Just a few years ago, a large file size would’ve been anywhere around 10MBs or 100MBs. Things have changed. Huge amounts of photo and video files are transferred online every day yet when it comes to the time to send a large 4GB or 10, 20GB file, most people will run into a problem.

Since there are many unique situations in transferring a file, I am noting a few cases that seem to be the best.

1. Easiest direct transfer between Windows, Mac or Linux systems: Skype

If you need to send a large file without hassle, use Skype. Skype is free. There are no limits in file sizes. There are no PC/Mac compatibility issues. Data transfer is encrypted and performance is good, even for LAN transfers. The only inconvenience would be for both parties to be online at the same time.

If you don’t want to be online at the same time, your options are limited as most online file transfer services have a 2GB file size limit. That said, if you need a temporary space for a single or multiple users to download, I would recommend WeTransfer or Dropbox.

2. For Mac to Mac transfers, direct folder sharing over the internet is the best.

For most cases, this will require a network port forwarded (in the router configuration) to the shared host computer. Port 548 is the port you need to forward for the AFP protocol to work and share files. Once the port is forwarded, you can easily send files using Finder and the shared IP address of the host computer. Unfortunately, most residential ISPs block the default ports for Windows file sharing (SMB) so a Windows shared folder will only work within your internal network (LAN) connection.

3.  Use a file server.

While technically not a “free” solution, if you transfer files frequently, there is no better option than to do it using a file server (or a NAS – Network Attached Storage). A modern file server, such as the Synology Diskstation, will take care of your file sharing needs easily.

Newer methods will probably be created and discovered, but these are some of my best recommendations for file sharing in 2012. If you have a better way to send files online, share it with us!

Have you wondered how fast your internet connection really is? Do you want to know how fast you can transfer data or files using your internet or network connection?

While there are many conversion tools on the internet that you can punch in your data, I’ve created a chart with most popular speeds that gives you a pretty clear idea what your connection is capable of and should be helpful when transferring large files within a deadline.

 
Please note that this is the theoretical maximum speed and data transfer rate. Actual connection speeds vary depending on the quality of the connection and many other factors.

Transfers over Wi-Fi and uploads/downloads over the internet normally fall quite short from its maximum speed.

Searching through the internet to solve this problem gave me a lot of incorrect or complicated solutions. A few of these are:

- Using a large usb memory stick or external hard disk drive with NTFS, HFS or Ext2, Ext3 or Ext4 (Linux file formats) that supports large (4GB+) files.

- Transferring the file using FTP or SSH

- Installing a driver or software that enables you to read NTFS files on your Mac, or Mac OS Extended (HFS+) volumes on your PC

- Using a direct connection with a crossover LAN cable

All of these so-called solutions, most of which are methods to get around the NTFS/HFS+ file system incompatibility, are either time consuming, complicated or require some sort of paid software installed.

However, there are 2 relatively simple, and free, ways to solve this. (I believe #2 is easier.)

1. Memory Card or External Hard Drive Formatted with ExFAT
The first solution (thanks, Joe!) to transfer large files between Macs and PCs is to use a memory card or external drive formatted into exFAT, a file system created by Microsoft that is compatible on both Macs (Snow Leopard 10.6.5 and above) and PCs (Windows XP SP2 and above).

[ Note : You must install Windows update KB955704 to properly access exFAT drives in Windows XP ]

To create an exFAT drive, you need to select exFAT as the file system when formatting (or erasing on Mac) your drive. In Windows, you can easily do this by using “FORMAT x: /FS:exfat /q” in the command prompt (where x: is the external drive) or by selecting exFAT instead of NTFS using the new disk wizard.

For those who are worried if exFAT can handle your huge file or not, the maximum file size is 16EB (that’s giga, tera, peta and then exa), with 512TB being the recommended maximum file size in Windows XP. So, yes, your 200GB file will fit in an exFAT drive.

[Additional Note : I've noticed exFAT recognition between the Mac and PC isn't always consistent. If your Mac formatted exFAT drive is not recognized in Windows, you will probably have to assign a drive letter to it. (please ask if you need further instructions on this) Try #2 if you can't get the drive recognized properly]

2. Over a Network (LAN) Connection
When you don’t have a memory card or external drive ready, or if exFAT just doesn’t like you, you can still transfer files by sharing a folder on your PC (make it writable) and copy the file using Finder on your Mac. Instructions are as follows:

Create a shared folder on your Windows PC. Make sure you make it writable for everyone.

To connect to your shared PC folder from your Mac, open Finder and select Go -> Connect to Server in the menu and type in smb://[ipaddress of shared folder computer].

Connecting to Windows Shared Folder

Type in your Windows username and password to connect to your computer and start copying your file over. As you can see below, my Mac is happily copying a 7.25GB file over to my Windows shared folder.

This file transfer was performed using Wi-Fi but the fastest way would be to connect using a physical LAN line at 100Mbps or 1Gbps.

Once the file transfer is complete, I recommended that you disable the shared folder for security reasons, especially if the folder is not password protected.

3. LAN and Over the Internet: Skype File Transfer

I’m adding one more simple method to transfer large files between Mac and PCs. The answer is Skype. If you think the 2 methods above are complicated, get your buddy (or your alt account) and yourself on Skype, select your buddy in the contact list and go to Conversation -> Send -> File and select the file you want to send. The transfer will start when your buddy accepts the file. This will work for both internal LAN transfers and also over the internet, all for free.

Also check out my other article: How To Send Large Files (Larger Than 2GBs) Over the Internet for Free

Let me know how this works for you. If you have a better method, please do let me know!

The first thing you need is a fast 2.5″ SSD. Slower SSDs don’t match well with your shiny, high performance Mac Pro. Make sure you get a good one. I would recommend a SATA III (6Gbps) SSD even though Mac Pros only support SATA II. SATA III drives are backwards compatible with SATA II and show excellent performance. My recommendation is OCZ’s Vertex 3 or soon to come Corsair’s Force Series 3 SSDs. [Note: This recommendation is outdated.]

Second, if your SSD does not come with an adapter, you will need a 2.5″ SSD to 3.5″ adapter. You probably don’t want to tape your SSD inside your Mac Pro to keep it in place. You’ll need a 2.5″ to 3.5″ drive adapter to mount your SSD securely in a Mac Pro. There is a low cost solution to this:

Icy Dock 2.5″ to 3.5″ Drive Converter from Newegg

[Note: The best place to purchase this adapter is actually B&H, not Newegg, at $14.96]

Once you have everything, you just need to put in the SSD into the 3.5″ adapter and mount it on to the Mac Pro hard disk bay as any regular hard disk drive.

If you are using the SSD for the system drive (the most recommended use), you need to reinstall Mac OS X as follows:

This is a quick and easy, yet highly effective way to boost your Mac Pro’s performance.