Switcher w/ data transfer questions
I'm switching to Mac. I'm starting college at Central Florida in a few weeks and am going to buy a Macbook here in the near future. What really made me decide to switch was the fact that Leopard will be entirely 64-bit (thus extending the life of current hardware a few years due to untapped performance). When I read that, my mind was made up. I'm all ready to buy my Macbook, have my 1st gen nano reformatted for Mac compatibility, and proclaim "In Jobs We Trust."
However, there's one obstacle, and it's quite a pain in my arse. I don't know how to transfer data from my Windows Media Center PC to my future Macbook. I have roughly 10GB of music, plus another 5GB or so of files and miscellaneous data that I need to transfer over and [possibly] convert over to my new laptop. And on top of that, how do I get my iTunes purchases from my PC to my new Macbook? Will Mac convert my WMA files over to AAC when I transfer them? I don't really feel like re-ripping half of my CDs over to MP3 format.
I made a crossover cable the other day just in case I could use one to transfer the files over. I'll be living in Orlando when I get the Mac, and the closest Apple Store is down at International Plaza in Tampa--which, if you're unfamiliar, is a 3-4 hour drive depending. Also, I don't feel like going home, getting the tower, lugging it to Tampa, bringing it back home, hooking it up, then going back to Orlando--that's an entire day.
So, if there's any way I can do this on my own, please let me know. Can't wait to switch.
However, there's one obstacle, and it's quite a pain in my arse. I don't know how to transfer data from my Windows Media Center PC to my future Macbook. I have roughly 10GB of music, plus another 5GB or so of files and miscellaneous data that I need to transfer over and [possibly] convert over to my new laptop. And on top of that, how do I get my iTunes purchases from my PC to my new Macbook? Will Mac convert my WMA files over to AAC when I transfer them? I don't really feel like re-ripping half of my CDs over to MP3 format.
I made a crossover cable the other day just in case I could use one to transfer the files over. I'll be living in Orlando when I get the Mac, and the closest Apple Store is down at International Plaza in Tampa--which, if you're unfamiliar, is a 3-4 hour drive depending. Also, I don't feel like going home, getting the tower, lugging it to Tampa, bringing it back home, hooking it up, then going back to Orlando--that's an entire day.
So, if there's any way I can do this on my own, please let me know. Can't wait to switch.
Comments
However, there's one obstacle, and it's quite a pain in my arse. I don't know how to transfer data from my Windows Media Center PC to my future Macbook.
Your PC will have ethernet so you can plug them in directly. You then setup your PC to share the folders you need and turn off your firewalls. Then mount the PC by checking its IP and on the Mac just using connect to server smb://IP - it will ask for workgroup etc.
And on top of that, how do I get my iTunes purchases from my PC to my new Macbook? Will Mac convert my WMA files over to AAC when I transfer them? I don't really feel like re-ripping half of my CDs over to MP3 format.
No it won't convert WMA files. There are converters though - there is a way to play wma in itunes I think too. When you change machine, remember to authorize your new machine and de-authorize your PC if you won't be using it.
I made a crossover cable the other day just in case I could use one to transfer the files over.
You can use a standard cable. All new Macs have a built-in switching mechanism so a crossover cable isn't needed.
No it won't convert WMA files. There are converters though - there is a way to play wma in itunes I think too. When you change machine, remember to authorize your new machine and de-authorize your PC if you won't be using it.
The Windows version of iTunes will convert WMA files as long as they are not protected.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itunes#File_format_support
A silly sort of workaround would be to install iTunes on the PC and drop all your WMA files onto it and let it do the converting. Then you could copy over the files to the Mac. Mind you, if you're converting to a lossy format like MP3 from another lossy format like WMA, then the quality might not be so great.
Will Mac convert my WMA files over to AAC when I transfer them? I don't really feel like re-ripping half of my CDs over to MP3 format.
The PC version of iTunes has a WMA converter that converts WMA to whatever codec is selected in your iTunes "import" preferences. However, you should bear in mind that converting a WMA file to another lossy codec such as AAC will result in worse audio quality that if you convert straight from the original uncompressed file to AAC. It may be tedious, but it's a much better idea to re-rip your CDs.
I'll be living in Orlando when I get the Mac, and the closest Apple Store is down at International Plaza in Tampa--which, if you're unfamiliar, is a 3-4 hour drive depending. Also, I don't feel like going home, getting the tower, lugging it to Tampa, bringing it back home, hooking it up, then going back to Orlando--that's an entire day.
There's 2 Apple Stores right in town. No need to go to Tampa.
Apple Store at the Millenia Mall
4200 Conroy Rd.
Orlando, FL 32839
Apple Store at the Florida Mall
8001 South Orange Blossom Trail
Orlando, FL 32809
The PC version of iTunes has a WMA converter that converts WMA to whatever codec is selected in your iTunes "import" preferences. However, you should bear in mind that converting a WMA file to another lossy codec such as AAC will result in worse audio quality that if you convert straight from the original uncompressed file to AAC.
How much loss of quality would I experience? I mean, I'm talking like ~50 CDs ripped in WMP to WMA. I have iTunes already on my PC, and it's converted roughly half of my songs to AAC (the program requires it). Since then, I've not used iTunes out of an ongoing conflict with my brother when I renamed all my music folders (which screwed up iTunes royally).
Is there any way that I could just transfer the music straight to the Macbook and have iTunes convert the files there?
There's 2 Apple Stores right in town. No need to go to Tampa.
Thanks, didn't know that. This is definitely good. Could they help me out with it?
You then setup your PC to share the folders you need and turn off your firewalls. Then mount the PC by checking its IP and on the Mac just using connect to server smb://IP - it will ask for workgroup etc.
Ah, thank you so much for this. Will my files be compatible with Mac? I have some Word files (I'm getting Office 2004...stupid 2008 delay!), will they be compatible? Pictures and stuff like that? It's not a real big deal if they don't, but I'd like a seamless transition over.
No it won't convert WMA files. There are converters though - there is a way to play wma in itunes I think too. When you change machine, remember to authorize your new machine and de-authorize your PC if you won't be using it.
How do I find my purchased iTunes music files on my PC? I found the location many a month ago, but I forgot it. I mean, I know which ones are purchased (as iTunes designates them as such), but I'd like to find the specific folder so I can just use that smb://IP trick.
Thanks for all your help guys.
How much loss of quality would I experience?
It depends on the bitrate they were ripped at. If they are ripped at say 128k or less, then you would probably notice some distortion or change in the sound by converting to another format. I'd say you could get away with it for files with bitrates above 196k.
Is there any way that I could just transfer the music straight to the Macbook and have iTunes convert the files there?
If you had Parallels or some way of running Windows you could do it. The WMA support comes from Windows not itunes itself. There is a way to get itunes to do it:
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...60917040944927
but that would mean converting one at a time. You could try a program like this to do batch conversions though:
http://www.easywma.com/
You have to be careful about versions sometimes with ffmpeg because it tends to only support older wma encodings.
Ah, thank you so much for this. Will my files be compatible with Mac? I have some Word files (I'm getting Office 2004...stupid 2008 delay!), will they be compatible? Pictures and stuff like that? It's not a real big deal if they don't, but I'd like a seamless transition over.
The majority of the files you have will be compatible. The .exe executables won't be but you can still run them in Parallels, VMWare or Bootcamp'd Windows. Office files should be compatible but I suppose there could be some issues if you used a really new version of Office.
How do I find my purchased iTunes music files on my PC? I found the location many a month ago, but I forgot it. I mean, I know which ones are purchased (as iTunes designates them as such), but I'd like to find the specific folder so I can just use that smb://IP trick.
I would have thought they'd go right into your itunes music folder. It possibly tells you in the itunes preferences where they are.
It depends on the bitrate they were ripped at. If they are ripped at say 128k or less, then you would probably notice some distortion or change in the sound by converting to another format. I'd say you could get away with it for files with bitrates above 196k.
They're ripped at 128K. I'll fiddle with a few songs before I try anything on the whole. I checked Easy WMA and it looks like the way to go. If I can get minimal quality loss, I'll be happy. I'm not a huge audiophile, I just like having my music sound good.
The majority of the files you have will be compatible. The .exe executables won't be but you can still run them in Parallels, VMWare or Bootcamp'd Windows. Office files should be compatible but I suppose there could be some issues if you used a really new version of Office.
Well, I use Office 2007 Professional but have the program save files in 1997-2003 format (.doc) instead of .docx. Hopefully they'll be able to work. My notepad/wordpad files, I can just copy and paste over to Word if it does in fact work. My executables can stay on the desktop, I won't be needing them.
I would have thought they'd go right into your itunes music folder. It possibly tells you in the itunes preferences where they are.
You know, I just remembered how to get them (I've done it before) copied. I feel so stupid right now.
But how do I authorize my account/music on a new PC? I can do that via iTunes correct? Probably via the "Authorize Computer" (or something like that) option, correct?
And once again, thanks for all the help.
Well, I use Office 2007 Professional but have the program save files in 1997-2003 format (.doc) instead of .docx. Hopefully they'll be able to work. My notepad/wordpad files, I can just copy and paste over to Word if it does in fact work. My executables can stay on the desktop, I won't be needing them.
That format should work fine. There's also alternatives to Office 2004 like NeoOffice (based on OpenOffice) if you need to use something before you get Office 2004. In fact, NeoOffice supports the Office 2007 .docx format too as it's an option in the save menu.
But how do I authorize my account/music on a new PC? I can do that via iTunes correct? Probably via the "Authorize Computer" (or something like that) option, correct?
These two pages should help:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93014
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93366
can I save all my PC files to a DVD and copy them to my new Macbook?
Yes you can.