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How to Transfer Data from PC to Mac?

Is it easy to transfer files from PC to Macintosh computer? PCs and Apple Macintosh computers use different operating systems by default. Most factory-produced PCs use Microsoft Windows, and Macs use the Mac OS X operating system, though Intel-based Macs can also run Windows natively. If you've been using a Windows PC but now you bought a new Mac, and you wanna transfer files like documents, PDFs, photos, music, videos, etc. from PC to Mac, then how to do that?

This article is designed to help you transfer data from PC to Mac. We list you many ways to transfer files from a PC to a Mac, including using a portable hard drive or storage device, a CD or DVD burner, a shared file server, etc. Just check the details below to see how to transfer files from PC to Mac.

Note:
If want to share files on PC with Mac, you can check this article on how to transfer Files from Mac to PC.

Using a portable hard drive or storage device

Portable hard drives that can be used to transfer data from a PC to a Macintosh computer include a FireWire (IEEE 1394, iLink) drives and a USB-based drives or storage devices.

Portable FireWire drives provide the fastest transfer rate, and are widely available. However, unless the PC has a FireWire port, which is not as common on PC computers, you will not be able to use a portable FireWire hard drive.

A portable USB hard drive can be used, but USB transfers can be slow.

Tip: While the faster USB 2.0 standard is available on some PC computers, some Macintosh computers only work with USB 1.1.

CD or DVD burner

Creating a backup disc of the files on your PC is one of the easiest methods you can use to transfer any amount of data. This method provides the added benefit of creating a backup of your data. Here we provide the best DVD Creator for you.

Shared file server

A server on a network that can be accessed by both the PC and Macintosh computer is an excellent alternative to burning CDs, or moving portable drives from one computer to another. However, both computers must be able to access the server.

Direct ethernet connection

If you have both computers in the same location, you may be able to use an Ethernet cable to connect both computers together and copy files between them. You may need an Ethernet crossover cable depending on which model Macintosh you own. See below the related document "Macintosh: Computers That Require an Ethernet Crossover Cable" to see if you will need an Ethernet crossover cable. This method has the advantage of being fast and being able to transfer any amount of data.

Email

For small amounts of data such as word processing documents, pictures, or small application data files, using email to send them to yourself as an attachment is another option. However, if the data files are over 1 MB in size, or if you do not have a high-speed Internet connection, you should try other methods before using this one. If you want to share files between Mac with your friendes, you can check this guide on how to share files on Mac.

iDisk

If you have a .Mac account, you can use an iDisk to transfer data. Since the iDisk is used through an Internet connection, using this method for large data files without a high-speed internet connection takes a long time.

If you are a DVD movies lover, here we provide the steps on how to rip copyrighted DVD on Mac, and you can also check the steps on how to rip blu-ray on Mac to enjoy the blu-ray movies as you like!

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