How to transfer files between two computers without an external hard drive

Connect the two computers directly with a Thunderbolt, USB4 or Ethernet cable, and share files over that link. If you can’t connect them, use your home network, AirDrop between Apple devices, or cloud storage for smaller amounts.

Why this is harder than it should be

Plugging two computers together does nothing. Neither one appears on the other as a drive, so a drive feels like the only option that works without setup.
Every other method needs setup. Network file sharing means turning sharing on, choosing an account, changing network settings, finding an address and signing in.
The connection doesn’t last. After sleep, a restart or unplugging the cable, you connect again, and a cable’s address can change.
Wireless methods are slow for big jobs. Wi-Fi copies between two computers often run at 100–320 Mb/s, and cloud storage uploads every file and downloads it again.
Folders of small files crawl over network file sharing, however fast the link.
Mac, Windows and Linux share files differently, so steps for one rarely match the other.

Which method to use

Best-case times for 100 GB, calculated from each method’s typical rate. Real copies are slower, especially for folders of many small files.

Method	What you need	100 GB
Thunderbolt or USB4 cable	Thunderbolt or USB4 ports on both computers	under a minute to a few minutes
Ethernet cable	An Ethernet port or USB Ethernet adapter on each computer	about 13 minutes at 1 Gb/s
Home network	Both computers on the same Wi-Fi or wired network	40 minutes to over 2 hours over Wi-Fi
AirDrop	Two Apple devices	about 40 minutes
Cloud storage	An account with enough free space	hours

For how each rate was worked out, see the fastest way to transfer large files.

Connect them with a Thunderbolt or USB4 cable

A cable is the fastest option if both computers have Thunderbolt 3 or newer, or USB4, ports. Ordinary USB-C ports can’t connect two computers. Check yours with how to tell if your laptop has Thunderbolt or USB4.

Use a Thunderbolt or USB4 cable. A phone charging cable won’t work. When you plug it in, each computer sees a new network connection: Thunderbolt Bridge on a Mac, a new Ethernet connection on Windows, and thunderbolt0 on Linux.

Nothing opens in Finder or File Explorer yet. To move files, share a folder on one computer and connect to it from the other, as in set up file sharing over a direct cable.

Connect them with an Ethernet cable

If both computers have an Ethernet port, one Ethernet cable between them gives a 1 Gb/s link, or faster if both ports are 2.5 Gb/s or 10 Gb/s. You don’t need a router or a special crossover cable. Many laptops have no Ethernet port, but a USB Ethernet adapter adds one.

The file sharing steps are the same as for a Thunderbolt or USB4 cable. Use the Ethernet connection, or the adapter’s name, wherever the steps below name the cable connection.

Share a folder on the computer that has the files, find that computer’s address on the cable, then connect from the other computer and sign in. Each step differs on Mac, Windows and Linux.

Share a folder on the computer that has the files

On a Mac:

In System Settings, choose General > Sharing and turn on File Sharing.
Click the info button (ⓘ) next to File Sharing. Under Shared Folders, click + and add the folder, then set who can read or write it.
If a Windows PC will connect, click Options…, select your account under Windows File Sharing and enter its password.

On a Windows PC:

In File Explorer, right-click the folder and choose Properties.
On the Sharing tab, click Share…, choose who can open the folder, then click Share.
In Settings, choose Network & internet > Advanced network settings > Advanced sharing settings.
Under Private networks, turn on Network discovery and File and printer sharing. These switches also open the matching rules in Windows Defender Firewall.

On Linux, share the folder with Samba. That means installing it, adding the share, setting a Samba password for your account and allowing it through the firewall. See transferring files between a Mac and Linux.

Set the cable connection to Private on Windows

Windows treats a new connection as Public, which blocks file sharing. The cable usually appears as Unidentified network. Do this on every Windows PC in the transfer:

In Settings, choose Network & internet > Ethernet.
Select the cable’s connection, such as Ethernet 2.
Under Network profile type, select Private network.

Find the address on the cable connection

With no router on the cable, each computer gives itself an address starting with 169.254. That’s normal, and it’s the address you connect to.

On a Mac: in System Settings, choose Network and then the cable connection, such as Thunderbolt Bridge. It shows Self-assigned IP. Click Details… to see the address.
On Windows: the IPv4 address is listed on the same Ethernet page where you set the profile. You can also run ipconfig in Terminal and read the Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address.
On Linux: in the cable connection’s IPv4 settings, set the method to Link-Local Only, then read the address from the connection’s details.

Connect from the other computer

On a Mac:

In Finder, choose Go > Connect to Server.
Enter smb:// followed by the other computer’s address, for example smb://169.254.12.34, and click Connect.
Choose Registered User, enter the name and password of an account on the other computer, and click Connect.
Select the shared folder. It opens in Finder and appears under Locations in the sidebar.

On a Windows PC:

In the File Explorer address bar, type \\ followed by the address, for example \\169.254.12.34, and press Enter.
Enter the name and password of an account on the other computer, and select Remember my credentials. The shared folders appear.

On Linux, open Files and choose Network in the sidebar (Other Locations in older versions). Enter smb:// followed by the address in the box at the bottom, click Connect and sign in.

Reconnect after sleep, restart or unplugging

The shared folder disconnects when either computer sleeps, restarts or loses the cable. Connect again the same way. On a Mac, Go > Connect to Server keeps a list of recent servers. On Windows, a mapped network drive with Reconnect at sign-in selected comes back after a restart.

A self-assigned address can change after the cable is unplugged. If connecting fails, check the address again. See why network shares disconnect after sleep.

The other computer doesn’t show up under Network. Connect by its cable address instead. On Windows, check that the cable connection is set to Private. See File Explorer can’t see the other computer.
The copy runs at Wi-Fi speed. If you connect by computer name, or pick the computer from the Network list, the copy can go over Wi-Fi instead of the cable. Connect using the 169.254 address, or turn off Wi-Fi for the copy.
Your password is refused. A Windows PC signed in with a Microsoft account wants that account’s email address and password, not your PIN. An account with no password can’t sign in over the network.
Copies run well below the cable’s speed. Windows 11 version 24H2 and later require SMB signing by default, which adds work to every request. See why file sharing over Thunderbolt runs below the cable’s speed.
Folders of small files crawl. In our tests, a Mac took almost four minutes to copy 20,000 small files to a Linux computer over SMB on a 10 Gb/s link. Zip them first, then copy the zip.

If both computers are on the same network, share a folder on one and open it from the other. The steps are the same as for a cable, but you connect to each computer’s normal network address, and Windows needs the home network set to Private. Wi-Fi copies between two computers often run at 100–320 Mb/s, because each file crosses the air twice. Connecting either computer to the router with a cable makes it faster.

If the other computer doesn’t appear, see File Explorer can’t see the other computer.

Between two Apple devices, AirDrop needs no setup. It typically runs at about 320 Mb/s, and large transfers can stall, so it suits a few files better than a whole project. See why AirDrop is slow with large files.

Windows PCs can send files to each other with Nearby sharing, in Settings > System > Nearby sharing. Neither works between a Mac and a Windows PC. See what to use instead of AirDrop with Windows.

Use cloud storage for smaller amounts

iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox work between any two computers, even in different places. Each file is uploaded and then downloaded again, and home upload speeds are usually much lower than download speeds. A 100 GB project can take hours, and the account needs enough free space for all of it.

Plug in with USB-C and transfer faster, no configuration

If both computers have Thunderbolt or USB4 ports, DirectConnect turns the cable into the drive you were missing. Install it on both computers, plug in, and each one’s files open on the other without any of the setup above.

Plugging in does something. The other computer appears in Finder, File Explorer or your Linux file manager like a USB drive.
No sharing setup. You don’t turn on file sharing, create accounts, change the network profile or type IP addresses. Your computer may ask for permission the first time DirectConnect runs.
Stays on the cable. DirectConnect finds the cable link by itself and keeps the copy off Wi-Fi.
Built for small files. In Finder, a folder of 20,000 small files copied from a Mac to a Linux computer in 34.4 s, against almost four minutes over SMB on the same 10 Gb/s link.
Reconnects by itself. It remembers each computer and what you shared, and connects the same way when you plug the cable back in.
Mac, Windows and Linux. The same app on all three, in any direction.
Gets the best speeds from your Thunderbolt or USB4 cable. DirectConnect’s fast copy sent a 1 GiB file between two Macs at 12.5–20.7 Gb/s on a 40 Gbps cable.

Try DirectConnect