Migrating later today...data transfer question

[CorvusCamenarum]

My new iMac is scheduled to arrive today...knowing UPS it will probably be sometime this evening so I'm getting ready to move all my data and whatnot over, and I can't seem to find my FireWire cable that I used the last time I did this. That being said, is it possible to use an Ethernet cable to bridge the two machines to move my files over, or do I need to run out and pick up a new FW cable sometime today?

 

[gwuMACaddict]

seems to me you can do it this way, but that it has to be a certain type of ethernet cable... (male/male or something)

can anyone else back this up?

 

[bubbamac]

It has to be a crossover cable if you're not using a router in between.

Or, if you've already got a router, you can just hook both computers up to the router using regular ethernet cables.

Crossover cables are pretty pricey. If you don't have a router, I'd buy one of them and a regular cable before I bought a crossover. You never know when you might need to hook up another computer! I'd get a wireless one, too - just in case there's a laptop in your future...

 

[MemphisSoulStew]

My new iMac is scheduled to arrive today...knowing UPS it will probably be sometime this evening so I'm getting ready to move all my data and whatnot over, and I can't seem to find my FireWire cable that I used the last time I did this. That being said, is it possible to use an Ethernet cable to bridge the two machines to move my files over, or do I need to run out and pick up a new FW cable sometime today?

Since you are conecting a new iMac you can do this using any Ethernet cable, it doesn't need to be a crossover. This Apple support document hasn't been updated since June this year, but it's still relevant.

This is the important bit:

Most later Macintosh computers are able to use either a straight-through Ethernet cable or a crossover Ethernet cable automatically through the use of Auto-Medium Dependent Interface Crossover (Auto-MDIX). Other Macintosh computers require the use of an Ethernet crossover cable because they only work with the Medium Dependent Interface (MDI) .

Auto-MDIX automatically switches between MDI and MDI-X, which allows either type of cable to be connected regardless of whether you are connecting two computers directly, or you are connecting to a hub or switch. MDI devices connected to Auto-MDIX devices do not require a crossover Ethernet cable.

 

[cfd]

My new iMac is scheduled to arrive today...knowing UPS it will probably be sometime this evening so I'm getting ready to move all my data and whatnot over, and I can't seem to find my FireWire cable that I used the last time I did this. That being said, is it possible to use an Ethernet cable to bridge the two machines to move my files over, or do I need to run out and pick up a new FW cable sometime today?

As long as you have the day to wait, go out and get a firewire cable. That way you will be able to use the "Setup Assistant". This is assuming that your current machine can boot into Target Disk mode. It will save you much time and headaches.

 

[Rod Rod]

As long as you have the day to wait, go out and get a firewire cable. That way you will be able to use the "Setup Assistant". This is assuming that your current machine can boot into Target Disk mode. It will save you much time and headaches.

That's an important point. The Setup Assistant for transferring your files from the old Mac to the new requires FireWire as the medium. cfd is absolutely correct. Moving your files will be much easier to do over FireWire and the Setup Assistant than it will be over ethernet and by hand.

 

[CorvusCamenarum]

Thanks for the help. Unfortunately, there is not a proper FW cable to be had in this testicular underside of a city I live in. Tried Wal-Mart, Office Depot, Radio Shack, even Circuit City. The salesperson at Radio Shack didn't even know they came in a 6-pin to 6-pin variety. Hopefully I can get the Ethernet method to work otherwise I'll have to order a FW cable from online.

 

[sjpetry]

yes you can.

 

[Rod Rod]

I haven't yet used the setup assistant to transfer stuff from an old Mac to a new one. I have done the file transfer by ethernet though. Since I'm not an expert it's sort of tricky, but I think I figured it out. To transfer your mailboxes, you copy over the folder that contains all of them from the old Mac to the new one, and in the new one you import them. Then you can select-all, copy and paste the messages into the appropriate folders. When that's done you can delete the imported mailboxes. That's probably the most complicated part. It's much easier to transfer over your Safari bookmarks, Stickies database, and preferences files.

I suppose you could also use Carbon Copy Cloner to transfer your old system to the new one over ethernet.