burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

IBM's VP of Information Technology recently revealed in Fortune that he has installed over 130,000 Apple devices at IBM. Some 40% of IBM uses Macs these days...

http://fortune.com/2015/10/16/apple-ibm-helpdesk/

The guy claims he SAVES MONEY with every Mac he installs. In October, they were installing about 1900 PER WEEK.

I'm not surprised. Windows support costs are high, and Mac support costs are low. User satisfaction is highest among Mac users. (I've used Macs and Windows computers since both became available. I've always had both on my desk, I've needed both, and since 2008 have simply run Windows ON my Mac, so it's all in one box.)

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I can't believe a Genius Bar person would say something like that!

All her stuff is still there, unless the drive itself has gone bad. Plug it into a PEECEE, and transfer the files to the MacBook Air and a new, Mac-formatted external drive, via WiFi or Ethernet... preferably gigabit ethernet, so it's fast. Then, either copy the files to a Cloud service (iCloud, iDrive, Dropbox, etc.) or make a COPY of that drive, so you have a backup!

Once you have her files in TWO places, use Mac Disk Utility to reformat the original drive in Mac OS Extended (Journaled), or one of its variants. Or you can format it for Windows — MS-DOS (FAT) works for volumes up to 32GB, or ExFAT works for volumes over 32GB.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Install, RDC - Remote Desktop Connection on the Mac. That will allow you to easily network connect to the MS system. I transfer files on a regular basis from my MS systems to my Mac.
--Bob

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Reading this it seems like you do not have the images backed up. If that is the case, lack of a back-up is the more significant problem. I urge you to address that problem first.

bcmink Loc: Monona, WI

Well before your original request gets too buried in responses that may or may not relate to the question:

Install either Paragon NTFS or Tuxera NTFS (applications that can be found in the Apple Store) onto your new Mac Laptop. Either one will allow you read and write to the external NTFS formatted drive. Once installed reboot the laptop and you'll be able to read from the the external drive.

Clone your existing external drive to a second external drive so that you have a back up of your existing photo library.

Whatever you do don't reformat your existing external drive.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

Overpriced, overhyped, locked-down, made by "slaves" in China and SE Asia for a company with a history of using the legal system to steal others ideas and products.

plaza Loc: london uk

i do not see where the problem is i moved to a mac mini and all my photo,s from pc drive when plugged in to my mac i was able to access are you sure the drive is being see by her new mac

blackest Loc: Ireland

Then there is Microsoft ... doesn't look very good there either does it.

Incidentally there is an apple factory in Cork, Ireland. It's not all asian slaves.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I concur with my respected associate, JD750. Before you try anything in the form of transferring files, back up everything that is of value to you.
--Bob

CathyAnn Loc: Apache Junction, AZ

I bought a Macbook Pro last month, copied my pictures from my dying Windows machine to a Toshiba hard drive that I used as a back up drive, and then copied them to my Mac in the "Finder" part of the Apple operating system. The software I'm using to process photos recognizes them.

eta: I didn't have to go through a lot of riggamarol (sp?) like reformatting the external hard drive for the Mac first. I had been using it to backup my Windows machine, and used it to transfer my other files such as documents to the Mac with no problems.

CathyAnn Loc: Apache Junction, AZ

I have two external hard drives, Toshibas, that I used for my Windows machine. The smaller one with only 1 TB was the one I copied my pics onto and then transferred them to my new Mac. No problem!

On the second drive which has 2 TB, I tried to run a back up through the Mac's "Time Machine," a backup utility. The Mac told me I needed to format the hard drive, which I did, and the backup went very smoothly.

Gene, the reason I went to a Mac is because of the huge problems I was having with two new Windows computers. I've run Windows since the old DOS days, and was very happy with them throughout the years - quite trouble-free for me.

Last month, my old Toshiba laptop started to falter, so bought a Lenovo laptop with 1 TB hard drive, the latest graphics card and driver from Intel, the i7 processor, etc. It also had Windows 10 on it. Now I don't know if the problem was from Windows or not, but periodically, I'd get a blue screen saying there was a graphics driver problem, and then shut down. After the online tech support told me I should take the computer back - he couldn't find the source of the problem - the Staples Easy Techs tried to fix it, and couldn't. So I exchanged the Lenovo for a Toshiba with the same hardware inside. It also kept getting the blue screen too. BTW, I had contacted Intel who manufactured the graphics cards. After giving them the information on the graphics card and driver in the machines, they said those are the latest cards and drivers.

I got so frustrated, I gave up and bought a Mac. My sister and a close friend, both, have Apple computers, and have had Apples for years, and love them. So I took the plunge.

Note that I had upgraded my old Toshiba laptop with Windows 10 last summer when it first came out, and never had a problem. Perhaps it was due to a problem in the card and/or driver that Windows didn't recognize as current... I just don't know, but am glad I bought the Mac.