant in os x, a utility that transfers all user data, apps and settings from one mac to another, simply by connecting your. Apple includes migration assistant, an application that allows you copy data from your old mac to your new machine, via your laptops ethernet network connection, a firewire or thunderbolt cable, or an existing time. Turn on the computer you will transfer the files from, while holding down the letter t on its keyboard. Connect this mac to another mac in target disk mode. If you have ethernet, you can try to use appleshare. If you dont have the required cable, you can use your local wifi network instead, but the process will be slower. Here you just need to attach the files to emails which you would like to transfer. Boot your mac from another mac with dvd driver via firewire cable. This video shows how to transfer data from one apple mac machine to another mac machine using firewire 800 cable.
Transfering files from one mac to another using firewire it is easy to transfer information between 2 macintosh computers using only a firewire connectioncable. How to import files from another mac to your macbook. How to move your content to a new mac apple support. How to migrate your files and apps from one mac to another. Connect the two computers with a firewire or thunderbolt cable. Migrate data directly from one mac to another mac over your network. It is the easiest way to transfer your data from an old mac to a new mac. How to boot your mac in target disk mode for easy file. But, for some people transferring data from one computer to another looks like a complicated process. Nov 01, 2010 hi, i need to buy a firewire cable so i can transfer photos and my itunes library from my older macbook to my new imac.
I want to buy the cable from monoprice but i am confused by the number of options i have when searching. Connect a mac as an external drive to another mac ask different. Connect your firewire ports of both the computers using a firewire cable. How to transfer information from one mac hard drive to a. Mar 21, 2018 the mac migration assistant makes it easy to transfer all your files from one mac to another. Transfer extremely large files between two macs make tech. The mac migration assistant makes it easy to transfer all your files from one mac to another. How to transfer all files from one mac to another using apple. In order to link these computers to each other you will have to use a firewire 800 to firewire 800 cable and firewire 800 to thunderbolt adapter. If your mac is so old that it does not have firewire, you still have ways to transfer files to your new mac. If you have massive amounts of data to move from one mac to another, file.
If you sling a standard firewire cable between two macs that have firewire ports, migration assistant does what it should. Transfer everything from an old mac to a new mac with. May 08, 2009 for those lamenting the loss of firewire target disk mode due to a lack of firewire in the new macbooks and macbook air, this usb product provides a similar means for transferring files at high speed from one computer to another without having to do any configuration or install additional software. How to transfer all files from one mac to another using. When asked to select a mac, time machine backup, or other startup disk, click the appropriate icon. Apple includes migration assistant, an application that allows you copy data from your old mac to your new machine, via your laptops ethernet network connection, a firewire or thunderbolt cable, or an. How do i connect two macs to share files using a firewire cable. Connect mac 1 with the other mac using firewire 800 cable or thunderbolt cable for the next we will call this second mac with mac 2 there are 2 options you can do. May 08, 2020 get your thunderbolt, firewire, or ethernet cable ready direct connection is the fastest way to migrate your data from your old mac to your new. How to transfer your old macs data to your new mac imore. For those lamenting the loss of firewire target disk mode due to a lack of firewire in the new macbooks and macbook air, this usb product provides a similar means for transferring files at high speed from one computer to another without having to do any configuration or install additional software. Although firewire has all but disappeared, thunderbolt can offer the same functionality for modern macs with thunderbolt target disk mode and.
You can connect two macs with thunderbolt, firewire, or ethernet, or even just using the same wifi network if you dont have one of these cables. May 02, 2017 migrate data directly from one mac to another mac over your network. How to transfer data from an old mac to a new mac computer. Transfer info to mac from another computer or device. Transferring your personal data from one hard drive to another on a macintosh computer is automated with the migration assistant utility. How to transfer data from mac to mac machines using firewire 800. How to migrate your old mac s data to your new mac. If you started your old mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a time machine backup, skip these four steps. Or connect them using target disk mode and the appropriate cable or. Next, we connected a lacie little big disk thunderbolt with two 512gb ssds in a striped array to one of the mac pros and enabled file sharing on a volume on that drive. Connect your macs via a firewire or thunderbolt cable. Jan 27, 2020 when asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer from a mac, time machine backup, or startup disk. Transfer files between two mac computers using target disk mode.