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Sean126

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 16, 2011
7
0
WNY
I am trying to migrate my mothers files from an old windows vista notebook to a used iMac. The windows vista notebook's hard drive crashed. I have a windows back up on an external hard drive made just before the crash. How can I retrieve the emails, contacts and itunes library from the back up and transfer to the iMac? Yes i tried the migration assistant but it does not seem to want to cooperate.
 

r0k

macrumors 68040
Mar 3, 2008
3,611
75
Detroit
I am trying to migrate my mothers files from an old windows vista notebook to a used iMac. The windows vista notebook's hard drive crashed. I have a windows back up on an external hard drive made just before the crash. How can I retrieve the emails, contacts and itunes library from the back up and transfer to the iMac? Yes i tried the migration assistant but it does not seem to want to cooperate.

Try connecting the external disk to the iMac and browse around with Finder. You might be able to find her "my documents" folder somewhere in users/heraccountname/documents or something like that. Other settings like email and so forth wouldn't necessarily come over even if her HDD had not crashed. Does she have her account info for email logins written down somewhere? You should be able to set that stuff up directly on the iMac and then simply focus on finding files sitting in her old documents folder.
 

Sean126

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 16, 2011
7
0
WNY
The iTunes I can deal with. The emails she had downloaded to her computer is the problem. I got the current emails from the server but there is about 10 days missing that were downloaded to her windows machine and of course her saved emails. Thats what she is worried about.
 

Bruno09

macrumors 68020
Aug 24, 2013
2,202
153
Far from here
You can convert the mails, then import them in Mail on the Mac.

If you have a Windows machine, I suggest you use IMAPSize which has an "eml to mbox" converter.
Works well, I have used it many times when helping friends to switch from Vista or W7 to Mac.

Or you can use a Mac converter, but I have no experience with them.

Here is one, I do NOT know if it's a good one or no :
http://download.cnet.com/eml-2-emlx/3000-2369_4-10977219.html
 

satcomer

Suspended
Feb 19, 2008
9,115
1,973
The Finger Lakes Region
The iTunes I can deal with. The emails she had downloaded to her computer is the problem. I got the current emails from the server but there is about 10 days missing that were downloaded to her windows machine and of course her saved emails. Thats what she is worried about.

Are you using IMAP or POP email?
 

satcomer

Suspended
Feb 19, 2008
9,115
1,973
The Finger Lakes Region
On a Mac you can tell Mail to leave the message on the server for a day or two, if you have two people using it. You should really consider an iCloud email server or Google GMail or both.
 

Sean126

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 16, 2011
7
0
WNY
Thanks everyone. The iTunes have been successfully synced. The emails as far as my abilities go are lost forever.
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
28,240
12,388
Can the "crashed drive" that is in her old laptop be easily removed?

If so, you might try putting the drive into a USB3/SATA docking station, connecting it to the Mac, and see what happens.

It will cost you about $20 to try this:
http://www.amazon.com/Syba-Docking-...396624217&sr=8-4&keywords=syba+usb3+sata+dock

Even though the problem drive might no longer boot the Windows laptop, so long as it hasn't had a hardware failure, it may still spin up and be mountable on the Mac.
(Disregard if you know for sure that the hardware -has- failed)
 
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