Transfer Hard Drives Between iMac & MacBook

Hello! I have an iMac that I was using for personal and a MacBook that I was using for business... I now need to switch my uses and need to transfer all applications, files, documents, photos, etc (basically just switch entire hard drives) between the two computers... I don't even know where to begin?!? There's not a whole lot on either computer... but the files are very important...
Does anybody know of the easiest and quickest way to go about this?!? Please let me know!
Also, does anybody know if it's possible to set up an ipod nano on 2 computers? My desktop and laptop??
Thanks a Bunch!!!

I'll try the first questions. In some situations you could hook up your MacBook with a firewire cable in Target Disk mode to the iMac and clone or migrate your system directly from one computer to the other. However in your situation you don't want to erase the files from either machine. It's also not a good idea to clone one system directly to the other because they are totally different machines that may have different drivers included in the initial OS install. So this is what I suggest.
1) Use an external drive to back up one or both of your systems. If the drive is large enough to partition it into 2 partitions then clone the iMac to one partition and clone the MacBook to the other partition. Otherwise you could still do it by just cloning one system. Use Carbon copy cloner or SuperDuper to make the clone.
2) If you have both imaged cloned to the external connect it to one of the machines and run the Migration assistant to migrate the User files and Applications from the external system that you want. For example, connect the external to the iMac, run migration assistant, and choose to migrate the user files from the MacBook image.
3) If you are only able to make one backup, lets say you cloned the iMac to the external. Keep the external on standby. Power down your MacBook and connect it to your iMac with a FireWire cable. Hit the power button and hold down the "T" key to boot it into target disk mode. The MacBook's internal drive should now show up on the desktop of your iMac. Run the Migration Assistant from your iMac and choose the MacBook drive to Migrate from.
4) If the previous step was successful(I would test everything thoroughly) then connect the external drive to your MacBook and run the Migration Assistant to migrate the User files from the external to your MacBook.
George

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Cloning hard drives between iMacs?

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Pete

Thanks for the suggestion.
Unfortunately the old iMac has a 3tb HD and the new one has a 1tb HD and I only want to copy a small amount of data, not backup the whole HD as a bootable drive on the new computer.
Any (free) ideas?
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Swapping hard drives between 2 macbooks?

Hi all,
I have a question. I have a 1st gen macbook (white body) that I got nearly 3 years ago, it's running tiger. A friend has a newer mac (bought last summer) which is running leopard.
Can I swap the hdds in these two machines without having to do crazy stuff? As in if I put the newer hdd into my older machine, will my machine be running leopard, etc? What do I need to do to swap them?
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I have the same question. I have Leopard on both however. I have two Macbooks, one black, and one white. The black one has better specs; 2.2 GHz core 2 duo with 2 GB RAM, etc while the white one has a 1.83 GHz core duo (NOT 2) with 1 gb ram. The white one I believe belonged to some sort of an advertisement designer or something because there are massive amounts of nice programs like adobe CS3 and office 2008, and not only that, but the hard drive is 250 GB as opposed to mine which is 160 GB. The graphics drivers are both intel, although one is GMA 950 while the other is GMA x3100. Can I still swap the drives and not have to restore?

How To Transfer Hard Drive Files from Macbook Pro

I have a macbook pro(late 2006 model) which won't turn on. Brought it to the apple store for them to take a look at. I was told that the main circuit board is broken and it will be cheaper to buy a newer macbook instead of fixing it. I was also told that the harddrive was ok. How do I transfer the files from my old macbook pro hardrive(which won't turn on) to a new macbook pro? They offered to help me at the apple store but it will cost me $99 for their "one to one." Can someone help me? Thanks!

k-ci204 wrote:
What size of a usb external harddrive caddy do I need? What is compatable with the macbook pro hardrive?
2.5" SATA. USB2 models can be found be found for $15 or so. Then the enclosure can be used with an old or new HD for backups/troubleshooting. I have way too many around, but I don't know what I'd do without at least one 2.5" and one 3.5" (but I prefer the faster FireWire 800 models, which are more expensive). In any case, I think it's safe to say you won't regret spending $15 on an enclosure.

Can anyone make a recommendation on the purchase of an external hard drive for my Macbook Pro? I am currently using OS 10.6.8 because I can't upgrade until I clean out my start up disc space. I have a ton of pictures to transfer. Thanks!

Can anyone make a recommendation on the purchase of an external hard drive for my Macbook Pro? I am currently using OS 10.6.8 because I can't upgrade until I clean out my start up disc space. I have a ton of pictures to transfer.Thanks!

best options for the price, and high quality HD:
Quality 1TB drives are $50 per TB on 3.5" or $65 per TB on 2.5"
Perfect 1TB for $68
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YA3W/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379452568&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+toshiba
Nice 500gig for $50. ultraslim perfect for use with a notebook
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb
2.5" USB portable High quality BEST FOR THE COST, Toshiba "tiny giant" 2TB drive (have several of them, LOT of storage in a SMALL package) $117
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba
*This one is the BEST portable external HD available that money can buy:
HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive $88
http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Mobile-Portable-External-0S03559/dp/B009GE6JI8/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383238934&sr=8-1&keywords=HGST+Touro+Mobile+Pro+1TB+USB+3.0+7 2 00+RPM
Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"
Hitachi is the winner in hard drive reliability survey:
Hitachi manufacturers the safest and most reliable hard drives, according to the Storelab study. Of the hundreds of Hitachi hard drives received, not a single one had failed due to manufacturing or design errors. Adding the highest average lifespans and the best relationship between failures and market share, Hitachi can be regarded as the winner.

I dropped my macbook pro and the screen is broken can i still use it with an external monitor? Or can I or how do I transfer hard drive files to my mac mini?

I dropped my 17" macbook pro and the screen is broken. Can I still use it with an external monitor? When I plugged it into a monitor I had used it with before, I'm not able to see anything on the macbook screen to control it. It came on but I just got the blue screen with nothing else after typing in my password. (Didn't see the password form just assumed it was there somewhere and it did go from space to blue screen but no desktop icons, files, dock strip at top or anything else, just blank blue screen) so I can't access the system preferences.
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I'd like to promise you that everything will be fine if you just get the monitor going - but it's hard to know what the hardware damage might be. It might be the monitor, or the damage might be greater.
Your best solution would be visit your local Apple Store and let them know what your situation is. They have access to diagnostics you don't, and they might be able to the best way to save your data and keep you computing. It's still not covered, but they can tell you what your current options are.
Um, you might consider investing in a backup drive.
And there other repair options, too. Powerbook Medic http://www.powerbookmedic.com/xcart1/pages.php?pageid=67 offers reliable repairs, and quotes prices well under Apple's.

Hard drive failing on Macbook 13" OS 10.7.3 Need to xfer all files to an iMAC 21.5. How to do this?

Hard drive failing on Macbook 13" OS 10.7.3 Need to xfer all files to an iMAC 21.5. How to do this?

Can you boot the MacBook into FireWire Target Disk mode? That turns it (temporarily) into an expensive hard drive. You can then move files.
Another way would be to use an external hard drive, attach it to the MacBook and user software such as Bombich's Carbon Copy Cloner to copy the hard drive (assuming you have sufficient space on the iMac.)
Best of luck. Please keep your data backed up in the future to avoid this. It'll make your life easier.

How can I restore files from a time machine back-up of my iMac to an EXTERNAL hard drive connected to MacBook Pro. Using Migrat

I would like to restore files from a time machine back-up of my iMac to an EXTERNAL hard drive connected to MacBook Pro. When I tried using Migration Assistant it only gives me my internal hard drive as an option to restore to. The internal hard drive on my macbook isnt large enough to store the files.

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
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If you are considering to purchase Mac Book Pro is not Retina, you can get 1TB HDD as option with +$50.

I have a macbook pro, and i want to transfer my hard drive from my macbook, but the display drivers and such are different. How do i do this?

I have a macbook pro, and i want to transfer my hard drive from my macbook (500g), but the display drivers and such are different. How do i do this and is it possible?
The Macbook Pro has Mac OS X 10.4.11 (70g hard drive)
The Macbook has Mac OS X 10.6.8 (500g hard drive)

The MacBook's hard drive lacks the necessary hardware drivers to boot the MacBook Pro even though it has a much newer OS on it; that's why simply moving it into the Pro doesn't work. Presumably you have a very old MB Pro, because only the very first MB Pro model (produced January to May 2006) was ever offered with an 80GB hard drive. Are you sure you want to move your big drive into such an old machine? The MacBook must be newer, because the first MacBook was introduced just as the first Pro model was discontinued.

How do I transfer an imovie from an external hard drive to my macbook pro iMovie 9

How do I transfer an iMovie from an external hard drive to my macbook pro iMovie 11?

The easiest way would be to just attach the external drive to the MacBook Pro. iMovie should see it next time you open iMovie.
If you are going for portability, you can attach the external drive to the MacBook Pro. Then open iMovie.
Then click VIEW/EVENTS BY DISK. You should see your external drive listed in the Project Library and the Event Library.
To make a COPY just drag the icon for your project to the icon for the external drive in the Project Library List.
To MOVE it, hold down the command key while you drag.
If you want to edit the project, you will also want any Events, Photos, or Music referenced in the Project. To get those, click on the Project to select it (it is now on the MacBook Pro) and click FILE/CONSOLIDATE MEDIA.

What is the exact name of the cable I need to connect my old hard drive from my macbook pro (it has been taken out of the computer) to my new macbook pro? I need to transfer files from the old hard drive to the new computer.

What is the exact name of the cable I need to connect my old hard drive from my macbook pro, which has been removed from the computer, to my new macbook pro? I need to transfere files from the old hard drive to the new computer.

No eSATA to USB. Just a SATA/IDE to USB adapter. Google SATA/IDE to USB adapter and you will get tons of links to buy them. Most likely your local computer electronics store has them, although they might be more expensive buying locally than online.
I have several. You can get either USB 2, which what I recommend, or USB 3. USB is backward compatible so a USB 3 adapter will work on a USB 2 port and a USB 2 adapter will work on a USB 3 port. Backward compatible in both directions.
I suggest a USB 2 type because there have been some problems with certain USB 3 devices, the USB 3 interface used isn't all that good in those certain devices. USB 3 is still fairly new where as USB 2 has been around for over 10 years.
synghem wrote:
Thank you LowLuster,
At the apple store they said I needed an esata to usb wire. But looking at wires on line has been confusing. Is sata the same as esata? How do I know if I need a usb 3 or usb 2?

Hard drive on my MacBook, iTunes was not backed up. Purchases were recovered, but missing music is trapped on other devices (iPad, iPod & iPhone). Is there a way to transfer music from these devices (esp. iPhone & iPad) to MacBook?

I had to replace my hard drive on my MacBook and iTunes was not backed up. All of our purchases were recovered, but we are missing music that we now have only on other devices (iPad, iPod and iPhone). Is there a way to recover music from these devices? Also, the missing music on the MacBook that is on the iPhone is greyed out so I can't play it. What's the deal? How can I change that?
BTW- I am going to purchase an external hard drive to make sure this never happens again. I'm am also discovering other missing very valuable data. I'm considering investing in iMatch, too.

Try PhoneView: http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/
iTunes Match is not a backup strategy. Do not rely upon it for disaster recovery. For that you need to use Time Machine or "clone" software.

Move Hard Drive between MacBooks

I have a macbook white unibody running mavericks and the display failed. Can I move the hard drive into a macbook a1278 and it work correctly?

As Shootist states - No and Yes.
I just actually did that the other day. My newer MacBook died on me. So I took that drive out and installed in my older 2009 Macbook Pro and it works.
I however, can't tell you if moving your older Macbook Pro hard drive to your newer Macbook Pro might work. If the OS is the same version, it might. But if the OS in your older Macbook is not the same version, it might not.
Good luck

I need to buy an external hard drive for my MacBook Air as it is almost full. Which one should I buy?

Do I need to buy an Apple external Hard Drive for my MacBook Air?

There is no such thing as an Apple hard drive, ...Apples doesnt make same.
avoid western digital if possible.
Yes, having an external HD is necessary for data backups and keeping large media files for packing around etc.
you need data redundancy.
best options for the price, and high quality HD:
Quality 1TB drives are $50 per TB on 3.5" or $65 per TB on 2.5"
Perfect 1TB for $68
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YA3W/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379452568&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+toshiba
Nice 500gig for $50. ultraslim perfect for use with a notebook
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb
Best small HD for the money:
2.5" USB portable High quality BEST FOR THE COST, Toshiba "tiny giant" 2TB drive (have several of them, LOT of storage in a SMALL package) $117
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba
*This one is the BEST portable external HD available that money can buy:
HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive $88
http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Mobile-Portable-External-0S03559/dp/B009GE6JI8/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383238934&sr=8-1&keywords=HGST+Touro+Mobile+Pro+1TB+USB+3.0+7 2 00+RPM
Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"
Hitachi is the winner in hard drive reliability survey:
Hitachi manufacturers the safest and most reliable hard drives, according to the Storelab study. Of the hundreds of Hitachi hard drives received, not a single one had failed due to manufacturing or design errors. Adding the highest average lifespans and the best relationship between failures and market share, Hitachi can be regarded as the winner.

Transfer Hard Drives Between iMac & MacBook

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