I just bought my first Mac

tattooedfay · tattooedfay #1 (**permalink**)

11-25-2009, 07:06 PM

I just bought my first Mac. I've been using them at college this past semester, and when I decided I needed a laptop, I decided to go with Mac. I have a few silly questions, if you don't mind, though.

-Can I back up itunes from my old windows PC on to my Mac, so that way I have a copy of my music? How do I do this? I've got my music in a couple different folders on my PC...I need to consolidate them somehow. I've got instruction on how to back up to a cd, an external hard drive, and how to transfer using the ipod, but can't I just use an ethernet cable between the two, and copy that way?

-Do you have any reference sites or books that you recommend for a newbie like me?

-Any concerns with my ipod? It syncs currently to the PC, but I over heard someone say that if they tried to sync their ipod to a Mac, after they've synced it to a PC, that it will wipe the ipod. I don't know the person at all, so they could have been talking out of their bum for all I know, but I was curious as to how that works. I was thinking of using my pc as the back up, and the mac as my "itunes/ipod/iphone home base".

Well, that's it.....for now. I am sure I'll have alot of questions. I don't like feeling like a newb on computers, so I want to get everything settled asap.

Thanks in advance!
-Jo

iPod Nano · iPod Nano #2 (**permalink**)

11-25-2009, 07:12 PM

1. If you have a local network at home, you can just copy the files over that.
2. Nope, sorry,
Oh, I suggest mac-forums.com

3. Yes, that is correct. An iPod can only be synced to one computer at a time. Syncing on any computer (Windows or Mac) will wipe it clean of all previous data.

Welcome, I hope this helps!

tattooedfay · tattooedfay #3 (**permalink**)

11-25-2009, 07:25 PM

Thanks

One thing about #3, can I swap which computer it syncs too, once I back itunes up on the mac? Or is only syncable to the computer it was first attached to?

dtravis7 · dtravis7 #4 (**permalink**)

11-25-2009, 07:37 PM

Amazon.com: Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual (9780596153281): David Pogue, Pogue David: Books

That is very helpful.

yamawho · yamawho #5 (**permalink**)

11-25-2009, 07:58 PM

Reference the iPod thing ...

iTunes is set to auto sync by default. If you go into preferences and select manual sync, it won't delete the songs. This way you can plug the iPod into different systems without losing songs. Again, this needs to be done on each computer.

tattooedfay · tattooedfay #6 (**permalink**)

11-25-2009, 11:22 PM

Thanks folks!

I appreciate all your help!

Zeptogram · Zeptogram #7 (**permalink**)

11-26-2009, 10:38 AM

You can edit the library.xml file so that you can read it from OSX and then just bring over the music from your PC on CDs or an external hard drive. LifeHacker has a good how to right here. Hope it helps! (Or you could just copy over the files... That's only if you don't want to make a new library.)

Zep

xstep · xstep #8 (**permalink**)

11-26-2009, 02:42 PM

A Google search came up with these two interesting sites.

About.com - Windows Switchers and New Mac Users
Basics4Mac
Switch to a Mac

iPod Nano #2 (permalink)
Member Since: May 15, 2009 Posts: 1,094 Mac Specs: White MacBook. iLife '09. iWork '09. Mac OS X 10.6	11-25-2009, 07:12 PM 1. If you have a local network at home, you can just copy the files over that. 2. Nope, sorry, Oh, I suggest mac-forums.com 3. Yes, that is correct. An iPod can only be synced to one computer at a time. Syncing on any computer (Windows or Mac) will wipe it clean of all previous data. Welcome, I hope this helps! Chris K.
	QUOTE Thanks

dtravis7 #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 04, 2005 Location: Modesto, Ca. Posts: 25,807 Mac Specs: iMac C2D Late 2007 20" with 10.8.3, Macbook Santa Rosa 4GB Ram OSX 10.8.3	11-25-2009, 07:37 PM Amazon.com: Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual (9780596153281): David Pogue, Pogue David: Books That is very helpful. ...Dennis Mac-Forums Community Guidelines
	QUOTE Thanks

xstep #8 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 25, 2005 Location: On the road Posts: 3,231 Mac Specs: 2011 MBP, i7, 16GB RAM, MBP 2.16Ghz Core Duo, 2GB ram, Dual 867Mhz MDD, 1.75GB ram, ATI 9800 Pro vid	11-26-2009, 02:42 PM A Google search came up with these two interesting sites. About.com - Windows Switchers and New Mac Users Basics4Mac Switch to a Mac CameraTime - Time lapse photography for novice and advanced users. When asking questions, post the version of your software. You'll receive better answers. Please post your results to the thread as it is good feedback.
	QUOTE Thanks

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tattooedfay #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 25, 2009 Posts: 4	11-25-2009, 07:06 PM I just bought my first Mac. I've been using them at college this past semester, and when I decided I needed a laptop, I decided to go with Mac. I have a few silly questions, if you don't mind, though. -Can I back up itunes from my old windows PC on to my Mac, so that way I have a copy of my music? How do I do this? I've got my music in a couple different folders on my PC...I need to consolidate them somehow. I've got instruction on how to back up to a cd, an external hard drive, and how to transfer using the ipod, but can't I just use an ethernet cable between the two, and copy that way? -Do you have any reference sites or books that you recommend for a newbie like me? -Any concerns with my ipod? It syncs currently to the PC, but I over heard someone say that if they tried to sync their ipod to a Mac, after they've synced it to a PC, that it will wipe the ipod. I don't know the person at all, so they could have been talking out of their bum for all I know, but I was curious as to how that works. I was thinking of using my pc as the back up, and the mac as my "itunes/ipod/iphone home base". Well, that's it.....for now. I am sure I'll have alot of questions. I don't like feeling like a newb on computers, so I want to get everything settled asap. Thanks in advance! -Jo
	QUOTE Thanks

yamawho #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 07, 2009 Location: Montreal, Quebec Posts: 120 Mac Specs: Mac Mini late 09 version	11-25-2009, 07:58 PM Reference the iPod thing ... iTunes is set to auto sync by default. If you go into preferences and select manual sync, it won't delete the songs. This way you can plug the iPod into different systems without losing songs. Again, this needs to be done on each computer.
	QUOTE Thanks

tattooedfay #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 25, 2009 Posts: 4	11-25-2009, 11:22 PM Thanks folks! I appreciate all your help!
	QUOTE Thanks

Zeptogram #7 (permalink)
Member Since: Aug 04, 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 82 Mac Specs: BlackBook 2 GHz 2GB RAM 120GB HDD	11-26-2009, 10:38 AM You can edit the library.xml file so that you can read it from OSX and then just bring over the music from your PC on CDs or an external hard drive. LifeHacker has a good how to right here. Hope it helps! (Or you could just copy over the files... That's only if you don't want to make a new library.) Zep
	QUOTE Thanks

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