malaneystuff Loc: SE Wisconsin

I’m looking to move from my 10 year old HP Windows PC, Windows 10, 800gb drive, midrange Acer 24” monitor to an Apple 27” iMac. On the PC I have around 180gb’s in photos. I have cloud storage and a couple WD 1tb drives for off line storage. I run Elements with a bunch of Topaz add ins, none current “AI” versions since my HP just stalls trying any of them. I’m happy with my software but, it’s can be slow and I’d like to take advantage of what is current/new. Also, the PC is my wife and my “home” computer and my wife’s work access computer using Citrix so a multi use machine (working through that is a separate issue outside this forum). Also, we are an Apple family, iphone, ipad etc.

So, my question, for photo editing, any input into moving from one platform, PC/Windows to another, Apple. I’m looking to upgrade while using a functional computer before having to upgrade due to a failed/crashed computer which I’ve done in the past and at my age this may be my last upgrade.

Thanks Much

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

My question would be if you’re planning on moving your WD external drives to the Mac, what file system are they formatted with?

malaneystuff Loc: SE Wisconsin

I do have cloud storage so I’m guessing I would need to make a drive formatted to Mac and one to Dos. I’m also investigating, since the current iMacs use the Intel chip, using BootCamp and running Windows and MAC OS on the iMac. I’m understanding that with new IMacs, next year, with the Apple M1 chip, this will not be possible. Also I’m thinking I’ll leave my PC on my network, as long as it is still working, allowing me to do file sharing between the workstations. All in all just trying to determine if the switch is worth it.
Thanks

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

Apple has announced the demise of the 27” iMac Pro. They are still selling the ones they have in stock but are not modifying them for the customer, just selling them as is. I would wait to buy the new iMac when it’s released.
Once you get used to the way the Apple OS works, you may find you have no reason to have windows. But if you need Outlook and Office programs, then there’s an app for that, Microsoft 365 in the App Store.
Link to article: https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/07/the-imac-pro-is-being-discontinued/

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

Beat me to it.
Apple is selling off their available (intel) stock to get ready for the new (risc) stock.
That doesn't mean the iMacs suck! They are still very good machines in their own right.
Photoshop is still Photoshop. Still works like Photoshop.
"Pioneers" are the guys with the arrows in their backs.
I'd wait a year if you could for the bug hunters to finish.

leftj Loc: Texas

Once you go Mac you will never go back. Just be sure to get it with at least 16 GB of RAM. More if you can afford it.

bhapke

Moving from Windows to Mac can be very easy or very difficult depending on your goals. If you want to move your photos and documents to the iMac then that's very easy. If you want to move your photo library complete with edits, ratings and so forth then that is another issue.

First, you will need to copy anything you want to move from the Windows PC to a storage medium both computers can read/write. By default Windows PC's format their storage (hard drive or SSD) as NTFS (New Technology File System). Apple uses HFS+ (Hierarchical File System plus ) in older systems and APFS (Apple File System) in current machines. Neither is compatible with the other. There is a format, exFAT (extended File Allocation Table) that both can read and write, and that also supports large disks and large files, so that's the "glue" that will easily hold them together. It is easiest to set this disk up on the iMac. Run a program called Disk Utility (found in the Utilities folder sub-folder in the Applications folder. The easiest way to launch it is to go to the small eye-glass icon in the top-right area of the screen, click it and type "disk ut) and by then the Disk Utility.app should be the top choice in Spotlight. Hit Enter to launch. Once in Disk Utility look for the drive you want to use on the left. This process will erase the drive so be very sure it is the correct choice, then choose "Erase" from the top button. In the pop-up window choose exFAT for the file type or format, give the drive a name to make it easy to recognize and click "OK". You can then read and write using either computer.

Another option is to use a NAS (network attached storage) attached to your router (your WiFi). Many routers have a USB port that, when a hard drive is attached, allow it to be shared on the network. Any computer on the same network can read or write that drive. Drive format won't matter, since the router will be accessing the drive and the computers won't actually be accessing it directly.

Once the files are on the iMac you just need to find software capable of reading them. For photos this is no problem. All Apple computers come with the Photos app, and Adobe, Capture One, etc make versions for both Mac and PC. Likewise for Microsoft Office documents, they will open in Apple's included Pages, Numbers and Keynote, or you can get Microsoft Office for the Mac. Your photo library may be easy or impossible depending on the program you used on the PC and whether there is a Mac version available or software that can translate it.

Good Luck!

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

The one thing I found about Apple is they have great Tech. Svs. and will walk you thru about any problem.

PS phone is(800)275-2273 1(800) MYAPPLE

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

👍👍 Exactly.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Have you determined whether you'll be able to reinstall your current software on the Mac? A few potential issues. One is software licensing when moving to a different platform. Another is the availability of a Mac installation version. The third is whether or not you intend to reinstall older 32-bit apps on your Mac. Recent versions of MacOS don't support 32 bit applications.

I'm a PC guy not a Mac guy, but I'm not trying to talk you out of making the move. I just want to make sure that you know you might run into some unexpected issues transitioning to a Mac.

radiojohn

If you are going to ditch the PC, you might consider taking out the hard drive and putting it in a USB external enclosure. Then regardless of what happens, you still have your files.

MikeT9

I recommend an iMac anytime, would never go back to Windows but that’s a personal choice and we all have those. You say that you use elements and the non AI topaz programs, just remember that they will not run on your new machine Apple and probably not Windows. The old Topaz apps are all 32 bit software and will not run on 64 bit OS. If you look on Topaz Labs website they detail all the old apps which are not supported and recommend the equivalent 64 bit ones.

Sergey

I made the switch a few years ago (gradually). First I got iMac 27" and still had my Windows laptop. After a year or so I realized that I don't want to use my Windows laptop anymore so I got MacBook Pro. I still have to use Windows at work but I don't miss it at home at all. I connect to work via VPN and use MS Remote desktop to connect to my office PC. I also used Citrix but I don't like it.

In regards of transferring you images someone already recommended to format the drive as exFAT. Another option is to buy Paragon driver that allows to read/write to NTFS drives from Mac (intel). Or if you buy a Seagate portable HDD they come with free version of it (at least they used to) that allows to read NTFS, not sure about writing. Either way I would use it only for transferring images to HFS+ formatted drive, not as a permanent storage

I can't comment on Elements or Topaz as I don't use them.
In regards of running Windows applications (again someone mentioned it) you could use Office 365 for things like Outlook, Word, Excel, Power Point, etc (requires subscription). For other applications you could get Parallels (also requires subscription). It allows you to run Windows right within your MacOS or create a Windows partition with Boot Camp and install Windows on that partition. With the Boot Camp you have to choose whether to boot Windows or Mac OS. I think these options available only for intel based Mac (but you should check before committing) . I never used Boot Camp. I do have Parallels but don't use it often. I would assume that Boot Camp would run faster than Parallels but you'll have to reboot for switching between OS.

Running image editor in Parallels probably is not as efficient as running it as a native application but I never tried.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Parallels is working on an ARM version of Desktop for M1, which can run Win 10 for ARM faster than Microsoft hardware. My son has the betas of both on his M1 MacBook Air, and has been playing Windows games on it. It has decent performance — probably enough for Office.

The Apple Mac and Windows Migration Assistants will migrate your data for you.

ExFAT is the common drive format shareable by MacOS and Windows.

The “lowly” Mac Mini and MacBook Air are screaming fast for the price. Most folks don’t do things that even begin to make them breathe hard. The next iMacs should be much faster.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Parallels and Boot Camp are OK, but I would NOT run Windows in a VM using VMWare. A Silicon Valley company I worked for issued us Macbook Airs configured that way, and it was a mess.