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Connect 2012 rMBP directly to M1 MBA

Quackers

Quackers

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 18, 2013
1,938
708
Manchester, UK
I'm after suggestions please (I'm not up to date on these things).
My 2012 retina MacBook Pro has Thunderbolt 2 (I believe) and USB-A connectors and I want to connect that directly to the M1 MBA I'm about to order, for transfer of data/settings.
I see no Thunderbolt 2 to USB-C adapters on the Apple site so am a little unsure.
I'm also ordering a Caldigit TS3 + dock so at a pinch I could plug it into that but that would mean USB2 speeds, I think.
Any suggestions would assist me greatly :)
Thank you.
 
I looked into this, regarding transferring my music over.

My Google results lead me to believe that two Macs can't be connected via USB to transfer data. I had to format an external drive, and use that.

If you can get a USB-C to ethernet dongle, assuming your old machine has an ethernet port? That may work?

Good to see you're on the verge of buying your M1 :apple: .
 
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The London Fella said:
I looked into this, reading transferring my music over.

My Google results lead me to believe that two Macs can't be connected via USB to transfer data. I had to format an external drive, and use that.

If you can get a USB-C to ethernet dongle, that may work?

Are you on the verge of buying your M1, then?
Click to expand...
Thanks. I suspected that may be the case.
I am about to order an 8C/16GB/512GB M1 MBA now :)
It looks like I'll connect the MBP to the dock and the dock to the MBA and just have USB2 speed. No biggie.
 
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Quackers said:
Thanks. I suspected that may be the case.
I am about to order an 8C/16GB/512GB M1 MBA now :)
It looks like I'll connect the MBP to the dock and the dock to the MBA and just have USB2 speed. No biggie.
Click to expand...
You don't fancy the M1 MBP?

Apparently there are numerous display issues with the Air.
 
The London Fella said:
You don't fancy the M1 MBP?

Apparently there are numerous display issues with the Air.
Click to expand...
I have no doubt that the MBA will be more than enough for me.
I don't need the best of everything, I won't even recognise the differences to be honest.
It's unlikely to get stressed at all in my hands.
If there's a problem with the screen or anything else I'll deal with that when it happens.
 
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Quackers said:
I have no doubt that the MBA will be more than enough for me.
I don't need the best of everything, I won't even recognise the differences to be honest.
It's unlikely to get stressed at all in my hands.
If there's a problem with the screen or anything else I'll deal with that when it happens.
Click to expand...
Hopefully you'll experience no issues.

They're great machines, which I'm sure you'll be happy with.

Will you be getting rid of your old machine?
 
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The London Fella said:
Hopefully you'll experience no issues.

They're great machines, which I'm sure you'll be happy with.

Will you be getting rid of your old machine?
Click to expand...
No, I'm keeping it.
Apple will give me £130 as a trade in but I'd rather keep it than give it away :)
It's still very usable and anyway I might need it to repair the M1 :D
 
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Probably be simpler to use migration assistant with whatever external drive you're using for your TimeMachine backups. Avoids any challenges of linking the two computers for data transfer.

If you haven't been doing local backups then this would be a good time to begin. External USB hard drives aren't expensive, though they're slow. If you buy one supporting USB3 it'll still be USB2 slow with the 2012 system but will be more tolerable with the M1.

USB2 slow shouldn't be an issue since it seems you've got a few weeks time to make the backups... :p
 
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deeddawg said:
Probably be simpler to use migration assistant with whatever external drive you're using for your TimeMachine backups. Avoids any challenges of linking the two computers for data transfer.

If you haven't been doing local backups then this would be a good time to begin. External USB hard drives aren't expensive, though they're slow. If you buy one supporting USB3 it'll still be USB2 slow with the 2012 system but will be more tolerable with the M1.

USB2 slow shouldn't be an issue since it seems you've got a few weeks time to make the backups... :p
Click to expand...
Yep, also another option which I've used before without problem.
It's not that much data to be transferred if I'm honest - less than 50GB all told, so it's not a problem I can't live with.
Thanks for the reply :)
 
Quackers said:
I'm after suggestions please (I'm not up to date on these things).
My 2012 retina MacBook Pro has Thunderbolt 2 (I believe) and USB-A connectors and I want to connect that directly to the M1 MBA I'm about to order, for transfer of data/settings.
I see no Thunderbolt 2 to USB-C adapters on the Apple site so am a little unsure.
I'm also ordering a Caldigit TS3 + dock so at a pinch I could plug it into that but that would mean USB2 speeds, I think.
Any suggestions would assist me greatly :)
Thank you.
Click to expand...
You are looking for this: Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2
I agree that this should be the fastest and most reliable connection.
 
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Quackers said:
Apparently 15/1 to 22/1
Click to expand...
You'll receive it earlier than that.

Mine was initially scheduled for delivery later this month, but it arrived last week.

Glad you ordered the config you wanted, rather than just going for lower level store stock. I'm glad I went with a 512 HD, because my music library has already taken up half of that :D.

And 16gb of RAM is sensible. I know that many people say that 8gb is fine, but for the sake of 200 quid, it's worth upgrading.

Looking forward to hearing your views of your new M1, when you get it.

:apple:
 
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The London Fella said:
You'll receive it earlier than that.

Mine was initially scheduled for delivery later this month, but it arrived last week.

Glad you ordered the config you wanted, rather than just going for lower level store stock. I'm glad I went with a 512 HD, because my music library has already taken up half of that :D.

And 16gb of RAM is sensible. I know that many people say that 8gb is fine, but for the sake of 200 quid, it's worth upgrading.

Looking forward to hearing your views of your new M1, when you get it.

:apple:
Click to expand...
All ordered now :D
The Caldigit TS3 + arrives Friday
The magic mouse 2 and a USB-A to USB-C adapter arrive Saturday
The M1 MBA............who knows? :eek:
 
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Quackers said:
All ordered now :D
The Caldigit TS3 + arrives Friday
The magic mouse 2 and a USB-A to USB-C adapter arrive Saturday
The M1 MBA............who knows? :eek:
Click to expand...
I bought the USB-A to USB-C adapter from my "local" Apple Store on Friday. I needed it to connect my little external drive (robbed from my Xbox One X!) for transferring data.

I did think about getting a Magic Mouse, but I want to keep my system completely portable. The trackpad is great on these machines. However, I can understand you buying one.

The build up is all part of the fun, so enjoy it!
 
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The London Fella said:
I bought the USB-A to USB-C adapter from my "local" Apple Store on Friday. I needed it to connect my little external drive (robbed from my Xbox One X!) for transferring data.

I did think about getting a Magic Mouse, but I want to keep my system completely portable. The trackpad is great on these machines. However, I can understand you buying one.

The build up is all part of the fun, so enjoy it!
Click to expand...
It's my first Bluetooth anything! :)
I've always used a Logitech USB mouse. I think that's IR.......maybe. No wire just a plug in USB thing and magic!
 
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Quackers said:
I don't have a male Thunderbolt 2 cable
Click to expand...
When I first received the M1, I had issues using the Time Machine backup and wireless data transfer during the OS setup (before it loaded the desktop).
It would just sit there and "see each other" but did not complete the data transfer.

I then used a Thunderbolt 1m cable ($29) + Apple TB3-TB2 adapter ($49) and got the data transferred by direct cable connection between a 2012 Mini and M1 Mini.
 
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4sallypat said:
When I first received the M1, I had issues using the Time Machine backup and wireless data transfer during the OS setup (before it loaded the desktop).
It would just sit there and "see each other" but did not complete the data transfer.

I then used a Thunderbolt 1m cable ($29) + Apple TB3-TB2 adapter ($49) and got the data transferred by direct cable connection between a 2012 Mini and M1 Mini.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm seeing that kind of thing mentioned on here.
It does seem like thunderbolt connections are a big thing with the M1.
Thank you!
 
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