Switching from Windows to macOS: My Personal Experience
In early 2026, I finally decided to retire my old laptop. As a total "Mac newbie," let me tell you: the learning curve is real. I spent an incredible amount of time just trying to adapt to this new world. No exaggeration—it was a struggle! 😭
My previous "black brick" of a laptop wasn't bad per se, but it was just too heavy. Carrying it around during the trip was a workout I didn't sign up for. With the current government subsidies in China making prices quite attractive, I sold the "brick" and opted for something sleeker. Everyone said macOS is smoother and undeniably thinner—exactly what I needed.
1. Why is my Hard Drive Useless?
I assumed switching computers would be a simple case of "copy, paste, and adjust to a new keyboard." I completely overlooked one detail: Windows and macOS are entirely different ecosystems😂
From day one, it was one hurdle after another. I backed up my files from the "black brick" to an external drive, plugged it into the Mac, and... nothing. I could see the files, but I couldn't open them. My heart skipped a beat—those files are my livelihood!
After plugging that drive into multiple computers like a madwoman, I realized the drive itself was fine; it was a format compatibility issue. 🤣 Apparently, Mac doesn't play nice with certain Windows formats.
I scoured Bilibili for solutions. The consensus? Either format the drive to a cross-platform format (which wipes everything) or buy a specialized software.
Finally, I surrendered and moved the data to my brother’s drive, formatted mine, and moved it back. Success, at last.
2. Days In: The Hands-on Experience
Now that I’ve survived the data migration, here is how the MacBook actually feels compared to my old Windows setup:
2.1 A Blessing for Sensitive Eyes
My eyes are quite sensitive—wind or bright lights usually make me tear up. My previous laptop used to leave my eyes feeling strained, dry, and exhausted. I thought it was just age catching up with me. However, the MacBook screen feels much "softer." I’ve noticed a significant drop in eye fatigue, and I’m reaching for my eye drops far less often. It’s a game-changer for my daily comfort. 😄
2. 2 Ditching the Mouse (but fumbling the Keyboard)
On Windows, a mouse was my shadow. I’ve gone through at least five or ten of them over the years. With the Mac, I haven't touched a mouse once. The trackpad gestures—single, double, and triple-finger swipes—are incredibly intuitive.
The keyboard, however, is still a work in progress. No dedicated Caps Lock, no Delete key, and the language toggle isn't the Shift key. I’m constantly hitting the wrong buttons during my lessons! 😭 Pro-tip: Most Windows shortcuts have Mac equivalents. For example:
Delete = `Fn + Backspace`
Duplicate (Ctrl+Left Click in Office) =
2.3 The Heat Factor
macOS thermal management is impressive; usually, the machine is ice-cold. However, during online video lessons, the top-center area still gets noticeably warm. It’s not "burning," but it’s definitely there.
I’ve been trying some video editing too. For clips under 2GB, it runs pretty smoothly, and my edits are usually under 15 minutes. I did try working on a \~5GB file once—it got a bit laggy and the laptop heated up quite a bit, but it was still usable.
Overall, I think this machine is good enough for my daily workflow. Anyone else had a similar experience? Was switching from Windows to macOS this chaotic for you too?
https://redd.it/1s6w8rr
@r_Computers
In early 2026, I finally decided to retire my old laptop. As a total "Mac newbie," let me tell you: the learning curve is real. I spent an incredible amount of time just trying to adapt to this new world. No exaggeration—it was a struggle! 😭
My previous "black brick" of a laptop wasn't bad per se, but it was just too heavy. Carrying it around during the trip was a workout I didn't sign up for. With the current government subsidies in China making prices quite attractive, I sold the "brick" and opted for something sleeker. Everyone said macOS is smoother and undeniably thinner—exactly what I needed.
1. Why is my Hard Drive Useless?
I assumed switching computers would be a simple case of "copy, paste, and adjust to a new keyboard." I completely overlooked one detail: Windows and macOS are entirely different ecosystems😂
From day one, it was one hurdle after another. I backed up my files from the "black brick" to an external drive, plugged it into the Mac, and... nothing. I could see the files, but I couldn't open them. My heart skipped a beat—those files are my livelihood!
After plugging that drive into multiple computers like a madwoman, I realized the drive itself was fine; it was a format compatibility issue. 🤣 Apparently, Mac doesn't play nice with certain Windows formats.
I scoured Bilibili for solutions. The consensus? Either format the drive to a cross-platform format (which wipes everything) or buy a specialized software.
Finally, I surrendered and moved the data to my brother’s drive, formatted mine, and moved it back. Success, at last.
2. Days In: The Hands-on Experience
Now that I’ve survived the data migration, here is how the MacBook actually feels compared to my old Windows setup:
2.1 A Blessing for Sensitive Eyes
My eyes are quite sensitive—wind or bright lights usually make me tear up. My previous laptop used to leave my eyes feeling strained, dry, and exhausted. I thought it was just age catching up with me. However, the MacBook screen feels much "softer." I’ve noticed a significant drop in eye fatigue, and I’m reaching for my eye drops far less often. It’s a game-changer for my daily comfort. 😄
2. 2 Ditching the Mouse (but fumbling the Keyboard)
On Windows, a mouse was my shadow. I’ve gone through at least five or ten of them over the years. With the Mac, I haven't touched a mouse once. The trackpad gestures—single, double, and triple-finger swipes—are incredibly intuitive.
The keyboard, however, is still a work in progress. No dedicated Caps Lock, no Delete key, and the language toggle isn't the Shift key. I’m constantly hitting the wrong buttons during my lessons! 😭 Pro-tip: Most Windows shortcuts have Mac equivalents. For example:
Delete = `Fn + Backspace`
Duplicate (Ctrl+Left Click in Office) =
Command + D2.3 The Heat Factor
macOS thermal management is impressive; usually, the machine is ice-cold. However, during online video lessons, the top-center area still gets noticeably warm. It’s not "burning," but it’s definitely there.
I’ve been trying some video editing too. For clips under 2GB, it runs pretty smoothly, and my edits are usually under 15 minutes. I did try working on a \~5GB file once—it got a bit laggy and the laptop heated up quite a bit, but it was still usable.
Overall, I think this machine is good enough for my daily workflow. Anyone else had a similar experience? Was switching from Windows to macOS this chaotic for you too?
https://redd.it/1s6w8rr
@r_Computers
Reddit
From the computers community on Reddit
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Extremely High RAM usage with 32gb
Hey I'm having trouble with RAM usage during games and even just my PC being idle. I noticed it while playing Overwatch today and stuttering but my RAM usage is extremely high. I have 32gb DDR5 one stick (the other stick was faulty and I cannot get a refund for it or even buy more right now) I really just want to fix this and be able to play games normally. Any help works.
https://preview.redd.it/g3oz425z90sg1.png?width=963&format=png&auto=webp&s=2d082f9b2a27bcf65ee33a336f3fb190b2479adf
https://preview.redd.it/x4wk35c3a0sg1.png?width=965&format=png&auto=webp&s=5533c62f0e67a48255f2e404358b8f66ab6d8c1d
https://redd.it/1s6yq0p
@r_Computers
Hey I'm having trouble with RAM usage during games and even just my PC being idle. I noticed it while playing Overwatch today and stuttering but my RAM usage is extremely high. I have 32gb DDR5 one stick (the other stick was faulty and I cannot get a refund for it or even buy more right now) I really just want to fix this and be able to play games normally. Any help works.
https://preview.redd.it/g3oz425z90sg1.png?width=963&format=png&auto=webp&s=2d082f9b2a27bcf65ee33a336f3fb190b2479adf
https://preview.redd.it/x4wk35c3a0sg1.png?width=965&format=png&auto=webp&s=5533c62f0e67a48255f2e404358b8f66ab6d8c1d
https://redd.it/1s6yq0p
@r_Computers
Upgraded to RX 9070 XT, Vulkan strobe/flat colors + migration error
Setup: Ryzen 7 5700X3D / RX 9070 XT / Windows 11 (Upgraded from W10).
I recently upgraded from an RX 6600 to an RX 9070 XT on a Ryzen 7 5700X3D system running Windows 11, which was previously upgraded from Windows 10.
Despite multiple clean driver installations, there's issues while trying to run Ryujinx. In the Device Manager events for the GPU, I still see the message "Device not migrated due to partial or ambiguous match." While native PC games run, they often open in reduced windows with incorrect DPI scaling and it was ok to deal with.
But with Ryujinx where the Vulkan backend displays strobe effects and flat colors while audio remains normal.
OpenGL renders correctly but often fails to recognize controller inputs properly. I have already performed clean uninstalls using DDU in Safe Mode while offline and also tried the AMD Cleanup Utility.
My BIOS is configured with Resizable BAR and Above 4G Decoding enabled, CSM disabled, and MMIO limit at 512GB. I also installed the latest AMD Chipset drivers before the Adrenalin software.
Even though Smart Access Memory (SAM) shows as active in the AMD software, these rendering and migration errors persist, suggesting a deep registry conflict between the old RDNA 2 and new RDNA 4 architectures.
Thank for your help folks
https://redd.it/1s6y1fz
@r_Computers
Setup: Ryzen 7 5700X3D / RX 9070 XT / Windows 11 (Upgraded from W10).
I recently upgraded from an RX 6600 to an RX 9070 XT on a Ryzen 7 5700X3D system running Windows 11, which was previously upgraded from Windows 10.
Despite multiple clean driver installations, there's issues while trying to run Ryujinx. In the Device Manager events for the GPU, I still see the message "Device not migrated due to partial or ambiguous match." While native PC games run, they often open in reduced windows with incorrect DPI scaling and it was ok to deal with.
But with Ryujinx where the Vulkan backend displays strobe effects and flat colors while audio remains normal.
OpenGL renders correctly but often fails to recognize controller inputs properly. I have already performed clean uninstalls using DDU in Safe Mode while offline and also tried the AMD Cleanup Utility.
My BIOS is configured with Resizable BAR and Above 4G Decoding enabled, CSM disabled, and MMIO limit at 512GB. I also installed the latest AMD Chipset drivers before the Adrenalin software.
Even though Smart Access Memory (SAM) shows as active in the AMD software, these rendering and migration errors persist, suggesting a deep registry conflict between the old RDNA 2 and new RDNA 4 architectures.
Thank for your help folks
https://redd.it/1s6y1fz
@r_Computers
Reddit
From the computers community on Reddit
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