How to Transfer Files from PC to Mac Using External Hard Drive

Can you transfer files from PC to Mac using an external hard drive? Sure, Just plug the external drive's USB cable into your Windows PC and copy your files to the external disk. After all files are copied, shut down Windows, unplug the hard drive's data cable, and plug the cable into your Mac.

External hard drives are useful for transferring large amounts of data that cannot fit on a smaller storage device, such as a USB drive or optical disc. EaseUS will provide you with detailed guidance on how to move files from PC to Mac using external drives.

Prerequisites

Before starting the operation, you need to understand some related prerequisites:

🚩1. Leave sufficient battery on both of your PC and Mac computer (50% or more).

🚩2. Convert NTFS to FAT32 or exFAT if you are using an NTFS formatted external disk to make it compatible with Windows and macOS.

🚩3. Specify the file location and what types of files (pictures, documents, music, and other files) you want to transfer.

Note: If you want to transfer applications from PC to Mac, turn to the EaseUS Todo PCTrans. This tool works well in transferring applications, files, and documents among multi-operating systems.

Share these prerequisites with more people to help them transfer data from Windows to Mac.

How to Transfer Files from PC to Mac Using External Hard Drive

External hard drives contain a larger amount of storage than USB flash drives. You can select an external hard drive to transfer files from Mac to PC. Follow the steps to do so.

Stage 1. Copy Files from the PC to the External Hard Drive

The first thing you need to do is to copy the files or documents you want to the external hard drive from the PC. Here is how:

Step 1. Plug the external drive's USB cable into your PC and open File Explorer to copy the target files to the external drive.

Step 2. Once everything has been copied, close Windows and unplug the hard drive's data cable from the PC.

Stage 2. Move Files to Mac From External Hard Drive

Following the steps below, you can copy everything to your Mac, or you can just copy the files you want and keep the rest on the external drive.

Step 1. Plug the cable of the external hard drive into your Mac. The drive's letter or name should appear on your Mac's desktop. 

Step 2. Double-click on it. Drag all the files to your Mac folder.

As shown here, using an external hard drive to transfer data between a computer and a Mac is relatively simple. However, external hard drives cannot only use FAT32 and exFAT file formats. In addition, this method does not support application transfer. To break through these limitations, you should use third-party tools. Read on to learn more.

Transfer Files From PC to Mac Automatically

An automated file transfer software is highly recommended if you are preparing a more efficient solution. EaseUS Todo PCTrans is a professional and powerful transfer application.

It comes with a PC-to-PC mode, allowing users to move files or videos from a PC to a Mac computer. With its help, you can migrate files from a Windows PC to a Mac without a USB drive or an external hard drive.

Its powerful algorithms allow you to transfer data between Windows systems and macOS while ensuring data integrity. Install it on your PC and follow the steps to try:

Step 1. Set Up the Old PC

• First, install and launch EaseUS Todo PCTrans and select Data Transfer on the left panel of the main interface.

• Select "Transfer Directly" and click "Next" to continue. 

Step 2. Set Up the New PC

• Download and launch EaseUS Todo PCTrans on the new computer; select "This is New PC" and click "Next".

• Select "Transfer directly" and click "Next" to continue. 
• Select "Network" and click Next to continue. This will automatically scan the old PC. (Make sure the two PCs are connected to the same LAN.)

• Select the target PC and click Connect. Then, it will take some time to scan and analyze the data in old PC.

Step 3. Select the Files to Transfer

• Finally, on the new PC, select the Files tab, select the files you need to transfer. Then, click "Transfer" to start.

Conclusion

In most cases, you'll need to use an external hard drive to transfer files from PC to Mac. This method allows you to transfer many large files that cannot fit on the USB to your Mac. However, this method has limitations due to system compatibility and file format limitations. EaseUS Todo PCTrans is a better solution. You can let more people know about this method by clicking the share button below.

Transfer Files from PC to Mac Using External Hard Drive FAQs

External hard drives can help a lot when you want to move files from PC to Mac. Check the following questions to get more details.

1. How do I transfer files from PC to Mac with an external hard drive?

Once you've copied your files to the external hard drive, disconnect the drive, move it to the Mac, and plug it in using the Mac's USB port. Once you power it on, the external hard drive will show up on the Mac Desktop or in a Finder window. You can then drag and drop the files from the drive to the Mac.

2. How do I transfer files from Windows to Mac?

There are many ways to transfer files from a Windows PC to a Mac, such as an external hard drive, USB, WiFi, Cloud Storage, and Migration Assistant.

3. Can you share files between a PC and a Mac using an external hard drive?

Sure. External hard drives can help transfer files between systems as long as they are formatted to a proper file system. External hard drives can only transfer files from a PC to a Mac. It can't transfer applications between different OS.