How do I move files from my ancient Mac?

May 30, 2005 8:51 PM

My mother is upgrading from an ancient (pre-USB, pre-FireWire, OS 9) G3 to a much more recent G4, but I'm not sure how to transfer her files. The G3 doesn't have a CD burner, and the G4 doesn't have a zip drive. Is there a quick and easy way to connect the two computers via Ethernet or file sharing so that I can copy her files to the new computer?
posted by jed to technology (15 comments total)

This article from the Apple Knowledge Base should give you all the info you need. If it doesn't, take a look at the articles that it links to.
posted by toddshot at 9:07 PM on May 30, 2005

Restart the G3 while holding down "T", then connect it to the G4 with a FireWire cable. The G4 will read the G3 as a FireWire disk -- copy away!
posted by Wolof at 9:07 PM on May 30, 2005

pre-FireWire

Sorry, sorry. Sorry.

Carry on.
posted by Wolof at 9:08 PM on May 30, 2005

I faced a similar situation with upgrading a friend's machine. Solution: if you have a GMail account (or any other e-mail account with suitable storage), you can e-mail the files to the account from one machine, then retrieve them to the other. Sounds pretty dumb, but it worked.
posted by SPrintF at 9:15 PM on May 30, 2005

I would just take the hard drive from the old computer and stick it in the new one.

However, if you want to do it by Ethernet, you'll need either a hub or a crossover cable. [Actually, I've read that Macs will autodetect when a crossover is necessary, so a special cable may not be required, but I've never tested that feature myself.] Once the physical connection is made, you'll only need to activate file sharing on one of the machines, then connect to it from the other. It would be a good idea to make sure AppleTalk is activated on both, so you don't have to munge with IP addressing.
posted by ijoshua at 9:21 PM on May 30, 2005

If you're willing to invest 30 bucks or so plus shipping, you should be able to add a Firewire port pretty easily.
posted by pwb503 at 9:48 PM on May 30, 2005

solution: if you have a GMail account (or any other e-mail account with suitable storage), you can e-mail the files to the account from one machine, then retrieve them to the other.

Or just get some web space. Cheap as hell and a lot more efficient than hundreds of small emails, not to mention certain files may be too big for email.
posted by justgary at 10:32 PM on May 30, 2005

I borrowed a friend's 256 meg flash keyring device and used that when my mom went from an older imac to her new mac mini. worked well.
posted by luriete at 10:38 PM on May 30, 2005

Ethernet is your only choice unless you want to invest in a peripheral or adapter card. It can be a bit flaky - I found it very easy to log on to my OS X machine from the OS 9 one, but not the other way. You do not need a crossover cable.

If it's an ancient G3 it probably uses SCSI, in which case you can't move the drive to the G4.
posted by O9scar at 11:09 PM on May 30, 2005

The Mac definitely has ethernet on it.

Basically....if you connect an ethernet cable it should autosense and become a crossover between the two.

Self addressing ethernet addressing is a pita. It's worth borrowing/buying (and returning or keeping) a cheap hardwired router.

Set the router up. Tell OSX to share folder. use OS9 to mount that folder and copy the files over. (the very first link hits the articles you'll need if you run into trouble.
posted by filmgeek at 11:14 PM on May 30, 2005

He's got a domain, so surely he has web space. I say use that, assuming the computers in question have easy access to a broadband connection. Swapping drives is physically quick but you'd have to find the jumper configuration to turn the beige G3's hard drive into a slave which might be annoying.

Two corrections: beige G3s have ATA drives (standard, anyway; I think there was an optional, faster SCSI drive config by then) and while the G4 may have autosense I am reasonably sure the beige G3 does not.
posted by furiousthought at 11:26 PM on May 30, 2005

Only one of the computers would need an auto-sensing ethernet port.

You didn't mention how many MB/GB worth of files you'd like to move. The simplest solution, in my opinion, would be a keychain USB drive. If that isn't sufficient for all of your files, then the next best thing is ethernet file-sharing. It really isn't that hard to set up. The e-mail thing just makes me cringe.
posted by odinsdream at 7:26 AM on May 31, 2005

All but the first generation of G4s (Aug 1999-Jul 2000) have Auto-MDIX, and only one Mac needs to have it for a patch cable to be able to connect the two. If the G4 has an ADC port on the graphics card (a huge thing with semi-circular ends), you're fine.
posted by cillit bang at 7:28 AM on May 31, 2005

Purchase an IDE hard drive enclosure. They're relatively cheap ($20-30). You just rip the drive out of the old G3, plunk it into the enclosure and you have a firewire hard drive. It's a great tool to have around for backups or emergency file recovery.

Of course, that's assuming the G3 doesn't have SCSI drives. There are enclosures for SCSI, but they're much less useful these days.
posted by fatbobsmith at 6:17 PM on May 31, 2005

Most FedexKinkos Macs have zip drives and cd burners.
posted by softlord at 6:14 PM on June 2, 2005