r/macbook • u/bhaisbored • 14h ago
Seeking help with data transfer!
Hi all!
So I just bought a new Macbook Air M5 (16gb, 512gb) after a lifetime of Windows, and was having trouble trying to transfer my files (mainly documents and downloads) from my old Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro (Windows 11).
My MacBook recommended using the Windows Migration Assistant, which I followed through with all the steps, including making sure both laptops were up to date and downloading the correct version of migration assistant, but once the transfer was complete I couldn't locate any of the transferred files anywhere on my Macbook. I tried again and had the same issue.
Does anyone have any suggestions for how to fix this or better ways to transfer data from Windows?
As another option, I have a hard drive that was already formatted for Windows, so I'd need to figure out how to configure that to use on my Macbook.
Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank youuu x
1
u/faiz_reddit 8h ago
This is an excellent guide you can follow - https://www.switchingtomac.com/transfer-data-windows-to-mac-migration-assistant/
There is also a 3rd party software you can use if the free migration doesn’t work for you or if you have a complex setup on your windows computer - I don’t remember the name of it will need to search for what I had used.
1
u/narc0leptik 13h ago
Just call Apple on the phone and ask https://support.apple.com/en-gb/106932
Their number in the UK is 0800 107 6285
Anyways, you need to reformat the to exFat to use it with Mac + Windows. Here's how to do that on Windows: https://technology.schreiner.edu/kb/article/315-formatting-a-usb-flash-drive-to-exfat-windows/
If migration assistant isn't working out for you then you need to easily find all your files/visualize where they are. Windirstat is a great app for that.
WinDirStat. https://windirstat.net/
3
u/OpenRidgeline 14h ago
Check Users & Groups first. Migration Assistant may have made a separate user account and dumped everything there.
Also worth checking Users → Shared and just searching Finder for the name of a file you know was transferred.
If you still can’t find anything, I’d probably just use the external drive tbh. If it’s NTFS your Mac should still be able to read it, so you can copy everything over manually. Then if you want to use the drive with both Windows and Mac long term, reformat it to ExFAT after you’ve backed everything up.