Sync macbook with iMac?

Hello,
I use a Macbook and now consider buying a new iMac for my home. However, I do not want to always copy files manually between the two computers.
Is there any way to sync certain folders (e.g. documents, music, movies...) between them automatically (like the Apple TV and the Mac)?
Thanks a lot, cheers,
J

sorry- not a reply but a pile-on question. I'm thinking the same thing. I was going to upgrade a powerbook g4 to a new macbook pro and maybe add an external monitor, but i've been thinking instead of buying a new imac and pairing it with the g4. kind of like a 2 monitor arrangement but with 2 hard drives, chips etc. anyway, assuming i can do that i'd like the docs folders and calendar and mail to be synched on both machines in case i take the powerbook on the road.
any thoughts?
thnx

Similar Messages

Sync macbook with iPad

How to sync macbook with ipad?

You might want to read this for information on how to sync with iTunes.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1296?viewlocale=en_US
And this one as well.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1386
This is the user guide and it will also be helpful.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/ipad_user_guide.pdf

Which phones will sync well with iMAC?

I use my cell phone primarily for contacts, calendar so only buy minutes for the year rather than a monthly plan. Which cell phones sync well with iMAC for these purposes? Cost of iPhone seems impractical for me.

Get an off contract iPhone, pay as you go, try VirginUSA

Sync notes with iMac, iPhone, and MacBook

My calendar and contacts are in sync for my iMac, iPhone, and MacBook. I can not figure out how to sync my notes on these machines. Any suggestions on how to do this?

Richard,
Thank you for using the Apple Support Community. Due to the nature of your issue or question you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources - https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action.
All my best,
Allen

HT1296 syncing iPad with iMac - syncing won't start

My iPad has always synced automatically with my iMac when I connected them. Today I get the message "could not be synced because sync session failed to start".
What di I do now?

Thank you so much. This worked immediately! Such a simple solution that it would not have dawned on me to try. Regards
Jerry

IPhone sync'd with iMac at home, need to put something on it while on road

We are on a trip and my wife has her iPhone with her and her Air. She keeps the iPhone sync'd with her iMac at home, but has purchased an audiobook from the store and needs to move it to the phone. Right now, we are sort of stymied because when we plug the iPhone into the air, it tells us it is sync'd with the other machine.
How do we get that book from the air to the iPhone? If I could have gotten to her fast enough, I would have had her buy it on the phone, but she has already purchased it, and it's sitting on the air.

No can do.
In regards to iTunes content, an iPhone can be synced with an iTunes library on a single computer, and photos can be transferred from a single computer only. The iPhone does not support disk mode as is supported with an iPod.

SkyCaddie Sg4 won't Sync up with iMac

I have an iMac running OSX 10.6 and it will not sync with My Sky Caddie Sg4 . The iMac is missing the drivers to talk to the SG4 . If I go to a friends iMac running OSX 10.6 I have no problem syncing up . I have worked with Sky Caddie they can figure out what the problem is . When I first got the SG4 and had this problem Sky Caddie knew they had a problem with iMac and sent the drivers to load and the iMac worked fine . I had the hard drive go bad on the iMac and lost all My software on it , now back to no sync again . Has anyone else had this problem and found a fix ?

Thank you for your help! I will check on this directly tonight.
I'm embarrassed to ask this but do you happen to have "the recipe" to check on this aspect?
I'm wondering if I'd need to make sure sharing not on in many places and not just one area of the computer. Thanks again and may you have a wonderful weekend ahead!

TS4000 How to sync Reminders with iMac and iPhone?

I want to keep Reminders synced between my iMac and my iPhone. There aren't much in the way of instructions in the iPhone manual. Only to go to iCloud settings on both devices and make sure Reminders is turned on in both. I have an iCloud account and I have turned on Reminders in iCloud on both devices, but what I create on my iPhone doesn't show up on my iMac and vice versa.

Thanks. I had seen this page and done these things. Items created on my iPhone go to iCloud and I can see them there in my browser. But for some reason they don't come to my iMac and what is created on my iMac doesn't go to the cloud even though iCloud is turned on and signed in to my account and the appropriate boxes are checked in System Preferences. I just upgraded from Snow Leopard to Mavericks a couple of weeks ago and so am just starting using Reminders, but I do try to read the instructions.

Syncing Macbook with an iMac desktop?

Hello,
My husband and I are looking at purchasing a Macbook to replace his old desktop PC. The reason we're considering the Macbook is because I have an iMac desktop and want a portable Mac to take with me on the go. At the same time he wants a computer that he can hook up to his desktop monitor, and run Windows on, but that will still serve me as a portable. Kind of an all in one for the both of us. Does this sound feasible? He doesn't use my iMac, because first of all, it's just mine, and secondly I don't run windows on it and he wants Windows. I won't give up my hard drive space to Windows stuff.
So, I'm wondering, will the stuff on my iMac sync to the Macbook so I can take it with me? I'm guessing if so it would be through Back to My Mac, or if not, some other way? I do have MobileMe. Before we make this purchase I'd love to find out if anyone is using both a portable Mac and a desktop Mac and is able to sync the two of them so that you have the same, or at least some of the same stuff on both? And if you are, how are you doing it?
I'm a hobbyist with my iMac, so I'd be using mostly iPhoto, iMovie, and doing digital scrapbooking, etc., while away from home. I can do email, etc., on my iPhone.
And one more thing, my husband said he'd need some kind of docking station on his desk so that it would be easy to just lift the Macbook out of it to make it portable, and then just snap it back in when I bring it home so that he can use it in the evenings when he's home from work.
I'm thinking that would be overkill since most things he would need are built into the Macbook (speakers, keyboard, wireless internet connectivity, etc.), so all he would really need to do is attach the power cord, and plug in the desktop monitor and mouse which could be plugged into a USB hub. I also have an extra Mac wireless keyboard he could use, since I switched from the one that came with my iMac a year ago, to the new smaller slim one. I gave up on the Wireless Mighty Mouse out of frustration and went to a non-Apple brand wired mouse. I know he'll want to use a mouse and not the trackpad most of the time for comfort and ease of use.
Oh, and by the way, my husband basically just does email at home, and not even every night. He is on a computer at work all day, so he doesn't like to spend much time on one at home.
So, I guess I'm just trying to find out if this would work for us? Any comments or suggestions would be most appreciated!
Thanks in advance, Debbie and John

Lots of ways to sync data back and forth - take a look at Chrono sync for a good file level backup/sync program. It is what I have used for the last 4 years to keep my desktops and notebooks all relatively synced. (I say relatively because I found that iPhoto and iTunes in particular caused some trouble, I'll detail later.) I also found that .Mac (now Mobile Me) was helpful in keeping my calendar & bookmarks synced, not to mention several programs use it to keep their data synced.
I've seen at least one dock advertised for the MacBook and my first, second and third thoughts were: too darn expensive just to connect a couple cables! He'll be connecting a display, keyboard, power, and maybe external drive and speakers. Not too onerous at all. Get him a USB hub and be done with it.
iPhoto and iTunes: the problem can surface other places too, but it hit me most with these two. Say you grab a few pictures and put them into iPhoto on the MacBook and then promptly forget. Later in the week you grab a few more and import them into the iMac. So on Saturday you sync. You can't copy one iPhoto library over onto the other - either way you lose. Same issue with iTunes and any file you might create - but it is less likely to happen with normal word processing files. The solution I found was this: I import photos only on my desktop, never on the MacBook. If I just have to download music on my MacBook I put them on my thumb drive immediately.
Mail: all my email goes to my Gmail account and I never erase anything. IMAP makes life easy because it appears on each computer.

Sync MacBook to iMac via wireless network

I just bought a new MacBook and would like to sync it to my iMac (Intel). That is, every time I add a song to iTunes, create a new document, add photos to iPhoto, etc. I would like the files to be on both computers. This would seem to be something that many users would want to do, so I assume there is a simple way. Thanks for the help.

I do this every day - that is, sync two computers to keep most (user) files on it identical.
1. With Firewire, it is easy and fast. You can use Target Disk Mode to connect the two computers and then use a shareware utility called FileSynchronization to sync selected folders.
2. Given that the Macbook doesn't have Firewire, this process becomes more tiresome and longer. Use an external USB drive as a go-between. That is, copy from iMac -> USB drive -> Macbook and vice versa. Again, use FileSynchronization or some such software to only copy files that have been updated.
For me, since I sync twice a day, the lack of Firewire seems really really problematic because of all these added steps. This is the only reason I haven't bought a Macbook yet when I had intended to purchase it the day it came out. I am still hanging on to the 12"Powerbook.
There are other utilitites besides FileSynchronization that can help keep files synced. I understand that the latest version of FileSynchronization allows wireless synch, although the process is pretty slow.
Note that to keep Mail synced it is best to use IMAP, if feasible.

Sync Macbook and iMac

I recently purchased a new 27" iMac. I want to be able to keep my photos and music in-sync with both my new iMac and my Macbook. For example, when I am on-the-go, I want to be able to open my Macbook and if I have downloaded a new song back home from my iMac; I want it to be available on my Macbook. I know I can enable Library Sharing via iPhoto or iTunes, but that only works with both computers on and running. I want something like MobileMe, where if one thing changes, it changes it on every device. However, I have gigabytes upon gigabytes of photos and music, therefore MobileMe or DropBox aren't useful to me. Please help me. I have read in some threads about using FireWire and such, but am illiterate when it comes to how to set this up.
Thanks,
Jeremiah House
<Edited by Host>

I do exactly the same thing. But it's not as easy as one would think. I like to keep my MacBook exactly like my iMac right down to the desktop.
Music - If you use iTunes you need to turn on the home share option and let them sync when they see each other. This is automatic and built into iTunes. If you do not use iTunes, then syncing of your music should be no problem with ChronoSync.
Files other then in Mail - I use ChronoSync. I have it set to sync everything I want to keep on both machines automatically. The moment each computer sees the other they sync. Usually very quickly unless I have change, added, removed a lot of files.
Mail - You need to use an IMAP system to keep all mail synced as copying the files from computer to another will not put them back into mail. Like iTunes it has it's own database engine that everything has to go through.
Contacts, Calendar, notes, widgets, dock items, keychains, mail rules, bookmarks, and preferences - If you use MobileMe to sync then do not sync any other way. It will cause havoc... If you do not use MobileMe, then there are settings in ChronoSync to sync those too.

Problem syncing iPhone4 with iMac 10.6.8

I was in line to purchase the very first 8GB iPhone in June 2007. Loved the 3GS, and now I'm on the iPhone 4. Have absolutely LOVED the iPhone since the beginning! The Apple syncing was AWESOME. Much improvement (ease of use) over my old Windows Mobile phone, and Blackberry before that, and Palm Pilot before that. However, recently, since the introductino of iCloud, I'm becoming VERY CONCERNED because the syncing is not happening. I use iCal on the iMac and the Calendar app on my iPhone. I do not make calendar entries on my iPad at all. In the past, everything just worked (syncing between iCal on iMac and the iPhone). Everything stayed synced together. If I made an entry on my iPhone calendar, after a sync, it would automatically appear in iCal on my Mac. Any changes on iCal on the iMac would, after a sync, appear on my iPhone.
I've depended on this behavior for years now, and am very frustrated to learn that some calendar entries are not syncing. I am running the older 10.6.8 on the iMac, so when I tried to turn on iCloud, it didn't work on the iMac. However, it worked on the iPad and iPhone. I ran in to the problem with double entries as I've seen in other posts, and got tired of deleting all the duplicate entries, and eventually decided to turn of iCloud syncing of my contacts and calendars because I need accuracy in these two apps. Can't afford to lose any of my 3500 contacts or hundreds of calendar entries each month. I noticed today that a Feb 22nd doctors appointment was not listed in iCal on the iMac. Checked the iPhone and it was there. Synced the iPhone, and the appointment did not appear in iCal on the iMac. Checked my settings on iPhone and found it was set to iCloud being on (to use the find my iPhone feature) but all syncing to the cloud settings such as calendar, contacts, etc. is turned off. Then checked my iTunes iPhone syncing preferences and found it was set to sync to backup to iCloud. Changed that setting to BACKUP TO THIS COMPUTER instead. Also, checked to make sure that all calendars were selected, and that Sync to iCalendars was checked. Did another sync to the iPhone, and that Feb. 22nd doctor's appointment did NOT copy to iCal on the iMac. It is only on my iPhone. Does anyone know how to turn off iCoud completely (and keep find my iphone feature) and make it sync to my iPhone? I really need the old feature of just being able to sync my iPhone calendar with my iCal calendar on the iMac. Is this still a viable feature? Can it be done without updating the iMac OS?
My big problem is that I've trusted all my calendar events and contacts to the iPhone and syncing with iCal on the iMac for the past (almost) five years, and I've gotten to where I don't even worry about it because it always just works. Now that I've disovered that it is not syncing calendar entries, I'm begining to wonder if it is not syncing other calendar entries. Also, I'm very concerned about not having a backup. In the past, if anything happened to my iPhone, I was confident that I could buy a new iPhone, sync it to my Mac, and I'd have all my important contacts and calendar entries. Now, I know, if I got a new iPhone today, I would lose this calendar entry, since it does not sync. It goes through the motions, step 1 of 7, step 2 of 7, etc., but this calendar entry is not syncing. I'm wondering what other calendar entries are not syncing.
Any help with this problem would be GREATLY appreciated!
If I can't get this problem fixed, I'll be forced to go back to a paper calendar like I used back in the 1990s (unless I can find my old Palm Pilot). Also, I can't just wipe the phone or iCal on the iMac because I have important calendar and contact entries on both and assumed that they have been syncing - but, they have not been syncing recently.
Thanks VERY much for any help with this issue!!!

Not sure why you are getting duplicates if you have Settings>iCloud>Calendars set to Off. But if events added to your phone aren't syncing to iCal on your mac you might want to go to Settings>Mail,Contacts,Calendars>scroll down to the Calendars section and tap Default Calendar. Here be sure you have selected your mac calendar as your default and not, for example, the calendar under On My iPhone. If you do change this setting try adding another even to your phone and syincing to confirm that it transfers now.

Problem Syncing iPhone with iMac

Hello,
My iPhone has been working and syncing (with new iMac) just fine - until tonight. I plug in iPhone. It shows up in iTunes. I have Automatic sync checked. But, within less than a minute, I receive this error message:
"iTunes could not sync contacts to the iPhone [name] because the iPhone disconnected"
I also get same error message when I click "Sync" button in lower right of iTunes window. Obviously, I did not disconnect the phone as the error message alleges.
I have rebooted computer. I have recycled iPhone (top right switch off, then on). I have changed iPhone cord plugged in back of iMac screen. I have ejected iPhone, removed plug and reestablished connection.
I need to sync my contacts from iMac Address Book. Can someone please identify the problem and solution?
Thank you,
Dale
Note: The iPhone was updated several days ago to 1.1.3. Syncs have taken place successfully SINCE the upgrade prior to tonight.

With your iPhone connected and available with iTunes, under the Info tab for your iPhone sync preferences under replace information on this phone, select Contacts and then sync. This will replace all contact information on your iPhone with what is available in the Address Book application.

Syncing issues with iMac, iPad & iPhone 4s

In the last couple of days all 3 devices just magically stopped syncing with each other, I haven't changed any settings at all and have installed all the updates as they have arrived (except Maverics OS) from the day I purchased them...what is happening?
This is extremely frustrating as I use them all every day for work!! It was so refreshing when I purchased them all, and they were working together beautifully, now its just a reminder of what I went from with the Microsoft headaches and 'software updates'...
Definately unimpressed!!
So what have I done so far to 'get them working' again?
I have checked the settings in iCloud...all the right buttons are 'on' as they should be, on all 3 devices!
I have done a backup into iCloud & onto MyMac, of the iPhone and iPad, and also a backup of the iMac into the Time Capsule.
Not sure what to do from here though...last time this happened it was a couple of weeks before 'everything just magically started working again' and things were somewhat restored.
Does Apple have the occasional 'outage' with the iCloud? Does a server go down somewhere rendering any hours spent on trying to get to the bottom of this issue useless?
Would love to know any answers anyone has...

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Then try the action that you're having trouble with again. Select any messages that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
☞ The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
☞ Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

Can't sync PalmV with Imac

I have been using a Palm V with my PC for several years without problems. I recently purchased a new Imac and would like to sync my handheld with it so that I don't have to totally recreate an address book with dozens of names, adddresses and phone numbers. I have downloaded the proper version of Palm desktop and, according to the kind people at Apple Support, I have everything on the Imac configured properly and I purchased a serial to serial to USB adapter so I could attach the cradle to the Imac.
When I go to Isync it shows a picture of my Imac and a picture of my Palm V and then a window appears telling me to push the hot sync button on the cradle. I do that and the screen on the Palm V says it's connecting with the desktop. Then after about 30 or 40 seconds a message appears on the Palm V saying that it was not able to connect with the desktop "please check your settings". It appears that everything is set properly on the Imac and it is recognizing the Palm V, but the Palm V is not seeing the Imac. Is there some new software I have to install on the Palm V and, if so, how am I supposed to do that? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Post relates to: Palm V

I have exactly this problem, but I'll answer your direct question: I have Keyspan USB-19HS USB-to-serial adapter. I've installed the Keyspan drivers (version 2.5) and the Keyspan "Serial Assistant Tool" shows the adapter as being there (USA19H3a2P1.1). I've got the HotSync connection setting to look only at that port, and matched the speeds in the HotSync manager and the PalmVx at 57,600bps. I can push the HotSync button on my PalmVx (PalmOS 3.5.3) and the HotSync window (4.2.1) pops up on the Mac (OS X 10.5.4) , but then it hangs at "Establishing connection". So the PalmVx can talk to the Palm Desktop software , but then things don't proceed.
The Keyspan support people suggested this was a problem with the Palm software not finding a "User" file, or being confused among "User" files. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Palm Desktop software, several times, including deleting everything under "Documents / Palm", but that hasn't helped. I tried changing my user name on my PalmVx (via shortcut-dot-5 and syncing on a Windows box), but that didn't help, either.
I'm trying to sync with the Palm Desktop, rather than to iCal, but if iCal will work where Palm Desktop won't, I could switch. I just want to back up my PalmVx data, and don't care about the UI of the desktop.
Thanks for any help you can give me on this. If there are diagnostic logs you need, tell me how to get them and I'll post them here.
Post relates to: Palm Vx, Mac OSX
Message Edited by PeterKessler on 08-28-2008 11:57 AM

Sync macbook with iMac?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for