yountr01
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: PC Hardware data transfer to my MBP???

Hi.

 

As newcomer to the mac world, I am trying to figure out how to get information from my PC harddrive.  I have purchased an adapter (IDE/SATA to USB 2.0), connected it (correctly) to the USB port on my new macbookpro.  I entered disk utilities, found the device, but unsure of how to proceed in retrieving my files for my new computer--first aid, erase (no!), partition, RAID, or restore---and then what after that???.  It would be nice to keep it as a convertible PC & MAC storage device.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

-t

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Feb 17, 2012 7:53 PM

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yountr01

Q: PC Hardware data transfer to my MBP???

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  • by xtremecarbon,

    xtremecarbon xtremecarbon Feb 17, 2012 7:55 PM in response to yountr01
    Level 4 (2,240 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 7:55 PM in response to yountr01

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1408

  • by fane_j,

    fane_j fane_j Feb 17, 2012 8:18 PM in response to yountr01
    Level 4 (3,677 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 8:18 PM in response to yountr01

    yountr01 wrote:

     

    I entered disk utilities, found the device, but unsure of how to proceed in retrieving my files for my new computer

    You don't need Disk Utility. You should be able to mount your disk on your desktop in Finder. See "Change what's displayed on your desktop" in

     

    <http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3737>

     

    Once you check "External disks", you should see your disk on the desktop, and you should be able to copy your files to the desired location.

    It would be nice to keep it as a convertible PC & MAC storage device.

    If the disk if formatted in NTFS (default Win file system), Mac OS X can only read, but not write to it (unless you add additional software, which introduces additional complications).

     

    To use the drive with both Macs and PCs, you need to re-format it either as FAT32 or exFAT. The former is the most compatible file system, but it does not support files >4GB; the latter is only supported on recent versions of Mac OS X and Win, and it's not supported on some Linux distributions. It's best to re-format it on a Mac; make sure the partition map type is MBR.

     

    (Note that you could have transferred your data from PC to Mac over the LAN with Migration Assistant

     

    <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.7/en/mh35928.html>.)

  • by fane_j,

    fane_j fane_j Feb 17, 2012 8:23 PM in response to xtremecarbon
    Level 4 (3,677 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 8:23 PM in response to xtremecarbon

    xtremecarbon wrote:

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1408

    Note that HT1408 is obsolete and primarily of historical interest, having been last updated in 2008. IMHO, it's best not to refer new users to it.

     

    Btw, yountr01, as a new user you would probably benefit from consulting

     

    Switch 101: On Windows, I used to...

    <http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2514>

     

    Mac 101

    <http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/>

     

    Mac Tutorials

    <http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/work/>

  • by yountr01,

    yountr01 yountr01 Feb 17, 2012 8:36 PM in response to fane_j
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 8:36 PM in response to fane_j

    despite following instructions, the drive does not show up on the desktop.  (external devices and such are all selected to appear).

     

    as for using migration assistant on my PC---there was a short in my PC not allowing the computer to power on.  the hard drive was intact and is my only access to my old files.

     

    the only option (i see) is using the much slower and inefficient adapter, but this is where i get stuck.

  • by fane_j,

    fane_j fane_j Feb 17, 2012 8:58 PM in response to yountr01
    Level 4 (3,677 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 8:58 PM in response to yountr01

    yountr01 wrote:

     

    the drive does not show up on the desktop.

    Then there is a problem. You said you can see the drive in Disk Utility. Does it show any available volumes on the drive? If yes, and if you select it, do you see a Mount button on the toolbar? What information appears at the bottom of the Disk Utility window?

     

    Note that a fairly common issue with USB drives and MBPs is not enough power supplied over the USB port. Is your external enclosure bus-powered, or does it have its own power supply? If it's bus-powered, can you power it from a power supply, or connect it to the MBP through a self-powered (not bus-powered) hub?