05-15-2007, 11:56 PM

hey guys, whats the best method for transferring all my material (music, data, pictures, videos) from my PC to my [future] mac? I know i could use an external hard drive but is there anyway i could network my pc and mac and transfer all the materials, if so could someone direct me to a tutorial. help is greatly appreciated.

05-16-2007, 12:11 AM

Originally Posted by acash0902

hey guys, whats the best method for transferring all my material (music, data, pictures, videos) from my PC to my [future] mac? I know i could use an external hard drive but is there anyway i could network my pc and mac and transfer all the materials, if so could someone direct me to a tutorial. help is greatly appreciated.

"How to transfer data from a PC to a Macintosh

Learn how to move data (files) from a Windows PC to Macintosh computer.

There are many ways to transfer data (files) from a PC to a Mac, including:

* using the "PC Data Transfer Service" at Apple Retail Stores & Apple Specialists
* using Move2Mac
* using a portable hard drive or storage device
* using a CD or DVD burner
* using other portable media
* using a shared file server
* using email
* using a .Mac iDisk
* using a direct Ethernet connection
* installing the PC's hard drive in the Mac



PC data transfer from Apple Retail Stores and Apple Specialists (United States only)

Apple Retail Stores offer several levels of data transfer services. For further information on PC Data Transfer services, contact your local Apple Retail Store.

In addition to the Apple Retail Stores, many Apple Specialists, Apple Resellers, and Apple Authorized Service Providers also provide various levels of PC to Macintosh data transfers. To locate an Apple Specialist in your area, use the Find Service website.

Move2Mac

Move2Mac is a third-party hardware and software combination that helps move files over to a Macintosh.


Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only, and does not constitute Apple's recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.

Portable hard drive or storage device

Portable hard drives that can be used to transfer data from a PC to a Macintosh computer include a FireWire (IEEE 1394, iLink) drives and a USB-based drives or storage devices.

Portable FireWire drives provide the fastest transfer rate, and are widely available. However, unless the PC has a FireWire port, which is not as common on PC computers, you will not be able to use a portable FireWire hard drive.

A portable USB hard drive can be used, but USB transfers can be slow.

Tip: While the faster USB 2.0 standard is available on some PC computers, some Macintosh computers only work with USB 1.1.


CD or DVD burner

Creating a backup disc of the files on your PC is one of the easiest methods you can use to transfer any amount of data. This method provides the added benefit of creating a backup of your data.


Other portable media

Using portable ZIP, Jaz, magnetic optical (MO), or other forms of portable media is similar to burning a CD, and as long as the media device can be used on both the PC and Macintosh computer it provides an excellent method to transfer any amount of data.


Shared file server

A server on a network that can be accessed by both the PC and Macintosh computer is an excellent alternative to burning CDs, or moving portable drives from one computer to another. However, both computers must be able to access the server.

Email

For small amounts of data such as word processing documents, pictures, or small application data files, using email to send them to yourself as an attachment is another option. However, if the data files are over 1 MB in size, or if you do not have a high-speed Internet connection, you should try other methods before using this one. See "Mac OS X Mail: How to Import Email From a Non-Macintosh Computer".

Some Internet service providers (ISPs) place restrictions on how large email attachments can be, so you may not be able to use this method with large data files, even if you have a fast Internet connection.

iDisk

If you have a .Mac account, you can use an iDisk to transfer data. Since the iDisk is used through an Internet connection, using this method for large data files without a high-speed internet connection takes a long time. You can also purchase additional .Mac Mail and iDisk storage on a yearly basis, which provides additional data storage flexibility.


Direct ethernet connection

If you have both computers in the same location, you may be able to use an Ethernet cable to connect both computers together and copy files between them. You may need an Ethernet crossover cable depending on which model Macintosh you own. See below the related document "Macintosh: Computers That Require an Ethernet Crossover Cable" to see if you will need an Ethernet crossover cable. This method has the advantage of being fast and being able to transfer any amount of data.


Moving hard drive

While it is possible to move some IDE PC hard drives into some model Macintosh computers, this is not the recommended method of transferring data and it should only be used by experienced computer users who understand how to install and format PC hard drives. It is only possible to read FAT and FAT32 formatted drives in a Macintosh. Do not use NTFS formatted drives in a Macintosh computer.

Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4 work with local NTFS-formatted volumes. The volume will be read-only.

Warning: NTFS formatted drives cannot be used in a Macintosh (except as read-only with Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4 as noted above). If you attempt to use a NTFS formatted disk, upon starting up the Mac OS will prompt you to format the drive. Do not format the drive, doing so will erase the contents of the drive. If you have an NTFS formatted disk, you must use another method to transfer the data from the PC to the Macintosh."


http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75320

05-16-2007, 12:12 AM

Set up your PC to share the drive. On the Mac use Finder menu Go->Connect to server, enter smb://ip.address.of.thepc/sharenameofyourdrive and click OK. Enter your username/password for the PC if that's how the sharing is set up and it should show up as an icon on your desktop. Double-click that icon and you'll see your files. Drag them to where you want them to go on your Mac. Wait. [Profit?] Depending on the speed of your internal network and how much stuff you're copying it might take a little while.

ip.address.of.thepc would, of course be something like 192.168.1.X where X is whatever the number assigned by your router (if you have a router; you have a router don't you? You should get one if you don't.) In a command window on the PC use the command ipconfig to find out what IP address has been assigned.

Or do what our MOTM posted one minute before what I posted said.

05-16-2007, 12:19 AM

thanks alot walkerj and KoDoRsean, i really liked the meathod walkerj showed!
oh yea i do have a router.

really appreciate the help

05-24-2007, 05:52 PM

I forgot to transfer two folders of music from my PC to my mac and have already reformatted my ipod to work on macs. I have tried to connect thru IP address but for some reason i can't get it to work.

Does anyone know if it would be possible to use a service like Mozy to plant the files and then pick them up with the mac?

05-24-2007, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by cxjr25

I forgot to transfer two folders of music from my PC to my mac and have already reformatted my ipod to work on macs. I have tried to connect thru IP address but for some reason i can't get it to work.

Does anyone know if it would be possible to use a service like Mozy to plant the files and then pick them up with the mac?

Be a lot easier for one of us to walk you through connecting them - are they both in the same place?

05-24-2007, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by jonnyd

Be a lot easier for one of us to walk you through connecting them - are they both in the same place?

Don't worry about it jonnyd, i know there have been tons of posts on this site and i am just being lazy.... When i tried it it kept asking me for a user name/password i didnt know.

thanks though

05-24-2007, 08:07 PM

Originally Posted by cxjr25

Don't worry about it jonnyd, i know there have been tons of posts on this site and i am just being lazy.... When i tried it it kept asking me for a user name/password i didnt know.

thanks though

Fair enough.

Maybe find a buddy with a USB disk drive, or even a 4gb thumbdrive. The Mac will read data from it.

07-11-2007, 12:33 AM

Anyone know how to resolve the 'Error 36' received when trying to transfer files from PC to Mac via ethernet? Thanks!

07-11-2007, 11:34 AM

Apologies if this is a really stupid question....

Can I burn some files (mp3's for example) on to a normal CD using Windows, then insert it into a mac and be able to copy the files from that CD?

Thanks in advance....

11-14-2007, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by stoldie

Apologies if this is a really stupid question....

Can I burn some files (mp3's for example) on to a normal CD using Windows, then insert it into a mac and be able to copy the files from that CD?

Thanks in advance....

Yes, should not be a problem - depends on the file types and the applications needed to run them. My experience is based on OSX on Intel machines only.