Step aside PC, I'm switching to a Mac! But wait, how do I move my stuff?

My advice is to copy your pictures, music and video files to CDs or DVDs. If you are using iTunes on your Windows machine, use iTunes to make a backup of your music. Microsoft office files will transfer except for any database files you may currently use Microsoft Access.

I was considering switching my wifes laptop to a macbook. The Apple store I was at in San Diego said they move all the data for free. Docs, Pictures and music. Call the Apple store they can help.

USB flash or external hard drive should do the trick.

I have always perchased Western Digital externals. They have PC and Mac drivers preinstalled. I back up files (not running a back up through a program, but folders at a time) so they are compatable with any system containing the right codecs or programs. Safe, always just what they are without a specific program to access them. I have moved and copied files between three OS's without incident..

Compatability issues should not be much of a problem. You will find that much of the software used on the Mac will open, import or export pc files.

The easiest way of tranfer would be get an external usb drive The pc and mac will auto recognize the drive. If you dont have one just network them through your wireless or wired router. If you dont use a router you can direct connect them using a ethernet cable.

To do this just set your pc up using file sharing for entire c:. Im not sure of the OS you are currently using. Using XP its very simple just go to my computer right click on the C drive icon go down to sharing and security select and put a check in share this folder on network apply and ok. On the Mac just go to the Apple menu, choose system preferences, from the view menu, choose sharing. You will put a check in file sharing. Under options make sure the protocol is SMB for windows sharing.

To make sure they see each other on the network make sure your Mac is set to the windows workgroup of the PC. Default Windows workgroups are MSHOME and WORKGROUP depending on OS. To do this just go to system properties in control panel or go to my computer right click properties and under computer name tab you will see what the name of the computer and the workgroup. Go to the Mac under system preferences go to network, go to advanced and wins tab. You will have text boxes to type in a name for your mac and the default workgroup name of the pc. Next, just click ok and apply after that you should be able to view and transfer all the files over to the Mac.

If you also want to import your bookmarks, its very simple. First go to your PC and open browser go to file and import export. Choose option to export and follow the wizard. It will create a bookmark.htm file on the desktop if that is where you choose. Go to the Mac open up your browser whether it be safari or firefox etc. file menu and select import. Find the bookmark file and follow the wizard. Now you have your bookmarks.

Hope this helps!

You've gotten a lot of great advice of the many ways you can copy your data from the PC to the Mac. Here's what I recommend:

Hi Bernie B.,

As other posts have mentions, you can install Windows with the provided bootcamp. For simultaneous use of both MAC OSX and Windows, I use Parallels which you can try for free before buying. As to the files, you can copy them several ways. Copying them from the PC to and external HD (Hard Drive) will work great, then copy them to the Documents on the MAC from the external HD.

The next best utility to get is Paragon NTFS for MAC. With this utility you can read and write both NTFS and MAC files on both O.S's in either direction, MAC to PC or PC to MAC. Without this NTFS ulility, MAC will only read but not write to the NTFF bootcamp partition. With the NTFS utility you can run any PC only apps on the Windows side but share the data in one Documents file system. Any apps that you had on the PC that MAC has like MS Office can readily read and write you files with the MAC version. I only use the PC Windows side when MAC does not have an app that is compatible or that I like. Good Luck, the MAC is a great move.

Like you I have changed from Win7 to Mac. I have the best of both worlds as I have installed Win7 on my Mac on a partition.
I don't consider myself an expert but with the new MAC Snow Leopard and Bootcamp(installed on Mac)it was
straightforward. I have a 320mgb hard drive and I allocated 60mgb to Windows. Obviously that can be adjusted depending
on your needs.

Many years ago when i invested in a big Mac to make the big breakaway i downloaded a program to do just what you want to do. With time i do not recall the full details but the name was something like "Little Machines". Google it ans see.

Unfortunately i found the M/Soft Office for Mac to be completly unfriendly and because the Mac was not much better i never went any further with it. The MAc sits in a cupboard looking nice.

Good luck, Rodney

Parallels Transporter In The Mac App. Store Should Work.

First of all, as others have pointed out, the Apple Store and Genius Bar is a great resource you should use. Ask about a morning class, too. They often have classes before the store opens. There are a lot of things about a Mac that are NOT easier for Windows users to grasp that Apple training will help you with and save you some time.

Hello: All of the file types that you mention should migrate easily and work just fine on the Mac. You will need to get Office for Mac, iWork, NeoOffice (free), OpenOffice (free) or something similar to use your Office files. The photos, music and videos will work well with the included iLife package. Apple lists the ways to transfer the data at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2518 . As others have suggested, the easiest way is to transfer your data to an external hard drive, a flash drive or DVD and drag the files into the appropriate directories on your Mac. If you use a hard drive, make sure it is formatted in the FAT32 format so that both the Mac and the PC can read it. Transferring over a network requires fewer steps if you can figure out how to get both computers connected. Have fun with your Mac!

I have always been a Mac user and have also used a PC. I have never migrated material but would offer a few tips.

1. Don't try to migrate applications. They probably won't run and you need new ones for the latest Mac OS.
2. Transfer your document files, but the Import Assistant that comes with Mac may cause more trouble than it is worth (even Mac to Mac). Copy your files to a CD. Then either copy and paste the file or drag and drop the file. I don't know if you could do this directly with a USB or Firewire connection as with Mac to Mac.
3. When up and running, if you can't open a file (no suitable app.) drag the file to TextEdit app. This will open it with a lot of formatting hieroglyphics but your data will be in there also. Cut and paste the data you want from the TextEdit file to a blank page in a suitable application such as iWorks or Microsoft office for Mac.
4 .Join a Mac user group such as ClubMac. You will find members very helpful.
5. Manuals should help also. David Pogue's "Missing manual" series for the various Mac systems has an appendix for people migrating from PC's.

As soon as you are over the transfer trauma and all the glitches I hope you you enjoy your new environment.

Note: This post was edited by its original author to edit out the tags within post. on 06/17/2011 at 12:24 PM PT

If your PC happens to have a SATA drive you could get a docking station and turn in to an external usb drive.

Just copy all to an External Hard Drive. Then transfer them to MAC as needed. Some stuff won't go, but if you're also buying Office for Mac (recommended), you will have pretty good utilization of all your old MS Office files such as Word, Excel, etc. Now if you have stuff like Frontpage, forget about it. I've yet to update my old webpages. But maybe I'm just lazy.

So you are moving from a PC (which I assume you know how to use) to a MAC which by your question I assume you don't know how to use. My question is why? If you have a good reason fine but if you are making the move because your friend told you they have no viruses that's not true, because they are easier to use - not if you don't know how to use it - it's better hardware - it is, it runs faster - that's because its better hardware with more memory than the $400 PC.

I don't want to start a war here, I have a MAC, but don't buy one simply because some one told you to. If you have a Windows 7 PC and know how to use it AND if it serves your needs think twice before you switch, there will be frustrating times ahead. I would give the exact same advice to someone going the other way.

It is good you are willing to explore the computer world, way to go!

The critical thing you must realize that Mac (or Linux, Unix, etc) does things differently (I assume you have almost no Mac experience).
You will not have difficulty finding what you need, but you might feel frustrated or possibly confused about those differences.

The MOST important item to do is backing up your files (should be done regardless):
1. Make a backup for your entire Windows HDD to External HDD (I highly recommend getting 1394 FireWire if your PC does have a 1394 port).
2. Back up your most critical files (Taxes, legal documents, important pictures) to USB Flash drive.
3. Get one of the PC -> Mac transfer software, it will make it much easier to transfer.


As to open those files, there are many tools and options to do that, those suggestions posted by others.
Making sure you have those files is what is important.

I don't want this to become a Mac vs. PC bashing session, so please don't jump all over everything I am about to write. I have had several hundred clients of mine make the switch from PC to Mac over the past several years and most of them have experienced a fairly seamless transition. Having said that, I have to explain that most of these clients were young people that did not have a whole lot of history to transfer and were what I would call fairly basic PC users in that they used Web based email such as Gmail or Yahoo instead of client based email such as Outlook or Outlook Express. They were already using iTunes for music and Word for documents. Most were not using any specialty programs on the PC that could cause any issues when making the switch. So if you fall into this category, making the switch should be very easy especially if you let the guys at the Apple Store transfer all your data for you. If you do not have an Apple Store near you or you just prefer to transfer your data yourself, then I explain more about that later in this writing.

Now, if you are a more complex user and have a ton of programs that have years of data stored in a variety of proprietary formats then you may run into a few more issues when making the switch from PC to Mac. I am not saying that there is not some way around this or some utility that might convert the data for you, I am just saying that you will have to do your homework and may have a little more difficultly making the transition. I should also mention that some of these very same problems can also come up when migrating from an older Windows PC to a new Windows 7 PC as well.

Let me give you a few scenarios that some of my clients have run into with making the switch from PC to Mac. Again I am not saying that there is not some way around these issues or some utility that might help with the transition but simply that these were issues that I received calls about:

CONNECTING TO THE OFFICE - I have had several clients call me asking me to reconnect one of their old PC's because their husbands could not connect to their office remote system or VPN. Calls into company IT departments resulted in saying that their systems were not Mac Compatible.

EMAIL AND ADDRESS BOOKS - Some clients had problems converting years of Calendar history, Thousands of emails in hundreds of subfolders and thousands of contacts and groups setup in Outlook, Outlook Express or some other email client. Even the Apple Store had problems when making the conversion for them. There are some conversion programs available but it can be somewhat of a chore using their multi-step processes.

MULTIPLE USER ACCOUNTS - I have had a few clients who let the Apple store transfer there data, run into the problem where the Store did not retain the individual user accounts that they had set up their PC and simply dumped all the data into one account on the new Mac. They originally had accounts for the wife, husband and each of the children on the PC.

QUICKEN - Quicken for PC and Quicken for Mac are similar but not identical and depending on exactly what features you use, you could run into issues making the transition. For example: If you pay your bills directly through Quicken on the PC this feature does not exist on the Mac version without having to pay the monthly fee for Quicken Bill Pay.

MICROSOFT ACCESS - If you use or have a need to work with Access databases then you are going to have to either keep a PC around or run Windows on your Mac because Microsoft does not office Access for Mac.

QUICKBOOKS - If you currently use Quickbook on your PC and you are thinking of changing to the Mac I would suggest that you read this first because there are some differences. http://www.everchangellc.com/update/quickbooks-for-the-pc-or-for-the-mac

PALM PILOT AND PDA - If you have been using an older PDA such as a Palm or Sony Clie and have years of data stored on the palm desktop be prepared for some work to either convert or retype all of this information. If your old PC is not currently working it will be even more difficult because you may need to export your data first before retiring the old PC.

PRINTERS - You may find that you will need to replace your current printer. Some older printers may not offer Mac drivers and I have had several calls from clients that had problems getting their new Mac to print to a large Office multi-function Copy machines at their work such as Panasonic. Many of these large office machines never offered Mac drivers.

YDI TRANSFER OF DATA-

Documents, Photos and Video - Moving the contents of your Documents folder if fairly straight forward and you can simply drag the entire folder to a flash drive (if it will hold it) or to an external hard drive. If you want you could also use DropBox to setup a shared folder on each computer and transfer data that way or even burn the data to CD's or DVD's. If you are coming from Windows 95, 98. ME, 2000 or XP, the my documents folder will also contain the My Music and the My Pictures folders and it is located in C:\Documents and Settings\"Your Account Name\My Document". If you have been using Windows Vista or Windows 7 your main data folders are in the directory of C:\Users\"Your Account Name\Documents". It is also a good idea to double check the Public or Shared account folders for other data that you may have saved. Once your data is on an external device, plug that into your Mac and drag the folders to the appropriate folder on the Mac. If you plan to use iPhoto then simply start iPhoto and import your photos directly into iPhoto.

Firefox Bookmarks - If your old computer is still in working order it is pretty easy to use the Built-in backup routine in Firefox to back up your bookmarks and then save them to USB Flash Drive and import them into Firefox on your Mac.

EMAIL AND ADDRESS BOOK - This can be a lot more complicated because of all the different possible methods people can use to get their email. If you have been using WEB based email such as Gmail, Yahoo, Comcast or Verizon where you log into your account over the Internet then you are in luck because nothing will change and you will simply log into your account from your new Mac using Safari and all will be good. If you were using AOL and logging in via the Internet then again you will just do the same on the Mac, but if your were using one of the AOL client programs such as AOL 9.1 or AOL Desktop 9.5, then you will need to download and install AOL Desktop 9.6 for the Mac or you could take this opportunity to switch to Web based AOL. For other email client programs such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Incredimail, Thunderbird and others, the conversion can get rather complicated especially if you have a lot of history that you want to retain. If you don't care about old emails and addresses than your job is much easier and all you need to do is decide what program you want to use to read your mail and enter your email account information.

OTHER - In some cases you may find it easier to perform some conversions on your PC first before moving the data to the Mac. For example: If you have a ton of Favorites in Internet Explorer that you really want, you could install Firefox on your PC first and let it automatically convert your favorites into Bookmarks and then back those up and import into Firefox on the Mac. You could do basically the same thing with Safari or Chrome, although with Safari you would simply copy and move the bookmarks.plist file from the PC to the Mac.

ITUNES - iTunes can sometimes be a little tricky depending exactly how you have it setup on the PC and a simple transfer of the music files can result in missing music and playlists. There are many methods out there but I prefer to, depending on how much music you actually have, use iTunes built-in backup routine which will backup iTunes and all of your music to DVD's. Not only will this then let you import all your music into iTunes on your Mac but also has the added benefit of leaving you with a full backup of all your music. Before you use iTunes backup you will need to first make sure that you have iTunes set to manage the music automatically. Note: When you are done backing up you iTunes don't forget to deauthorize your old computer if you plan to discard or not use this computer for iTunes any more.

There are too many possible scenarios to cover all of them here but the general idea is to sit down at your PC and start a list of all the things that you use your current computer for. Then go through the list and decide what you want to use your new computer for and what you want to transfer over to the new computer. As you can see here, if your plan is to start fresh and you have no intention of bringing over a lot of junk from your past, then the switch from PC to Mac can be very easy.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS:

SECURITY SOFTWARE - I know, everyone thinks that a Mac can not get infected. Well that is not so true anymore and with the ever increasing popularity of Apple computers, it is only going to get worse. I have had calls on 3 infected Mac's this week alone. I would strongly recommend making sure that you always check and install all Apple updates as well as install some form of protection. There are several free security programs out there such as ClamXav and if you are a Comcast customer you can download Norton for Mac or PC for Free. Better safe than sorry. Here is a link to the lasted info on this from PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/229100/apple_releases_mac_defender_security_updateeverybody_relax.html#tk.nl_dnx_h_crawl

MICROSOFT OFFICE FOR MAC - If you were an avid user of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook and have tons of old files in these formats then you might want to consider purchasing Office for Mac. If you prefer, there is also Open Office which is free to install and will work with many of these files as well.

INTERNET BROWSERS - If you were using Firefox or Google Chrome before on your PC then you might want to download and install them on your new Mac too.

ADOBE FLASH - Some Websites require Adobe Flash to display correctly, so you might want to just go ahead and install this from the start.

ADOBE ACROBAT - The Mac can read pdf files just fine on it's own, but I have had some clients prefer to use Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can download for free.

APPLECARE - AppleCare is basically an extended service program offered by Apple. Since Apple computers tend to be rather expensive to repair I usually recommend purchasing this added protection which covers your Mac for 3 years. You also all get 3 years of Complimentary telephone technical support with this program.

APPLE One-To-One - If you are lucky enough to live fairly close to an Apple Store, then I would highly recommend signing up for the Apple One to One program that Apple offers in their store. For $99, they will transfer your data from your old computer and give you personalized training and help with projects for a year. You can go every week for a year and get help with using your Mac. I have heard nothing but praise from my clients that have taken advantage of this program.

DROPBOX - Probably one of the most useful things I know of is DropBox. DropBox allows you to setup a Free 2GB Folder in the Cloud that you can access from all of your computers and devices. You can use it to transfer data from one computer to another, from a PC to a Mac or to simply share Photos, Video and anything else. If you need more space, you can opt for the paid 50GB or 100GB folders.

BACKUP - Apple makes a great computer but just because you have a Mac does not mean that it will not ever break. It is manufactured with basically the same parts as any other computer and at some point the hard drive will fail. Just like a car, I don't care how much you spend or what car you purchase, it will need a new set of tires at some point. So never think that just because you have a Mac, you don't need to have a good backup plan for your data.

OTHER SOFTWARE- Your new Mac comes with iPhoto for working with photos but if you are accustom to working with Picasa you can download that for the Mac as well. Many of the programs you may have used on your PC are also available for the Mac. So if you can not take too much change all a once, you may feel more comfortable with installing a Mac version of what you were using before.

Just to help you prepare yourself for the switch, here are a few links to some stories that you might want to read about making the switch from PC to Mac.:

Switching To The Mac: The Real Story
http://cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/05/tech/real_technology/main4845688.shtml

http://perishablepress.com/press/2011/01/20/switching-from-pc-to-mac/


Again many if not all of these issues can be resolved by either using a 3rd party software or by actually running Windows on your Mac using Boot Camp, Fusion, Parallels or Cross Over. However, to me, if you have to run Windows on your Mac isn't that a little like purchasing a 2 seater sports car and then dragging a trailer behind it because you needed the extra storage where you could have bought a minivan in the first place.

Good Luck with your new Mac and enjoy!

Dana
Wayland Computer