[Bouviersdad]

I am not certain if this is where I should post my questions. I just purchased my first MAC. A IMAC with 512mb ram and a 250 gb hard drive. I currently have a dell PC and Sony Vaio notebook. I was so frustrated with XP and disappointed with Dell (Hard Drive failed after 6 mos) that I took the plunge.

Questions:

What is the best way to transfer my I Tunes Music Library now on my Dell PC to the New IMAC?

Should I consider buying additional RAM?

I also purchased Microsoft Office - Standard Edition for MAC (They were running a promotion if you purchased this with a new MAC). I use Office on my PC's for my business and personal use and thought that it would make sense to have a version on the MAC. Do you agree?

Any other thoughts on transfering programs/files from my PC to the MAC?

Thanks for your help.

[rozwado1]

First off, they're Macs, not MACs; and it's iMac, not IMAC.

1. Search the forums
2. RAM, yes. www.transintl.com
3. Sure, why not...
4. Check out the networking forum.

[harrisjamieh]

1. If you have an external hard drive (or iPod), just shove all your music on tat and then plug the drive into the iMac and copy it to the internal iMac drive. If you dont have an external drive, you can make an ethernet or firewire network.

2. Depends what you are doing, but either way, more RAM = faster system, www.crucial.com

3. Yes

4. Either the same external hard drive method, or the firewire/ethernet network

[Jawbone54]

Good move on buying Office.
Definitely need more RAM too.

[jam8]

Originally Posted by rozwado1

First off, they're Macs, not MACs; and it's iMac, not IMAC.

Bouviersdad, I don't think rozwado1 meant to sound as harsh as I read that. Welcome to the Mac community! Macs are really superb computers. These forums have all the answers to your potential questions, so try to search the forums for specific questions that you have. Once again, welcome.

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted by Bouviersdad

I am not certain if this is where I should post my questions. I just purchased my first MAC. A IMAC with 512mb ram and a 250 gb hard drive. I currently have a dell PC and Sony Vaio notebook. I was so frustrated with XP and disappointed with Dell (Hard Drive failed after 6 mos) that I took the plunge.

Questions:

What is the best way to transfer my I Tunes Music Library now on my Dell PC to the New IMAC?

Should I consider buying additional RAM?

I also purchased Microsoft Office - Standard Edition for MAC (They were running a promotion if you purchased this with a new MAC). I use Office on my PC's for my business and personal use and thought that it would make sense to have a version on the MAC. Do you agree?

Any other thoughts on transfering programs/files from my PC to the MAC?

Thanks for your help.

If you have a hub, connect your iMac and your PC to the hub via ethernet CAT5 wire. On you PC, share your drive, right click on your C: drive and select the Sharing tab. Check "Share this folder on the network". Check "Allow network users to change my files"

On your iMac, from the finder, select "Go->Connect Server" and click the "Browse button" your work group name should show up, double click your workgroup name and your c drive should now be visible, double click and your on your way. the drive should mount in your finder just like any other drive.

If you have not changed the default workgroup name that comes pre-defined in Windows it should be "WORKGROUP"

Good luck.

[jamil5454]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

If you have not changed the default workgroup name that comes pre-defined in Windows it should be "WORKGROUP"
Good luck.

If I'm not mistaken I think the default workgroup name for XP Home is "MSHOME", and for XP Professional it's "WORKGROUP"

[Cozmo85]

Either over network or external hard drive.
You will also notice a HUGE perf difference after moving to 1gb.

[Bouviersdad]

Originally Posted by rozwado1

First off, they're Macs, not MACs; and it's iMac, not IMAC.

1. Search the forums
2. RAM, yes. www.transintl.com
3. Sure, why not...
4. Check out the networking forum.

It's truly amazing - You can always count on someone's generosity of spirit and helpfulness to a newcomer.

[icruise]

I don't really think he was trying to be rude. Maybe a little curt. But in any case, why focus on the one response that you felt was unhelpful?

[Bouviersdad]

Originally Posted by Icruise

I don't really think he was trying to be rude. Maybe a little curt. But in any case, why focus on the one response that you felt was unhelpful?

Your absolutly correct the other members who responded were courteous and helpful and also picked up on the rudeness of the response. I sincerely appreciate the help provided.

While, I have stated my appreciation to a specific response that deserved some equally helpful feedback. Why apologize for someone who writes before they think and I am certain does not represent the spirit of the members of MacNN to newcomers.

Thank you for reply.

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted by jamil5454

If I'm not mistaken I think the default workgroup name for XP Home is "MSHOME", and for XP Professional it's "WORKGROUP"

You're right. My bad.

[SickOfSects]

Originally Posted by Bouviersdad

Questions:

What is the best way to transfer my I Tunes Music Library now on my Dell PC to the New IMAC?

Do you have an iPod? If you do, the easiest way, in my opinion, to transfer your iTunes music from the Dell to the mac is to use the iPod. First sync your iPod up to your iTunes music library on the dell (I assume it is already synced up). Then connect it to your iMac which should recognize the iPod just as the Dell would (even if the iPod has been formatted for Windows). Then simply use the wonderful tool called "Senuti" (you can google it), which is iTunes spelt backwards, which will transfer all your songs from the iPod to iTunes on the mac, while maintaining the exact same playlists and library within iTunes. It is available as an universal binary, so it should work on Intel Macs.

[lookmark]

Apple lists a pretty comprehensive list of ways to move your data over from your PC to your Mac over here, if that's helpful at all.

Enjoy your new Mac!

[badnewsblair]

These forums are full of the most fantastic, evangelists available!

Three years ago I was in your spot exactly; fed up with Windows and viruses/trojans. I knew there had to be a better way. I didn't believe my close friend when he proclaimed "by the end of college, you will be using a Mac". Every once and a while he hits a grand slam like that one.

Months before I purchased my first Mac, a 17 inch Powerbook, I was luking around these forums based off his suggestions. I received reassurance, helpful advice and general camaraderie from the helpful people on these forums.

I am sure the few people that responded less than positively were just having a bad day. Let me say Welcome. I was where you were and now I get to pay it forward.

The easiest way by far to transfer your music library is to use you iPod. Use the link to the iTunes/iPod users guide to help you if you need. The Apple support is the best available!

You could use your home network to transfer your music library, but to me the iPod is the way to go. Plus, it is another way to utilize a $300+ music player. If you haven't done so already, make sure to deactivate your iTunes on the previous computer in order to keep the two libraries from conflicting. Simply reactivate it using the Advanced menu item on your new iMac! That easy.

While there is no such thing as too much RAM, it doesn't always mean significant performance increase. I used my machine with the base 512MB of RAM for my freelance graphics and gaming for well over 8 months! If the finances permit, go for it. But don't sweat it if you are just using Office and surfing the Internet.

And while the new Apple mini-office suite is great (I do love Pages), it is nice to have Microsoft Office just because... well, the rest of the world does. Save yourself the effort and just use it, at least at first.

As far as migrating files you can always Instant Messenger, email, etc files from your old computer if you do not want to network them or have a smaller iPod. For the money and the pure geek factor I use my iPod to transfer all my files from work to home. I also use Apple's .Mac actually to stay synched with my home computer and my work computer. It synchs my bookmarks from home as well as my calendars and address book. Plus, all synch with my iPod as well.

A new trend catching on is Hamachi, which is a program that effortlessly creates a VPN or Virtual Private Network that is secure and easy to use between any 2+ computers on the Internet. Imagine a secure network between you and your friends or you work computer and home without the fuss. And it's available for Windows and Mac.

Glad to welcome you to a better world. Don't hesitate to message anyone or post any questions or concerns!

¬badnews

[Bouviersdad]

Thank you for your warm greetings and valuable suggestions.

All the best.

[Gee4orce]

...just feelin' the love !