Windows PC to Macbook Pro - Migration Questions

[drb99]

Apologies if some of this has been asked before but after some searching I can't seem to find answers to all of it.

I currently have a Desktop PC (Windows 7), dual core 3Ghz AMD CPU etc. I'm considering replacing it with a 17" MacBook Pro (probably a used one, up to 2 years old).

Reasons are as follows:

• I sometimes have problems booting it up (takes 3 or 4 attempts)
• One of my hard drives has started to 'tick'
• I'm fed up of Windows continually downloading updates and slowing me down
• I like the whole Apple 'experience' (have an iPad and iPhone 4 as well)

However - I need to make sure it will meet all my needs, which are:

1. Advanced processing / editing of digital photos - specifically Nikon NEF RAW files, and also Canon CR2 RAW files
2. Video editing of full HD clips - AVCHD format (from Canon HF100 Camcorder and Panasonic Lumix GH1 and TZ7)
3. Web browsing, Office apps etc (I know, this is a walk in the park!)
4. Playback of DVD movies (and ideally Blu rays)
5. Import of 50Gb Music collection into iTunes, which was ripped on my Windows PC to MP3 format, not Apple's proprietary format
6. Transfer of 1TB of data (photos, videos etc) currently held on a Windows formatted backup drive

I'd really appreciate some help, as the whole Mac thing is quite foreign to me at the moment. I have some basic concerns around file formats - will the Mac read my Office documents, JPGs, Movie clips etc even though they were all created on a Windows machine?

What kind of spec should I look for? Would a 2.8Ghz Dual Core suffice (e.g. 2009/10 model)?

I've been told that the Mac will read my FAT32 backup drive, but won't write to it - is that correct? Also, if I need to keep my photos / video on an external drive (due to size), and keep it connected fairly frequently, I will need a fast connection from the drive to the Mac, i.e. as fast as eSATA is on Windows PCs. What's my best bet here? Firewire? USB2 would be too slow I think but not sure.

If anyone can add comments against my points above, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Member 79251]

Part 1

Reasons are as follows:

I sometimes have problems booting it up (takes 3 or 4 attempts). You could still end up with various booting issues.
One of my hard drives has started to 'tick'. Macbook Pro also use hard drives.
I'm fed up of Windows continually downloading updates and slowing me down
I like the whole Apple 'experience' (have an iPad and iPhone 4 as well). You still have updates for Mac's.

Part 2

However - I need to make sure it will meet all my needs, which are:

Advanced processing / editing of digital photos - specifically Nikon NEF RAW files, and also Canon CR2 RAW files. I am not too sure but I think iphoto might now be able to do this. Have a look at this

Video editing of full HD clips - AVCHD format (from Canon HF100 Camcorder and Panasonic Lumix GH1 and TZ7). I think imovie will be ok.

Web browsing, Office apps etc (I know, this is a walk in the park!) Yes it is.

Playback of DVD movies (and ideally Blu rays). Blu-ray not 100% supported but you can get an external.

Import of 50Gb Music collection into iTunes, which was ripped on my Windows PC to MP3 format, not Apple's proprietary format. Don't worry about that. Just point your Mac to the location. You can even export your settings from your PC.

Transfer of 1TB of data (photos, videos etc) currently held on a Windows formatted backup drive. Mac's can read fat and NTFS. Either share the drive or turn it into an external or even a NAS system.

Do you have a local Mac store ? If so stick some files on a memory stick and go in and ask them the same questions. This way you can see for yourself what the system does. You can even play with the system.

Have a read at this regarding file formats: File systems - Mac Guides