What's the easiest way to transfer files from an old Mac to a new one?

Alright, when I originally purchased my Macbook Pro in 2006 - I had no intentions on replacing for many, many years to come. However, purchased the 17", to have more screen space for design, and that career sort of fell through. I don't have a need for such a large display, and it gets very heavy when carrying it around. I've recently decided to opt for the 13" Macbook. Now my question is, what is the easiest, fastest, and safest was to transfer the files that I do want, from the old to the new? I considered buying an external hard-drive? And for that matter, once I do get everything transferred - does Mac offer anything where I can basically set the old on back to factory defaults?
Help is much appreciated.

In addition..........
If you have a High-speed connection, the easiest & fastest way is through AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) or any IM that has file transfers.
iChat has the same ability of transferring large files as AIM.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=150934
Adium has file transfers.
Yahoo Messenger has file transfers.
Both computers must use the same IM program for file transfers.

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Im new to Mac and wanted to know what is the easiest way to transfer files from a mac computer and mac extenal hardrive to windowns and vice versa?

Im new to Mac and wanted to know what is the easiest way to transfer files from a mac computer and mac extenal hardrive to windowns and vice versa?

For small amount of files, a regular USB stick or drive, it's already formatted with a MBR and FAT32 most likely which works both on PC's and Mac's.
External drives if you need more space.
However FAT (or Fat32 or MSDOS) has a 4GB file size limit. So if your transfering files bigger than that then you need to format it exFAT on the Windows machine.
Vista and Win 7 can do this, Windows XP one can download a free exFAT upgrade from Microsoft.
Mac's can read/write the MBR and FAT/exFAT (10.6.5 and later) formats, it's best to format it on the Windows machine, even though the Mac can format it too, it's better to do it on Windows then take it to the Mac to confirm.
Rack your brain here on it.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16317478#16317478

What's the easiest way to transfer data from an old external disk to a new one?

Hello!
My external hard drive (SimpleTech 250GB) is almost full so I bought a LaCie P'9230 3TB hard drive to take the place of the old one. What is the easiest way to transfer the data from the old one to the new one? Also, any tips on how to format the new drive will be appreciated since I haven't done this in a while.
Thank VERY much!!!
tenntooter

Hello rkaufmann87 and Linc,
Thank you both for your responses. It ended up that it was REALLY easy to set up and use the LaCie drive. The drive came with very simple instructions and a very easy to use setup assistant. Setup took about 2 minutes without ever leaving the assistant to get into Disk Utility, etc. Once the drive was setup I simply dragged the older external drive on top of the LaCie drive and the LaCie copied the data in about a minute.
After backing up the old drive I set Time Machine to use the new LaCie drive and selected the encryption option. It took the LaCie drive about an hour to totally back up my iMac's hard drive and to encrypt it as well.
VERY IMPRESSED with LaCie for sure!!! (As well as continuing to be VERY IMPRESSED with my MAC!!!)
Thanks again!
tenntooter

What's the best way to move files from my old G3 to my new Intel DuoCore?

I just received my new Intel DuoCore 17" iMac. For years I have been using a much-loved G3 500 mHz iMac. The new Intel iMac is still in the box, but I believe it shipped with OS 10.4.4. The G3 runs 10.2.6. I have a dial-up connection to the Internet; currently DSL is not available in my neighborhood. What is the best way to move my files from the G3 to the Intel dc? Can I simply connect them with an Ethernet cable and transfer files directly? Or is my best bet to simply save the files I want to transfer to a disc and do it the old-fashioned way? Please forgive me in advance for my ignorance; although I have been a Mac user and supporter for many years, I am astonishingly ignorant when it comes to the best way to using both Mac hardward and software.
iMac Intel DuoCore Mac OS X (10.4.4)

There are two issues - 1. Getting the files moved over, and 2. Being able to open them on the Intel iMac.
1. This can be technically easy if you are willing to spend the time. I moved all my stuff from my old Mac to my new one by hooking the two together with an ethernet cable, directly. You would need both machines to have appropriate IP addresses. (go to the network preferences and pull down the built-in ethernet panel.) Some addresses such as 192.168.1.100 and 192.168.1.101 would work with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0) Now go to the new iMac and make sure the finder is selected (click on the desktop) and under the "GO" menu select "Connect to Server". You will need to put in the IP address of the old machine, and later it's administrative password. Then select its hard drive from the list (possibly only one choice) and it should appear as an icon on your iMac desktop. You can open this like any other drive and just drag items to the new iMac.
2. Whether you can use all the files moved over from the old G3 is difficult to answer. You may be using Classic mode sometimes on the G3 and have some stuff created with a Classic application. You are probably aware that the new Intel iMac does not support Classic mode, so some of these files may not be useable without a bit of work (or at all, perhaps.) For instance I had to purchase Appleworks to handle some of my old Clarisworks documents because Pages couldn't understand them. Once I had them converted to Appleworks documents, I could then convert them again to Pages documents.
I had some old MacDraw Pro documents that were equally problematic.
I would advise you to get the new iMac out of the box and connected to your dialup internet connection first. Do all the software updates until running software updater says there is nothing new. Then you will be at 10.4.7 with all the latest security and fixes etc. Then disconnect from the internet and use an ethernet cable to get the stuff off the old computer.
There will be lots more to do such as moving your mail, address box entries etc. later, but this is a start.

What's the best way to transfer files from dead MDD G4 PowerMac to new iMac desktop?

My Mirrored Drive Door 1 ghz G4 Power Mac recently stopped powering on. I have just purchased a new iMac with 2.5 ghz intel core i5. What is the best way for me to transfer the files to the new machine?
Someone on another thread recommended buying a converter cable like this one: http://www.newertech.com/products/usb2_adaptv2.php
Will I need to use transfer software too? I'd like to bring my playlists along to the new machine but don't need any of the software.
Thanks!

That will work. You could also remove the hard drive from the MDD and put it in an external enclosure so you would have it for backup.
You can use the utility, Carbon Copy Cloner, to transfer files - MacUpdate or CNET Downloads.

How can I transfer files from an old Mac onto my new one?

As outlined on this thread, I am trying to get data from my 1995 Performa 630 to my recently delivered MacBook Pro. All suggestions gratefully received.
Also, are ClarisWorks files instantly readable by modern office software, or do I need to save in RTF or some other format, first, on the older machine?

Hi...
Your new MacBookPro has Mac OS X Lion v10.7.x installed on an Intel processor and cannot open or read ClarisWorks files as such.
However, you may be able to reformat to RTF > AppleWorks: Document Recovery Techniques
The issue is going to be migrating files since you can't use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac
edited by: cs

What is the best way to transfer info from a 2007 mac to a new mac?

How do I transfer my stuff from the 2007 Mac to a newly purchased iMac?

See Pondini's Excellent information here...
Setting-up a new Mac from an old one, its backups, or a PC

What's the best way to move apps from an old iphone to a new one?

I just got the iPhone 4S and am having difficulties figuring out how to restore the backup from my old 3Gs. When I first plugged it in all of my contacts, calendar and email migrated just fine. (All except for my mobileme email for some reason it defaults all mobileme email adresses as .mac. Which is silly consider many of us have .me) Anyway... I've plugged in the old phone and backed it up. I've tried to restore the new phone with the old backup, but it doesn't seem to be working. How do I get all of the apps I have purchased on to the new phone?

Use an ethernet cable to connect the two computers, and set up file sharing. After that copying files from one computer to the other is exactly like copying from one hard drive to another:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106658

What is the best way to transfer files from a Power PC G4 that has NO power? Thanks.

What is the best way to transfer files from a Power PC G4 that has NO power? I have a newer iMac. Thanks.

Remove the hard drive and get one of these USB hard drive adapters. http://tinyurl.com/a5l2htj Then plug the adapter into your iMac to see/retrieve the files.
 Cheers, Tom

What is the easiest way to transfer photos from a samsung g2 to my iMac?

What is the easiest way to transfer photos from a samsung g2 to my iMac?

Probably by reading the Samsung G2's user manual.

What's the easiest way to transfer files to new mac?

My first mac was a Macbook (purchased in August 2010) and I'm upgrading to the new 13" Macbook Pro with retina display. What is the easiest way to:
1) transfer files to the new laptop
2) delete files off my old macbook to share with a family member--possibly thinking of return to factory settings.
I have a 1TB external hard drive and I use the cloud on all of my devices (also have iPhone and iPad synched to the cloud).

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
1. The best way to transfer files from another computer is by using Migration Assistant > http://pondini.org/OSX/SetupLion.html Your new MacBook Pro will ask you to restore from another computer during its initial setup.
2. If you haven't got a lot of apps you installed, you can just create a new user and delete the old one, so you won't have to reinstall Mac OS X.
To do it, open System Preferences > Users and Groups (or Accounts), press the + button and create an admin user. Then, log in this user, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups, and remove the old account

Does anyone know whats the easiest way to tranfer files from pc to mac

Does anyone know whats the easiest way to tranfer files from pc to mac

What kind of files, how many files, total amount of file space? There are many ways to move files from platform to platform, but until you tell us what the nature of the task is we can't give you a proper solution.

What's the easiest way to transfer content from a mac to a new one?

I currently have an iMac and I just purchased a new MacBook. What is the easiest way to transfer content such as, photos, music, address book and documents? Thx.

Migration Assistant.
It is magic.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3322

Easiest way to transfer photos from my old Windows desktop to new MacBook?

I am an Apple newbie. What is the easiest way to transfer 7 years of photos from my old Windows desktop (Vista operating system) to my brand-new MacBook Air (OS 10.9.5)? Please answer in specific and simple terms. I'm not a techie. Thanks.

LarryHN wrote:
That does not create a backup since the photos are on the same disk as the iphoto library, it simply wastes disk space - when the computer or the disk fails or the computer is stolen everything is gone as it is all in the same place - to have a backup you need a copy on a different disk - if you drag the photo from the external disk onto the iPhoto icon in the the dock iPhoto will import them (be sure that the default setting for "copy imported items to the iPHoto library" is checked - do not uncheck it - then you will have the photos in iPhoto and a backup on the external drive
You also need to get an external drive about 2 to 2 1/2 times the size of the iphoto library formatted mac OS extended (journaled) and start running timeMachine so you always have hourly backups
LN
What?
I did mention using an external drive, did i not? Copying the photos to the external drive, and then copying the photos from the external drive to the mac. means they now exist in the external drive as well as the new Mac, the external drive is now effectively a backup of the photos. .
I never mentioned anything about iPhoto. Just a straight copy though Windows Explorer, and Finder on the Mac.

What is the easiest way to transfer music from my ex's itunes library to mine? We both have Macbooks and we do have home sharing.

Over the years my ex's and I bought tons of music off itunes, but always bought it on her Macbook. Now that we aren't together I want to copy all of the music from her itunes library and import it into mine. Is this possible, and what is the easiest way?
Many Thanks

the simplest way, assuming all your media files are in the default location, would be to connect the two Macs with a firewire cable, boot the source Mac in Target Disk Mode, and copy the entire iTunes folder (not just the iTunes music folder) from <MacintoshHD>/users/yourname/music on the source to <MacintoshHD>/users/yourname/music on the target (overwriting the iTunes folder in place there).
that would ensure everything (including playcounts, ratings, original "date added", which home sharing doesn't copy over) will be transferred. it would also ensure that any mobile devices (iPhone, etc.) will simply keep on syncing without problems.
you can also use an external HD (or your LAN) but make sure to copy the entire iTunes folder.

What's the easiest way to transfer files from an old Mac to a new one?

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