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Big help needed! Best peripherals to transfer contents off of 2011 Macbook Pro

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rwh63

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
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New England
i have an early 2011 13" mackbook pro. for a long time my usb ports have been flaky to the point of being unuseable. i want transfer all data that i can to another system, to serve as a back up and be able to engage that data on that system. my laptop does have thunderbolt 1 port. the desktop, which is a Dell, has high speed usb, including one usb-c. ideally, i would like to transfer documents, downloads, photos, videos, etc. i do have a temporary icloud account, but my software on the laptop is not compatible. i did backup the photos and videos on my phone (first gen SE), but my laptop has more, and they are categorized in folders, unlike the phone photos.

ultimately i will be replacing my laptop, and would like to tranfer from the dell to it. not sure i can do a laptop to laptop transfer due to usb not working.

trying to consider both direct cables, and hubs.
 
Well, the easiest way in this situation is to remove the SSD/HDD and connect it to a USB 3.0 to SATA converter (MBP HDD/SSD>USB to SATA>Dell USB port) Then, you can use something like HFS4Win to install get a read only HFS+ driver for Windows to explore the drive to backup files.

Another (expensive) way is to get an Apple Thunderbolt 3/4 to Thunderbolt 2/1 adapter, plug that into the new Laptop's Thunderbolt 3/4 port and get a Thunderbolt 1/2 cable to connect that to the old MacBook Pro. (i.e. New MacBook/Laptop with TB3/4>TB3 to TB2/1 Adapter>TB2/1 Cable>Old MacBook Pro's TB1 Port), then use Migration Assistant if using a new MacBook.

The last one I can think of is to remove the optical drive and replace it with another SSD/HDD. You can format it as exFAT (if going to a Windows laptop) or HFS+ (if new laptop is a Mac) and back up your files there. Once done, remove it and use the USB to SATA converter from the first solution to hook it up to the new laptop/MacBook's USB port and then use migration assistant/manually copy over files.
 
Last edited:
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One way:

Get a USB drive, either an SSD or a platter-based HDD.

Format it on the PC. Use exFAT.

Take it to the Mac.
Connect it.
Now "manually copy" items from the mac drive to the external drive.

I don't know WHERE you keep "your stuff", but if it's all kept within the home folder, just copy the entire home folder to the drive.

If you keep folders/files elsewhere, copy those too.

You DO NOT need to copy the system folder.

This may or may not be readable on the PC, due to permissions problems.
(it's easy to "fix" permissions problems on the Mac, but I have no experience with Windows).

Another way:
Again, use an external USB drive.
Download SuperDuper by clicking this link:
(SuperDuper is FREE to use for this purpose. It's also EXTREMELY easy to use, even for first-timers).

Use SD to "clone" the contents of the internal drive to the external drive.
It will be "an EXACT copy" of the internal drive, and will serve as a backup.

It may also be readable on a PC running Windows, but you need special software that enables Windows to read Mac-formatted disks (I have no experience with such apps).
 
Fishrrman said:
One way:

Get a USB drive, either an SSD or a platter-based HDD.

Format it on the PC. Use exFAT.

Take it to the Mac.
Connect it.
Now "manually copy" items from the mac drive to the external drive.

I don't know WHERE you keep "your stuff", but if it's all kept within the home folder, just copy the entire home folder to the drive.

If you keep folders/files elsewhere, copy those too.

You DO NOT need to copy the system folder.

This may or may not be readable on the PC, due to permissions problems.
(it's easy to "fix" permissions problems on the Mac, but I have no experience with Windows).

Another way:
Again, use an external USB drive.
Download SuperDuper by clicking this link:
(SuperDuper is FREE to use for this purpose. It's also EXTREMELY easy to use, even for first-timers).

Use SD to "clone" the contents of the internal drive to the external drive.
It will be "an EXACT copy" of the internal drive, and will serve as a backup.

It may also be readable on a PC running Windows, but you need special software that enables Windows to read Mac-formatted disks (I have no experience with such apps).
Click to expand...
They are having issues with the USB ports on the old MacBook Pro, that's why I didn't mention any of these solutions as they said the ports are extremely flaky.
 
Or use a Firewire 800 external drive, if the FW port is still functional, then extract the drive and use a usb connector to get the data off it.
 
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Kanex Thunderbolt Gigabit Ethernet + USB 3.0 Adapter

The Kanex Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet + USB 3.0 Adapter lets you easily connect to a reliable, high-speed Gigabit Ethernet network. Small and compact, it connects to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac or PC computer and provides an RJ-45 port as well as an extra SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port.
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Yes, a TB1/2 dock/adapter with usb-3 output would do the transfer very well.
I've used one (made by Matrox) with my 2011 iMac very successfully.
As they are 10 years old these days finding one can be a bit hit or miss.
 
Another way:

The 2011 MBP is "openable". You need a Phillips #00 driver.

Take the internal drive OUT.

Put it into an external USB3 enclosure (about $10).

Now connect THAT to another Mac or PC.

On a similar-age Mac, you might even be able to boot from it.
 
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Fishrrman said:
Another way:

The 2011 MBP is "openable". You need a Phillips #00 driver.

Take the internal drive OUT.

Put it into an external USB3 enclosure (about $10).

Now connect THAT to another Mac or PC.

On a similar-age Mac, you might even be able to boot from it.
Click to expand...
This. And also just then move or copy all the files from it onto a different drive or computer. Problem solved.
 
rwh63 said:
never heard of a usb enclosure
Click to expand...
usb enclosure is basically a hard case for drives, and some also act as an adapter, like in this case. I would recommend something like this instead of this because its simpler, cheaper, and more compact than a enclosure/docking station. I use this exact one at it works flawlessly.
 
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