PC to mac rage

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My GF and I upgraded from PC to Mac & need to transfer our data, but which firewire cable do we need?

I have to get my stuff from a Dell XPS m1330 to a MacBook Air 13

She has to get her stuff from a Sony NR series to a MacBook Pro 13


Sorry if this is a super noob question, but after searching the forum I feel a little more confused.

Thanks!!!
 
vansmith

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Why not just setup a shared folder on your Mac and transfer the files that way? Go to System Preferences > Sharing > File Sharing (enable it) > Options > share it over SMB > check your user account. That's the Mac side done.

Follow the instructions in the Sharing preference pane underneath "Windows Sharing: On" to connect to that folder on your Mac from your Windows machine. Once you connect on your Windows machine, start copying files over.
 
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louishen said:
Or you could use Migration Assistant (assuming the Macs are running OSX Lion)

OS X Lion: About Windows Migration Assistant
Click to expand...

yes, it is lion - that's what prompted the whole fire-wire confusion. Don't I need the appropriate firewire to use the migration assistant?


@vansmith
thanks - i will def use that if the easier mehtods fail lol

As a complicated side note, the mother-board on the dell crapped out so i can run on battery for about an hour before the dell shuts down. That's why I felt the firewire would get all the stuff i need out in due time :/
 
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Read the article, it works over a network so wifi, or even better ethernet into your router will work

so copy over any big files like movies manually first, then delete them on the PC if time is a critical issue

If you are unsure about any of this and you live near an Apple store, then they will do it all for you
 
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representative said:
yes, it is lion - that's what prompted the whole fire-wire confusion. Don't I need the appropriate firewire to use the migration assistant?


@vansmith
thanks - i will def use that if the easier mehtods fail lol

As a complicated side note, the mother-board on the dell crapped out so i can run on battery for about an hour before the dell shuts down. That's why I felt the firewire would get all the stuff i need out in due time :/
Click to expand...

No you don't need firewire to use Migration assistant.

But I would not use that. Take a look on the web for the stories of failed migration assistant.

Just network them over your LAN and copy and paste the data.
You can't transfer programs,, windows programs don't run on Mac.
You can't transfer setting, Different OS.
 
vansmith

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representative said:
As a complicated side note, the mother-board on the dell crapped out so i can run on battery for about an hour before the dell shuts down. That's why I felt the firewire would get all the stuff i need out in due time :/
Click to expand...
Hmm, that's a weird problem that doesn't sound like a mobo issue. It sounds like your battery has lost a lot of its energy capacity. Either way, can't you just keep it plugged in?
 
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vansmith said:
Hmm, that's a weird problem that doesn't sound like a mobo issue. It sounds like your battery has lost a lot of its energy capacity. Either way, can't you just keep it plugged in?
Click to expand...

thanks for you continued interest in my issue. Well, that's the thing, the battery does not charge and the laptop does not receive power when just plugged in. What I do I borrow a friend's charged dell battery & hustle lol.
 
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representative said:
thanks for you continued interest in my issue. Well, that's the thing, the battery does not charge and the laptop does not receive power when just plugged in. What I do I borrow a friend's charged dell battery & hustle lol.
Click to expand...

If that is the case then there is only one way to successfully transfer your personal data from the Dell hard drive to the Mac.

That is to remove the hard drive from the Dell and connect it to either another PC or to the Mac with a SATA to USB adapter. Lion can read NTFS formatted drives so you could first try connecting it to the Mac directly. If that doesn't workout then connecting it another PC and Share that external and copy over the network.

The SATA to USB adapters come in real handy for all kinds of different things. So it's not like it's a one time deal. Buying a FW or Thunderbolt cable may be and both computers need to have the same port on them. MBPs use FW800. If your Dell doesn't have a FW port, which I doubt it does, or a Thunderbolt port, which I know for a fact it doesn't, the money spent on one of those type cables is a one shot deal.
Even if the Dell had a FW port it would nee to be the 800 type or you would need another cable adapter to go from 800 to 400.
 
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Shootist said:
If that is the case then there is only one way to successfully transfer your personal data from the Dell hard drive to the Mac.

That is to remove the hard drive from the Dell and connect it to either another PC or to the Mac with a SATA to USB adapter. Lion can read NTFS formatted drives so you could first try connecting it to the Mac directly. If that doesn't workout then connecting it another PC and Share that external and copy over the network.

The SATA to USB adapters come in real handy for all kinds of different things. So it's not like it's a one time deal. Buying a FW or Thunderbolt cable may be and both computers need to have the same port on them. MBPs use FW800. If your Dell doesn't have a FW port, which I doubt it does, or a Thunderbolt port, which I know for a fact it doesn't, the money spent on one of those type cables is a one shot deal.
Even if the Dell had a FW port it would nee to be the 800 type or you would need another cable adapter to go from 800 to 400.
Click to expand...


hmm you guys are smart!

It seems like the Sony-Macbook case is solved

The Dell had some kind of "procedure" done like this by a friend that has a device like that in which case they copied most of my stuff over to an external hard-drive. The thing is, some corrupted file stopped the transfer somewhere towards the end of the transfer, so I am not sure what I'm missing

sorry if TL; DR
 

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