MBA+PC=???

Hiya,
First off...sorry I couldn't be more specific in the subject line of this post, but my questions are kind of long and wouldn't fit.
Secondly...well, not counting any experience I've got with iPods, I do have some experience with Apple's computers, but I've been out of the loop for much too long. Last time I used a Mac, floppy disks were still in vogue and computers with DVD-writable drives weren't new but they were still on the pricey side...so please be gentle with me and my questions. :P
I know that a lot of the MBA users here have migrated files and such from another Mac to their MBA--and I know that using Migration Assistant is not going to be an option for me because the MBA will be the only Mac I'll own. But that's fine--I've got an external drive that I use with my current PC and it has some Word documents and a lot of iTunes music and movies stored on it, and I'd like to transfer some of these files from the drive to my MBA. I'm a bit concerned, though...would it be okay if I plugged this external drive into the MBA and transferred my word processing documents and mp4 files over to it? (At this point, I'm just worried that the MBA won't recognize the drive and/or it'd want me to reformat it.)
Also...I've got an iPod touch that I use with my PC. Would it be okay if I plugged the iPod touch into the MBA and used it with iTunes? (To put a bit more perspective on things...last time I used a Mac, Apple was making separate iPods for Macs and PC's, so at this point, I have no idea of how compatible my iPod touch would be with an MBA if I've been using it on a PC all this time. I don't have iTunes on more than one computer, either, so I don't know how my iPod touch would do if I plugged it into any other computer than my current PC, Mac or PC alike.)

You didn't say what kind of drive you plan to use, but Macs for many years have been able to read and write to PC formatted drives. If it's a USB drive, just plug it in and you're good to go.
You can use your iPod touch with both systems, but set it to sync manually. If you're trying to do anything more than manually syncing, you might want to explain your situation more fully on the iPod touch support board. I've used mine very occasionally with both platforms, though, so I know it's possible.

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In order to create space on my MBA I just bumped iTunes media to G drive linked through Time Capsule. Now pointed iTunes at new iTunes libary on G drive and, even though all music files are there, iTunes can only 'see' 10 albums. Any help appreciated.

Bit more detail...
Mac Book Air has been struggling for space for a while so I bough at time capsule a) for back up and b) to host my itunes folder remotely. This didnt' work. I took it into the Genius bar and the genius there told me that time capsule is not designed for anything other than back up. Instead I have to connect a G drive through the time capsule's wireless router to my MBA.
I followed his instructions - moved my files from the Time Capsule and MBA directly onto the G Drive - which took a heartening 2 hrs so something must have been happening - and the held down 'Alt' when starting iTunes and selected the new itunes folder as the location of my itunes libarary which I wanted iTunes to 'point at'. When I opened iTunes only 10 albums are visible now.
In ITunes advanced preferences it says it is pointing at the correct folder. The files are all cleary there when I open the G Drive folder to take a look. But I cannot get iTunes to find them.
Any suggestions?
Secondary challenge - in spite of deleting the original itunes folder on my MBA I still get messages pop up telling me my start up disk is out of space and I need to clear some - I expected to stop getting this message now I had done this exercise above. I have emptied Trash. Again - any pointers appreciated. I am new to this world of 'intuitive' macbooks.
Cheers

After admittedly only a quick read the one thing you don't say is how you are trying to make this move. Most people with moving library issues do it the wrong way. Plenty of web sites tell you how to do it the wrong way.
If the iTunes application is started before the drive with the library is fully mounted and awake iTunes will revert back to the internal drive.

How to install win 8.1 pro x64 on MBA mid 2013 (core i7)

Please help me how to install win 8.1 pro x64 on MBA mid 2013 (core i7).
Thank you very much for your help.
Best regards.

Everything you need to help you is located here: http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/

ITunes Match won't recognize my MBA equipped with a new SSD

Hi,
Here's the situation: I replaced the SSD in my late 2010 MBA to add storage space. Everything went perfectly well and I have been using it for weeks, no problem whatsoever with any of my iCould stuff - calednar entries, contacts etc. as everything was transferred over by making a back-up of the old SSD onto the new one and re-instlaling Mavericks to the new one.
I also have been using iTunes Match for years and love it: ATV, IOS devices are all connected and work perfectly. Until I tried using iTunes Match on the MBA equipped with the new SSD. Note that my iTunes music (not the library file) sits in an external drive connected to my Home network which I don't currentl have access to. That's also teh reason why I signed up for Match: once synced, I didn't have to connect to tht drive and could travel while still having access to all my music.
The library only sees two local songs that were downloaded recenrly after I purchased them on the iTunes Store. I'm still using the same Apple ID nothing changed, but iTunes isn't showing any of my iTunes Match songs in there. I checked Match had been turned on (it is), I checked that I didn't max out on the number of devices (I haven't) and even checked availability of iTunes Match in other countries (temporarily in France), but otherwise residing in the US.
So now, when I try to "add this computer" to iTunes Match, it gives me the following error:
Only one library can be matched at a time. If you continue, the other iTunes Match session will be stopped and this computer's library will be matched instead.
=> Seeing that the "old" library and the "new" one technically come from the same Mac (only now it has a new SSD drive), I'm at a loss and scared to have all of my previously synced/matched songs deleted from itunes Match if I only sync the two local files that were just downloaded/purchased. <=
Would appreciate any help or suggestions please.
Thank you in advance!

wandererny wrote:
Only one library can be matched at a time. If you continue, the other iTunes Match session will be stopped and this computer's library will be matched instead.
Hi,
You often get this message when match thinks that you already have a match in progess on another computer.
If you are happy that all your music is on your new hard drive (or if it is only in the cloud), you should select "this computer".
Jim

How I got 48.11gb FREE on my MBA SSD.

Got the MBA today and i am LOVING IT.
Here's how I got 48gb free -- and my reasoning behind it...
1. I followed everything in this article -- http://guides.macrumors.com/CompleteSteps_to_Perform_a_Clean_OS_X_Reinstall_on_Your_MacBookAir. I remote installed using my old PBG4's drive. It took about 1.5 hours. The short install time was most likely due to the fact that there was very little to install!
In the article, for Step #10, *I unchecked everything*.
For the bundled apps, my reasoning was as follows: I don't need official help documents (200 mb) b/c these are all online... iWeb is worthless... iMovie and iDVD are similarly pointless on a computer w/no DVD drive (and I've never used them once since they came out)... Garageband might be useful to musicians but that I am not... iPhoto -- while nice to have -- has largely served as a conduit to get my pictures up into Picasa. Photo editing and viewing has all gone online these days. I'll most likely need at least the Picasa Uploader in the future, but I'm going to hold off on iPhoto for as long as I can. (However, I'll miss using the trackpad to rotate and zoom in on pics using iPhoto.)
When and if I ever need these apps, I can remote install them using Disc 1.
Note: during the install, I didn't need to insert the second disc b/c I unchecked XCode, which I don't need.
2. As the article suggest, I also manually deleted the voice files in the System folder.
3. I then bought a license for xSlimmer and dumped all of my apps and utilities into it, freeing up about 700 more mb. I was hesitant to do this so I backed up all of my apps (a feature of the program) to an external hard drive. Obviously, the backup can't stay on the MBA -- I need the space!
Note: Despite my hesitations on app instability, 90% of what was slimmed came from Mail, iTunes, Address Book, etc, apps that still have 17 useless languages even IF you chose to ditch all languages besides English in Step #10 of the MacRumors article.
4. I deleted Chess... If I ever need to play it, I'll play online -- w/other people as it was meant to be played!
*5. That puts me at 48.11gb!*
6. My philosophy going forward -- and the entire reason I bought the MBA -- is to be as online and web app-dependent as possible. That's where the future lies and part of the reason I bought into the MBA philosophy (while an expensive one) is b/c I believe in this trend. I'm an advocate of an online existence and as such, I'm going to try to live in such a manner.
Future apps I'll most likely dump -- Mail, which I don't think I've even opened in a year... iCal, which I only keep b/c I sync my Google Calendars to iCal and then to my iPhone... Dictionary, which is inferior to more complete online dictionaries... Stickies, iChat, Time Machine -- again, these are all cutesy apps, but realistically, the first two are now done better online (meebo, gChat, facebook) and for the latter, I don't see the point of being a zealous backup fiend if I have nothing to backup in the first place! (Although, I've done just fine w/SuperDuper the past 2 years.)
7. For my iTunes library, which is over 200gb, I bought a Western Digital 320gb Passport on eBay for ~ $100 and plan to listen to music w/the external connected while at home.
While on the go, I'm pretty good w/the 16gb on my iPhone.
Also, music is now so 2.0 I enjoy discovering and hearing music through services like last.fm and Pandora. (If iTunes were ever to become more of a social network and be more open, they could really have something, but I think Songbird might have already beat them to it...)
8. Future apps I'll most likely install -- Scrivener, iWork, Camino (a second browser is always nice), VLC, xTorrent.
9. I also plan and hope to one day upgrade the 64gb to a 128. This AnandTech article -- http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3226 -- is the single best review I've read of the MBA. It leads me to believe by the end of the year, upgrading to a 128gb might be possible.
Sorry for the long post. I just though I'd share some thoughts w/everyone.
- david

Thank you!
I haven't read all of your post yet but from what I have read I believe we are in agreement. I have copied it into my notes on the MacBook Air. When I get $ together and get my MBA I will definitely be going back and studying your post in detail.
Thanks again!
PS: you lucky dog!

Differences between my MBA and old MBP

I've noticed a few differences in the behavior of these two computers, and I prefer the OLD way better, but I can't figure out how to do it.
In the past, both my iMac & MBP allowed me, in Mail, to use my mouse/trackpad to select a whole string of emails at once, either by just scrolling down, or by holding COmmand as I clicked on each email. I could then delete the whole bunch at once.
But now, on the MBA, I can only select and delete one item at a time. Is there a setting somewhere I am missing?
On the old computers, I could wake my computer by moving the mouse. Now I have to hit a key to wake from sleep. Not a biggie, but old habits die hard! :-)
Other "new" stuff I see on the MBA:
Under DEVICES in the FINDER, I see a "Remote Disk" that has nothing in it, and that I cannot remove. If I look in GET INFO, it gives me no information, other than a box I can check to Lock it. What the heck is this?
Oddly, while I CAN charge my iPhone via the USB port, it will not charge my Nook via that same Port. And when I try to attach an external hard drive using a USB hub, it won't see the EHD - but that same hub allows me to charge the iPhone, or attach a mouse.
Battery seems to last FOREVER! :-)

I can help with one of those questions -- the Remote Disk. Since the MacBook Air does not have an optical drive, you can use remote disk to share another computer's optical drive. The following has information: DVD or CD sharing: Using Remote Disc

How do I reset my new MBA to its original factory setting?

I just purchase a 13" MBA 2011 and during set-up I somehow enabled the MBA to share everything on my iMac. How do I return the MBA to its original state out of the box so that I can redo the setup process and not have to share every program that my iMac has? Thanks a bunch!

When I had this situation, I made a specific back up on time machine and used that version as a basis of configurating my MBA.
hope have helped,
Ricardo

I have a MBA. I bought the wrong magsafe charger

Greetting,
I bought a 85w magsafe charger instead of the 45w that I was suppose to buy for my MBA. Should I try to return it or it does not make much of a difference? What type of issues can I be expecting?

The only "issue" you will have is that the higher wattage adapter is a tad larger in physical size, if that is of any consequence to your mobile usage.

EFI update killed MBA

Hello,
i just installed the latest update for Lion on my MBA. I followed all instructions (power cord attached), but after it shut down, there was a loud error beep and since than i am unable to start it up again. I could really need some advice here!
Regards

"fixed"
MBA was fine, the update reduced the display brightness to practically 0. With more luck than anything i saw a small glimmer, when testing it again for the 10th time. After increasing brightness, everything seems to be fine.
Just in case someone runs into the same problem and freaks out for half a day like i did.
Regards

Trackpad on 2011 i7 MBA has stopped working twice and won't work again until I do a hard reset. Battery is not hot. MBA is 2 weeks old. What's up, Apple?

Twice, shortly after turning on my MBA from a restful night's sleep, my keyboard and trackpad have stopped working. Works fine after a hard reset, but considering this baby is brand new, it shouldn't be happening.
I am in law school and don't have time to leave my MBA with applecare.
HELP!

hello, i have the same problem with my mbp. and you should first shut off your MB. then when is complete off plug in your charger and hold shift+option+command+power and within 10 second you will see the front led flash 10 times more or less and your MB will restart and it should work normal

Facetime works fine on my iphone, but will not work on my MBA.

Facetime works fine on my iphone, but will not work on my MBA. Keeps telling me "unable to verify address" and says it is sending me a verification link to my email address but I never get anything. Crazy.
After a while it tells then me that it cannot verify my email address because of a network connection ("Could not verify the email address. Please check your network connection and try again. ")
Does anyone have any ideas?

Facetime works fine on my iphone, but will not work on my MBA. Keeps telling me "unable to verify address" and says it is sending me a verification link to my email address but I never get anything. Crazy.
After a while it tells then me that it cannot verify my email address because of a network connection ("Could not verify the email address. Please check your network connection and try again. ")
Does anyone have any ideas?

MBA 11 (2013) pinch zoom does not work after some time, how to fix it ?

Recently I purchased MBA 11 (2013) model ( 4GB ram & 1.3 Ghz dual core). Although I use iPhone 5 & iPad 4 but never used mac. So when I found the track pad is capable of pinch zoom(along with other gesture) I was excited. But later I found after opening few apps (like safari, chrome etc) pinch zoom stop working . I need to restart in order to make it work again. Other gestures works fine just issue with the pinch zoom. Along with this issue I have some other questions as well
1) How to fix this pinch zoom issue?
2) I use eclipse for android development, but when I connect android phone/tablet - os crashes, no idea why?
3) How to uninstall & update apps properly which was downloaded from web (like I installed x-code) ?
4) I want to use mouse (i am comfortable) - I need to know whether right click, wheel, ling click & drag works perfectly.
5) How to back up the os if something goes wrong I can retrieve from there ?

Error 2, 4 (or -4), 6, 40, 1000, 9006
Follow Troubleshooting security software. Often, uninstalling third-party security software will resolve these errors.
There may be third-party software that modifies your default packet size in Windows by inserting a TcpWindowSize entry into your registry. Your default packet size being set incorrectly can cause these errors. Contact the manufacturer of the software that installed the packet size modification for assistance or follow this article by Microsoft: How to reset Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
Verify that access to ports 80 and 443 are allowed on your network.
Verify that communication to albert.apple.com or photos.apple.com is not blocked by a firewall, or other Internet security setting.
Discard the .ipsw file, open iTunes and attempt to download the update again. See the steps underAdvanced Steps > Rename, move, or delete the iOS software file (.ipsw) below for file locations.
Restore your device while connected to a different network.
Restore using a different computer.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3694#error6

MBA (mid-2012) SSD failure after 8 weeks Hardware Test

Brand new MBA mid-2012 (8GB RAM, 128GB SSD running ML 10.8.0).
Failed to startup - Apple logo on grey screen appeared, then the spinning gear wheel, then a blank screen, then the spinning gear wheel, then a blank screen, repeating ad nauseum...
I reset PRAM and SMC - no change
I opened in Single User Mode to run fsck - no change, then in Verbose mode to see what messages appeared (flashing messages of appleid verification timeouts)
Disk Utility - no problems detected
DiskWarrior - no problems detected
Tech Tool Pro - (1) SMART check picked up 7 SSD failures/errors:
[Wear Levelling Count, Program Fail Count(total), Erase Fail Count (total), Power-off Retract Count, Media Wear Out Indicator, Total LBAs Written and Total LBAs Read all 7 FAILED], remainder of SMART tests passed, and SSD PASSED SMART check.
Then (2) Surface Scan checked all 236+million blocks, NO BAD BLOCKS identified/detected.
Very strange indeed!! - booted into Recovery Drive, verified and all ok, no problems starting from this partition! Problem lies on normal boot partition (of course...!)
Was able to boot from external ML HDD and was able to pull all files off Air (interestingly Carbon Copy Cloner reported one text file sitting on bad block and was unable to copy/clone)
Time to get serious: Spoke with Apple Tech here in Australia late on a Saturday pm (thanks Olin!)
Ran Apple Hardware Test in Extended mode [took me back to System 7 days with very old icon!!] - took around 1hr and reported error "4HDD/11/40000000 SATA(0,0)" so it looks like new MBA is heading back to Apple!
I am thinking about re-installing ML from the Recovery Drive in case I can get the MBA running again to make sure I have all my file backed up, but it looks like an 8 week old MBA is no more...
anyone else seen this in mew MBAs? would hate to think I am the only one! plenty of other discussions around this error on HDD machines, but haven't found anything for this error for a SSD.

I have a 15-inch, retina, 2.7 GHz, 16 GB RAM, 768 GB flash drive MacBook Pro notebook, running 10.8.2
I have noticed that if I run the extended hardware test while connected to the power supply I do not get the error 4HDD/11/40000000:SATA(0,0) but if I run the same test while on battery power I get that error.
Does the same happen to you?
Any idea of what the problem is?

I need to buy a new MB for college! I'm thinking of getting a 13" MBA w/ the external DVD/CDROM drive and portable/external/whatever it's called memory. Where should I buy, Best Buy or Apple Store?

So basically a BB employee told me that instead of giving me the apple giftcard (one that would given to me for the back-to-school deal at apple) they would discount that off. Also, she says that their insurance policy (instead of apple care) would replace my macbook "then and there" if anything were to happen to it. Sounds too good to be true since I've had MANY MANY troubles with BB when I bought my first and only white MB 4 years ago. They were horrible. But she said the policy has changed since then and that people come in to exchange MBs daily. Can anyone help me! :3 Thank you <3
ALSO, (sorry for being a pain) is the MBA a good choice if I'm getting an external/portable hardrive as well as a DVD/CD-ROM drive? I need a MB for college stuff: writing papers, projects, presentations, other general college stuff. MBA doesn't have moving parts, which is a huge plus since I am not careful with my things, and will probably drop my MB a million times.

MacBook Air is a perfect choice for a college student. I have used a MBA as my only machine for several years now and am a professional in the advertising industry. I write a lot, do some (little) graphics work, code, and create presentations and videos. It's more than capable.
I have an external CDRW/DVDRW but I got mine from Amazon it's not Apple-branded. It works great but was a fraction of the cost. Also if you buy the Air from Amazon you can get free shipping and pay no sales tax, which may come out to less than getting the educational discount. However, if you qualify for both the $100 gift card and the educational discount you'll probably come out better getting it at Apple.
Here's the top of the line Air at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00746YD24/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=beley-20&camp=0&creati ve=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B00746YD24&adid=0PNV1Q2S073PY61NZQZX&
And a good DVD burner: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZMVQRA/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=beley-20&camp=0&creati ve=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B004ZMVQRA&adid=1GWB9HRMSW1VW92SD9WF&

WIFI issues with 2013 MBA

Hi
I would be most grateful for help with the following - I recently purchased a 2013 MBA (latest model) but have been having issues with the wifi speed. My broadband normally runs at 6-7Mbps (which I check regulary) but my MBA can only be described as slow when browsing simple web pages (the other pc's in the house don't have the same issues). I have checked the transfer rate on my WIFI in Network Utility and it sits at 144 Mbit/s so I am not entirly sure where the problems lies and why it is only affecting my MBA. I have tried switching channels but it has not helped. I am aware that recent MBA have issues with WIFI but not sure if these problems are related.
Thanks
Tim

Hello tim0409
Check out the articles below to ensure that the router is setup with the recommended settings and other troubleshooting steps to sort you out.
iOS and OS X: Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4199
Wi-Fi: How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4628
Regards,
-Norm G.

Please help - new to Mac. Storage options for 11" MBA 128GB

Hi,
I am a PC laptop user considering moving over to a MBA 11". I need portability and I'm worried about the storage capacity for the MBA at 11" - I'm on a budget. The next step up for me would be the 13" MBP for storage space/cost (and then I start getting confused about Serial ATA/SSD).
I currently estimate to have about 80-90GB of files on my PC (I estimated this from what's on my PC, and guessing at extras on my external HD). Most of this is music and photos from years of travel that I do not want to lose. My external HD once stopped working and I lost photos, so I never want that to happen again.
I understand I can also get an external HD for the MBA, as well as back everything up with Time Capsule/Machine.
Are there any other solid options?
Is it too risky to store all music/photos solely on external drives, leaving the main machine free for work?
The main things I will be using it for are writing, iTunes, streaming TV/movies, web browsing and blogging, and some light photo editing.
Thanks for your help!

Is it too risky to store all music/photos solely on external drives, leaving the main machine free for work?
If you don't have them backed up to another hard drive, yes. I have a MacBook Air with a 256GB drive but I have about 3.5 TB of media (which is backed up on other drives). I keep a small selection of my photos, music, and video on the MBA but the rest is on a network accessable drive. If I have WiFi I can access the data on that drive. It is a pretty good solution.

MBA+PC=???

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