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How to Convert From PC to Mac

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  • Introduction

    • Whether it's for aesthetic or functional reasons, switching from a PC to a Mac computer can be a good solution for many users. But no matter what convinced you to make the switch from PC to Mac it can be an extremely disorienting move, even with an operating system designed for ease of use like Apple's. The following is a short guide designed to help get you set up and comfortable when you convert from PC to Mac.

  • Transferring Small Amounts of Data

    • If you're only moving limited amounts of important files, your options are straightforward:
    1. Burn your files to a CD or DVD.
    2. Transfer your files to a USB flash drive.
    3. Email the files to yourself.
    • If you're dealing with more data than can be emailed or fit easily on a disc, there are still solutions:

  • Network Your Computers to Transfer Files Directly

    • The networking outline at Apple's Switch 101 webpage glosses over a few details which are better clarified in Lifehacker's filesharing guide.
    1. Set up a shared folder on your PC.
      1. In Windows Explorer, locate the folder from which you will be pulling files onto your Mac.
      2. Right click on the folder and select Properties.
      3. Go to the tab marked Sharing and check the box next to Share this folder on the network.
      4. Assign a name to this shared folder. It will show up with this name once it's connected to your Mac.
    2. Get your PC's network information.
      1. In Windows, click on Start --> Start Search (or Run if you're using Windows XP) --> Type cmd and hit Enter.
      2. In this window, type ipconfig and hit Enter.
      3. Make a note of the IP Address. You will need this exact string of numbers later.
      4. Go back to Start and right click on Computer (My Computer in XP) and select Properties.
      5. Make a note of Workgroup and Computer Name. You will need these things later to connect your computers.
    3. Attach an ethernet cable between your PC and Mac.
    4. Connect to your PC from your Mac.
      1. On your Mac, open Finder (the icon on the very left of the Dock at the bottom of your screen).
      2. In the toolbar on the top of the screen, select Go --> Connect to Server....
      3. When the Connect to Server window appears, enter smb://[Your IP Address] (without the brackets).
        • -If it doesn't connect, double-check that you've entered the right IP Address.
        • -If it still doesn't connect, you can try using your Computer Name instead, smb://[Computer Name] (again, without the brackets).
      4. When prompted, enter the name of your PC's Workgroup, and then the username/password combination that you use to login to Windows. (Note: Not the Computer Name that you retrieved earlier.)
      5. In the pull-down menu on the following window, select the folder that you set up for sharing on your PC.
      6. The folder will now appear on your Mac desktop, as well as in the Finder.
    5. Move all the necessary files from your PC's shared folder onto your Mac.

  • Step 2: Use Your Files

    • Moving your files onto the Mac was only the first step. In order to start making use of them again will require a few tools:

  • Photos

    1. Any photos viewable on your PC can be viewed on your Mac without any additional software. By default, your photos will open up in Preview, a program built into OS X.
    2. Your new Mac will also come bundled with iPhoto to let you edit your photos and organize them into albums and slideshows.
    3. If you're an advanced user but don't want to pay the hefty price for Photoshop, there are many free alternatives:
      1. Gimp
      2. GimpShop
      3. Seashore

  • Office Documents

    • When you move to Mac you don't have to trash all the documents you've created in Microsoft Office. Of course, just like on your PC you'll need to install software in order to use them. Microsoft makes Office for OS X, and Mac offers iWork, both of which will handle your files in OS X. But both of these programs also cost a pretty penny.
    • NeoOffice
    • For a fully-featured open source solution, check out NeoOffice. It is designed to be a free alternative for anything that you'd need Microsoft Office to use.
    • The NeoOffice Wiki provides a list of supported file formats so you can be sure that it meets all your documenting needs.

  • Music

    • If you don't currently use iTunes on your PC, simply move all your music over and pop it into iTunes. By default, it will be set to move your music into an iTunes folder and manage the organization of the subfolders.
    • If you've invested yourself in your iTunes Library on PC, there's more than one way to move your library over, but My First Mac provides the simplest instructions to transfer not only your music, but also all your other metadata goodies like playlists, play counts, song ratings, etc.
    1. Prepare your PC iTunes Library for transfer.
      1. Open iTunes and click on Edit --> Preferences.
      2. Go to the Advanced tab.
      3. Within that tab, click on the General tab.
      4. Make a note of your PC iTunes Music folder location.
        • -You will be moving this entire folder over to your Mac in a few steps.
      5. Make sure that both Keep iTunes Music folder organized and Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library are checked.
      6. Exit the Preferences window.
      7. Click on Advanced in the toolbar at the top of your iTunes window. (Note: Not the Advanced tab within the Preferences window you just closed. I know, confusing.)
      8. Under Advanced select Consolidate Library...
        • -Now iTunes will move all the music files in your library from wherever they were previously stored and into the iTunes Music folder. This will make it easier on you when it's time to transfer your files.
    2. Prepare your Mac iTunes Library for transfer.
      1. Bring up the Preferences window on the Mac by clicking iTunes --> Preferences.
      2. Once again, make sure that both Keep iTunes Music folder organized and Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library are checked.
      3. Make a note of your Mac iTunes Music folder location.
        • -This is the folder on your Mac into which you will be moving the PC Music folder.
    3. Transfer the contents of your PC iTunes Music folder into the Mac iTunes Music folder.
      • -The best way to move all your music will depend on the size of your library, so refer back to Step 1 earlier in this guide and review your options.
    4. Transfer the iTunes Library control file from your PC to your Mac.
      1. On your PC, locate the file iTunes Library.itl which contains all your metadata.
        • -The file will be located in the folder that contains the iTunes Music folder that you noted earlier. By default this should be Documents/Music/iTunes (My Documents/My Music/iTunes in Windows XP).
      2. Copy iTunes Library.itl into the iTunes folder on your Mac.
        • -The default location on your Mac should be Music/iTunes.
      3. Delete the existing file named iTunes Library.
      4. Rename iTunes Library.itl that came from your PC to iTunes Library (remove the .itl file extension).
    5. Open iTunes on your Mac and pick up right where you left off with the same music library you had on your PC!

  • Step 3: Transfer Your Emails

    • Thunderbird Workaround:
    1. Download and install Mozilla's free email client, Thunderbird, on your PC.
    2. Open Thunderbird and select Mail in the Import Wizard.
      • -If for any reason the Import Wizard does not appear, go to the top of the screen and select Tools --> Import --> Mail.
    3. Select Outlook.
    4. Once all your email has been transferred into Thunderbird, it will store your newly transferred Inbox in a single file that can be quickly imported into Mac Mail.
    5. Locate and retrieve the Inbox file:
      1. In Thunderbird, go to Tools --> Account Settings.
      2. In the Account Settings window, select Local Folders in the list on the left.
      3. This will display a box labeled Message Storage. Inside this box will be displayed the file path to get to your Inbox file.
      4. Navigate to this folder with Windows Explorer.
      5. Rename the file to Inbox.mbox.
        • -When Windows asks if you're sure you want to change the file extension, click Yes.
    6. Copy Inbox.mbox to a folder on your Mac.
    7. Import your inbox into Mac Mail.
      1. If you have not yet set up an email account through Mac Mail, it will prompt you to do so right now.
      2. At the Conclusion window at the end of the setup, click on the Import Mailboxes button.
        • -If for any reason the setup window does not appear, go to the top of the screen and select File --> Import Mailboxes...
      3. Select Other.
      4. Locate the folder where you saved Inbox.mbox and select it.
      5. Now Mac Mail will show a folder on the left side labeled Import.
      6. Click on the gray triangle to the left of the Import folder.
      7. Open the Inbox folder that appears.
      8. Select all the e-mails in this Inbox.
      9. At the top of the screen, select Message --> Move To --> Inbox.
      10. Once all the Import Inbox emails have been transferred to the Mac Mail Inbox, delete the Import folder.

  • Step 4: Transfer Your Address Book

    • Now that your old emails have been brought over, you'll also need to import your Address Book from Outlook so you can start firing out new ones. Once again, using Thunderbird to go between your PC and Mac will be the easiest solution.
    • Thunderbird Revisted:
    1. Back on your PC, open Thunderbird and go to Tools --> Import --> Address Books.
    2. Select Outlook.
    3. When your contacts have all been imported into Thunderbird, open its Address Book.
    4. Select Tools --> Export --> Save.
      • -The pull-down list for Format gives you a few options for the file output, all of which Mac Address Book can read. LDIF is the default, which will be just fine.
    5. Save the output file somewhere easily accessible (Desktop is always nice).
    6. Copy the output file to your Mac.
    7. Open Mac Address Book.
    8. Go to File --> Import --> LDIF... and locate the file that you moved over from your PC.
      • -If you chose a format other than LDIF, go to File --> Import --> Text File... and locate the file you moved over from your PC.

  • Step 5: Get Comfy With OS X

    • Basically everything you could do in Windows can also be done in OS X. It's just going to be done in slightly different ways in most cases. But before you dive into the Mac interface, learn the basics on Apple's Switch 101 webpage, designed just for those who are moving over from PC.

  • Keyboard Tips and Shortcuts

    • Familiarity with your keyboard will limit your dependence on the mouse for a lot of things, helping you get your work done faster. For example: using your keyboard to highlight and cut some text is much quicker than clicking and dragging over some text, then right-clicking to cut it.
    • A few shortcuts should be familiar to migrant PC users:
    1. Nearly all of the Windows shortcuts for which you used the Control key are still there, except that instead of Control, use Command, sometimes called the Apple key.
      • -For example, bolding text in a word processor is now Command-B rather than Control-B, bookmarking a webpage in your internet browser is Command-D rather than Control-D, etc.
    2. To move the Windows cursor through text word-by-word—rather than character-by-character—the shortcut was Control-Arrow Key, instead the command is now Option-Arrow Key.
    3. To move quickly between open programs, many Windows users relied upon the Alt-Tab command, which is instead Command-Tab.
    4. To manually shut down a program in Windows, the command was Control-Alt-Delete (a command with which all Windows users should be intimately familiar), but in Mac you can "Force Quit" a program by pressing Command-Option-Escape.
    • Many features on the Mac keyboard may take some time to become second nature, however:
    1. To eject a CD, press and hold the Eject button at the top right of your keyboard, above the delete key.
    2. To toggle a function that lets you magnify portions of your screen, press Command-Option-8, then press Command-Option-+ or - to zoom in or out.
    3. F9 to F12 are programmed to provide a few helpful tools for managing your screen space:
      1. Press F9 to fit all open windows on the screen at once.
      2. Press F10 to fit all open windows in the selected program at once.
      3. Press F11 to push aside all open windows and show your desktop.
      4. Press F12 to pull up the Dashboard.

  • Navigation Tips

    • There are plenty of things that keyboard mastery alone cannot handle, so take the time as well to familiarize yourself with how the OS X interface differs from Windows. Make sure to read two helpfully thorough Switch 101 pages:
    • Windows vs. Mac Navigation
    • On Windows, I used to...

  • General OS X Tips

    • Ultimately, Windows and OS X are two distinct platforms that will require more than simply learning different ways to get around.
    • Lifehacker's Hack Attack section has a feature devoted entirely to switching from a PC to Mac geared towards the subtle differences between Windows and OS X.
    • The Tao of Mac posted their own guide on how to switch to Mac, and the "Best Practices" section a few pages into it has some good tips for new users still stuck in Windows habits.

  • Conclusion

    • Switching to Mac is a pretty big task, especially if you've used PCs for a long time. But now that you've made the Mac your new home and started to get the hang of interface differences, it's only a matter of time before you're navigating OS X as adeptly as you used to cruise through Windows. Once you fall in love with your Mac, though, do us all a favor and try to remember how fulfilling your old Windows lifestyle also was. The internet doesn't need any more partisan bickering between PC and Mac devotees.

  • Resources for How to Convert From PC to Mac


 


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