(Windows Migration Assistant runs on your PC to facilitate file transfers to your Mac.) If you’re like us, and you click past the Migration Assistant option so you can start playing with your new Mac right away, you can still manually launch Migration Assistant at any time. This app, Migration Assistant, is automatically made available when the setup assistant is run the first time you turn on your Mac.īut you can actually run Migration Assistant any time you need to. The Mac comes bundled with a specialized app just to assist you with moving your data from either your previously owned Mac or from your Windows PC to your new Mac. Migration Assistant: The Do-It-Yourself Option They actually use a modified version of the Migration Assistant, as discussed in the next option. Once your Mac and PC are at the store, the technicians will connect them together and transfer whatever files you wish. Image courtesy of Antonio Vernon.)īy the way, the folks at the Apple Store will be glad to help you haul your PC and Mac from the parking lot into the store just let them know ahead of time that you would like assistance.
(The Apple Store can transfer your PC data for you. You’ll need to schedule the service with the Apple Store, and then bring your PC (and your Mac, if you’ve already taken it home) to the store. If you purchased your Mac from an Apple Store, they will offer you a free setup service that includes transferring documents from your Windows PC to your new Mac. This is one of the easiest ways to get your PC data moved to your Mac. If you can’t find one, there’s likely a third-party app that can make use of the Windows files. Check with the app manufacturer for an available Mac version. The same holds true for many other popular apps. For instance, while your Windows copy of Office can’t be used on the Mac, there’s a complete version of Office that Microsoft developed specifically for the Mac. Many of the most popular Windows apps have Mac counterparts. But for the most part, you should find that you can transfer and use most of your documents. There will, of course, be a few file types that won’t have any equivalent on the Mac, and those documents may prove difficult to successfully make use of on your Mac.
What you can easily move to your Mac and make use of is most of your PC data files, the documents you have created, such as photos, music, videos, spreadsheets, and word processing documents, even all of the email messages you’ve collected over time.
We’re not going to go into the options for running Windows on your Mac, but you can find out more by investigating the links above.
exe file on your Mac will fail, or possibly launch an archiving utility that will attempt to decompress the file.
Windows apps that ran on your PC just won’t work on your Mac, not without using some form of virtualization software, such as Parallels, or emulation, such as CrossOver Mac, that can mimic a PC environment, or a complete install of Windows on the Mac ( Boot Camp). Let’s start with the easier part of that question: what can’t be transferred, or more accurately, what can’t you use even if you manage to transfer it over. We’re going to show you a few of the methods available to get your Mac set up with your PC data.
There are a lot of great reasons to make the jump, and one nagging problem that many switchers agonize over: how to transfer their PC data to their shiny new Macs and access the information without any issues.įor the most part, moving PC data to a Mac is a fairly easy process, with quite a few options available to get the job done. You made the decision to move from your Windows PC to a Mac.