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How to Transfer Data from External Drive of Old Mac to New Mac?

How do I transfer photos and music from an external drive to my Macbook? These file were saved off my older mac onto the external drive.

Best Answered by

iBoysoft author Sherry Song

Sherry Song

Answered on Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Hello, before transferring data from the external hard drive to Mac, you have to:

  • Ensure a stable connection between the drive to your Mac.
  • Check the file system of the external hard drive of the drive. (It should be the file systems supported by macOS)

Then you can use these methods to try:

(1) Use iBoysoft MagicMenu. It is a convenient tool that allows you to move files between the external hard drive and your Mac.

(2) Copy and paste files with Keyboard shortcuts.

(3) Use the Terminal command cp to move data. 

(4) Drag and drop the files.

Hope you finally move the files. 

Also read: How to Transfer Files from External Hard Drive to Mac?

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