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I was trying to use File Sharing to transfer a rather large file (6 GB) from my Mac mini to my MacBook Pro over WiFi, but the file would get constantly stuck at 6 MB and stop transferring.

Is there a file size limit when using File Sharing?

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Does it freeze after 6 *M*b or *G*b? – patrix♦ Aug 20 '12 at 3:32
6 megabites it freezes. I tried three times and it froze each time at 6 mb. – OghmaOsiris Aug 20 '12 at 3:47
I fileshared bigger files between Macs. What happens if you initiate the transfer from the other Mac? – patrix♦ Aug 20 '12 at 4:29
Same thing. I tried connecting from my macbook and taking it from my mini, and I tried connecting with my mini and dropping it onto my macbook. Both stopped at exactly the same place. I'm thinking that if you can transfer bigger files, that it's probably my wifi not the fileshare. – OghmaOsiris Aug 20 '12 at 4:33
Network issues would have been my next guess as well :-) – patrix♦ Aug 20 '12 at 4:51
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2 Answers

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I don't think this problem is caused by the size of the file, but just one of those random hiccups that happens with AFP sometimes =/

Try using AirDrop if your on 10.7 Lion or higher. Even if your mac doesn't support AirDrop, there is a hidden command to allow for AirDrop to work over the local network (Ethernet or WiFi). See the link below.

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20110913213649565

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Jump Drive and USB Flash drives generally come formatted with the FAT File System which cannot have files written to them that are larger than 2Gb - that will be your limitation. Since you are writing from a Mac to a Mac, you are able to format your USB drive to HFS+ and then you will not have that limitation.

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For FAT the maximum filesize is 4GB. Alternative to HFS+ you can format your drive with ExFAT, which is interoperable with Windows (HFS+ isn't by default). – Gerry Aug 20 '12 at 7:04
I wish this would work, but my USB needs to be formatted for working on both windows and OSX. – OghmaOsiris Aug 23 '12 at 16:59
So format your USB in HSF+, transfer the files, then reformat the USB drive in FAT once you're done. – Daniel Lawson♦ Aug 23 '12 at 17:15
That's rather inconvenient as I would have to empty the drive every time I need to transfer a large file. So I would need to delete about 8gb of smaller files, reformat, transfer the large file, then get the 8gb of files formerly on the drive back on. That's not very efficient. – OghmaOsiris Aug 23 '12 at 17:22

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