Mac File Transfer Question...

[Peter Stahl]

My Daughter just bought a MackBook Pro and she wants a easy way to transfer the data. Can a ethernet crossover cable be used? If so where do I get one and how do we do it? The PC is a HP laptop with Windows XP.

[Stephen Massman]

The short answer is yes a cross over cable would work. you would need to assign different ip addresses to each machine and then share out the hp hard drive.


This might help.
http://chris.pirillo.com/sharing-files-between-mac-os-x-and-windows-xp/

[Tim Morton]

Hers the long answer ( i copy pasted it )

ou have several options...

If you won't have both Macs available simultaneously, then it is preferable to use "Time Machine Before Initial Launch of New Mac" as described below. This avoids the confusion of mistakenly creating a duplicate account before you migrate your data over.

Migrating User Data From One Mac to Another
If you still have both Macs, you may be able to by-pass Time Machine altogether and simply migrate the data from Mac to the other with the methods outlined in the first section. If not, then skip the first section and begin with “Wirelessly or Directly Connected?”.

Firewire Target Disk Mode
If you have a FireWire cable, you can connect one Mac to the other via FireWire Target Disk Mode. Then use Migration Assistant to transfer all of your files and applications over from the older Mac. It should result in a virtually identical setup as your previous Mac. Follow the instructions in this KB article:

“How to use FireWire target disk mode”
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

For 2008 MacBook & MacBook Pro models without FireWire ports, the following KB article explains other options:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1291

Wirelessly or Directly Connected? (For AirDisk Users)
Bear in mind that for Time Machine to successfully migrate user data, the backup disk must be accessed in the same manner in which the backups were originally created. Otherwise, the backups may not be visible for migration.

In other words, if backups were performed wirelessly to a hard disk attached to an Airport device, then the restoration will need to be performed either wirelessly, or, for faster speeds, via ethernet between your Mac and the Airport device. On the other hand, if backups were performed with the hard disk attached directly to your Mac, then the restoration will need to be performed with the hard disk connected directly to your Mac You cannot perform backups via one means and be able to access them via another means.

Using Time Machine Before Initial Launch of New Mac
Before starting the new Mac for the first time, attach the hard disk that contains the Time Machine backups from the old Mac. (For Time Capsule/AirDisk users: If you will be attempting this wirelessly, ensure that you are in range of your Airport wireless device. Alternatively, for faster migration of large quantities of data, connect your Mac via ethernet to your wireless device.)

Procedure:
Startup the new Mac and begin the setup process. You will initially see the video introduction.
At “Welcome” select your country and then preferred keyboard.
At “Do You Already Own a Mac?” you are asked “Would you like to transfer your information?”

from another Mac
from another volume on this Mac
from a Time Machine backup
Do not transfer my information now

Select “from a Time Machine backup” and click “Continue”.
At “Select a Backup Volume” choose your Time Machine backup disk and click “Continue”. (If you are attempting the migration wirelessly, then click “Join...” and select your network first.)

At “Transfer Your Information” check all the categories you wish to migrate over. If you wish your Mac to be in the same state as your last backup, then check everything. If, however, you are only interested in transferring one user account, then click the little disclosure triangle next to "Users". A list of all the previous users will appear. Just uncheck the user accounts you do NOT wish to migrate over. In other words, have only the desired account checked.

Give the installer time to calculate sizes.
Once that is complete, the “Transfer” button will become active and you can click it.
After the migration, verify the registration information, click “Connect” and you are done.

Once the migration is complete use Disk Utility to repair any permissions issues.

Using Time Machine After Initial Launch of New Mac
If you happened to initially set up the new Mac using a different username than the username on the account you wish to migrate, then skip to “Attach the hard disk containing...”.
If, on the other hand, it is the same username as the account you wish to migrate over, then do the following:

Go to System Preferences --> Accounts.
You may need to unlock the lock in the lower left to make changes.
Below the pane on the left click "+" and create a brand new Administrator User account on the Mac with a completely unique name - not the name of your own User account.
Now logout of the account you are currently in and log back in using the new Admin account you just created.

Attach the hard disk containing the previous Macs' Time Machine backups to the new computer. (For Time Capsule/AirDisk users migration will be much faster if you connect your Mac directly to the router via ethernet.)

Now go to Applications --> Utilities --> and launch Migration Assistant.
At the welcome dialogue click "Continue." You may be required to enter your Admin password.
For Migration Method chose "From a Time Machine backup or other disk". (Do not choose…
"Full System Restore" unless it is exactly the same Mac you are restoring to.)

At “Select the System to Transfer” choose the hard disk containing the previous Time Machine backups and click “Continue”. Give Migration Assistant some time as it connects to the drive and scans the disk for eligible data to migrate.
At “Select User Accounts to Transfer” put a check beside each account you would like migrate over to the new Mac.
At “Select the Items to Transfer” you can choose to migrate “Applications” over. If an application already resides on your new Mac, only the newest version will be transferred. Additionally, other “Files and Folders” that resided at the top level of your old Mac can be transferred at this point as well. Files from the “Library” folder of your old Mac will always be transferred over unless you uncheck the other two options.
Click “Continue”.
At “Select Computer Settings to Transfer” choose which settings you would prefer transferring to the new Mac. If you want a completely fresh system to start with, then do not check any of these options. This can be helpful if your previous system was experiencing issues.
Click “Transfer”.

If you have already created a User Account on the new Mac and it happens to be named the same as the User Account that is being migrated then Migration Assistant will report,

"There is an existing user account with the same name as an account you are transferring."

At that point, you will be able to choose one of the following:
• Rename the user account you are transferring
• Replace the existing user account with the one you're transferring
• Do not transfer this user account

If you wish the new Mac environment to be exactly the same as your old Mac, then avoid selecting “Rename the user account...”. Rather, select “Replace the existing user account...”. It will not be deleted but saved in a new folder labeled “Deleted Users” found in the main Users folder. Click “Next”.
At this point the transfer will begin with a bar displaying the progress. Once completed click “Quit”.

Full Backup After Migration to New Mac
Bear in mind that in all cases Time Machine will not continue to backup the previous Macs’ backup sets but will perform a new full backup. This is normal. Time Machine will resume incremental backups after the full backup has completed. To view previous backups, Control-click or right-click the Time Machine icon in your Dock or Option-click the Time Machine menu extra and Choose "Browse Other Time Machine Disks," then select the previous Mac’s backup set. You will enter Time Machine and be able to browse your previous back ups and restore files. http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1338

[Rob Russell]

Tim,

The source computer is a Windows box, not a Mac so I doubt the software you're referring to will apply.

[Art Mulder]

If they're both networked, I would just turn on file sharing on the PC, and then connect to the PC from the Mac and copy away...

That said, there may be "smarter" migration tools out there, I have no idea.
(but I just googled up an Apple Support document on migrating from Windows) (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2518)

[Bryan Morgan]

If they are both plugged into your internet router all you have to do is what Art said, share the directories on the Windows box and connect to it from your Mac. No need for a crossover cable or anything. If you don't have a switch/hub or a router then, yes, you do need a crossover cable. If you are going to buy one, get it from an actual computer shop and not Best Buy or any big stores... you will be ripped off. Just right click on the folder you want to share and left click on "Sharing and Security..." and a window will pop up that is self explanatory. While connecting to the PC from the Mac it may ask for authentication and you will use the name and password you log into your Windows box with. If you don't remember, you can create a new account by going to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> User Accounts.

[Peter Stahl]

Lots of good info, will pass it along to my daughter. I was never able to set up a home network with my wireless router/modem. I did buy a HP Printer recently and it did it very easily so I can print wirelessly through the router. She's on a tight budget and uses the internet at my house or school so the ethernet cable between the two is probably the way to go.

Pete

[Matt Sollars]

Take both to the Apple store and they'll do it for free.

[Peter Stahl]

Take both to the Apple store and they'll do it for free.

That may be her best solution, thanks.

[Tim Morton]

Tim,

The source computer is a Windows box, not a Mac so I doubt the software you're referring to will apply.
woops...

http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/migrate/

[Mike Cutler]

Peter

In the Help menu on the Mac there are instructions for moving data from a PC to a Mac. If you have a wireless router it's actually pretty easy. It's exactly what Art recommended.
She needs to do a search under File sharing in the Help menu. Turn on file sharing on both machines and go out and find them on the network. If you haven't specifically gone into your router software and disabled anything the router will do it's thing.

If she really gets stuck there is a lot of help online in the Apple Discussions Forum.

Where most people get stuck file sharing is that they forget that the machine they are working on is not the machine they are transferring files from. You have to keep it straight which machine is which, once the communication is open.

The Apple store will do it for you, but this is really a function that she may want to learn to do herself. If nothing else download everything to a Jump drive and transfer it manually.

[Eric Franklin]

All the Macs do auto-mdix which means they don't need a crossover cable to connect it to another computer even if the other computer doesn't do auto-mdix.