Advice on configuring iMac

I recently acquired an iMac that has a 128GB SSD boot drive and a second 750GB hard drive. I like the speed of the SSD, but 128GB is not enough for all my data. I use the machine for music production and I can't be limited in space.
When I first transferred my data from my old machine using the migration assistant, it tried to write everything to the SSD. It filled up the SSD with my applications and some of my data. Now when I try to upgrade applications or add new applications, it tells me I don't have the space, because it tries to put things in /Applications, which is mounted on the SSD. At this point, the 750GB HDD is not being used for anything, so it's all this extra space being wasted, but I can't do much with the machine because the /Applications folder is maxed out.
I don't really know the optimal way to make use of two drives under OSX. I used to use Linux, where you could mount directories transparently on any physical drive but not have it affect the software functionality. Though OSX seems to be more advanced than Linux in most repsects, it doesn't seem that mounting across different physical drives is as seemles on OSX (but I could be wrong).
I'm considering several options:
1. remove and sell the SSD and transfer everything to the HDD. I lose the speed of the SSD but don't have to deal with the hassles of having two drives.
2. Sell the SSD and buy a large SSD. This would probably be the ideal solution, if I had $500 lying around and nothing else I needed money for.
3. Set up some fancier arrangement that uses the SSD for the crucial things and leave other data on the HDD. It would be best to have the music software load quickly and work well. I'd need to study up to learn more about this.
The advice of anyone with experience in this area would be appreciated.

Hi
i think you' definitely need to upgrade the ram in the mac pro to 2-4gbs for good performance.
I've just bought a 20" imac with 2gb ram and it flies with logic and even with photoshop cs which isn't universal binary yet. yes, the imac comes with a screen and the mac pro doesn't....
also will you be wanting to expand at all (extra ram and diskspace for example)? in that case the mac pro is a good idea.
If you have the cash then a macbook pro and an extra screen would be a great idea - having a portable does change the way you can approach computing work - and i still love my 4 yr old powerbook for that reason!
I don't know where the nearest apple store is to warwickshire (Birmingham...excuse my geography)I'd recommend going there and trying them both out - there might be an apple retailer nearer than a store and then you can give both the imac and mac pro test run.
Needless to say the macpro will be better for 3d rendering as long as you feed it enough ram (upto 4gb should do).
Do bear in mind also that there might be a revision of some of the mac line ups in april or so, and definitely by june when the santa rosa chip comes out and should allow the imac and macbookpro's to address more than 3gb of ram. There is also talk of an 8-core mac pro. Of course anyone that does know when these things are gonna be released can't say and the big question is would you need this extra technology?
Still, waiting for a little while (unless you need the computer now - in which case buy it now) will get you a free copy of leopard!
Hope some of this helps.
p.s. i was torn between waiting and buying now and eventually gave in to buying an imac now and a macbookpro later in the year. So far I'm very happy with the decision.

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Advice on buying iMac

Hi there,
Almost a year ago I purchased my first Apple computer, a 1.83ghz MacBook 13". At the time it was purely a personal purchase because although I needed to use Windows for work, I didnt see why I should have to put up with it any longer on my home computer.
Needless to say, I am still constantly impressed with everything about the MacBook, so much so that I have now made the complete switch to Mac. The two things keeping me on a PC for work were 3DS Max, and AutoCAD. I have now learned (well, learning) Cinema 4D, and VectorWorks, and purchased all the other apps I use (After Effects, Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash) for Mac.
At the moment, I am using my personal MacBook as my work comptuter as a stand-in and I now want to purchase a Mac desktop. As you can imagine, I dont have much fun working in Cinema 4D on a 13" screen.
I want some advice on which desktop to go for.
My first choice was immediately the Mac Pro, but having looked into the overall cost, and what you get for the money, I am now not sure whether to go for the 24" iMac.
The specs I am comparing, (any better spec you could recommend would be great, for a budget of around £2000) are:
Mac Pro: 2x 2.0 Ghz, 1GB RAM, 256MB Graphics, 160GB Hard drive, 23" Cinema Display + Bluetooth + Airport = £2,268
or
iMac 24": 2.33 Ghz, 2GB RAM, 256MB Graphics, 250GB Hard drive = £1719
I am just not sure which would be the better option. The iMac comes with all the things Im having to pay a lot extra for with the Mac Pro, and I would have to downgrade to 1GB RAM due to cost.
Would 2x2.0 Processors, with 1GB RAM, be [that much] faster than 1x2.33 processor and 2GB RAM. I know the processor and RAM is different in the Mac Pro.
The key thing Im looking for is fast rendering in C4D, and good ability to run multiple pro apps, which the MacBook already handles well.
I know there is almost endless config and upgrade potential with the Mac Pro, but I want to know if I should really spend all that extra money.
In terms of future upgrades, I could almost buy an iMac now, and another one in 3 years time for a similar price to having the ideal spec Mac Pro to last me 4-5 years.
I know this thread has probably been posted elsewhere, and I have read a bunch of the 24" iMac vs Mac Pro reviews, but they still leave me somewhat undecided as it seems to be a pretty fair split on who thinks which is better (Im guessing iMac users say iMac, Mac Pro users say Mac Pro).
So in your opinion, which would be the better option?
Sorry this is such a long post, I could have probably just said '24" iMac vs Mac Pro base spec' and that would have been enough, but I thought Id tailor the question to my personal guidelines.
Any help / advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Macbook 13" Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Hi
i think you' definitely need to upgrade the ram in the mac pro to 2-4gbs for good performance.
I've just bought a 20" imac with 2gb ram and it flies with logic and even with photoshop cs which isn't universal binary yet. yes, the imac comes with a screen and the mac pro doesn't....
also will you be wanting to expand at all (extra ram and diskspace for example)? in that case the mac pro is a good idea.
If you have the cash then a macbook pro and an extra screen would be a great idea - having a portable does change the way you can approach computing work - and i still love my 4 yr old powerbook for that reason!
I don't know where the nearest apple store is to warwickshire (Birmingham...excuse my geography)I'd recommend going there and trying them both out - there might be an apple retailer nearer than a store and then you can give both the imac and mac pro test run.
Needless to say the macpro will be better for 3d rendering as long as you feed it enough ram (upto 4gb should do).
Do bear in mind also that there might be a revision of some of the mac line ups in april or so, and definitely by june when the santa rosa chip comes out and should allow the imac and macbookpro's to address more than 3gb of ram. There is also talk of an 8-core mac pro. Of course anyone that does know when these things are gonna be released can't say and the big question is would you need this extra technology?
Still, waiting for a little while (unless you need the computer now - in which case buy it now) will get you a free copy of leopard!
Hope some of this helps.
p.s. i was torn between waiting and buying now and eventually gave in to buying an imac now and a macbookpro later in the year. So far I'm very happy with the decision.

Where to buy a configured imac from lebanon?

Hi guys,
I live in Beirut and i want to be an apple developer but i want to get a configured 27" imac(3.4Ghz instead of 3.1Ghz, 8Gb of ram instead of 4Gb...)
Where can I get it? Please help!

Adkom Dora www.adkomsal.com
I think this will help you I by my Mac from their it is a apple premier resseler

How to configure iMac and Airport Extreme for remote access?

I want to view videos stored in iTunes on my iMac remotely over the Internet when I away from my home network. My home network setup includes AirPort Extreme with Comcast High Speed Internet Service (16Mbs/6Mbps). I use AirPlayit to support the iMac as a server and have the iPad 3 and iPhone 4 apps for AirPlayit. I have no problem viewing my videos over my home network on any of my mobile devices but for some reason I am unable to configure my firewall so that I can access my iMac remotely when I am away.

Turning off the wireless on the TP-Link router does not make it a simple modem.
You need to configure the AirPort Extreme in Bridge Mode to operate correctly with another router on the network.
Open AirPort Utility and click on the AirPort Extreme icon, then click Edit
Click the Network tab a the top of the window
Make sure that the setting for Router Mode is "Off (Bridge Mode)"
Click Update to save the new settings
Wait 30 seconds for a green light on the AirPort Extreme, then power off the complete network....all devices....in any order you want.
Wait a minute, then start the TP-Link modem/router first and let it run a full minute
Start the AirPort Extreme next the same way
Keep starting devices one at at a time the same way until the entire network is back up.

Advice on configuration of dell laptop

Hello,
I am in a fortunate position - my Phd supervisor has offered to buy me a laptop. Since it has to be sourced through the campus computer shop my selection is constrained - indeed it must be a Dell E6400. Thank God I don't have to pay for it...
I am very happy with Arch - on my desktop I currently run a minimal system with OpenBox as a standalone desktop environment. I was wondering if anybody here could give me advice on the configuration options I should select in order to get as arch-friendly a Dell as possible. Specifically, I want to ensure that my wireless card and graphics are going to work without any major problems.
For video I have the following options:
Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD With Express Card
Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD With PC-Card
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M With Express Card [add $72]
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M With PC-Card [add $72]
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Dell Wireless™ 1397 802.11b/g Mini Card [Included in Price]
Dell Wireless™ 1510 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card [add $16]
Intel® WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card [add $22]
Intel® WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card [add $44]
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If anybody can give advice on what configuration I should go for, or share experiences using arch on a Dell, I would be very grateful before committing any money!
Cheers!
Mockle

mockle wrote:So - express card or pci card? Nvidia or intel? I prefer the cheaper option! I don't play games or do CGI.
Actually they both are PCI cards, the option pc card/express card is about the expansion slot of your notebook.
I use the intel 5100 in my Dell E6400; thus far no problems with WPA2, unencrypted, and enterprise WPA (ist this the name?), used at my university.
draft-n not tested. Difference between 5100 and 5300 are the number of antennas, which is only important, if you want to have a very fast wireless connection.
The Intel graphics works out of the box, sometimes there are minor pictures disruptions (very rare with the newest driver).
Suspend and hibernate work out of the box (modification of the grub entry required, make sure your swap partition is big enough).
DisplayPort not tested. Bluetooth not tested. My DVD Burner doesn't work properly (Windows has this problem, too, so I think the problem is the burner/firmware itself - reported by other users, too).
The fan stands still most of the time, when surfing, writing etc.
64Bit works properly, but falshplugin has performance issues.
hightower
Last edited by hightower (2009-03-01 15:09:29)

Configure iMac to access Safari only + 1 website only

Hello,
I looking for a way to configure an iMac in such a way that only Safari is accessible (no access to harddrive or other programs).
And I would like configure Safari to access 1 specific website only.
Any ideas?
Thanks a lot!!!

th_o_m_as:
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
What you want to do can be accomplished in part by creating a limited user account with access only to only Safari. Then configure the account to access only the website you want to permit.
Please post back with further questions or comments.
Good luck.
cornelius

Need advice on multiple imac repairs

hi all i bought my imac a few years ago
its a white intel 17 inch imac
i have been having alot of problems with it for the past 8 months
its had 3 logic boards replaced in last 7 months the most recent being 2 weeks ago
and now i am getting same problems i had
it will freeze constantly, fans go super loud, restarts by itself and now i cant even boot it
i turned off the imac after it just froze after about an hour of web browsing (no flash lol)
i already tried disconnecting power reconnecting it and nothing, no start up chime either
the past 3 times this happend it had the logic board replaced
i take care of the imac like a child lol
i keep it clean no drinks or food around it and it has all stock parts i am too scared to fiddle with upgrading parts
i am a student and took me forever to save up and buy it
it must be more then the logic board since its been replaced 3 times already
all my money goes into school so i cant buy a new imac even though i want to
i dont use it for more then 3 hours at a time and most times i will use my phone for web browsing hoping to save what life my imac has left for school work
so my question is what should i do?
take it back for repair and hope it doesnt just die completely?
or should i try and sell it for parts and hopefully make enough off them to buy new imac
sorry for long post
Message was edited by: extrafuzzyllama

Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
The Apple limited and extended warranties leave repair or replace to Apple. However, if a Mac has had 2 or 3 major repairs, which replacing a logicboard is a major repair, then the Mac should qualify for replacement with the closest similar current model, especially if it is still under warranty.
I would call Apple Care and ask for a Customer Relations agent. Explain your iMac's repair history, to which the agent should have access through its serial number, and ask them to now arrange for replacement of the iMac under the warranty agreement.
Dah•veed

Oracle 11gR2 RAC Installation - ASM Disks - Need advice on configurations

Hi Guys
How many disks are needed for Voting, Data, Log and Failover. Each should be in a seperate group or it can be in a single group of disk. Please advice. Thanks.

Hi Friend,
Option 1 :
If Oracle Clusterware is used for implementing normal redundancy. We require the following for failover purpose also.
1. Two OCR files - 280 MB each
2. Three Voting Disks - 280 MB each
Total - 1.4 GB approx
Option 2 :
Oracle recommends that the disk used for the file system be on a RAID. When you use external redundancy the minimum requirement is One OCR and One Voting Disk with 280 MB each.
Choices :
1. External Redundancy - > Minimum No Of Disks (1) - > One OCR (280 MB) and One Voting Disk (280 MB) -> 580 MB
2. Normal Redundancy - > Minimum No Of Disks (3) - > Two OCR (560 MB) and Three Voting Disk (840 MB) -> 1.4 GB
3. High Redundancy - > Minimum No Of Disks (5) - > Three OCR (840 MB) and Five Voting Disk (1.4 GB) -> 2.3 GB
So, Choose based on redundancy...
Hope it helps..
Note : Use ASM for storing above files..
Thanks
LaserSoft

Advice on freeing iMac disk space

Machine Model: iMac
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (3.3)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.7.8f1
I want to upgrade Panther to Leopard but don't have the 9 GB free disk space required. I transferred document files and iTunes to an external hard drive, deleted photos, got rid of games and Garageband, turned off file vault but still need 4+GB. I use a laptop for most things so can live without non-critical applications but don't want to accidentally discard critical ones. Any suggestions? I can't imagine what's taking up all the space on this computer.

Hello and Welcome to Apple Discussions.
OmniDiskSweeper will help you identify what's taking up the space but I suspect you won't want to get rid of much:
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnidisksweeper/
An external hard drive will add loads of space and is really good value. You can even just install Leopard on the external and leave Panther intact on the internal as a spare. Go for a firewire drive with an Oxford chipset. Here are some good examples:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/
regards
mrtotes

Need advice about buying iMac

Hello,
I am buying a used iMac G5 from private party.
Do not have much money. Going to look at it. He does not
have restoration discs, but is including Leopard
disc. Seems like a good computer for 400.00
just wondering if I need restoration discs...what to look for.
Am a college student and need one for school.
Any help would be great. I am familiar with
Apple. Thank you

I wouldn't put your money into a PowerPC at this point. You can buy a refurbished Intel-based iMac, with standard 1 year Apple warranty, for $929 in the Apple store: http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC508LL/A or if you want a lower priced mac, a mac mini starts at $579 with the education discount. If you're limit is $400, at least buy an Intel-based mac, as that will serve you better for the next few years.
Unfortunately, PowerPC's have been left behind. Some programs like Flash no longer support PowerPCs, and some web sites require a current level of Flash to work (some ESPN programming comes to mind). I've also found that some online content requires Intel processors.
If you decide to buy the iMac G5 without the original distribution disks, you may want to call Apple to see if you can buy a set (they were about $60, however, Apple may no longer have them in stock) or plan to, at some point, buy TechTool Pro, which can do similar hardware testing as the Apple Hardware Test which is on the original distribution disks. You might be able to find a set on ebay, but make sure they are the gray-faced OS X disks for your model iMac G5. Those disks only work on the systems they are delivered with.
Personally, I wouldn't buy a used mac unless it came with a clean hardware report via the Apple Hardware extended test or via one of the TechTool products (Deluxe or Pro).

How to best configure iMac + iPhones + Macbook Air?

Somewhat new to the mac world, particularly the networking/sharing aspects of iTunes.
My wife and I have an iMac with separate accounts but that share the same iTunes library. We both have iPhones and those phones are sync'd to the iMac - all is working fine.
But now we have a Macbook Air that we take on the road with us (also separate accounts). When home, that Macbook Air is networked in to our home network with full access to our iMac, etc. While on the road we would like to use the Macbook Air and iTunes to manage our library, purchase new tunes, videos etc while on the road. When we open iTunes on the laptop it asks for a library or to create a new one and we've been hesitant to choose since we don't want to have two separate libraries that could get out of sync, etc.
So how can we maintain a single library across these devices that doesn't get out of whack while we're on the road ? How should I be setting up iTunes on the Macbook Air to do this ?
thanks

Depends what data you want to sync, and to what extent.
iSync is for syncing Contacts & Calendars to mobile phones and PDAs - it has nothing to do with Mac-to-Mac syncing.
.Mac Sync will sync bookmarks, contacts, and calendars between Macs.
Chronosync will sync files and folders between Macs.

Seeking advice on new iMac config

I want to purchase a new 27" iMac. I want an SSD drive, but I do not want to purchase it (or a fusion drive) from Apple. Here is the thinking:
1- I purchase a new iMac with 3TB (non-fusion) drive. Separately, I buy a USB3 PCIe SSD from OWC.
2- I assume the iMac arrives with OS X Mountain Lion loaded. So upon arrival, I back up the 3TB drive onto the SSD drive. Then I make the SSD drive the boot disk.
3- So now any OS X update (or new software I purchase from the App Store) will load to the SSD drive. The SSD drive will contain the most current software versions.
4- If I ever want to revert back to the 3TB drive as the boot drive, then the original (i.e., older) software versions on that drive will be automatically updated with downloads from the App Store.
Will the above work ok? Any serious drawbacks?
Thank you for your comments ...

Should work.
1) add ssd drive to the tunderbolt port
2) format ssd to guid boot drive, hfs+ journaled
3) use CCC to copy the recovery drive to the SSD
4) use CCC to clone the 3TB drive to the SSD
5) use system preferences to change the boot drive to the SSD
6) reboot
7) shrink partition of the 3TB drive down to something around the size of your SSD, let the rest become a data drive. It will remain bootable when needed.
The risks???? thunderbolt reliability over time, I don't know.

Configuration iMac pour CS6 et CC

Bonjour,
Nous avons acheté une CS6 Production Premium le 6 janvier 2014 et nous venons de nous appercevoir que la carte graphique de notre iMac (ATI RADEON HD 5750) n'est pas pris en compte par Premiere Pro et After Effect...!!! Nous avons voulu voir si la version Cloud gérait notre carte...et là non plus !
Que faut il comprendre? Qu'il faut se racheter un Mac pour utiliser les produits vidéo Adobe? Que les propriétaire de Mac qui ont 3 ans ne peuvent pas utiliser les produits vidéo Adobe?
Nous avons acheté la licence le 6 janvier 2014 et nos activités ont fait que nous ne découvrons le problème d'incompatibilité que maintenent. Est il possible, soit d'avoir une suite CS5 par exemple qui pourra fonctionner ou avoir tout simplement le remboursement de notre CS6 Production Premium (nous savons que le délai est d'1 mois à compté de la date d'achat pour un remboursement, mais nous venons seulement de constater ce problème).
Merci de l'interêt que vous porterez à notre requette.
A.C

Adobe does not sell older versions of their products, so you would need to chance buying an older version from some third party resource. No one here will recommend such a resource.
As far as getting a refund for your purchase in early January, that is something you would need to get resolved with Adobe directly. You could have just used a trial version and discovered your issues instead of purchasing so I cannot say that it looks promising that you are going to get a refund at this stage, but it is worth trying.
You need to contact Adobe Support either by chat or via phone.
Here is a link to a page with options to help make contact:
http://www.adobe.com/support/download-install/supportinfo/

Any Words of Advice for G5 iMac 20in iSight Owner B4 I Pull the Trigger?

Got my copy Friday and installed it on my MacBook this morning. No issues whatsoever. The MacBook is my traveling machine, but my iMac G5 (and to a lesser extent, my PowerBook G4) are where I keep everything I hold dear. I have this funny feeling about putting it on the non-Intel machines. I've done a little homework this afternoon, and see that it's probably a good idea to repair permissions and reformat the hard drive. I have plenty of external drives and will, of course, do a complete backup for disaster recovery. Doing a clean install will be a time consuming pain in the ***, but also a good opportunity to clean up years worth of junk that's accumulated on the G5.
My Intel MacBook is running well - nice and fast. I'm a little concerned about speed on the G5 (2gb ram) though, and starting to wonder if maybe I should hold off, and just stick with Tiger? Has anyone installed on the iMac G5 20in iSight and had any problems or speed issues I should consider before upgrading?

Hello William,
A backup before upgrading is always good.
I have installed on a G5 1.8 MHz without much problems. The keychain gave me some troubles. Renaming. Opening and naming back again solved the problem.
The speed of Leopard is improved so there is no reason to hold off an upgrade for this reason. Things I dislike are the stack which ruined the quick opening of applications. The stack is pretty worthless in my opinion. The other thing I dislike is the grainy font smoothing. It is really much worse compared to Tiger.
There are also things to like however. Speed is one of them.
I did not bother to do a clean install. As a matter of fact I use the same system since 10.1 without clean install and never had any issues. I transfered the system with everything on it from a G4 which I started out with.
Make a backup and start an upgrade install to enjoy Leopard. If you think anything needs "clean" installed you can always do that afterwards.

Purchase Advice for an iMac newbie

I have used a pc for years. I mostly surf the web and MSOffice programs, mostly Word and PowerPoint. I purchased an iPad and iPhone and now I want an iMac. I am thinking my best bet is to buy a refurbished 21.5 for $1019. I would like to hear the thoughts of the members on this forum. Is there a cheaper route that would give me a good apple computer? I am concerned about saving money in the short run, but costing in the long run. Most of the used iMacs are not cheap and there is little or no warranty. Am I missing something?
Thanks for your thoughts.

Nope you're right on target, for your needs any iMac would more than do the job. I would also recommend getting a refurbished machine. If you do it comes with the same warranty as a new one and you can also buy Apple Care to extend the warranty. When you buy used you assume risks, for someone not familiar with Macs unless you are fortunate and get a caring seller it's very easy to be taken. I would recommend spending some time going over the following sites, they will prepare you for your switch and also serve as good reference for a Mac newbie.
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2477
Roger

Advice on configuring iMac

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