Migration from Microsoft

Question

Marmadoc Author

Level 1

8 points

Migration from Microsoft

Hi;

I consider to change from Windows 10 PC to iMac.

Here is my situation:

Currently I have two external hard drives with all my files (photos).

Files are not compressed - just mirror backup from my PC.

Question is:

Can I use my two external hard drives with all files directly by iMac?

Thx in advance

Marmadoc

Posted on Mar 13, 2018 8:53 AM

Reply

Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,370 points

Mar 13, 2018 9:07 AM in response to Marmadoc

What you want to do is very easy but will require a third HD unless the Mac you select has adequate storage. What you can do is simply copy everything to a External Hard Disk (or the Mac itself) that is formatted for the Mac and then re-format your PC's EHDs for the Mac and then then copy the the data back to the old PC's External Hard Disk. Very simple to do, you will also need the new External Hard Disk for a backup HD for your Time Machine backup.

If you are not yet familiar with Time Machine please review How to use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Rudegar

Level 10

170,622 points

Mar 13, 2018 8:59 AM in response to Marmadoc

if you connect the drives to the iMac then yeah but if the drive is formatted as ntfs the mac can only read not write to them

(unless you installed third party software on the mac which enable writing to ntfs)

How to Write to NTFS Drives on a Mac

if the drive is wfat/ or other types of fat mac can write to them fine

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Answer 3

Marmadoc Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 13, 2018 9:04 AM in response to Rudegar

Thx Rudegar.

My HD is ntfs. Now other scenario:

Can I format external HD (previously formatted as ntfs) to iMac format, and next transfer all files from one external hd to iMac formatted external hd?

THx in advance

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,370 points

Mar 13, 2018 9:27 AM in response to Marmadoc

Of course you can reformat it, you use Disk Utility, this is pre-installed on all Macs. Here is a YouTube video that explains how easy it is. How to Format Hard Drives as APFS in macOS High Sierra 10.13 - YouTube

Don't worry millions (including myself) have switched from PCs to Macs without any incidents. After using Mac OS for awhile you will probably ask yourself why you didn't do it sooner.

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