Mac OS X for Windows Users: A Switchers' Guide

General Information

Let’s start with the basic stuff.

How do I avoid problems with my Mac?

Protect your data. Make backups daily, and save your files often. Make multiple copies of important files, and don’t keep them all in one place—just in case you have a fire or theft. Never erase anything until you have created at least two backups. And never erase a backup and write a new version over it—what if the new version is corrupt?

It’s useful to give these backups slightly different names (add a letter or number) and to keep each set of backups in its own folder with names like “backup docs a” and “backup docs b”—use whatever naming scheme works for you. Emailing copies of important files to a friend is also a good idea. (I’ll talk about backup ...