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I have my new Mini and I have transferred my account but there are still files on my old computer I want to transfer. The 2 computers and on the same network.
I thought I could put them in the 'shared' folder but the new Mac's 'shared' folder isn't showing them.
What am I doing wrong? The old Mac is running High Sierra and the new one is Monterey.
Thanx...Ken
Mac mini 2018 or later
Thanx for getting back to me. You say, "use the Sharing System Preferences to share out the folders," I don't know what that means. Please explain.
Sorry, I can't post any screenshots to make it easier, but I can describe it.
Open Sharing System Preferences (Apple Menu)
Enable File Sharing
There will be a pane at the bottom where you can add folders. Click the + button to add your "share"
On the "Users" section, add the user you will log into that Mac as.
The permissions will show what is set for that folder. Add your user to the "users" and give that user read or read/write. Unless you need to move both directions, read only is fine.
Once you do that, your old Mac should show up in the Finder Sidebar under "Locations." Click on it and log in using the necessary credentials for the user you set up in Sharing.
When you turn on File Sharing, your user Public folder is automatically shared. You could just connect to that and put all the files in there.
You could try to share out your Desktop, Documents, Downloads, but people have posted with problems trying to share those out.
Are you looking for a solution you will use once to get things set up or long-term exchanging of files?
Thanx for getting back to me. You say, "use the Sharing System Preferences to share out the folders," I don't know what that means. Please explain.
Sorry, I can't post any screenshots to make it easier, but I can describe it.
Open Sharing System Preferences (Apple Menu)
Enable File Sharing
There will be a pane at the bottom where you can add folders. Click the + button to add your "share"
On the "Users" section, add the user you will log into that Mac as.
The permissions will show what is set for that folder. Add your user to the "users" and give that user read or read/write. Unless you need to move both directions, read only is fine.
Once you do that, your old Mac should show up in the Finder Sidebar under "Locations." Click on it and log in using the necessary credentials for the user you set up in Sharing.
When you turn on File Sharing, your user Public folder is automatically shared. You could just connect to that and put all the files in there.
You could try to share out your Desktop, Documents, Downloads, but people have posted with problems trying to share those out.
Are you looking for a solution you will use once to get things set up or long-term exchanging of files?
If you put them in the Shared folder on the old Mac, that does not sync to the new Mac.
On the old Mac, use the Sharing System Preferences to share out the folders where those files exist. I would personally move them all into Shared and share out that folder.
From the new Mac, find the old Mac on the Network in the Sidebar of the new Mac. If you log in with the same credentials on both Macs, it should connect when you click on the old Mac. If they are different, then you'll have to wait until it times out, then click on Connect As… Enter the credentials you use on the old Mac.
You should then be able to mount the Shared folder and copy the files to the new Mac.
Thanx for getting back to me. You say, "use the Sharing System Preferences to share out the folders," I don't know what that means. Please explain.
My photos exist on the iCloud for my iMac but on my iCloud for the Mini. Should, can, they be merged?
You say the old mac should be visible in the sidebar of the new mac but I can't find that. Do you mean the sidebar on windows when I'm in Finder? (sorry for being obtuse)
thanx
Errata, I meant to say: My photos exist on the iCloud for my iMac but NOT on my iCloud for the Mini. Should, can, they be merged?
If you sign into the same AppleID and enable Photos in iCloud, they will be the same.
If you have different libraries on each Mac, I'm really not sure what will happen when you turn on iCloud Photos.
I have determined that the iCloud folder is shared between my two computers. I am able to share files back and forth between them. It's just that the Photos folder which is on the old iMac doesn't appear on my new Mini. Everything else does. I suspect this might be because Photos on the old Mac isn't updated? But of course I have to move it to update it. Catch 22. What do you think? Thank you for your input.
Errata, I meant to say: My photos exist on the iCloud for my iMac but NOT on my iCloud for the Mini. Should, can, they be merged?
Thank you so much for your help. I have to retire after a busy day, but if I can't make it work it's not your fault. You have been very clear and helpful. Now I have something to work on.
Is iCloud Photos enabled on the old Mac?
If so, enable it on the new Mac.
If not, then you'll need to move the iphotolibrary from the old Mac to the new Mac.
How to share files between 2 computers?
