Transferring Files Between Macs

[GSMiller]

I need a little help with transferring files between my MacBook and my iMac on my wireless network. I'm using an AEBS (the newest one, just got it last week) and both computers connect to it through their AirPort cards. After fooling with my router for about 30 minutes after I got it I was finally able to connect to the internet, and after about 6 more hours I was able to wirelessly print so yea, I am pretty much a noob when it comes to wireless networking.

So my question now is, what is the easiest way to transfer files between my two Macs on my wireless network? I've tried copying files into my "Public" folder on one Mac and then accessing it on the other and that works fine sometimes but it's too time consuming and file permissions are killing me! Do I have to set the permissions on each individual file or folder so that all users can read and write to them when I transfer them? And better yet, can one Mac ONLY access the files in the "Public" folder of another?

 

[catfish743]

I've got a question on this too. As I plan on getting a macbook soon, I want to have my iMac and my macbook sync each night with certain files and folders. Is there a way this is possible?

 

[solidgoldmini]

I'm not sure about syncing, but an easy way to share files is simply to connect to the other Mac by clicking on it in the Finder under Shared (if you're using Leopard) or by going to the Finder and choosing 'Connect to Server' under the 'Go' Menu, then choose 'Browse' and click on the other Mac. Connect to the other Mac by choosing the 'Connect as...' option in the upper right of the Finder window. Put in the user name and password that you use for the account on that Mac, and you can mount the disk of that Mac and browse and copy files from the remote Mac as if you were sitting in front of it. I hope that's not too confusing! And again, this is how to do it in Leopard-Tiger is very similar.

 

[GSMiller]

That's exactly what I was wanting to do, solidgold! And no your instructions weren't hard to follow at all. I had never thought about clicking "Connect As" up there before, go figure it was that simple. I can now transfer files without having problems with permissions and all that jazz. Thanks so much!

 

[solidgoldmini]

You are very welcome. I had the same problem a while ago until I finally had one of those 'duh' moments and tried signing in with my own user name and password.

 

[papillon41]

I'm not sure about syncing, but an easy way to share files is simply to connect to the other Mac by clicking on it in the Finder under Shared (if you're using Leopard) or by going to the Finder and choosing 'Connect to Server' under the 'Go' Menu, then choose 'Browse' and click on the other Mac. Connect to the other Mac by choosing the 'Connect as...' option in the upper right of the Finder window. Put in the user name and password that you use for the account on that Mac, and you can mount the disk of that Mac and browse and copy files from the remote Mac as if you were sitting in front of it. I hope that's not too confusing! And again, this is how to do it in Leopard-Tiger is very similar.

Bless you solidgoldmini. Saved me a trip to the Apple store. Connect to works like a charm and I can do exactly what I wanted - move very selected files. Thanks

 

[OngL]

I used an ethernet cable to exploit the Gigabit ethernet between my imac and mbp. It achieved on average about 80-90 MB/sec, way faster than my FW800 (~ 56 MB/sec).

I used AFP (Apple File Protocol) using just finder.

 

[diazj3]

I used an ethernet cable to exploit the Gigabit ethernet between my imac and mbp. It achieved on average about 80-90 MB/sec, way faster than my FW800 (~ 56 MB/sec).

I used AFP (Apple File Protocol) using just finder.

I'm not sure I understand: so, you can connect a ethernet cable from one mac to the other, without having to go through the router? Can you give us more specific instructions? Thanks!

 

[richard.mac]

plug in the ethernet cable to each Mac and then on the host Mac share the internet connection in Sharing preferences. you can also use an ethernet cable with Migration Assistant as well as its sets it up for you.

 

[OngL]

I'm not sure I understand: so, you can connect a ethernet cable from one mac to the other, without having to go through the router? Can you give us more specific instructions? Thanks!

Yes, You can and the auto-sensing feature of the ethernet port makes it convenient. I hope I can provide more information:

1) Use a straight ethernet cable (most common one) and plug both ends to Macs' ethernet port

2) Enable file sharing in sharing tab of system preferences. Ensure that you have enabled AFP

3) Now you need to know the IP address of the other MAC you're accessing. If you have iStat installed, just find out what's the IP address. Most likely it's 169.254.x.x if you don't use it for any connection (I use wireless for my internet connection).

4) Use Safari (not sure how I can do this from Finder), type in afp://169.254.x.x (The ip address of the OTHER mac). Voila... you're connected with a Gigabit Ethernet ...