Brand new Mac owner

[azfalcons]

Ok so I just ordered my first ever Mac and went with the 21.5 iMac. I've heard it will be so much easier trasferring photos etc from iPhone to Mac as opposed to the of I currently have. I am in the process of backing my iTunes to an external hdd to prep myself for the move.

Am I able to use the same external hdd?

Will it be a free upgrade to Yosemite or will it be on there?

I assume get it started up iTunes etc transfer my photos and music and I'm good to go?

 

[rkaufmann87]

Ok so I just ordered my first ever Mac and went with the 21.5 iMac. I've heard it will be so much easier trasferring photos etc from iPhone to Mac as opposed to the of I currently have. I am in the process of backing my iTunes to an external hdd to prep myself for the move.

Am I able to use the same external hdd?

Will it be a free upgrade to Yosemite or will it be on there?

I assume get it started up iTunes etc transfer my photos and music and I'm good to go?

I am going to assume you have been using a PC, when you turn on the Mac for the first time it starts Setup Assistant. Part of SA is it will ask if you are migrating from another Mac or PC. Select this and follow the on-screen prompts. You will be using Migration Assistant on the PC to migrate the data from it to the Mac. Here is a link to an Apple webpage that explains Migration Assistant.

To answer your question regarding your EHD, yes you can continue using it however it would be wise to reformat it to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using OS X Disk Utility. Do this after you are ready to exclusively use it with your Mac. You should have at least 1 EHD anyhow to use as a backup HD. OS X has a backup utility built into it called Time Machine. At the absolute minimum you should be backing up using TM. If you intend the existing EHD to be used for external storage DO NOT use that EHD for a backup HD too, get a second EHD to do that. There is no reason not to, EHDs are relatively inexpensive.

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1557?locale=en_US

 

[Totally Bored]

I am going to assume you have been using a PC, when you turn on the Mac for the first time it starts Setup Assistant. Part of SA is it will ask if you are migrating from another Mac or PC. Select this and follow the on-screen prompts. You will be using Migration Assistant on the PC to migrate the data from it to the Mac. Here is a link to an Apple webpage that explains Migration Assistant.

To answer your question regarding your EHD, yes you can continue using it however it would be wise to reformat it to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using OS X Disk Utility. Do this after you are ready to exclusively use it with your Mac. You should have at least 1 EHD anyhow to use as a backup HD. OS X has a backup utility built into it called Time Machine. At the absolute minimum you should be backing up using TM. If you intend the existing EHD to be used for external storage DO NOT use that EHD for a backup HD too, get a second EHD to do that. There is no reason not to, EHDs are relatively inexpensive.

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1557?locale=en_US

Great info and thanks. I'm getting a new IMac on Tuesday so this will help greatly.


Will I need a specific cable ?


Currently use a 2003 Dell XPS Desktop. She's been a trooper but it's time for a new lady. Feel a little guilty cheating on her but I'm hoping I'll get over that.



Edit:
Never mind, I saw the link and see all you need is s Ethernet cable or use wifi.

 

[rkaufmann87]

Great info and thanks. I'm getting a new IMac on Tuesday so this will help greatly.


Will I need a specific cable ?


Currently use a 2003 Dell XPS Desktop. She's been a trooper but it's time for a new lady. Feel a little guilty cheating on her but I'm hoping I'll get over that.



Edit:
Never mind, I saw the link and see all you need is s Ethernet cable or use wifi.

Connect both computers onto the same network via Ethernet to do the migration. That is the only cabling you will need. While you are waiting for the iMac to arrive download Migration Assistant onto your PC.