Do you want to transfer your Windows files to your Mac? Don’t worry, while the process is not exactly something you might have encountered as a long-time Windows user, it’s not something altogether new or complex, either.
There exist two broad ways to move your files in PC to Mac. In this article, we’ve tried to explain both ways, and help you transfer your Windows files to Mac in as plain terms as possible. So let’s get started with the first method…
1. Windows Migration Assistant
Windows Migration Assistant is a free tool from Apple, designed specifically for helping you transfer your files from your PC to Mac. Based on the version of your Mac, you have five different versions of Migration Assistant to choose from:
- Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Monterey
- Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Big Sur
- Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Mojave and macOS Catalina
- Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Sierra and High Sierra
- Windows Migration Assistant for OS X El Capitan or earlier
First, download the appropriate version of Migration Assistant to your Windows PC, and then follow the steps to move your Windows files to Mac:
- Go to the Start menu search bar, type in ‘migration assistant,’ and select the Best match.
- The Migration assistant will be launched. You’ll then get asked to turn off automatic updates, which would otherwise interrupt us while transferring our Windows files to Mac.
- When you’re ready, click on Continue.
You’ll then get a new dialog box that will ask you to connect your Mac to the Windows PC.
Now fire up your Mac, and launch the Migration Assistant in it. Simply go to the launchpad, type in ‘migration assistant,’ and click on the Best match.
You’ll then get asked about how you want to transfer your files. From there, click on the ‘From a Windows PC’ radio button, which sets the tone about how you intend to transfer your Windows files to a Mac. Then click on Continue.
Now select the icon representing your Windows 10 or Windows 11, and click on Continue. Go back to your Windows and check for the passcode, and click on Continue.
Now go back to your Mac, which will begin scanning all the files on your Windows computer. When the scan is complete, choose the files you’d like to move from your PC to your Mac. Click on Continue again.
The file transfer from PC to Mac will begin. This transfer could take a while, depending on the number of files you’re moving from your PC to Mac. So sit back and relax, or perhaps read something while the transfer completes.
Related: How to transfer your Windows files from Bluetooth
2. Use a USB stick
The oldest trick in the book, a USB stick is the go-to way to move around files from one PC to another. To transfer your files from Windows to Mac, though, you’ll have to do one additional thing.
So when you plug in your USB drive in Windows, format the settings to exFAT file format—this is to ensure that your USB is compatible with both the operating systems.
When you’re done with the formatting, copy your files from Windows to your USB. You can then plug in the USB to your Mac and move your files around easily.
Transferring files from Windows to Mac
And these conclude the easiest methods available to move your Windows files to Mac. Hopefully, one of the methods listed above did the trick for you, and you successfully transferred your Windows files to Mac.