[mshan]

I bought an Intel iMac for my dad (expecting it on Friday).

I would like to copy all of his photos from his Windows XP Home machine to the iMac.

Is this as simple as copying the My Pictures folder in Windows onto a CDR and then just copying from CD into the iMac?

Also, do I need a software firewall and / or anti-virus software for the new iMac? If so, what do others recommend as effective, reliable, and trouble free?

 

[RockinOut]

For photos, yeah the CD-R is fine but may be slow depending on how many images there are. Also this is an easy method. Nothing to setup, just burn. Good thing is you'd have a backup cd too.

Other options: wireless network if available, USB external hard drive or small USB flash drive.

I don't know about other Mac users, I don't use firewall or anti-virus software. (Fingers crossed): One of the best reasons to switch to Mac is it's secure platform/OS. At this time, there's not much major issues with virus and malware with Macs. Virex and Norton is available but from what I've read in books and blogs not many Mac users need it or use it. It's your choice.

Here's a good Mac blog: tuaw.com

 

[mshan]

Can I just copy the whole "My Pictures" folder in Windows, or will this create problems in Mac OS X?

 

[davei]

Assuming you're using iPhoto, all you have to do is network the two computers together, then drag the photos into iPhoto. That's it! Don't worry about any folders or anything, you can organize everything in iPhoto. You may want to copy over certain folders one at a time and create albums as you go along.

To network the two computers together - hook an ethernet cable from one computer to the other, go into the Finder (on the Mac) and click on the Network icon. Provided you have all the photos in a shared folder on the XP machine, you should be able to navigate and log into the Mac, then drag things onto the new computer.

OSX has a built in firewall. Anti-virus; I've never used it on Macs, and I've been using Apple computers since the IIe days. Which is not to say it's not a good idea, but I can live without it.

 

[mshan]

Crossover ethernet cable? Can I also achieve the same thing by creating a wireless network between the two (if so, how?)?

And can I just burn the photos to cdrs, then drag and drop them that way? Or won't OS X recognize those Windows folders the photos are in?

 

[davei]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mshan Crossover ethernet cable? Can I also achieve the same thing by creating a wireless network between the two (if so, how?)? And can I just burn the photos to cdrs, then drag and drop them that way? Or won't OS X recognize those Windows folders the photos are in?

If both computers are wirelessly equipped, and you don't have a wireless router, you'd have to setup the Windows machine as an adhoc wireless access point, then let the Mac connect to it. If you have a wireless router, just make sure both computers can connect to the router, and then navigate to the Windows machine on the Mac.

You can also burn the photos to CDR, then just drag and drop the folders into iPhoto. iPhoto will automatically copy the photos to the iPhoto library (on the hard drive) then you can organize them in the iPhoto application itself. I would drag one folder at a time, arrange a new album in iPhoto, then do the next one, etc.

 

[mshan]

"You can also burn the photos to CDR, then just drag and drop the folders into iPhoto. iPhoto will automatically copy the photos to the iPhoto library (on the hard drive) then you can organize them in the iPhoto application itself. I would drag one folder at a time, arrange a new album in iPhoto, then do the next one, etc."

I think I'll do it this way.

Thanks!