Windows Convert - Newbie Questions (File Migration, etc)

[obesechess]

Hi folks,

Longtime Windows user here who's finally made the jump. My M2 Mac Mini arrives in two weeks and I have a few questions on how to transfer things, plus some other questions.

1. In the past, my solution to transferring files to a new computer has been to unplug the hard drive of one PC and then just slap it into a drive bay on the new one. As such, I have 3-4 hard drives with miscellaneous crap on them, mostly images, documents, videos, and music. I do not want to just bulk migrate everything over, I want to be pretty careful about what I move and where I put it.
   There's a few ways I could go about this:
   a. Purchase an external hard drive, move everything from the Windows PC, plug it in to the Mac, and transfer
   b. Purchase something like this and do the same, minus the step of transferring stuff to an external HD: https://sabrent.com/products/ec-dfl...SXkbLWK0EhxqYERfQkC0Km2XBjtQB6doOCMtxq0PmqwjA
   c. Be very very meticulous with migration assistant and delete everything that transfers over that I don't want.
   
   ... Does it matter which of the above I choose? I guess my concern is maybe the drives will be formatted (NTFS, FAT32, whatever) in such a way that they can't "talk" to the Mac. I am leaning towards Option B as it is the cheapest and I'm a bit of a penny-pincher.
   
   
2. I've got the 256GB SSD on the Mac Mini. I've also got a USB-C docking station with a 1TB NVMe and a 2TB SATA SSD attached. All of this will be plenty fast for my use, as far as I can tell, as it will still be faster than running things off of a decade-old SATA drive on my PC. My plan is to run the core "system" on the internal SSD, my other apps on the 1TB NVMe drive, and keep my files on the 2TB SATA SSD. Any reason this wouldn't work, or is it just personal preference? I don't really know how MacOS handles this kind of thing.
3. On that note - I am passingly familiar with Macs, having casually used them before, but does anyone have a good guide on like, how to get set up with MacOS for Windows users? A beginner guide for folks who are reasonably computer-savvy? I made the mistake of asking Reddit and the best answer I got was "youtube," and I'd like a little more direction than that.
4. Anything else I should know? Anyone else who's made the switch have anything they wish someone had told them beforehand?

Cheers!

 

[mmkerc]

Regarding the transferring of files I would do either a or b but not c. I have not had good success with migration assistance (it works, but a little slow). I would also suggest if you still have the Windows PC to hard wire the two computers via your home network and transfer the files that way.

You should be able to read NTFS, and FAT32 formats without and issue, but you may not be able to write to the Windows format drive without a 3rd party program (Pargon has one for ~$20.

Your hard drive configuration will work, but I think you will find the internal 256GB to small. For my setup I have a 1tb M1 Mini with over 20TB of external storage mainly via Lacie drives. That a bit excessive, but I hoard photos, and short movies I make. As said your configuration will work, but being able to use Apples file structure (Photos, Movies, and Music) on the internal drive just makes things a bit easier.

Regarding the last two questions, use this forums for specific issues or questions, of take advantage of the Genius Bar at Apple if you live close enough to a store.

 

[ChrisA]

Hi folks,

Longtime Windows user here who's finally made the jump. My M2 Mac Mini arrives in two weeks and I have a few questions on how to transfer things, plus some other questions.

1. In the past, my solution to transferring files to a new computer has been to unplug the hard drive of one PC and then just slap it into a drive bay on the new one. As such, I have 3-4 hard drives with miscellaneous crap on them, mostly images, documents, videos, and music. I do not want to just bulk migrate everything over, I want to be pretty careful about what I move and where I put it.
   There's a few ways I could go about this:
   a. Purchase an external hard drive, move everything from the Windows PC, plug it in to the Mac, and transfer
   b. Purchase something like this and do the same, minus the step of transferring stuff to an external HD: https://sabrent.com/products/ec-dfl...SXkbLWK0EhxqYERfQkC0Km2XBjtQB6doOCMtxq0PmqwjA
   c. Be very very meticulous with migration assistant and delete everything that transfers over that I don't want.
   
   ... Does it matter which of the above I choose? I guess my concern is maybe the drives will be formatted (NTFS, FAT32, whatever) in such a way that they can't "talk" to the Mac. I am leaning towards Option B as it is the cheapest and I'm a bit of a penny-pincher.
   
   
2. I've got the 256GB SSD on the Mac Mini. I've also got a USB-C docking station with a 1TB NVMe and a 2TB SATA SSD attached. All of this will be plenty fast for my use, as far as I can tell, as it will still be faster than running things off of a decade-old SATA drive on my PC. My plan is to run the core "system" on the internal SSD, my other apps on the 1TB NVMe drive, and keep my files on the 2TB SATA SSD. Any reason this wouldn't work, or is it just personal preference? I don't really know how MacOS handles this kind of thing.
3. On that note - I am passingly familiar with Macs, having casually used them before, but does anyone have a good guide on like, how to get set up with MacOS for Windows users? A beginner guide for folks who are reasonably computer-savvy? I made the mistake of asking Reddit and the best answer I got was "youtube," and I'd like a little more direction than that.
4. Anything else I should know? Anyone else who's made the switch have anything they wish someone had told them beforehand?

Cheers!

The best way to transfer the files is to place both on the same local network and then share one of the folders on one computer with the other then drag and drop the files. to the shared folder.

There is just no point using physical media to move data. Use a network share. Ethernet if you can but Wi-Fi will work

Keep all the apps on the internal drive. Place data you have in the 1TB drive. and use the 2TB drive for Time Machine.

If you have more then 1TB of data then spread it over the 1TB and 2TB drives and buy an 8GB USB drive and use that for Time Machine. The Time machine drive should be at least 2X the size of the data you need to backup.


Windows users think that because it took them decades to learn to use the PC, it will take them a long time to learn about the Mac. Not so. It will up using it well on about ten minutes.

 

[HDFan]

I've got the 256GB SSD on the Mac Mini. I've also got a USB-C docking station with a 1TB NVMe and a 2TB SATA SSD attached.

256 GB is really small. Remember you should keep ~30% free.

Which version of USB - 3.1 Gen 2? Does it support thunderbolt? No reason for fast media if using a slow interface.

Implementing a 3-2-1 backup policy you may need more disks. The larger the disk the longer TM will retain history. You don't need SSD speeds for TM or other incremental backups. Waste of money putting TM or backups on an SSD and then using that as your offsite copy.

 

[obesechess]

Regarding the transferring of files I would do either a or b but not c. I have not had good success with migration assistance (it works, but a little slow). I would also suggest if you still have the Windows PC to hard wire the two computers via your home network and transfer the files that way.

You should be able to read NTFS, and FAT32 formats without and issue, but you may not be able to write to the Windows format drive without a 3rd party program (Pargon has one for ~$20.

Your hard drive configuration will work, but I think you will find the internal 256GB to small. For my setup I have a 1tb M1 Mini with over 20TB of external storage mainly via Lacie drives. That a bit excessive, but I hoard photos, and short movies I make. As said your configuration will work, but being able to use Apples file structure (Photos, Movies, and Music) on the internal drive just makes things a bit easier.

Regarding the last two questions, use this forums for specific issues or questions, of take advantage of the Genius Bar at Apple if you live close enough to a store.

My understanding from poking around the Apple support forums is that if I hold "shift" when I open those apps, I can point them at more drives/directories in which to find those types of files by default, is that not the case?

The best way to transfer the files is to place both on the same local network and then share one of the folders on one computer with the other then drag and drop the files. to the shared folder.

There is just no point using physical media to move data. Use a network share. Ethernet if you can but Wi-Fi will work

Keep all the apps on the internal drive. Place data you have in the 1TB drive. and use the 2TB drive for Time Machine.

If you have more then 1TB of data then spread it over the 1TB and 2TB drives and buy an 8GB USB drive and use that for Time Machine. The Time machine drive should be at least 2X the size of the data you need to backup.


Windows users think that because it took them decades to learn to use the PC, it will take them a long time to learn about the Mac. Not so. It will up using it well on about ten minutes.

Interesting thought re ethernet. It'll be tight, involving having both computers set up on the same desk, but it could work as a fairly involved weekend project.

256 GB is really small. Remember you should keep ~30% free.

Which version of USB - 3.1 Gen 2? Does it support thunderbolt? No reason for fast media if using a slow interface.

Implementing a 3-2-1 backup policy you may need more disks. The larger the disk the longer TM will retain history. You don't need SSD speeds for TM or other incremental backups. Waste of money putting TM or backups on an SSD and then using that as your offsite copy.

The hard drive dock thing is USB-C/3.1 Gen 2, 10GBps. Should be plenty fast. If it's not enough, I can jump to a 40 GBps thunderbolt one and still have spent less than I would have upgrading the internal storage (see point 1 below), but NVMe tops out at 2.6GBps which is still insanely fast IMO.

At all three of y'all (thanks so much for everything so far, by the way), here's the problem(s) with keeping all the apps on the 256GB drive, and why I did what I did:

1. Upgrading the internal drive to 1TB was going to set me back an additional $400. By contrast, a 1TB NVMe SSD, a 2TB SATA SSD, and the USB-C Dock were a grand total of $160, total, on Prime Day. I just couldn't justify the expense.

2. One of the programs I intend to install is Logic Pro - a full Logic Pro install is just shy of 80GB. So, regretfully, putting it on the internal drive is a non-starter as that alone will take up over 1/3 of my drive space. EDIT: actually, wait. Do any of you guys know about Logic Pro? Because if I put the program on the Internal SSD and then the sample libraries, presets, etc on the external drive, that's 6GB on the internal drive and 73ish on the 1TB external, which seems more sensible. Can I do that? I know on Windows I have my DAW running on my SSD and all my plugins and presets in a separate library on my HDD.

3. Okay, so pending that - Apps/Programs on my internal drive, files on the NVMe, and then the 2TB as a "just in case?" Does that makes more sense?

Thanks again!

 

[mmkerc]

My understanding from poking around the Apple support forums is that if I hold "shift" when I open those apps, I can point them at more drives/directories in which to find those types of files by default, is that not the case?

I believe you are talking about the feature to switch between multiple "libraries" be it Music, Photos, or Movies which works as you state. It will switch the app to open the last library you opened with it (make it default), or that how it worked the last time I used the feature (several years and OSes ago).

It is hard to quantify what I am talking about in terms of ease of use. Similar to trying to answer the question of what makes the iWatch a must have for me. There is no one or two things it is just easier. Best example I can give is that if you setup your home sound system to access you Mac to play music generally it default to the Apple file structure (i.e. Internal HD/user/mmkerc/Music/...). Not hard to switch or point the sound system to where you actually store the library it just easier. User presence I'd say.

My point, and as others have mentioned 256GB is not a lot of space, and give the the Mac will use the hard drive in concert with your ram you may find you have performance issues. You did not mention how much ram you got, but I hope it was at least 16GB.

 

[obesechess]

I believe you are talking about the feature to switch between multiple "libraries" be it Music, Photos, or Movies which works as you state. It will switch the app to open the last library you opened with it (make it default), or that how it worked the last time I used the feature (several years and OSes ago).

It is hard to quantify what I am talking about in terms of ease of use. Similar to trying to answer the question of what makes the iWatch a must have for me. There is no one or two things it is just easier. Best example I can give is that if you setup your home sound system to access you Mac to play music generally it default to the Apple file structure (i.e. Internal HD/user/mmkerc/Music/...). Not hard to switch or point the sound system to where you actually store the library it just easier. User presence I'd say.

My point, and as others have mentioned 256GB is not a lot of space, and give the the Mac will use the hard drive in concert with your ram you may find you have performance issues. You did not mention how much ram you got, but I hope it was at least 16GB.

Got it - re the first paragraph, this may have actually changed, as the specific thing on the Apple forums I'm reading from a few months ago is specifically about storing media files on an external drive to save internal drive space and the top response says "there's nothing special you need to do, you just select that specific drive when saving and loading files in different apps. Things like Apple's Music, Photos, and TV Apps can load their libraries from external drives by holding down the shift key when starting the app for the first time and pointing the app to the relevant library file on the external drive."

So, this may have changed. If not, not a huge deal.

And yes, I did spring for the 16GB of RAM.

 

[phrehdd]

I appreciate your efforts to attack your challenges methodically and get some opinions/advice.
Here is more peanuts from the gallery - avoid the 256 SSD, as it is really a limiting factor to such a system.
At minimum, 512 SSD and 16 gigs RAM. That is the investment you want to make and if possible more of each whether you use it or not.

As for me, I would not bother with connecting Windows but rather move the data I want to keep to a drive and that drive will be all you need to work with how you want to set up your Mac (and external drives).

If you are creative you have another option - put Parallels on your Mac and convert your Windows into a virtual. This way, you can take your time to move files on an as need basis.

 

[obesechess]

For better or worse, I’ve already purchased the 16GB RAM/256GB HD model. I did a pretty good amount of research beforehand and ultimately didn’t feel that the extra 256GB of SSD space was worth the extra $200 to store my files on - my current PC has been running all the apps I need off a 128GB SSD - in concert with a 500GB HDD - for over a decade and it’s still not at capacity (I realize that there’s swapping involved with the RAM and SSD to shore up memory, which is part of why I went for the 16GB).

Also, Parallels isn’t an option as the Mac Silicon version of Parallels only works with Win11, which my PC is literally too old to run.

Fortunately, I ended up finding one of the Sabrent things I linked above at a local electronics recycler, new in the box, for ten bucks this afternoon (there’s treasure everywhere) so I’ll just slap my drives in and transfer stuff over as I go. So there’s that problem solved, at least.

Cheers!

 

[mmkerc]

For better or worse, I’ve already purchased the 16GB RAM/256GB HD model. I did a pretty good amount of research beforehand and ultimately didn’t feel that the extra 256GB of SSD space was worth the extra $200 to store my files on - my current PC has been running all the apps I need off a 128GB SSD - in concert with a 500GB HDD - for over a decade and it’s still not at capacity (I realize that there’s swapping involved with the RAM and SSD to shore up memory, which is part of why I went for the 16GB).

Also, Parallels isn’t an option as the Mac Silicon version of Parallels only works with Win11, which my PC is literally too old to run.

Fortunately, I ended up finding one of the Sabrent things I linked above at a local electronics recycler, new in the box, for ten bucks this afternoon (there’s treasure everywhere) so I’ll just slap my drives in and transfer stuff over as I go. So there’s that problem solved, at least.

Cheers!

As I said everything you have, and plan to setup will work. Even the issue of the 256 internal drive is not a major issue assuming you are not working large files all the time. The 16GB ram will help with this. Inferring from you comments you will likely see significant performance improvement from your old PC.

The beauty of the Mac is that Apple has always designed their products as part of an ecosystem, which lead to the statement that "they just work". As you are comfortable configuring things yourself sticking with the Apple file structure is not that big of a deal. And if you happen to run into an issue this forum has a wealth of knowledge within its user base that can help resolve those issues.

Enjoy your new Mac.

 

[obesechess]

Cool, yeah, if I were regularly working with large files I'd have sprung for the larger hard drive, but even my most involved audio projects are rarely over a gigabyte. Thanks again for the insight!