Q: Migrating data from Win 7 Pro to a 2012 MBP current OS

I wouldn't use the 'drag-and-drop' method unless you're just going to be transferring documents and don't want to transfer user accounts, etc. The easiest method is to use Migration Assistant - see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4796.

Clinton

DanTin wrote:

 

All my data is held on an external HDD and i was hoping to be able to plug this in to the MBP and drag and drop on to the MBP hard drive.

Should be no problem with this approach and recommended as Mac's can read NTFS and read/write to the other Windows drive formats.

I do not reccomend the "Migration or Setup Assistant" method for the fact is by the time you get it working and it finishes (if it does), you could have your data off the external drive and be using the computer. If it doesn't finish or there is a problem, then you have a heck of a time fixing it as you don't know Mac's yet and how to fix them.

Step by Step to fix your Mac

It's when you go to write to a NTFS formatted drive you will have problems, so after all the data is off you should Windows > right click and format the drive exFAT or FAT if you want to continue using it back and forth between Mac's and PC's.

I should warn you, that Apple sort of mandates you paid upgrade the operating system on a annual basis which can break software and hardware drivers from third parties.

If you don't do so, you will be denied security and stability updates, plug-ins and so forth will leave you behind in a few short years.

ds store wrote:

 

It's not a long term relationship like on Windows where Microsoft will support their versions for 10 or more so years, with Apple it's more like a couple of years and then your operating system is vulnerable to malware unless you upgrade.

What? Where's all this malware on older Mac OS's?

Curious,

Clinton

clintonfrombirmingham wrote:

 

What? Where's all this malware on older Mac OS's?

Apple handles Java for OS X and until just recently was slow to update Java when there was a update from Oracle.

Apple has denied security updates for 10.5 since the release of 10.7, until just recently they issued a massive update.

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

The reason for the "until just recently" is because a massive Flashback botnet of over 600,000 compromised Mac's exploiting Java vulnerabilites was discovered.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_BackDoor.Flashback

Apple has issued late  patches and malware removal for 10.5 Intel, 10.6 and 10.7, however none for 10.4 or 10.5 PPC which both 10.4 and 10.5 currently compose up to apx 20% of the OS X market share, it's not sure exactly how many are on PPC.

Harden your Mac against malware attacks

So you can see, a mere two years later and if one doesn't upgrade OS X, your screwed out of security updates, unlike Windows where one gets them for 10 years or more.