Transfer big files between 2 Mac minis ?

[Che Castro]

A 2012 i7 Mac mini and a Mac mini m4

The Mac minis will be right next to each other
Google search is telling me the best way is to use a thunderbolt cable
The 2012 mini has one thunderbolt port,but is not usb c like the m4 , so which cable is the one I need to do this ?

I know I can just use portable drive to make the transfer but this will be daily transfers

I just need a 3ft cable

 

[haralds]

Thunderbolt should be the fastest. You will need to manually configure a network in Network Settings and use that IP address to mount drives using "Connect to Server..."using smb://

 

[Bigwaff]

Mac mini 2012 supports Target Disk Mode. Network setup may not be necessary. Connect 2012 to M4 with Thunderbolt 2 cable and Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter. You can find both of these on eBay for under $20 each.

 

[Ray2]

While the above suggestions get you speed, I would assume had you plugged your backup drive into the Mac you want the data on, the transfer would be complete by now.

 

[Che Castro]

Mac mini 2012 supports Target Disk Mode. Network setup may not be necessary. Connect 2012 to M4 with Thunderbolt 2 cable and Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter. You can find both of these on eBay for under $20 each.

So I just need the

Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter​

And a Thunderbolt 2 cable ?

 

[Che Castro]

While the above suggestions get you speed, I would assume had you plugged your backup drive into the Mac you want the data on, the transfer would be complete by now.

This will be daily transfers

 

[Che Castro]

I think file share is the way to go since I’ll be active on both computers

And target disk mode , you can’t really use the computer while doing this right ?

 

[Bigwaff]

If daily transfers, TDM would be somewhat tedious. So you’re generating large files on the 2012 which you want transferred to M4, however neither Mac mini is on the same local wired or wireless network, but they are physically located close to each other? You would have to be generating some incredibly large files to make transferring them over normal wired/wireless network impractical. What data size of the daily transfers?

 

[Che Castro]

If daily transfers, TDM would be somewhat tedious. So you’re generating large files on the 2012 which you want transferred to M4, however neither Mac mini is on the same local wired or wireless network, but they are physically located close to each other? You would have to be generating some incredibly large files to make transferring them over normal wired/wireless network impractical. What data size of the daily transfers?

I’m running plex and a vpn+torrents in the same computer
But the vpn is interfering with plex (long story)

I looked in to Dockers but that looks way above my pay grade,looks difficult and confusing
So the easiest thing for me would be to get a 2012 Mac mini for $40 on eBay , I know is slow , I went from 2012 to m4
Run plex on the m4 , the vpn+torrents on the 2012

But after reading more about this , I think I’m going to just not get the 2012
Use a VM on the m4 like parallels (I’ve used this before) or something else.
Run the VPN+torrents in the VM, that shouldn’t interfere with plex
I hope
Or do you think is better to get the 2012 and use file share WiFi for transfers 3-5gb

 

[Bigwaff]

Use a VM on the m4 like parallels (I’ve used this before) or something else.
Run the VPN+torrents in the VM, that shouldn’t interfere with plex
I hope

Check if your VPN supports a setting/feature for local network access or something called split tunneling, this way you can be connected to VPN and access local network computers at same time.

 

[Che Castro]

Check if your VPN supports a setting/feature for local network access or something called split tunneling, this way you can be connected to VPN and access local network computers at same time.

I’m using PIA and split tunnel but doesn’t work that good on Mac , there’s a lot of post about this on Reddit

 

[Ray2]

I’m running plex and a vpn+torrents in the same computer
But the vpn is interfering with plex (long story)

I looked in to Dockers but that looks way above my pay grade,looks difficult and confusing
So the easiest thing for me would be to get a 2012 Mac mini for $40 on eBay , I know is slow , I went from 2012 to m4
Run plex on the m4 , the vpn+torrents on the 2012

But after reading more about this , I think I’m going to just not get the 2012
Use a VM on the m4 like parallels (I’ve used this before) or something else.
Run the VPN+torrents in the VM, that shouldn’t interfere with plex
I hope
Or do you think is better to get the 2012 and use file share WiFi for transfers 3-5gb

Yes, on the WiFi sharing. With a but. I did what you’re doing for a few years, 2 minis, 8tb of media. Your 3-5gb is very small compared to high quality 2160 BT rips. Either WiFi transfer or use 2 ssd's (quicker), one for inprocess torrents and one for completed files that are ready to move into Plex. Move that drive to the Plex mini when desired. The but is what’s wrong with PIA and Plex? I used PIA and Plex on one 2018 mini for 7 years. Never had any issues. Now running PIA and JellyFin on my main Studio. Not as functional as Plex but for local only an absolute joy to maintain vs Plex. Also no issues with PIA running. I run Qbittorrent for my client. KISS works quite well for your application.

 

[Che Castro]

Yes, on the WiFi sharing. With a but. I did what you’re doing for a few years, 2 minis, 8tb of media. Your 3-5gb is very small compared to high quality 2160 BT rips. Either WiFi transfer or use 2 ssd's (quicker), one for inprocess torrents and one for completed files that are ready to move into Plex. Move that drive to the Plex mini when desired. The but is what’s wrong with PIA and Plex? I used PIA and Plex on one 2018 mini for 7 years. Never had any issues. Now running PIA and JellyFin on my main Studio. Not as functional as Plex but for local only an absolute joy to maintain vs Plex. Also no issues with PIA running. I run Qbittorrent for my client. KISS works quite well for your application.

PIA crashes my Mac if I use it more than a few hours , also after a few hours with PIA on and vpn only on transmission , bypass every other app
Plex remote stream stops working
Then I have to restart plex to get it working again

But the kernel panic computer reboot on m4 pro , pia vpn with split tunnel on is the worse

This only started happening for me on m4

https://www.reddit.com/r/PrivateInternetAccess/comments/1g146dm/kernel_panics_ie_crashes_on_macos

 

[Cave Man]

Seems to me you need a Mini DisplayPort (2012 mini) to USB-C (M4 mini) cable that has data transfer capabilities.

 

[Ray2]

PIA crashes my Mac if I use it more than a few hours , also after a few hours with PIA on and vpn only on transmission , bypass every other app
Plex remote stream stops working
Then I have to restart plex to get it working again

But the kernel panic computer reboot on m4 pro , pia vpn with split tunnel on is the worse

This only started happening for me on m4

https://www.reddit.com/r/PrivateInternetAccess/comments/1g146dm/kernel_panics_ie_crashes_on_macos

I’m on an M2 Max. No problems, PIA can run for days. Plex was never installed on the Studio as I had already run parallel long enough on the mini to know I wanted to move to Jellyfin. I had nothing but problems with Transmission. Stalls, freezes. Long shot but try using a different client. Another long shot, run the VPN in your router.