Migration Assistant copies all of your files to your new Mac so that you don't have to copy your files manually.
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- If your files are currently on a Windows PC, follow the PC migration steps instead.
- If your new Mac is using OS X Mountain Lion v10.8 or earlier, follow the Mountain Lion migration steps instead.
Check software, settings, and power
Right click on this icon. Click on 'Open' from the drop down menu. That should bring up your list of files and the 'no name' folder at the top of the files. Click on your photos or images. Drag and Drop the photos that you want to the 'no name' folder. ( You can use the command key on a Mac to choose several photos at a time. When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk. Click Continue. On your old Mac: If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these four steps. Open Migration Assistant. Click Continue. How to Transfer Files to Fire Stick. Install ES File Explorer on FireStick to give your FireStick or Fire TV the ability to run an FTP Server (for non-techies, “FTP” means “File Transfer Protocol”) Start ES File Explorer’s built-in “Remote Manager” (this is actually easier to set up than ES File Explorer’s “FTP server” function. Can I plug a USB 3 or 2.0 memory stick into this to allow me to transfer files? Like movies, photos, documents etc? Asked by Dan V; Mar 24, 2016 Flag as inappropriate (Can I plug a USB 3 or 2.0 memory stick into this to allow me to transfer files? Like movies, photos, documents etc?). To transfer content between your Wireless Stick and Mac computer: 1. Plug your Wireless Stick into your Mac computer’s USB port. Drag and drop music, videos, photos, and documents between your MAC and your Wireless Stick. NOTE: The default device name will appear as “NO NAME”. You can rename the device for easier identification. ‘Two Click’ the device name and select rename from a Mac computer.
- Install all available Apple software updates on both Mac computers. Install any updates for your third-party apps as well.
- Make sure that your old Mac is using OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.8 or later.
- Make sure that your old Mac has a computer name: Choose Apple () menu > System Preferences, then click Sharing and check the Computer Name field.
- Connect both computers to AC power.
Connect the computers to each other
- If both computers are using macOS Sierra or later, just make sure that they're near each other and have Wi-Fi turned on. If either is using OS X El Capitan or earlier, connect them to the same network using Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
- Or connect them using target disk mode and the appropriate cable or adapter. Then start up your old computer in target disk mode.
- Or connect your new Mac to a Time Machine backup of your old Mac.
Use Migration Assistant
On your new Mac:
- Open Migration Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
- Click Continue.
- When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk.
- Click Continue.
On your old Mac:
If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these four steps.
If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these four steps.
- Open Migration Assistant.
- Click Continue.
- When asked how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer to another Mac.
- Click Continue.
On your new Mac:
- When asked to select a Mac, Time Machine backup, or other startup disk, click the appropriate icon.
- Click Continue. You might see a security code.
On your old Mac:
If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these two steps.
If you started your old Mac in target disk mode or are migrating from a Time Machine backup, skip these two steps.
- If you see a security code, make sure that it's the same code as on your new Mac.
- Click Continue.
On your new Mac:
- You should see a list of backups organized by date and time. Choose the backup that you want to use.
- Click Continue.
Continuing on your new Mac:
- Select the information to transfer.
- Click Continue to start the transfer. If you have a lot of content, the transfer might take several hours to finish.
In the example above, John Appleseed is a macOS user account. If you transfer an account that has the same name as an account on your new Mac, you're asked to rename the old account or replace the one on your new Mac. If you rename, the old account appears as a separate user on your new Mac, with a separate home folder and login. If you replace, the old account overwrites the account on your new Mac, including everything in its home folder.
After Migration Assistant is done, log in to the migrated account on your new Mac to see its files. If you're not keeping your old Mac, learn what to do before selling it or giving it away.
Last update: March 28, 2018
It's no surprise that PCs and Macs do not work well with each other, due to differences between the two operating systems (Windows vs macOS).
One main difference is file system. By default, Macs are with HFS+ (since 2017 there's new Apple File System, APFS, optimized for flash storage), while PCs are with NTFS.
If you have a USB drive, and you plan to use it on both a Mac and PC , things can get a bit tricky here. What do I mean?
If your disk was initially formatted to NTFS on a PC (or HFS+ on a Mac), most likely you'll suffer limitations, for example, the data on your drive can't be read or written on one of your computers.
Fortunately, there is a file system (actually two, I'll explain) that you can format your flash drive in order to be fully compatible with Mac and PC. In other words, you can access the drive and transfer data without any hassles.
That file system is — exFAT. Note that there is another file system called FAT32 that pretty much does the same thing but with one major flaw. See the table below for more info.
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Major File System Comparison
| Compatible with macOS? | Compatible with Windows? | Max. file size | Max. partition size |
---|---|---|---|---|
HFS+ | Yes | No | No limit | No limit |
NTFS | Partially | Yes | No limit | No limit |
FAT32 | Yes | Yes | 4GB | 8GB |
exFAT | Yes | Yes | No limit | No limit |
As you can see, exFAT is the only file system that works with all versions of Windows and macOS and does not have any max file-size or partition-size limits. Therefore, it's perfect for a USB flash drive or external disk especially you need to save files more than 4GB in size. You should go ahead and format your storage drive with exFAT instead of FAT32, assuming that all devices you want to use the drive support exFAT.
You may notice that in NTFS is marked 'Partially' under the Compatible with macOS column. This is because an NTFS-based drive can be read by Macs but you can't write data to the drive.
Now that you've learned exFAT is the ideal file system to go. How to know what current file system your flash drive is with, and how to format it to exFAT?
Read on for step by step instructions...
How to Check a USB Drive's File System?
First of all, plug your flash drive into the USB port on your computer. Make sure your device can be detected and recognized. I'm here to use a 32GB Lexar USB key as an example.
If you are on a Mac...
Once the Lexar disk shows up on the desktop, right click on the drive icon and select 'Get Info'.
Alternatively (in case the disk does not show up on your desktop), open Finder, on the sidebar menu locate your USB drive under Devices, right click and select 'Get Info'.
In the new dialogue, pay attention to General > Format, where it says 'MS-DOS (FAT32)'. That means my Lexar disk is currently with the FAT32 file system.
If you are on a PC…
Go to This PC, under 'Devices and drives', highlight the disk that represents your USB flash drive, right click and select Properties.
In the new Properties window, check General > File system and you'll see what type of file system your flash drive is currently with. Note: since I've formatted my Lexar drive on my Mac, now it shows exFAT.
How to Format Your USB Flash Drive to exFAT?
Important: make sure you have at least one backup of all the data stored on the device before you proceed. Because the process of reformatting a disk drive will very likely erase all content and make recovery impossible. See this USB drive recovery guide for more information.
Also, since I don't know whether you are on a PC or Mac to perform this operation. I'm here to break down this guide into two parts. The first part is for Mac users, the second part is for PC users (Windows 10 based). In no particular order.
Part 1: Formatting USB Drive on Mac
Please note: since OS X 10.11 El Capitan (the latest is 10.13 High Sierra), Apple made a few changes to Disk Utility (see details from this ComputerWorld post). The app now has a new user interface that looks slightly different on Yosemite or earlier OS X versions.
Step 1: Open Disk Utility. The quickest way is search on Spotlight and click the result under 'TOP HIT'. Alternatively, you can access it via Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
Step 2: Under 'External' tab, highlight your flash drive. Note: right below your device name, it also shows information about the drive e.g. size, file system, etc. In my case, I can see it's a 32GB volume in MS-DOS(FAT) file system.
Step 3: Now click the 'Erase' button at the top. In the new pop-up window, choose the format to be 'ExFAT'. You may also change the device name if you want. Then hit the 'Erase' button to continue. Kind reminder: make sure you have backed up the data before you do this.
Step 4: Wait until the erasing process to complete. It should be very quick (only a few seconds to format my 32GB Lexar drive).
Step 5: This step is optional. I'm showing this to verify that the USB drive has been reformatted to the file system I wanted. I saved several files to the disk, and open Disk Utility again. And yes ... it's now with the exFAT file system.
Part 2: Formatting USB on a Windows PC
Please note: I'm here to use a Windows 10 based HP laptop to format my Lexar drive. If you are on an earlier operating system like Windows 7, XP, etc. The screenshots may look slightly different. For example, in Windows XP 'My Computer' is equivalent to 'This PC' on Windows 10.
Step 1: Locate your USB stick under 'This PC', right click on it and select the 'Format…' option.
Step 2: A new window pops up prompting options you need to select before starting. The only thing you have to check is under 'File system', make sure you have chosen 'exFAT'. You may also rename the device drive under 'Volume label'. Then click the 'Start' button to continue.
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Step 3: You'll see this warning. Once again, make sure you've backed up all important data stored in the drive. Click 'OK'.
Step 4: It says 'Format Complete', done!
Pro tip:
Chances are that you may encounter some issues formatting a flash drive on a PC or the disk is malfunctioning. If so, the following articles may be of help to you:
Manual Transfer Files To A Mac From A Memory Stick Video
Conclusion
Most of the external hard disks and flash drives are formatted for Microsoft Windows operating systems. That makes using the drive a bit troublesome on Mac machines. FAT32 is popular but the 4GB file-size limit makes it inconvenient, for instance when you want to make a bootable macOS Sierra USB drive which the system file takes about 8GB of storage space according to Apple.
Thankfully, exFAT — a strict upgrade over FAT32, is a file system optimized for USB flash drives. Like I said, if you want to use the device for both a PC and Mac, you should consider reformatting it to exFAT once you figure out the drive isn't with another file system.
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Hope the above guide is helpful to you. Once again, as a kind warning: formatting a flash drive will likely erase all files and data stored in the device, it's important to ensure you have made at least one copy of the data before you get started.
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Influenced by the startup culture in the Silicon Valley, Jessica loves building things from zero to one and is keen on following news related to the Big Five tech giants and many SaaS startups.