Migrating from Windows10 to MacOS (M1)

[MiniApple]

I'll be migrating from Windows10 world to MacOS for the very first time with the M1 Mini.
I plan to start fresh on my Mini, just taking along my files, but no settings or such.

• Can I just move my stuff on Windows10 to an external USB drive and then plug in into the M1 Mini to "paste" the data?
• Do I need to prepare the external drive in some way?
• Do I need to convert any files (see below) to a different format?

I have about 40GB in files:

• photos (jpg and png)
• music (flac and mp3)
• movies (MKV, MP4 and AVI)
• about 20 pdf and odt files. (I don't mind loosing the "formatting" on the .odt files as long as I can copy/paste the text content, as I will use iWorks Apps going forward)

 

[Marty_Macfly]

Hi Mini,


I’ve been doing a U Tube crash course tonight on macs. I come from Windows as well.


I came across a clip which talks about you can actually do this migrating data from windows 10, in the migration assistant, when you start up the mac for the 1st time.


Afraid I switched off at that point, its about after halfway.

Suggest you give to a look, and some background research on this 😀


Link below


Hope that helps! 😀

Martin

 

[mwidjaya]

I plan to start fresh on my Mini, just taking along my files, but no settings or such.

Worth the while to try the Migration Assistant for moving from Windows.

It will grab Music, Photos, Videos, bookmarks, etc...

Transfer from PC to Mac with Migration Assistant – Apple Support (AU)

Migration Assistant transfers (copies) your contacts, calendars, email accounts and more from your Windows PC to the appropriate places on your Mac.

support.apple.com

 

[Ruggy]

If you format an external drive as ExFAT, it'll read and write to that and then you should be able to just copy files. across.
From memory, MacOs will read NTFS but not write to it. It's sure FAT or ExFat for bigger drives will work.
So .mp3, .pdf, .doc, .jpg etc will work and nearly everything will open in 'preview' natively
.exe files won't run of course and some compressed formats that Windows uses.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

I would suggest that even after you get the new Mac, that you leave the PC set up and running for at least several weeks.

Don't rush.
Move things over a little-at-a-time, and get one thing (like music) settled in before you move on to another task.

Use an external drive.
Exfat should work fine.

Note: I'm not sure if the following step is required or even if it works with exfat.
But something to be aware of.

Once you have the files on the exfat drive, connect it to the Mac.
The drive icon should appear on the Mac's desktop.
Click on it ONE TIME to select it, then bring up the "get info" box.
You should be able to invoke this using "command-i" (eye).
At the bottom of get info, click the lock and enter your account password.
Next, put a checkmark into "ignore ownership on this volume" (sharing and permissions).
Close get info.

WHY you do this:
This circumvents "permissions problems", and anything you copy from the PC drive "falls under the ownership" of your new account on the Mac.

I'll address files types next.

Photos -- you can either import an existing folder/file hierarchy, or "import" these into your photo app of choice on the Mac.
Apple provides "Photos", but it's relatively basic.
However, for many folks, it works fine.
BE AWARE that if you import your pics into the Photos library, it "puts them" into a nearly-indecipherable folder/file hierarchy. For this reason, I maintain my own "pic library", and don't allow ANY app to "import" them (by moving the source files into the app's library).

This way, I can use multiple editing apps, but maintain ONE pic library.

Music -- mp3's are fine, I don't know if Apple's "Music.app" can play flacs.
If it can't, you'll have to find a 3rd-party app that can.
I have an app called "Cog" that might (I don't have any flac files).

Movies -- can be played with Quicktime, other Movie players include the free apps VLC and IINA. I use IINA quite a bit.

pdf -- can be read with Preview.

odt -- "Open Document, text" ?? -- I think the basic TextEdit app should open these.
You might also try "Pages" (Apple's WP app).
Be aware of "LibreOffice" for the Mac, which should open them without problems.

 

[Marty_Macfly]

OP:

I would suggest that even after you get the new Mac, that you leave the PC set up and running for at least several weeks.

Don't rush.
Move things over a little-at-a-time, and get one thing (like music) settled in before you move on to another task.

Use an external drive.
Exfat should work fine.

Note: I'm not sure if the following step is required or even if it works with exfat.
But something to be aware of.

Once you have the files on the exfat drive, connect it to the Mac.
The drive icon should appear on the Mac's desktop.
Click on it ONE TIME to select it, then bring up the "get info" box.
You should be able to invoke this using "command-i" (eye).
At the bottom of get info, click the lock and enter your account password.
Next, put a checkmark into "ignore ownership on this volume" (sharing and permissions).
Close get info.

WHY you do this:
This circumvents "permissions problems", and anything you copy from the PC drive "falls under the ownership" of your new account on the Mac.

I'll address files types next.

Photos -- you can either import an existing folder/file hierarchy, or "import" these into your photo app of choice on the Mac.
Apple provides "Photos", but it's relatively basic.
However, for many folks, it works fine.
BE AWARE that if you import your pics into the Photos library, it "puts them" into a nearly-indecipherable folder/file hierarchy. For this reason, I maintain my own "pic library", and don't allow ANY app to "import" them (by moving the source files into the app's library).

This way, I can use multiple editing apps, but maintain ONE pic library.

Music -- mp3's are fine, I don't know if Apple's "Music.app" can play flacs.
If it can't, you'll have to find a 3rd-party app that can.
I have an app called "Cog" that might (I don't have any flac files).

Movies -- can be played with Quicktime, other Movie players include the free apps VLC and IINA. I use IINA quite a bit.

pdf -- can be read with Preview.

odt -- "Open Document, text" ?? -- I think the basic TextEdit app should open these.
You might also try "Pages" (Apple's WP app).
Be aware of "LibreOffice" for the Mac, which should open them without problems.

Wow,

Thanks for sharing Fisherrman! 😀

Knowledge is nothing if not passed on 😀


Best wishes
Martin

 

[MiniApple]

Thanks @Fishrrman ! Really helpful info overall and especially regarding the photos and the drive.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Congrats OP, it should be a fun ride.

Typically the things that are hardest to switch are the settings, preferences, and workflow differences. Be patient, and don't be afraid to ask. Lots of little quirks. All platforms have them. Any long time user of any platform will not realize how many little tricks and tweaks and oddities they have grown accustomed to...

Welcome aboard!