radly
Level 1 (1 points)

Q: Fastest transfer method

My new Macbook Pro is on order and while waiting I'm considering the task of transferring data from the old one to the new one.  I understand from Move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support that I have several options.  What connection choice would be fastest? I have one respected source telling me ThunderBolt is fastest.  And how long should I expect it to take?  I have just under 500 GB moving from a 1TB hard drive to a 1 TB flash drive.  I also have an up-to-date Time Machine backup as an option.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Mar 17, 2016 10:56 AM

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radly

Q: Fastest transfer method

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  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Mar 17, 2016 11:36 AM in response to radly
    Level 9 (52,424 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 17, 2016 11:36 AM in response to radly

    Yes the MBP does have a Thunderbolt port and that is the fastest connection.  But it takes two to tango.  What connections does the source have?  That will govern the data transfer speed.

     

    Ciao.

  • by KimUserName,

    KimUserName KimUserName Mar 17, 2016 12:02 PM in response to radly
    Level 4 (1,400 points)
    Notebooks
    Mar 17, 2016 12:02 PM in response to radly

    Hi Radly:

     

    Here is a technote which might help: Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support

    If you have an up to date Time Machine backup on an external drive, you could also connect it up to new Macbook Pro via USB.

     

    Either way you connect, give yourself a few hours.

     

    Kim

  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb Mar 18, 2016 7:07 AM in response to radly
    Level 7 (24,216 points)
    Notebooks
    Mar 18, 2016 7:07 AM in response to radly

    Since we don’t know what your current computer is we don’t know what ports are available. But I can start by saying avoid any kind of network transfer. WiFi is way too slow and while giga-ethernet sounds like it should be fast I’ve seen too many instances where the transfer has stalled using ethernet.

     

    If your TimeMachine backup is on an external drive you have one good option. It isn’t the fastest option but frankly migration assistant itself isn’t all that fast.

     

    You can also transfer directly from one computer to another using TB if both computer have a TB port or if your original computer has a FireWire port you can get a TB->FW dongle and use that with a FW cable. Either of those choices will be faster than the USB TimeMachine option but may involve additional expense (the cable or dongle) that will never be used again.

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Mar 18, 2016 7:50 AM in response to radly
    Level 9 (52,424 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 18, 2016 7:50 AM in response to radly

    Note:  By installing an adapter as dwb suggests (TB>FW) the transfer speed will be the maximum that Firewire permits, not Thunderbolt. 

     

    Ciao.

  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb Mar 18, 2016 8:56 AM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 7 (24,216 points)
    Notebooks
    Mar 18, 2016 8:56 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Good point.

  • by radly,

    radly radly Mar 18, 2016 2:46 PM in response to dwb
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Mar 18, 2016 2:46 PM in response to dwb

    Well, it sounds unanimous--both the source (early 2011 MBP) and the destination (spiffy new MBP w/Retina) have ThunderBolt.  Spending $2000+ makes me worry less about popping $50 for a cable that I may never use again (but, hey, I'll probably do this again some day, yes?).  I know I could avoid that expense using my Time Machine backup, but remembering how long the first full backup took I think I'd rather go for speed this time.

     

    Thanks to all for the counsel.