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User profile for user: scmesser1
scmesser1 Author
User level: Level 1
16 points

Data transfer mid-2014 MacBook Pro to 2024 M3 MacBook Air

Thanks in advance! Need to move about one-quarter of the data and apps from my 2014 MBP (Big Sur) to new M3 MBA (Sequoia). I want to be as selective as possible. My Time Machine backups (on an older standard hard drive) are great but it's a slow, tedious process. I've given File Sharing a try but encountered problems. And I'm not prepared to move big chunks of my data using Migration Asst.

Seems like Target Disk Mode is exactly what I need, haven't purchased a USB A USB C 3.2 gen 2 cable yet, until I get some wise feedback about feasibility due to my older Mac. Have read that buying 2 ethernet adapters and an ethernet cable might work. Thoughts?



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Air 15″, macOS 15.0

Posted on Oct 29, 2024 5:17 AM

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2 replies
User profile for user: Servant of Cats
Servant of Cats
User level: Level 6
16,678 points

Oct 29, 2024 10:12 AM in response to scmesser1

Unless you're prepared to buy a $50 Apple Thunderbolt 3-to-2 adapter, I don't think that Target Disk Mode is going to be an option for you. Target Disk Mode used to work with connections other than Thunderbolt ones, but now:


Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode - Apple Support

"If either of the computers has macOS 11 or later installed, you must connect the two computers using a Thunderbolt cable."


If you wanted to make the new computer act as the "external disk", you could use a cheaper USB connection.


Transfer files between a Mac with Apple silicon and another Mac - Apple Support


That wouldn't help you if you wanted the newer machine to act as the "computer" and the older one to act as the "disk".


I would suggest making a clone backup of your older computer onto an external drive – using Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! Then use the external drive as the source for Migration Assistant - or for a more selective manual migration.

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Data transfer mid-2014 MacBook Pro to 2024 M3 MacBook Air

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