Moving from Windows 10 to new iMac

[2024]

Hello all. I’ll be moving from Windows 10 1803 to a new M3 iMac (16GB/1TB) in a couple of weeks, and I have a lot of concerns about the move that I hope I can get assistance with. I’ve used Windows for decades, but MacOS is terra incognita to me (well, since 1995 anyway; my very first computer was a Mac Classic used for DTP).

Here are the details:

1) My C: drive has ~260GB used. I have a portable 2TB HDD (exFAT) on which I keep an up-to-date copy of everything in C:\Users, so copying data over manually should not be an issue (other than time-wise) in case that turns out to be preferable to migration. (I also have AOMEI and FileHistory backups, but assume they’re irrelevant here. I’ll have a good backup strategy, so no need to get into that.)

2) The PC has two user accounts, which I want to replicate.

3) I have an iPhone with my Apple ID, while my wife has an iPhone and an iPad on her own Apple ID. We have iCloud (shared 50GB) already, with pretty much everything backed up in it. We don’t use iCloud Drive or Apple Music.

4) We both have Apple Mail, but mainly use multiple Xfinity email accounts with Thunderbird. With several decades’ worth of downloaded emails in TB, I think (for now anyway) that I’d like to keep using it on the iMac. However, if I don’t lose anything, including folder organization, by putting it all into Apple Mail I would consider that.

5) We use multiple browsers on the PC, each with its own profile(s). I haven’t decided whether or not to just import (from html) all the bookmarks to Safari and call it a day, so for now I think I’d like to install them on the Mac (they all have MacOS versions) with their own profiles if possible.

6) The PC contains a backup of all our photos and videos, hand-sorted into numerous folders. I’m concerned that if setup downloads all of them from iCloud and then copies over all the folders too, it would end up as a big mess.

7) On my PC I use Audacity and save WAV files to various folders. I want to make playlists on my iPhone for use in my car, but I don’t know much about the Music app and wonder where all those WAV files would/should go during setup.

8) We don’t use Outlook, iTunes, or MS accounts (so no OneDrive to worry about). Also, there's no calendar info or contact lists (aside from our TB address books) on the PC .

9) I’m planning to use Pages and Numbers instead of Word and Excel, or at least see how that goes. If it’s not satisfactory, I’ll deal with it later.

10) I use an older Brother MFC printer that works with AirPrint, so I’m not concerned about that for now.

I’m thinking that my situation is too complicated for a clean Migration Assistant process. On the other hand, I really don’t know to where I would copy much of my data (music, browser profiles, etc.). Given all the above, should I migrate, or install apps then migrate, or install apps then copy all my data over? Or am I overthinking it all? I’ve done a lot of reading, but at my age things just don’t stick like they used to. What do you think is my best way forward? I would greatly appreciate detailed advice and assistance. And sorry for the long post.

 

[phrehdd]

Hello all. I’ll be moving from Windows 10 1803 to a new M3 iMac (16GB/1TB) in a couple of weeks, and I have a lot of concerns about the move that I hope I can get assistance with. I’ve used Windows for decades, but MacOS is terra incognita to me (well, since 1995 anyway; my very first computer was a Mac Classic used for DTP).

Here are the details:

1) My C: drive has ~260GB used. I have a portable 2TB HDD (exFAT) on which I keep an up-to-date copy of everything in C:\Users, so copying data over manually should not be an issue (other than time-wise) in case that turns out to be preferable to migration. (I also have AOMEI and FileHistory backups, but assume they’re irrelevant here. I’ll have a good backup strategy, so no need to get into that.)

2) The PC has two user accounts, which I want to replicate.

3) I have an iPhone with my Apple ID, while my wife has an iPhone and an iPad on her own Apple ID. We have iCloud (shared 50GB) already, with pretty much everything backed up in it. We don’t use iCloud Drive or Apple Music.

4) We both have Apple Mail, but mainly use multiple Xfinity email accounts with Thunderbird. With several decades’ worth of downloaded emails in TB, I think (for now anyway) that I’d like to keep using it on the iMac. However, if I don’t lose anything, including folder organization, by putting it all into Apple Mail I would consider that.

5) We use multiple browsers on the PC, each with its own profile(s). I haven’t decided whether or not to just import (from html) all the bookmarks to Safari and call it a day, so for now I think I’d like to install them on the Mac (they all have MacOS versions) with their own profiles if possible.

6) The PC contains a backup of all our photos and videos, hand-sorted into numerous folders. I’m concerned that if setup downloads all of them from iCloud and then copies over all the folders too, it would end up as a big mess.

7) On my PC I use Audacity and save WAV files to various folders. I want to make playlists on my iPhone for use in my car, but I don’t know much about the Music app and wonder where all those WAV files would/should go during setup.

8) We don’t use Outlook, iTunes, or MS accounts (so no OneDrive to worry about). Also, there's no calendar info or contact lists (aside from our TB address books) on the PC .

9) I’m planning to use Pages and Numbers instead of Word and Excel, or at least see how that goes. If it’s not satisfactory, I’ll deal with it later.

10) I use an older Brother MFC printer that works with AirPrint, so I’m not concerned about that for now.

I’m thinking that my situation is too complicated for a clean Migration Assistant process. On the other hand, I really don’t know to where I would copy much of my data (music, browser profiles, etc.). Given all the above, should I migrate, or install apps then migrate, or install apps then copy all my data over? Or am I overthinking it all? I’ve done a lot of reading, but at my age things just don’t stick like they used to. What do you think is my best way forward? I would greatly appreciate detailed advice and assistance. And sorry for the long post.

If you can keep your PC active for awhile during your first couple of weeks on the iMac, I would do clean install and copy over data that may include not just files per se, but certain types of lists such as browser export of bookmarks etc and music playlists. If you opt for migration, be ready to do some edits and also note some things may not carry over. Either way, leave your PC available for a few days to catch what doesn't come over or needs to be redone.

I'm moved people from PC to Mac and found that a good housekeeping list of all the things that need to be done worked great with doing a fresh install. This also allowed some changes such as location of certain types of files (such as music) and how email was set up and profiles. Sometimes you find what you did was good but there are other ways that may prove better and you'll have the change to cleanly implement.

 

[Eric Best]

Hello all. I’ll be moving from Windows 10 1803 to a new M3 iMac (16GB/1TB) in a couple of weeks, and I have a lot of concerns about the move that I hope I can get assistance with. I’ve used Windows for decades, but MacOS is terra incognita to me (well, since 1995 anyway; my very first computer was a Mac Classic used for DTP).

Here are the details:

1) My C: drive has ~260GB used. I have a portable 2TB HDD (exFAT) on which I keep an up-to-date copy of everything in C:\Users, so copying data over manually should not be an issue (other than time-wise) in case that turns out to be preferable to migration. (I also have AOMEI and FileHistory backups, but assume they’re irrelevant here. I’ll have a good backup strategy, so no need to get into that.)

2) The PC has two user accounts, which I want to replicate.

3) I have an iPhone with my Apple ID, while my wife has an iPhone and an iPad on her own Apple ID. We have iCloud (shared 50GB) already, with pretty much everything backed up in it. We don’t use iCloud Drive or Apple Music.

4) We both have Apple Mail, but mainly use multiple Xfinity email accounts with Thunderbird. With several decades’ worth of downloaded emails in TB, I think (for now anyway) that I’d like to keep using it on the iMac. However, if I don’t lose anything, including folder organization, by putting it all into Apple Mail I would consider that.

5) We use multiple browsers on the PC, each with its own profile(s). I haven’t decided whether or not to just import (from html) all the bookmarks to Safari and call it a day, so for now I think I’d like to install them on the Mac (they all have MacOS versions) with their own profiles if possible.

6) The PC contains a backup of all our photos and videos, hand-sorted into numerous folders. I’m concerned that if setup downloads all of them from iCloud and then copies over all the folders too, it would end up as a big mess.

7) On my PC I use Audacity and save WAV files to various folders. I want to make playlists on my iPhone for use in my car, but I don’t know much about the Music app and wonder where all those WAV files would/should go during setup.

8) We don’t use Outlook, iTunes, or MS accounts (so no OneDrive to worry about). Also, there's no calendar info or contact lists (aside from our TB address books) on the PC .

9) I’m planning to use Pages and Numbers instead of Word and Excel, or at least see how that goes. If it’s not satisfactory, I’ll deal with it later.

10) I use an older Brother MFC printer that works with AirPrint, so I’m not concerned about that for now.

I’m thinking that my situation is too complicated for a clean Migration Assistant process. On the other hand, I really don’t know to where I would copy much of my data (music, browser profiles, etc.). Given all the above, should I migrate, or install apps then migrate, or install apps then copy all my data over? Or am I overthinking it all? I’ve done a lot of reading, but at my age things just don’t stick like they used to. What do you think is my best way forward? I would greatly appreciate detailed advice and assistance. And sorry for the long post.

Hi. If you have a lot of M$ Word documents, you might want to consider using the Mac version of Word (if you use Microsoft 365, this is no problem). If Pages is not powerful enough for you, there are lots of alternatives (eg Papyrus Author, Nisus Writer Pro). For your media files there are cross-platform apps such as JRiver Media Centre which may be less precarious. But I'm sure there will be other people reading this who are a lot more knowledgeable than me!

 

[Ctrlos]

Hello all. I’ll be moving from Windows 10 1803 to a new M3 iMac (16GB/1TB) in a couple of weeks, and I have a lot of concerns about the move that I hope I can get assistance with. I’ve used Windows for decades, but MacOS is terra incognita to me (well, since 1995 anyway; my very first computer was a Mac Classic used for DTP).

Here are the details:

1) My C: drive has ~260GB used. I have a portable 2TB HDD (exFAT) on which I keep an up-to-date copy of everything in C:\Users, so copying data over manually should not be an issue (other than time-wise) in case that turns out to be preferable to migration. (I also have AOMEI and FileHistory backups, but assume they’re irrelevant here. I’ll have a good backup strategy, so no need to get into that.)

2) The PC has two user accounts, which I want to replicate.

3) I have an iPhone with my Apple ID, while my wife has an iPhone and an iPad on her own Apple ID. We have iCloud (shared 50GB) already, with pretty much everything backed up in it. We don’t use iCloud Drive or Apple Music.

4) We both have Apple Mail, but mainly use multiple Xfinity email accounts with Thunderbird. With several decades’ worth of downloaded emails in TB, I think (for now anyway) that I’d like to keep using it on the iMac. However, if I don’t lose anything, including folder organization, by putting it all into Apple Mail I would consider that.

5) We use multiple browsers on the PC, each with its own profile(s). I haven’t decided whether or not to just import (from html) all the bookmarks to Safari and call it a day, so for now I think I’d like to install them on the Mac (they all have MacOS versions) with their own profiles if possible.

6) The PC contains a backup of all our photos and videos, hand-sorted into numerous folders. I’m concerned that if setup downloads all of them from iCloud and then copies over all the folders too, it would end up as a big mess.

7) On my PC I use Audacity and save WAV files to various folders. I want to make playlists on my iPhone for use in my car, but I don’t know much about the Music app and wonder where all those WAV files would/should go during setup.

8) We don’t use Outlook, iTunes, or MS accounts (so no OneDrive to worry about). Also, there's no calendar info or contact lists (aside from our TB address books) on the PC .

9) I’m planning to use Pages and Numbers instead of Word and Excel, or at least see how that goes. If it’s not satisfactory, I’ll deal with it later.

10) I use an older Brother MFC printer that works with AirPrint, so I’m not concerned about that for now.

I’m thinking that my situation is too complicated for a clean Migration Assistant process. On the other hand, I really don’t know to where I would copy much of my data (music, browser profiles, etc.). Given all the above, should I migrate, or install apps then migrate, or install apps then copy all my data over? Or am I overthinking it all? I’ve done a lot of reading, but at my age things just don’t stick like they used to. What do you think is my best way forward? I would greatly appreciate detailed advice and assistance. And sorry for the long post.

Welcome to the club! The good news is most of your worries are easily solved:

1. MacOS reads ExFAT just fine with filetypes up to and including 1Eb in size. You can leave the folder structure as you have it now; just swap it over to anohter USB port. I wouldn't bother with any sort of migration process, just set up the Mac cold. MacOS does have a built-in automatic backup facility called Time Machine which you may end up preferring. There is also a 3rd party app called CarbonCopyCloner which you can use to create a mirrored version of the internal SSD. Its been around for decades and well trusted. There is a very handy MacOS internal app called Disk Utility that allows you to format hard drives, create RAID configs etc.

2. The mac supports multiple user accounts just like the PC. Each user can sign in with their own AppleID and it will sync te relevant data (Safari Bookmarks, contacts etc) to that account. You can also create localised and guest accounts as needed.

3. You will just log-in with your AppleID when using MacOS for the first time. Everything backed up to it will be pulled in automatically.

4. I cannot speak of mailbox importing because I've never tried it. There are however some guides online worth looking at. Mail uses the .mbox format which should preserve your folder structure.

5. Assuming you have Microsoft/Firefox/Google accounts with your browser profiles synced to then signing back in on the Mac should just import them all just fine. I would recommend moving to Safari however if only for how easy it is to just install ABP and never look at another advert again.

6. You can manually copy all your photograph folders over without any bother if this is the way you prefer to organise things! If you import them into the Photos app then you will have to recreate all the folders as albums which if you have tens of thousands of images will take a while! Using Photos has some advantages though such as being able to pull up your images on an iPhone or Airplay to a TV. Alternatively use ApolloOne which acts as an aggregator of your existing photo folder structure without importing them into a database.

7. Audacity exists on Mac. If you want to sync those .wav files to your iPhone you will have to import them into the Music app. However you should be able to keep them as uncompressed .wav files although bear in mind the storage of them. If you're importing them to an iPhone consider compressing them as lossless .aac files instead. Samplism is an app that will let you organise your .wav sample collection a little easier.

8. This will already be in iCloud. All the apps you're using to on the iPhone have direct counterparts on the Mac. The icons are identical!

9. I reckon Pages and Numbers are much better than office but I appreciate everyone has their own opinion. You do get full iCloud syncing between all iDevices and Mac which is really convenient. Something Apple don't promote is that iCloud.com also has online versions with feature parity so you can use them on a browser if you need to. Pages, Numbers and Keynote are all free.

10. Airprint should work fine with the new Mac.

I would thoroughly recommend downloading Amphetamine as it lets you customise the display sleep cycles to a greater extent and Pixelmator, a photo editor as good as anything Adobe will throw at you for only $50.

So, to summarise: do a cold setup of the Mac and then move everything over using your external HDD manually. You can still use raw folder organisation without impeding any of the software. Apps like ApolloOne and Samplism will let you see everything in one place without upsetting your way of doing things.

 

[_apple_apple_]

Pages and Keynote are similar enough to the Microsoft versions that you can pick them up pretty fast, but Numbers in particular is quite different from Excel, especially the formula-building. Expect some friction there.

I recently bought some ext ssd to have multiple copies of important data and I used the command line utility rsync (pre-installed on macs) to handle the copying. It has a bunch of nice features like copying all of a file's metadata as-is (some systems reset the file creation date when copying, etc) and being able to stop/resume the copying process by choice or if it encounters an error. It does build an index first so that can take some time.

I agree with the other posters, most of your migration is copying files over, so I would not bother using migration tools and just set up profiles and such manually. Actual photos should definitely end up in the Photos app, other image files should just remain as files in folders.

The main thing that took me some time to get used to when I switched to mac a long time ago is the window philosophy of macOS. MS apps tend to take up the entire screen, even if not needed, whereas mac app windows tend to be only as big as they need to be. As such, you end up with lots of windows overlapping, which some people hate. There are some tricks, I suggest watching various youtube videos about it. I don't think installing an app to manage these windows is necessary, the native tricks/features for working with them are more than enough.

That said, one thing Apple is infamous for is unspoken/undocumented hotkeys/actions and such. Again, maybe check out some youtube videos (usually called productivity hacks). For example, double-clicking the edge of a window will extend that edge until it hits the screen edge. Holding option down when you click an inactive app window will hide the current app before switching to the clicked app. Holding option down when opening menus will show alternate menu options. There's a long list of stuff like this.

 

[2024]

Thank you everyone for the tips, links and suggested apps. I'm still digesting all this, but it's sounding like copy-and-paste may be the way to go. I'm off to do more reading now; in the meantime, more comments are most welcomed!

 

[Ben J.]

Macmost.com is a great resource, and Gary is a great guy:

Learn the Mac: Mac Quick Start Guide for New Users - YouTube​

 

[2024]

Macmost.com is a great resource, and Gary is a great guy:

Learn the Mac: Mac Quick Start Guide for New Users - YouTube​

Thanks for mentioning it. I have quite a few bookmarks there to check out when I get my iMac. Life has been getting in the way lately and I haven't made any progress on what's been brought up in this thread. Hopefully this week things will settle back down.

 

[2024]

A couple more questions, about photos and iCloud, if anyone can help.

When I copy over the Pictures folder from the PC to the iMac, I assume it will retain all the 350+ subfolders in it. Will the photos being in all those subfolders present any kind of problem in the Photos app? Will Photos create a new album for each folder? That would be fine. I just don’t know what to expect.

I’m also not sure how to deal with photos vis a vis iCloud downloading/syncing. The photos on our phones are the ones we want to keep there, and they’re also in iCloud; while the photos on the PC are an “archive” of those plus many more that we don’t need on the phones anymore. As I understand it, somewhere during/after setup of the iMac, iCloud will copy/sync photos, and it appears that every photo will be copied onto every device -- which would be bad if I’d already copied all the “archive” photos to the iMac. I certainly don’t want that. I’m thinking maybe I should let iCloud download/sync, then copy my “archived” photos over later to some other newly created folder.

Would that be the best way to do this? Can anyone explain in more detail what I should do to keep the photos from ending up becoming a lot of extra work? Thank you in advance!

 

[picpicmac]

while the photos on the PC are an “archive” of those plus many more that we don’t need on the phones anymore

I have thousands and thousands of images on my iMac.

I keep almost none of them in the default Photos folder. I make directories for whatever project/person as needed, and simply keep the images there.

If for some reason you really want to use the Photos application instead of any other image application (e.g. Photoshop), the one can in Photos simply create a new album and import any images on your computer (or elsewhere) into that Photos album.

 

[2024]

I have thousands and thousands of images on my iMac.

I keep almost none of them in the default Photos folder. I make directories for whatever project/person as needed, and simply keep the images there.

If for some reason you really want to use the Photos application instead of any other image application (e.g. Photoshop), the one can in Photos simply create a new album and import any images on your computer (or elsewhere) into that Photos album.

Thanks, that makes things clearer. I'm expecting to use Photos mostly to keep the pics and videos synced between the iMac and phone. On the PC they're downloaded from the phone automatically, and that's good enough. With the MacOS Photos app I'm not clear on the functionality because I've never used it.

 

[chevyboy60013]

as long as you are using iCloud on your iPhone, your photos on it should automatically transfer to the mac. I think you have to open the photos app and allow iCloud, but then they appear there. Contacts, and messages as well.

You will be very happy you made the switch, not only is macOS much more pleasant to use it is also far more secure than windows ever will be. Also my mid 2009 MacBook Pro seems that I have patched to run macOS Monterey as Monterey is unsupported due to the age of the MacBook Pro, seems almost twice as fast as my 2022 dell latitude running windows, and my dell barely get any use now.

 

[2024]

as long as you are using iCloud on your iPhone, your photos on it should automatically transfer to the mac. I think you have to open the photos app and allow iCloud, but then they appear there. Contacts, and messages as well.

You will be very happy you made the switch, not only is macOS much more pleasant to use it is also far more secure than windows ever will be. Also my mid 2009 MacBook Pro seems that I have patched to run macOS Monterey as Monterey is unsupported due to the age of the MacBook Pro, seems almost twice as fast as my 2022 dell latitude running windows, and my dell barely get any use now.

Thanks, that's reassuring now that I think I'm coming to grips with what to expect. Coming from an HP Pavilion that's had to be returned for repairs four times (glad I got the extended warranty back in 2018), I'm trying to hit the ground running and not look back, so to speak. I really hope to get this transition right the first time.

 

[bradman83]

Thanks, that makes things clearer. I'm expecting to use Photos mostly to keep the pics and videos synced between the iMac and phone. On the PC they're downloaded from the phone automatically, and that's good enough. With the MacOS Photos app I'm not clear on the functionality because I've never used it.

When you go to import a large collection of folders into the macOS Photos app (do this by going to File -> Import…) you’ll have checkbox option that says “Keep Folder Organization”. Click this and your photos should be imported into the Photos app and be grouped into folders and albums using the same folder structure as the source folder.

If you want to keep things completely separate you can just store the photos in their current folder structure. The macOS Finder - the Mac equivalent of Windows File Explorer - has a lot of very robust tools for organizing and previewing documents. You can even edit and view certain metadata from within the Get Info panel (the Mac equivalent of the Windows Properties panel). My all time favorite macOS feature is called Quick Look. Select the photo file, or any file for that matter, and hit the space bar and a preview of the image will pop up in a large resizeable window. No need to double click and open an app. Again this works with almost any document/file, not just photos.

There are also great third party solutions you could look into depending on how much editing you might want to do of your archived photos. Adobe Photoshop Express is very affordable and comes with an image management browser and great basic features. Luminar Neo also has some great basic library management features (though it’s more targeted at raw photographers).

 

[2024]

When you go to import a large collection of folders into the macOS Photos app (do this by going to File -> Import…) you’ll have checkbox option that says “Keep Folder Organization”. Click this and your photos should be imported into the Photos app and be grouped into folders and albums using the same folder structure as the source folder.

If you want to keep things completely separate you can just store the photos in their current folder structure. The macOS Finder - the Mac equivalent of Windows File Explorer - has a lot of very robust tools for organizing and previewing documents. You can even edit and view certain metadata from within the Get Info panel (the Mac equivalent of the Windows Properties panel). My all time favorite macOS feature is called Quick Look. Select the photo file, or any file for that matter, and hit the space bar and a preview of the image will pop up in a large resizeable window. No need to double click and open an app. Again this works with almost any document/file, not just photos.

There are also great third party solutions you could look into depending on how much editing you might want to do of your archived photos. Adobe Photoshop Express is very affordable and comes with an image management browser and great basic features. Luminar Neo also has some great basic library management features (though it’s more targeted at raw photographers).

Thank you for the explanation and tips. I think I will let the phones sync with Photos, and copy all the older pics into another folder, keeping their current folder structure. That will best replicate what I'm familiar with for now. I ordered the iMac today. It will be here in early March. I'm getting excited now.

 

[rin67630]

Hello all. I’ll be moving from Windows 10 1803 to a new M3 iMac (16GB/1TB) in a couple of weeks, and I have a lot of concerns about the move that I hope I can get assistance with. I’ve used Windows for decades, but MacOS is terra incognita to me...

If I were you, i'd buy a cheap used macbook and play with it a little around to look if it fits your taste.
macOS is massively different. It's like driving in the UK when you come from a right driving country.

 

[bradman83]

If I were you, i'd buy a cheap used macbook and play with it a little around to look if it fits your taste.
macOS is massively different. It's like driving in the UK when you come from a right driving country.

I mean the close button is on the left instead of the right... 😁

 

[2024]

If I were you, i'd buy a cheap used macbook and play with it a little around to look if it fits your taste.
macOS is massively different. It's like driving in the UK when you come from a right driving country.

Thanks, but the die is cast. I'm done with Windows, and looking forward to the challenge. Windows 7 was nice, 10 is worse, and 11 is ridiculous imho. Soon I think WaaS will mean Windows as a Subscription. I'm outta there, and my iMac is ordered.

 

[rin67630]

Soon I think WaaS will mean Windows as a Subscription. I'm outta there, and my iMac is ordered.

If that are your griefs against Windows, welcome to Apple, where everything is planned obsolescence.

 

[2024]

If that are your griefs against Windows, welcome to Apple, where everything is planned obsolescence.

Unlike my 2018 HP laptop which MS has prohibited from being "upgraded" to Windows 11 despite its having TPM 2.0? And no, I'm not going to learn (plus teach my wife) how to use Linux on it. I get your point, but it's not just Apple.

 

[rin67630]

Unlike my 2018 HP laptop which MS has prohibited from being "upgraded" to Windows 11 despite its having TPM 2.0? And no, I'm not going to learn (plus teach my wife) how to use Linux on it. I get your point, but it's not just Apple.

We can agree on that.
Bypassing the Windows installation check is however very easy and does not require a permanent patch.

 

[chevyboy60013]

We can agree on that.
Bypassing the Windows installation check is however very easy and does not require a permanent patch.

The OCLP patch is also quite easy as long as you follow instructions.

 

[rin67630]

The OCLP patch is also quite easy as long as you follow instructions.

Yes, but it is a permanent patch, and not easy at all for the team around Dortania.

 

[chevyboy60013]

Yes, but it is a permanent patch, and not easy at all for the team around Dortania.

That's true and many thanks to the awesome team that can get it accomplished.

 

[2024]

My iMac is now scheduled to arrive by Wednesday, so it’s time to finalize my setup strategy. How does this sound? It's based on the iMac Essentials guide and the very helpful comments here. It seems pretty straightforward, but is there anything I've got wrong or am missing?

1. Plug everything in and turn on
2. Connect to wi-fi
3. Sign in with Apple ID
4. Create account
5. Make this my new Mac (this is where it syncs with my iCloud?)
6. Create second (wife’s) account (syncs with her iCloud?)
7. Install the extra apps I need
8. Plug in external HDD and start copying over data from PC
9. Set up Time Machine on empty, external 2TB HDD
10. Start learning how to actually use my new Mac!

Once again, thank you very much for your assistance!