Target disk mode to portable hard drive

Question

Level 1

4 points

Target disk mode to portable hard drive

I am trying to transfer files from my old macbook pro to my new one via migration assistant and thunderbolt cable. My old macbook will not startup and all I can do is access the target disk mode for transferring data. I have managed to get all but one of my folders from old mac to my new mac through this method, but the last folder contains 160gb of data which is more than the full storage capacity of my new computer and theres no way to selectively transfer files over (all or nothing transfer of this folder). Is there a way to selectively transfer files? Or is there a way to migrate this folder directly to my 1Tb portable hard drive?

MacBook Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12.2), null

Posted on Jan 8, 2017 2:15 PM

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Answer 1

S.U.

Level 6

9,601 points

Jan 9, 2017 4:47 PM in response to dwengryn9863

You could probably use Disk Utility to make a 160 GB partition on your 1 TB drive and then just copy the data from the old drive by dragging and dropping. Once it's copied onto the 1 TB drive, you can sort through it and drag and drop any files you want to keep to your Desktop and eventually file them wherever you want. Once you have all the data that you want to keep, you can then delete the partition and reclaim the space on the external.

Since your old drive evidently has issues, it's probably prudent to transfer your files all at once to the 1 TB drive and then sort through them at your convenience. There's always the possibility that the old drive could die completely, so you want to rescue the data on it as quickly as possible before it does.

Good luck!

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Answer 2

dwengryn9863 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 9, 2017 4:52 PM in response to dwengryn9863

Just for future reference if anyone has the same problem here is what I did:

Access target disk mode on old mac (hold T + power button)

Connect macs with thunderbolt cable

Access disk utility on new mac --> Look for the name of old computer under "external"--> Right click and select show in Finder --> open Finder and look for old mac under "devices" in sidebar --> from there you can see all the files on your old mac and just drag and drop from there

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Answer 3

dwengryn9863 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 9, 2017 4:48 PM in response to S.U.

Thank you so much! This is also so much better than having to use migration assistant because I can actually use my computer while the files transfer.

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