Transferring From Old Mac To New Mac
Transfer Files From Mac To Pc
Old Mac To New Mac

For those who have more than one Mac may need to share files between two Macs more often than not. The most common way to do this is using a USB or flash drive to copy and move the files manually. Actually, there are some built-in options that allow you to transfer files from one Mac to another substantially faster. Read this guide to learn 5 methods.

Also Read: How to Transfer Files from Mac to iPad >

Transferring files/applications from old MacBook to new MacBook? Discussion in 'Mac Notebooks' started by Hexagnsunn, May 9. I'd like to get access to my photos and music and programs that are on my old computer. They are not saved on an external hard drive, unfortunately. Transferring from an old to a new Mac. I have just purchased a new Mac and would like to transfer a few programs from my old machine. I'd rather not have to re-install some the commercial programs, and in a couple of cases I don't have the install disks anymore. The Mac line comes with a program called Migration Assistant, which makes it super easy to move data across your computers or even from a Time Machine backup.You can connect two devices using Thunderbolt, FireWire, Ethernet, or even just using the same Wi-Fi network if you don't have the required cable. I spilled water on my Macbook and it won't function anymore. I bought a new Macbook and need to move CS6 over to it. How can I re-install it? Note: I am unable to uninstall/log out on my old computer and this new Macbook doesn't have a CD drive.

Method 1. Transfer Files from Mac to Mac with File Sharing

Step 1. Open System Preferences and click Sharing.

Step 2. Check File Sharing.

Step 3. You can click “+” to add specific folders and certain users to access them. If not, any user with an account can access your files.

Method 2. Transfer Files from Mac to Mac with AirDrop

Step 1. In the Finder, enable AirDrop on both Macs.

Step 2. Drag a file onto the icon of the Mac you want to send a file to.

Step 3. On the receiving Mac, accept the file.

Transfer Files from Mac to Mac with AirDrop

Method 3. How to Transfer Files from Mac to Mac with iCloud Drive

Step 1. Open Finder and choose iCloud Drive. You need to login with your Apple ID and password.

Step 2. Just drag the file to iCloud Drive like folders, pictures, music, etc.

Step 3. On another Mac, login with the same Apple ID and you will see the files.

Method 4. How to Transfer Files from Mac to Mac with External Drive

Step 1. Connect the external drive to the old Mac.

Step 2. In the Finder, drag files you want transfer onto the external drive to make a copy.

Step 3. Once it done, eject the external drive from the old Mac.

Step 4. Connect the external drive to the new Mac > Locate the drive in the Finder > Drag your files to the folder of the new Mac.

How to Transfer Files from Mac to Mac with External Drive

Method 5. How to Transfer Files from Mac to Mac with E-mails

If you have an IMAP account, send a file to yourself, and then it’ll show up in your email inbox on both of your Macs.

Step 1. Compress files you want to transfer > Open Open E-mails app on the old Mac.

Step 2. Click Write New Message icon >Fill in the recipient's mailbox (your IMAP account).

Step 3. Click Add a document to this Message icon > Add the compressed files to this Message > Click Send to complete this.

How to Transfer Files from Mac to Mac with E-mails

Bonus Tip: How to Transfer Files Between Mac and iDevices

Every Apple user knows that iTunes only allows you to sync files from Mac to iDevices but not the opposite direction. To freely share files between Mac and any iDevice, you can try AnyTrans. It is a smart iTunes alternative that helps transfer music, videos, photos, contacts, ringtones, books, voice memos, audiobooks and more from iPhone to PC/Mac, and vice versa. It also allows you to share contents between two iPhones. Now download AnyTrans to have 7-day free trial.

The Bottom Line

You can also share files between two Macs via Dropbox, Email, or the Migration Assistant. If you want to clean up your Mac to free up space and increase the performance, you can try MacClean for free.

Transferring From Old Mac To New Mac

Active1 year, 3 months ago

I have some app on my old iMac (Dasiy Disk, MS Word, etc) that I want to install on a new MacBook Pro. What is the best way to do that?

I tried taking some of the apps and saving copies in Dropbox and then opening from the new Mac. That didn't work.

SizzleSizzle

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Transfer Files From Mac To Pc

2 Answers

The best approach would be to reinstall the apps afresh. However, that may not always be desirable, as it will involve a lot of work.

For e.g. user has heavily customised the apps, the apps have a lot of preferences items which the user has spent hours tweaking, or the apps have plugins that the user has installed etc.

With fresh install approach, these actions will be have to be meticulously repeated and is prone to human error.

To handle this scenario, preferences export can be performed in various ways. For e.g. many apps save their preferences in file(s) under Library. If such file(s) can be reliably identified, the user can copy them over in the corresponding location in the new system. Some apps maintain their preferences in an easily accessible configuration text files which can be copied over.

The previous approach may still involve a lot of work and may not be desirable. A simpler approach would be using macOS Migration Assistant. This feature lets you easily transfer settings, apps and data from one Mac to another.

A very helpful and concise guide on Migration Assistnat and its usage can be found in the Apple Support Article, How to move your content to a new Mac.

Nimesh NeemaNimesh Neema

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Your best bet for an automatic process is running Migration Assistant on the new / destination Mac. It will ask you to connect the old Mac in target disk mode or connect a Time Machine backup of the old Mac. If you don’t want to use target disk mode - you can also use Disk Utility / Carbon Copy Cloner / Super Duper to make a bootable clone of your old Mac to an external drive and connect that when Migration Assistant asks for the old Mac to be connected.

From there - it can move over user accounts, applications and/or settings and other files from the old Mac to the new Mac.

Old Mac To New Mac

Lots of good examples here:

bmike♦bmike

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What Is The Program For Transferring From Old Mac To New Mac