Ethernet networks transfer data at speeds up to 1000 megabits per second (also known as Gigabit Ethernet), which means that you could move an entire 20GB music library or 10GB video file from your PC to your new Mac in a matter of minutes.

Read on for some guidelines on how to connect your new Mac and existing PC for fast file transfers.

What you need

• Windows PC with Ethernet port
• Mac
• Wired or wireless base station (optional)
• Networking cable

Step 1: Start Windows file sharing.

To make file transfers easy, your best bet is to set up your Windows hard drive as a server, then connect to it from your Mac. You’ll first have to “share” the files on your main Windows hard drive. If you need help with this task, follow the instructions in this support document on Microsoft’s website.

Step 2: Make the connection.

If you already have a home network — wireless or wired — you can easily add your Mac to it. Then you can share your Internet connection and exchange files between computers. If you don’t have a network, you can connect your Mac and PC directly.

Here are three options for connecting your Mac and PC.

Option 1: Wired Network with Router

1. Make sure your Mac is turned on.
2. Connect the Mac to your router with an Ethernet network cable.
3. Open System Preferences on your Mac, then select Network.
4. Click Assist me at the bottom of the window.
5. Follow the onscreen steps to configure your network settings.

Option 2: Wireless networking with AirPort

1. Open the AirPort Setup Assistant application on your Mac to connect it to your wireless network.
2. Follow the onscreen steps to configure your wireless connection.

Option 3: Direct Mac-to-PC connection

If you don’t have a router or wireless base station, you can simply connect your Mac and PC directly using any type of Ethernet network cable. Just plug one end of the cable into the Ethernet port on your Mac and the other end into your PC’s Ethernet port.

Step 3: Open the shared folder on your Mac.

Continuing the file transfer process, you have to access the Windows shared folder from your Mac. Here’s how:

1. On your Mac, go to the Finder.
2. In the Finder window, click Network; this is called the Network browser.
3. By clicking or double-clicking, navigate to the Windows computer, then double-click to open it.
4. You may have to enter the user name and password you created when you set up Windows file sharing.
5. Voila! The shared folder for your Windows PC should appear on your Mac desktop and in the Finder. You should be able to open the Windows folder just as you would open any folder or disk.

If you’re having problems, follow the instructions in these Apple support documents:

• Networking with a Windows PC
• Connecting to Windows computers and servers from your Mac

For more information, please visit our Networks and Sharing site.

Step 4: Transfer files from your PC to your Mac.

Your next step is to start transferring selected files from your Windows PC to your Mac.

Which files to copy

If you’re going to use both your Mac and PC, you may want to copy only selected files to the Mac. Here are some suggestions for popular types of files.

iTunes library

Even if your music is on an iPod, you still have to copy it from your PC to your Mac. Your iPod does not let you copy music files from it to another computer. Your iTunes library generally resides in your My Documents > My Music folder.

1. Open iTunes on your Mac.
2. From the File menu, choose Add to Library.
3. When the dialog opens, navigate to the folder on your PC containing all your music.
4. Click Choose. iTunes automatically organizes your library and places it into the proper folders on your Mac.

Digital photos

Similar to iTunes, iPhoto automatically organizes and manages your photo library.

1. Open iPhoto on your Mac.
2. From the File menu, choose Add to Library.
3. When the dialog opens, navigate to the folder on your PC containing all your photos.
4. Click Import. iPhoto automatically organizes the photos and places them into the proper folder on your Mac.

Microsoft Office documents, movies, and other files

Typically these documents reside in the My Documents folder on your Windows PC. In the Finder, drag your Office documents and other files from your PC to the Documents folder on your Mac. If you have movies, copy them to the Movies folder.

Contacts and email addresses

Apple provides a help document describing how to transfer address books to an external drive. Just follow the instructions.

Email messages and settings

If you use a web-based email service to view and send email, such as Yahoo! Mail or Google Gmail, you won’t need to copy your email or email settings to your new Mac. You can continue using web-based email with Safari, the Internet browser installed on your Mac.

However, if your email is managed by a separate application like Outlook or Eudora, you will probably want to move your mail to your new Mac. Different email programs use different methods of storing messages. We’ve collected some useful links to help you.

• Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express use a proprietary format for storing messages. Microsoft’s website has a tutorial on how to transfer email files. Or you could invest $10 in Little Machines’ Outlook2Mac, which is compatible with Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express).
• Eudora, Netscape Mail, or other mbox-based mail applications use a standard mail format. Read this article for information.

You should make note of your existing email settings. You’ll use this information later to set up email on your Mac. Open your email application, find the Accounts area, and write down the following information about your email setup:

• Account type: POP or IMAP
• Email address
• Incoming mail server
• Outgoing mail server
• User name and password

Browser Favorites or bookmarks

You need to export your Favorites or bookmarks to a format that your Mac can understand. Then you'll copy them to your Mac so Safari can find them. Here’s how:

Internet Explorer:

1. On your PC, open Internet Explorer.
2. Choose Import and Export from the File menu.
3. Export your Favorites and save the file as “Favorites.html” on your Windows desktop.
4. Switch back to your Mac and copy Favorites.html from your PC to your Mac desktop.
5. Open Safari and choose Import bookmarks from the File menu. In the dialog, locate the bookmarks or Favorites file and click Import.

Firefox, Netscape 6/7, or another browser:

1. On your PC, open your browser.
2. Choose Manage Bookmarks from the Bookmarks menu. The bookmarks management screen appears.
3. Select File > Export Bookmarks.
4. Name your file “bookmarks.html” and save it to your Windows desktop.
5. Switch back to your Mac and copy bookmarks.html from your PC to your Mac desktop.
6. Open Safari.
7. Choose Import bookmarks from the File menu. In the dialog, locate the bookmarks or Favorites file and click Import.

Quicken files

Quicken for Windows uses a slightly different file format than Quicken for Macintosh, but fortunately, Intuit (the maker of Quicken) has provided step-by-step instructions to help you move your Quicken data from Windows to the Mac. Most of the instructions describe using floppy disks, but you can achieve the same goal using file sharing.