Slow file transfer between Macs

Hello,
I am getting slow transfer speeds (<3 MByte/sec) while transfering files between Macs.
Macbook Air 11" (late 2010) - Lion 10.7.4
iMac 20" (2007) - Lion 10.7.4
Airport Extreme (4th Gen)
Wireless specs:
Firmware 7.6.1
WPA2 Personal
2.4 Ghz on Channel 3 (no one near me is on this channel)
5 Ghz on Channel 149 (I am the only one with 5 Ghz band on the neighborhood)
AEBS, Air and iMac in separated rooms, with one wall between then (forming a triangle)
Tested all channels; low, medium and high multicast; with and without wide channels; separated and unified 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz bands
Average transmit rate at 2.4 Ghz on Air: 108-130
Average transmit rate at 2.4 Ghz on iMac: 117-130
Average transmit rate at 5 Ghz on Air: below 81
Average transmit rate at 5 Ghz on Air: below 54
Wirelss signal on both Air and iMac: maximum
The files were all video files, ranging from 500Mb to 1.5Gb and the speed was measured using the Activity Monitor - Network Tab. The transfers were made through Finder by drag and drop method using shared folders, both Air to iMac and iMac to Air. The transfer was the only activity running on both computers.
I know the wireless N is not supposed to work at 130 Mbps in real world (2.4 Ghz), but I was expecting at least 6-9 Mbytes/sec speed while transfering large files. (5 Ghz also tested but the transmit rate would never reach values above 100 Mbps and transfer speed was even worse).
I have been reading a lot of topics in many forums but no tip was able to help me.
Can someone give me a hint to solve this and at least double my transfers speed (6 Mbytes/sec)?
Thanks.

I just had some more important information...
I was over at my inlaws house...on their wireless network receiving files works just fine. Something must be conflicting on the wireless network in the office.
Any ideas of what it could be. I've tested several other macs there and they transfer files just fine over the network. But for some reason mine seems to have a problem.
We have an SBS 2003 network and a linksys wireless g router.

Similar Messages

Slow file transfer between Mac & PC Network - bad checksums?

Howdy all. I've been having a persistent issue with transferring files from my Mac to my Win2003 server. The transfers are always much slower than they should be (compared to the PCs on the network with lesser connections), but even more puzzling, is that it will often go to 95% (or thereabouts) and then take twice as long to finish the remaining percentage as it did to transfer the vast majority of the file.
It's all gigabit from point to point and I've swapped patch cables, router ports, etc.. with a known good performing WinXP box to see if that would make a difference, but it didn't.
I've searched the forums and found some mention of mysteriously slow file transfers using SMB, but nothing conclusive.
I ran a LAN monitoring util on the Mac during a xfer and below is a snippet of the results from the log. No dropped packets, but lots of bad checksums?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ed T.
Start: 6/14/06 4:36:26 PM
16:36:41.676157 localhost.1017 > localhost.1033: P 367145920:367145992(72) ack 93878562 win 65535 <nop,nop,timestamp 2029087960 2029087900> (DF) (ttl 64, id 56412, bad cksum 0!)
16:36:41.676189 localhost.1033 > localhost.1017: . ack 72 win 65535 <nop,nop,timestamp 2029087960 2029087960> (DF) (ttl 64, id 56413, bad cksum 0!)
16:36:41.676207 localhost.1033 > localhost.1017: P 1:61(60) ack 72 win 65535 <nop,nop,timestamp 2029087960 2029087960> (DF) (ttl 64, id 56414, bad cksum 0!)
16:36:41.676224 localhost.1017 > localhost.1033: . ack 61 win 65535 <nop,nop,timestamp 2029087960 2029087960> (DF) (ttl 64, id 56415, bad cksum 0!)
16:36:49.676576 192.168.1.111.50949 > 255.255.255.255.2222: udp 152 (ttl 64, id 2189)
<SNIP MORE OF THE SAME>
320 Packets Received
0 Packets dropped.
• Monitor Completed •

While I have never tried it, Mac supports Firewire networking (TCP/IP over FW) and I know that some PCs do likewise. Mine does.
That being said, it's possible to link your Mac to your PC with a FW cable (both ends must be the large type of connector) and if so, you can transfer at 400 MB/s.
To enable FireWire networking on your Mac, in the Network preferences, at the bottom of the left pane, click the + sign and in the popup window, add Interface: Firewire.
As I said, I have never used it but in theory it would work. It's not at all like using the Target mode, this is a "hot" FW network link that can directly connect two computers.
IMO, it's worth a shot.

File transfer between mac and windows 7

Is it possible to transfer files between my Mac and a windows 7 machine via bluetooth?
MacBook Pro OS X 10.6.4
Thanks

It will be slow, but there's no reason it shouldn't work as long as the Bluetooth hardware on both computers has the File Transfer Profile (all Macs do), and *Bluetooth Sharing* is checked in the Sharing system preferences pane on the Mac.
If the computers are close enough to send files via Bluetooth, you'd be much better off just networking them together. You can then "mount" the PC hard disk on the Mac like any other disk and move files around easily. It will be hundreds of times faster too.

File Transfer Between Mac Mini and Beige G3 OS 9?

I'd like to transfer files between a PPC Mac Mini with 10.4.x (Bluetooth and Airport) and a Beige G3 still running OS 9 which has USB and FW ports added.
I ccould use a USB stick and be happy, but on the Mini that makes my USB modem hang up. I'd rather not burn data CDs each time. My G3 will not run 10.x due to a video card or RAM from OWC.
So can any of the wireless USB sticks be made to work with OS 9? More obviously, is there a solution using any sort of wire or cable - I may be able to put them near one another at some point?
Thank you.

You should be able to use Firewire to transfer between them I believe.

File transfer between Mac and Windows

I am running Windows on my Mac and I transfer files between mac and Windows alot using my external hard drive. I was wondering if there was an easier way to do this than having to use my external hard drive like a networking solution or something. Thanks...

i also run windows on my mac (for work). The issue i had was that when booted in osx, i could see the windows partition, and copy files FROM it to the mac side, but i could not copy files TO the windows partition.
As i understand it, this is because the apple NTFS driver (to read the windows partition) only allows read access (not read and write access). It was easily solved with MacFuse (which is an open source way to add different disk file systems to your mac, kind of like teaching it a new language), and NTFS-3G for mac osx.
http://macntfs-3g.blogspot.com/
scroll down a bit for the download link. The installer will put in MacFuse and NTFS-3G, so it's the only one you need.
After a reboot, i can read/write to the windows partition while booted into macosx (and it's free).
i hope that helps.
p.s. the efi boot manager download is NOT required.

Bluetooth not working for file transfer between Macs

I just got a MacBook Pro, with OS 10.6.1. My desktop is the iMac 2.66Ghz Intel with 10.5.8. I cannot get Bluetooth file transfers to work between the two.
I've got file sharing turned on for both machines. I've got all the frakkin' folders I need to transfer added to the file sharing list and all are set to "read & write" permission for every user I see in the list. Both machines can discover and seemingly connect to each other in Bluetooth.
However, I cannot send files between them; the connection just times out. I turned off the firewall on both machines. I've got file-sharing allowed on both machines. But the Macbook insists on only seeing the "public" folder on my iMac, but won't accept any files from it, and vice versa. I can't see anything on my iMac (and vice versa); I can't browse, I can't send.
I don't want to use the Migration -- I don't want to transfer everything under the sun to the laptop (and why in the WORLD Migration doesn't allow one to pick & choose what you want to migrate is beyond me), just specific files. Using my regular wireless connection, it's going to take over 6 hours. I want to get Bluetooth working -- it's irritating enough that the Firewire ports between my two Macs aren't the same type, so I can't use my existing firewire cable to do it, but this issue with Bluetooth is driving me up the wall.
Any suggestions? I've tried searching this forum, but can't seem to find anything that would fit my specific problem, and all the KB docs I've found, I've followed. HELP!

HI Chris,
Sharing files using Bluetooth
To share files using Bluetooth, you first need to make sure Bluetooth is turned on, and then use Bluetooth File Exchange to send a file.
To turn on Bluetooth:
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences and click Bluetooth.
Select the On checkbox. To allow other Bluetooth enabled devices to “discover” your computer and send files, also select the Discoverable checkbox.
Select “Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar” so you can quickly send files and perform other actions using the Bluetooth status menu in the menu bar.
To send files using Bluetooth:
Choose Send File from the Bluetooth status menu in the menu bar.
If the Bluetooth menu isn’t visible, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Bluetooth, and select “Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar.”
In the window that appears, select the file you want to send and click Send.
Select the device you want to send the file to and click Send.
If you don’t see the device you want to send the file to, make sure the device has Bluetooth turned on and is discoverable.
You do not need File Sharing turned on for Bluetooth technology.
Another way to share files between two Macs is How to use Firewire Target Disk Mode
Carolyn

File transfer between macbook and other macs

I need to do a file transfer between my macbook and a macbook pro and my macbook and an ibook. What ways can you recommend? FTP is slow for me because it's a campus network, and bluetooth takes a while too (in the ranges of 1 to 2 hours). I believe it can be done through firewire and/or USB right?
If I were to use USb, is there any special software needed? Or will each mac detect each other as a hard drive or?
What about firewire? I understand it needs to have a hub or a server? Is that true? Can file transfers be done just via a firewire alone?
Thanks!

If you want to access your friend's files, he should enable File Sharing on his machine and you should choose Finder > Go > Connect to Server... His machine should show up in the Connect to Server dialog box. This should work with ethernet; AFAIK USB will not work.
From Mac Help:
"You can use an Ethernet cable to connect two Macintosh computers and share files or play network games.
1. Connect an Ethernet cable from the Ethernet port of one computer to the Ethernet port on the other.
2. Open Sharing preferences on both computers and turn on Personal File Sharing. Note the Computer Name for the computers.
3. On one of the computers, choose Go > Connect To Server and then click Browse.
4. Double-click the other computer in the window and enter your password, if necessary.
If you manually configured the TCP/IP settings for the built-in Ethernet configuration on the computer you are connecting to, you may need to enter that computer's TCP/IP address in the Connect To Server dialog.
To see or set the TCP/IP address, open Network preferences and choose your Ethernet port configuration from the Show pop-up menu (named Built-in Ethernet unless you gave it another name)."

File transfer between internal drives extremely slow

Since the upgrade to the latest Lion OSX 10.8.5 on my Mac Pro, file transfer between internal drives is extremely slow. I used Disk Ulitly to repair the drives but no use. What could be the cause? Thanks

Yes I have been transfering the same type of data in the same manner as before, this happened only recently. For example if I transfered lets say a 100MB single file from main HDD to 2nd internal HDD it would have taken around 10 seconds nwo it takes a minute or so. Also my iTunes library is located in the 2nd Drive and since this issue when I play music it keeps cutting off and coming back, I am sure this is due to the slow transfer speed of the drive. I can't figure out why it has gotten so slow, is it the drive or the OSX?

AirDrop transfer between Mac mini (late 2012) and MacBook Pro (late 2008) works only one way.

AirDrop transfer between Mac mini (late 2012) and MacBook Pro (late 2008) works only one way. I see both machines on both airdrop windows. Firewalls on both machines are set exactly the same way, and with Network Browser set to allow. Can send a file from Mac mini to MacBook, but not the other way. Never get a window asking to accept on the Mac mini.
Found no useful documentation on AirDrop anywhere in the whole support site.

Maybe this will work. From an Apple support article.
You can also use the Share button to send files to your neighbors via AirDrop. In a Finder window, select the item you want to share, and then click the Share button in the toolbar. For more information about the Share button, see this help topic:

Slow file transfer - ethernet + firewire issue?

Here's the setup -
Win98PC > ethernet (direct cable connection) > iMac G5 > Lacie d2 FW drive
Connection (100BaseT) works, logins work fine, browsing folders & files is fine. But when I transfer files from the WinPC to the Lacie drive through the iMac G5 it is unbelievably slow. Same thing if I use one of my other Macs in place of the WinPC, so it looks like a network or iMacG5 issue, not a WinPC issue.
On the other hand, if I use Airport to connect a WinPC, eMac or MacBook to the iMacG5, the file transfers are blindingly fast.
Is this perhaps because the FW & ethernet controllers in the iMac G5 are the same PHY chip? Is this some kind of contention for bandwidth through the PHY chip? (The Airport card in the iMacG5 is on a separate bus, not connected to the Ethernet/FW PHY chip, which makes me suspect something is up with the ethernet/FW controller.)
Anyone else encounter a problem like this with slow file transfer through your iMacG5 to an external FW drive?

Martin, that's really interesting. I've noticed slow network transfers in the past but always racked it up to overhead and parity errors inherent in the OS's. Never thought it might be the PHY chip, though it certainly could be. Apple has a broadband tuner which might help you by increasing packet size (but you probably knew that as a Level3). My stopgap is to do the file transfers with firewire, but your laptop may not have that option.
You could maybe copy to the mac over the network, then copy a second time to the LaCie. Not elegant or clean, but will save you time. Kinda like taking the backroads to avoid rush hour traffic - it's farther to go but you get there faster.
I'll look into the controller question. Let us know how you're doing,
Ed

[SOLVED]Simple file transfer between different os'es

Hi
I'm searching for some kind of simple file transfer between different computers/os (mainly arch and windows) on local net, without I have to set up any samba/ftp server etc. It would be perfect if i could select a file I want to transfer and then be able to receive it on a different computer.
So far I've tried giver but I most of the times they can't find each other.
Any know how I could archive something like the a bow?
Thanks
Last edited by zann (2012-12-07 01:43:44)

Try using simple file sharing through http server 'oneliner's.
- Note your host IP (which I refer to by "ip.of.your.server"),
- Go under your directory where you want to share files and fire a command line :
Using python : python2 -m SimpleHTTPServer 8000
And you can access your files on the network using http://ip.of.your.server:8000/
Using php : php -S localhost:8080 -t webrootpath/
Files under webrootpath/ will be accessible from http://ip.of.your.server:8888/
Using mongoose : mongoose -r . -p 8888
Files will be accessible from http://ip.of.your.server:8888/
You may restrict access, ie.: -l -0.0.0.0/0,+10.60.100.105
And have access/error logging (à la apache) too : -a access_log.txt -e error_log.txt
NB.: You may install python or php under windows but mongoose is the easiest thing when it comes to windows -> linux.
Last edited by xpixelz (2012-12-04 15:01:40)

Slow file transfer from pc to mac

I've got two windows xp home pcs and two macs (a mac mini and an ibook). The windows PCs are connected to the wired network and both macs are wireless.
When I try to initiate a file transfer on either pc to either mac, the file transfer is really slow (slower than I think it should be). It's very annoying.
Does anyone have any idea what causes this and how to fix it? Thanks.

I've got some more information: when Windows NT initiates a file transfer to the mac using windows file sharing, the transfer speed is fast. It's XP that has the problem. Is this a windows XP problem or a Mac OS X problem? Last time I checked, the macs were both able to communicate with each other just fine.
Ok, here's the transfer speeds approx: a 100mb file is normally quickly transferred in about a minute. When the windows xp machine tries to send to the mac, the transfer will take many times longer to complete.
Can anyone help with this problem? Anyone at all? Please? I'm annoyed about this issue.
So, what's the fix? Please. Thanks.

Slow file transfer

Perhaps this question is best posted directly under some oxs 10.6 forum, but it is about iPhoto too.
I'm been having problems with my iMac running slow, crashing, and such so I finally decided to start over, or at least experiment with it. So I've installed Snow Leopard onto a clean (freshly erased) external FW drive. I've updated all and installed (and updated iLife 11.
The problem is that I am copying my iPhoto library over to the external. The library is 105 GB. It started off a little slow, but soon began loading slower and slower. I could actually watch as the time estimate began increasing from a couple of hours to over 32 hours.
This is a FW400 drive and the transfer is from the internal to the external with no other interference (no other drive activity). This drive has been running like gang busters doing everything as quick as you'd expect EXCEPT this library transfer.
I decided to stop the transfer, run disk repair and reboot before trying it again. But the result is the same.
Okay, since I've started this post, the time has DROPPED from 33 hours down to 3 hours. About 13 GB have transferred in the hour since I started. It looks like this is a non issue. But I'll leave this post up for anyone who can comment on it. I'm still curious why it ran so slow at first. This was my third attempt. Attempt number two was this afternoon (after the reboot) when I saw the time estimate hit 8 hours, I decided to shut it down and run it late at night after the rest of the family went to bed. That way they wouldn't mess things up by changing accounts during the transfer. But as far as I can tell, every attempt acted exactly the same. Decent start then slow to snails pace.
Thanks,
Bear

WBW - I am having the exact same problem between my MBP and my MacPro. File transfers between the two machines are ridiculously slow. Other network activity from both machines (i.e., browsing the web) is just fine. Moreover, my old Powerbook G4 did not have this problem.
Did you ever find a solution to this? Please let me know...I'm getting desperate here. A new machine should NOT be worse.
-JGartmann

File transfer from Mac to Mac-unable to complete

I have had the new airport extreme base station for 4 days now, and I have yet to see speeds over 1mbps. I have tried almost every channel on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Both my Mac Pro and Macbook Pro(just got that too) are 802.11n-enabled. They are on the same network with one airport base station, and I have a transmit rate of around 114-130, and an RSSI rate of -59 to -79 on almost every channel. When transferring a file from one mac to another, the transfer rate starts out at about 1mbps, and then fluctuates from .5-1mbps, and then eventually slows to a halt and never finishes.
I have a cordless phone that operates at 5.8GHz, so I am using 2.4GHz on the airport. I don't know what else to do...this is not operating according to specs at all. I am reading that people are getting up to 16mbps...and I have not gotten anywhere near that. Can anyone help? What could be wrong?

In situations like this it really is a case of taking it back to basics and testing different things to rule out possible causes.
First thing I would try is check around your property for any other wireless devices that may conflict with the AEBS.
Is your AEBS in a different room to the MP and MBP?
Also I would try the transfer test again on the N side but this time unplug your 5.8GHz phone from both the telephone socket and power to see if speed increases.
What about your neighbours, do they have wireless phones or Wireless networks in use that could maybe conflict with yours? If they have a network, find out what channel it's using and configure your AEBS to use a frequency 3-4 channels away from your neighbours.
One more possible reason for bad wireless network performance could be a bad electrical power supply in your home. I read a report about an ADSL customer in the UK being supplied with a brand new Flat Screen TV because the power supply in his old one knocked out his ADSL connection and those of his neigbours in a radius of 200m from his home.
One last thing, I take it transfer speeds via ethernet are fine? This is purely just a problem with the wireless speeds?
Regards,
Jason

ISDN Adaptor and File Transfer for Mac Mini

Hi,
I am trying to find some ISDN File Transfer software that I can use on the Mac Mini. I have bought a Trust USB modem, but need the software to get this transferring.
Thanks
John
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.4)

You should be able to use Firewire to transfer between them I believe.

Slow file transfer between Macs

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for