Transferring old Windows files to my new MacBook Pro?

[MacLover2011]

I have an older Dell that I purchased in 2005. I believe it's still running Windows 10, but I could be wrong. I have not opened it in a while. I do recall that it was not connecting to the internet.

What would be the smartest way for me to transfer the old Windows files from my Dell to my new MacBook Pro Big Sur computer? I'm guessing a CD Rom or flash drive.

 

[MacInWin]

Flash drive is better than CDRom. It's a bit faster.

However, what do you mean by "not connecting to the internet?" If the old Windows can connect to your local network (your WiFi router), then the better way may be to attach the old Dell to the Mac through your wireless. If the WiFi is gone, does the old Dell have an Ethernet port? IF it does and if your router has an ethernet port, you can connect the Dell to the router directly, which should put it in the network, then transfer files over the network to your new MBP.

 

[ferrarr]

What do you mean by "windows files? Are they specific to windows OS, or are they files you created using windows apps? File types, ie documents, audio, video, etc should not be OS specific, but some apps are only available on winOS.

 

[chscag]

You can also use the Windows Migration Assistant recently updated by Apple:

Download Windows Migration Assistant v2.0.5.0

support.apple.com

 

[MacLover2011]

Flash drive is better than CDRom. It's a bit faster.

However, what do you mean by "not connecting to the internet?" If the old Windows can connect to your local network (your WiFi router), then the better way may be to attach the old Dell to the Mac through your wireless. If the WiFi is gone, does the old Dell have an Ethernet port? IF it does and if your router has an ethernet port, you can connect the Dell to the router directly, which should put it in the network, then transfer files over the network to your new MBP.

This old Dell does not have wifi capability. I did not know that I could connect it with an ethernet cable to my router. I just threw out several Ethernet cables. LOL!!! I will either use a flash drive or look into the Ethernet router suggestion.

Thanks!

 

[MacLover2011]

What do you mean by "windows files? Are they specific to windows OS, or are they files you created using windows apps? File types, ie documents, audio, video, etc should not be OS specific, but some apps are only available on winOS.

By files I mean some audio, image, video and word processing documents.

 

[MacLover2011]

You can also use the Windows Migration Assistant recently updated by Apple:

Download Windows Migration Assistant v2.0.5.0

support.apple.com

Wow! Thank you for this suggestion and link!

 

[Randy B. Singer]

What would be the smartest way for me to transfer the old Windows files from my Dell to my new MacBook Pro Big Sur computer?

Here is a tutorial from Apple on how to move your data from a Windows PC to your new Mac:

Transfer from PC to Mac with Migration Assistant

Use Migration Assistant to transfer your contacts, calendars, email accounts, and more from your Windows PC to the appropriate places on your Mac.

support.apple.com

Alternately, you can move all of your Windows files to an external hard drive, and then attach that hard drive to your Mac and download them all. The trick is to be sure that your external hard drive is formated so that your Windows PC can write to it and your Mac can read from it.

Most hard drives formatted for Windows are in NTFS format. Macs will mount an NTFS drive as “read-only” which should do for your purposes. Another acceptable format would be ExFAT (what Apple's Disk Utility calles "ms-dos"). Both Macs and Windows can both read and write to a drive formatted as ExFAT.