Apple - Switch - Guide to Switching

Upgrading from a PC to a Mac is almost as easy as upgrading from a PC to a new PC. The challenge is the same: moving your files from your old computer to your new computer. This step-by-step guide will help make switching as easy as possible. We’ll tell you where to find your data files and preferences on the PC and where to put them on your new Mac. You can leave Web browsers open on both your PC and Mac so you can follow these directions. Or, you might want to print this list to help you along the way.

1. Getting Started
This guide assumes that you have a PC running Windows 95 or later with a drive that can burn CDs*. If you have an external USB or FireWire hard disk, that will work, too. The following instructions assume that you’re making a CD — translate as necessary if you’re using a hard disk or another form of storage.

If you’ve never burned a CD on your PC, this is a good time to review the instructions that came with the PC. If you need CD-burning software for your PC, you might want to look at software such as Toast 5 Titanium from Roxio.

Each CD is capable of recording about 650MB of data, which is a lot of word processing files. But if you’re a graphic artist with many large files or if you have a big collection of MP3 files for your music, get some extra CDs or use a larger-capacity USB or FireWire hard disk.

2. Create a CD to hold your files
To make the switch easy, we’re going to put all the files we want to move onto a CD. On that CD, we’ll create folders to hold the different categories of files we want to move.

The following steps will assist you in creating that CD and putting your files in the right folders.

Follow the instructions provided with your CD creation software to prepare a blank CD. If you format the blank disc you plan to use with Roxio’s Direct CD, you will be able to create folders just as you would on your hard drive. If you uses Roxio’s Easy CD Creator or other CD burning software, you will be asked to organise your folders and files before burning them onto the disc.

Name the disc you are creating Switch to make it easy to identify. When you’ve prepared your CD to accept files, create the following folders on the CD:

Email Address Book
Favorites
Music
Office Documents
Palm
PDF
Pictures

Copy the files to the CD
You’ll copy your files from your PC to these folders on the Switch CD, burn the CD and then move them from the CD to your Mac. You still have back-ups of your files on the PC, since the CD contains copies of these files.

Each of the following links tells you how to move the files in that category. If you only want to move, say, Office Documents, that’s the only link you need to click. If you want to move files in more than one category, click the first category you need. That page will let you go to the next page you need, and so on. When you’re done, we’ll see you back here.

Moving files from your PC

	Email Address Book
	Favorites
	Music
	Office Documents
	Palm
	PDF
	Pictures

When you’re finished moving the files to the CD, burn the CD and then eject the Switch disc from your PC.

Insert the Switch CD into your Mac. When the Switch disc appears, open it and behold the folders you created.

Pat yourself on the back.

This might sound familiar. Each of the following links tells you how to move the files in that category. If you haven’t already done so, open this page on your Mac and click the first category you need. That page will let you go to the next page you want, and so on.

Moving files to your Mac

	Email Address Book
	Favorites
	Music
	Office Documents
	Palm
	PDF
	Pictures

Congratulations — you’re finished.

Now that you’ve got everything in place, relax and explore your new Mac. Take it for a spin on the Internet. Enjoy some music with iTunes. Burn a CD for your car. Have a good time discovering what your new computer can do.

* Some PCs can burn DVD, also an ideal medium to use when switching.

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