Help: issues transferring files from Mac Pro to new iMac!

[Danboard]

Hello, my friends!

I have a MacPro 3.1 with two internal hard drives that I use for my files.

I just got a new 27" iMac and have been attempting to transfer files from the Mac Pro to the iMac.

I am having problems and I am not sure if I am doing it right so may I ask for your expert advices!

Here's the setup:

1. MacPro is hardwired to my network to access the internet. Wireless modem is in the basement and I have a Cat5 connection here in my ground floor office so I can hardwire the MacPro directly to the modem.

2. iMac is connected via Wi-Fi for now.

3. I enabled File Sharing on the MacPro. It appears on the Finder of my iMac.

I try to copy a file, it seems to be copying it over WiFi and it's really, really slow!

4. I decided to hard wire the two machines together and attached an ethernet cable to the available Ethernet Port of the MacPro and connected it to the ethernet of the iMac.

That's where I am lost. When I check the network settings on the MacPro, it just shows one port as working. When I check on the iMac, it does not show anything connected to the Ethernet port.

Help! How should I do this right?

 

[StephenCampbell]

I can't help with the Ethernet options, but I can tell you that connecting the Mac Pro to the iMac via FireWire (with the Thunderbolt adaptor) works using target disk mode on the Mac Pro.

 

[MacOG728893]

1. Be sure the Ethernet cable you are using is a crossover cable. A standard cable will not work with the way you are trying to do it.

Spoke too soon: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2274?viewlocale=en_US

2. Go to system preferences>network and make sure Ethernet option is not disabled. You can always trying plugging it in to the router or modem to verify this.

3. Use migration assistant.

Hope this helps.

 

[Asrath]

I can't help with the Ethernet options, but I can tell you that connecting the Mac Pro to the iMac via FireWire (with the Thunderbolt adaptor) works using target disk mode on the Mac Pro.

Hello everybody. This is my first post in this forum. I hope it helps.

I'd recommend - just like Stephen - doing it via Firewire/Thunderbold with MacPro in target mode. It's quite fast and convenient.
If you want to spare the expenses for the tunderbolt adapter you could still try doing it via ethernet. The easiest way would be connecting both macs to your router/modem. I suspect you modem has more than one ethernet port available.
If it doesn't disconnect you MacPro from your modem and try to connect it directly to your new iMac using the same cable. Of course this way you don't have internet on both machines during migration.

 

[Danboard]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I eventually got it working by trying a different ethernet cable as the first one I tried might have been defective.

I have a few more questions please:

1. I was trying to move gigabytes of files from the Mac Pro to the iMac. Do you all think that it would be a better idea to just keep the files on the MacPro and use it as a File Server of sort? Can I just copy the files that I need to work on locally to my iMac and just copy it back to the MacPro once editing is complete?

2. Alternatively, using the MacPro as a File Server, is it okay to edit and save directly to it instead of copying the files locally to the iMac for editing?

3 Since I am not sure what Ethernet cable I have right now, what spec of cable should I look for? I am a bit clueless about Cat5s and Cat6s and am not sure what to get when I run to the store to get one.

Apologies for such noob questions; first time trying this networking thing.

 

[Asrath]

Help: issues transferring files from Mac Pro to new iMac!

What benefits / drawbacks do you get by adding a server to your home network?
Benefits:
- if your new iMac has technical problems you have a backup / fallback
- you can centralize services (e.g. backup, files to share, mail, calendar,...) if you are more than one person in your household
Drawbacks:
- your configuration will be more complex
- you will have to take care of two systems and at least one service. Don't unterestimate the effort in doing this.
- Depending on your task, the process will be slower and take more steps to complete.

Unless you are more than one person in your household or just curious about how it is working I'd stick with your new machine and an external hd for Time Machine backups. I don't want persuade you to not trying it. Just consider that it's a piece of work keeping a server up and running.

 

[Danboard]

Thanks for the reply. There is a chance that there would be more than me would eventually access all the files as I expand my small operation here at my home office. I also could not afford the downtime of waiting for all the files from the MacPro to transfer to the new iMac. Since I see that I can access the files via the ethernet cable, I am considering to keep the MacPro as a File Server, hence my queries above. I am just concerned if I am doing everything right by saving files locally on the iMac, edit it there, then save back to the MacPro or if I can edit from the iMac and directly save my work to the MacPro.

 

[Asrath]

Help: issues transferring files from Mac Pro to new iMac!

I am just concerned if I am doing everything right by saving files locally on the iMac, edit it there, then save back to the MacPro or if I can edit from the iMac and directly save my work to the MacPro.

If you start file sharing in your MacPro you can go both ways.
I'd recommend opening the files directly from the file server. Doing it that way you don't have to keep two files in sync or care about which one is the newer one. Even if you plan to always copy files back to the server after editing sometimes you might just forget to do so giving you two files you have to merge afterwards.
Opening small files like text or office files directly from your file server works quite well. Depending on your network speed it will probably be fast enough for daily work. Also merging two text or office files into one is no fun but ok.

Big files or databases on the other hand, like iPhoto libraries, will take a looong time to open if they are stored on a file server. Merging two versions of them is painful and definitely something you should avoid.

Last but not least you should also keep in mind opening one file on your file server from different locations simultaneously can cause problems depending on the file type. Some programs can handle such a situation, some don't eventually leaving you with data loss.

Therefore handling of files on a file server depends quite heavily on the file type you work with. I guess you have to try yourself.

 

[Danboard]

If you start file sharing in your MacPro you can go both ways.
I'd recommend opening the files directly from the file server. Doing it that way you don't have to keep two files in sync or care about which one is the newer one. Even if you plan to always copy files back to the server after editing sometimes you might just forget to do so giving you two files you have to merge afterwards.
Opening small files like text or office files directly from your file server works quite well. Depending on your network speed it will probably be fast enough for daily work. Also merging two text or office files into one is no fun but ok.

Big files or databases on the other hand, like iPhoto libraries, will take a looong time to open if they are stored on a file server. Merging two versions of them is painful and definitely something you should avoid.

Last but not least you should also keep in mind opening one file on your file server from different locations simultaneously can cause problems depending on the file type. Some programs can handle such a situation, some don't eventually leaving you with data loss.

Therefore handling of files on a file server depends quite heavily on the file type you work with. I guess you have to try yourself.

Thanks, Asrath! I've been trying what you suggested and sometimes would alternate by saving a file locally and editing it. Your suggestion seems to make more sense being it's much faster as I don't have to manage the files by copying one into another directory. Editing and saving directly into the File Server has been smooth so far.

Just for kicks, here's my current set up:


Latest Workstation Set-Up. by onionskinner, on Flickr

27" iMac main workstation. Early 2008 MacPro now a File Server. Ethernet connection between two machines.

Thanks for the help, guys!