Moving LR2 from Windows to Mac; drive formatting issue...

Over the past year I have gradually switched from Windows OS to Mac OS and Lightroom is one of the last to migrate.
I have a 22+K image library (both images and movies) with a deep directory structure accumulated over many years, currently on a Windows NTFS formated drive. I moved the LR catalog to the Mac without problems and it now has no problem "seeing" the images on the Windows drive, HOWEVR, since this is a NTFS formatted drive I can only read and not write to the drive and thus I need to move the library to either a FAT32 Windows drive or (better) to a native Mac OS drive.
The problem I am running into is that if I move/copy the images outside of LR, the software cannot "see" the images on the new Mac OS formatted drive. Moving the library from within LR does not work because when LR tries to erase the images from the Widows drive it returns an error and stops the process. Exporting the image catalog seems to export the images and not the movies that are scattered through the folders and thus creates a file managing headache. I have read extensively through tutorials, support pages and discussion forums and cannot find a discussion of my specific problem. Am I missing something? Any suggestions?

Thank you for both suggestions! I am not quite sure what to make of this... I had tried what Jao vdL suggested before and it didn't work. Upon trying to find the files on the Mac-formated drive I usually get the message:"Lightroom has encountered problems reading this photo. You will not be able to make adjustments to the photo" At the time my understanding was that the problem arises from the different ways that both formats handle individual files.
Just in case, I tried the whole process again last night and got the same error message but then I left the computer running overnight and this morning everything seems to be fine. As far as I can tell the library and catalog are intact and LR is behaving normallly. Strange! Regardless what the reasons behind all this are, it worked so... thank you!

Similar Messages

Switching from Windows to Mac - Drive Compatibility

I'm finally getting back to Mac after a 15 year break using Windows.
My question relates to all my existing files. I have an external drive that I store all of my data on. It includes my ITUNES files, my photos etc. The drive actually hangs off of my Airport Extreme N Router.
When I get my MAC, will I be able to access those files? Will this be read/write? Even if it is just once so that I can copy them off of my external drive and onto my new Mac harddrive? Sorry, being in the Windows world I'm hung up on always thinking that things are incompatible. Is the drive formatted in a way that I can access?
I plan to use Boot Camp and/or Parellels as well - a couple of nagging work applications with no Mac version. When running Windows, will I still be able to access files from that drive as well? For instance, if I continue to run Windows Office while in the Windows environment, can I read/write files to that drive still without disturbing files that the Mac OS and applications will be accessing? Or will the drive be eitehr pure "windows or mac" ?
I'd still like the external drive to be accessable from the other Windows machine in the house as well until I switch that one out....can that happen?
What about my Apple TV which I haven't installed yet. Will it be able to access my photo files, etc. on this drive?
This is my last hold up to switching. I just dont want to dive in and find myself without any of my old data.
I know the answer is probably easier to explain than I'm asking. I just can't get my head wrapped around this for some reason. Thanks in advance.
Summary:
One Windows Machine that uses External Drive for all data storage - replacing with Mac
One Windows Machine that uses External Drive for backups
External Drive hanging off of AEN router.
Apple TV - to be installed

Hello Atlantax,
I can't answer all of your questions, but some.
my photos etc.
Yes. As you know, all files are associated in Windows by their extension. With OS X, the Mac is also now like this. Though it does double up with the older Type/Creator codes of OS 9 and earlier. So all you your .jpg, .tif, .eps, .ai and other formats will all be easily recognized by your Mac counterpart applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark, etc.
Not that it will be perfect. On the Mac, while all .eps files for example, like Windows, have the same extension no matter which app created them, the Mac also assigns Type/Creator codes to each file so it knows which app it belongs to. So unlike Windows, which can have .eps assigned to only one application (meaning an Illustrator .eps will try to open in Photoshop if that's the app the .eps extension is assigned to), this doesn't happen on the Mac. An .eps created in Photoshop will open in Photoshop, Illustrator in Illustrator, etc., when you double click on them.
But you will have an issue with the files you copy over since they will have no Type/Creator codes. As will .jpg, .tif and all other image formats. If there's more than one app that can open them, you'll have the same issue with those older files as you do in Windows. They will simply try to open in the whatever the default app is in the LaunchServices database.
You could get around this somewhat by assigning a Photoshop .eps to Photoshop. But then OS X will behave just like Windows and try to open all .eps files in Photoshop, ignoring the Type/Creator codes.
Will this be read/write?
If it's FAT16 or FAT32, it will be read/write. If it's NTFS, it will be read only.
When running Windows, will I still be able to access files from that drive as well?
Yes. It would be best to have the external formatted as FAT32 so both the Mac and Windows can access it natively. What the Mac will do in that case is copy two files to the external drive for each item you copy over. Say the name of the file is KittyCat.tif. It will put these two files on the external drive:
KittyCat.tif
._KittyCat.tif
Since the second file starts with a period, it will be invisible in OS X. But it's important because it holds the resource fork information of a Mac drive that can't normally exist on a FAT32 drive. So when you copy it back, OS X will automatically rejoin the data fork information (visible file) with the resource fork information (Type/Creator codes, time stamps, etc.). You'll see those ._xxx files from within Windows, so don't just start deleting them. Either that, or use OS X's Disk Utility to partition the drive into two parts. One as Mac OS Extended (HFS+), and the other as FAT32. Then save your files on each partition as per the OS they belong to.
I'd still like the external drive to be accessible from the other Windows machine in the house as well until I switch that one out....can that happen?
Yes, if it's FAT32, or split into separate Mac/Windows partitions as described above. Unless you've got MacOpener on your Windows machine, it simply won't access the Mac formatted partition. NTFS will also work, but you'll only be able to read from the Mac.
Also, as Gnarlodious mentions, the Mac will let you use some characters in file names that Windows doesn't allow. I'm sure you're already aware of these, but here's a list anyway.
These are all characters reserved by the system in DOS.
? [ ] / \ = + : ; " , * |
In the Windows Joliet file system, these characters are not allowed.
? / \ : " * |
Hope this helps.

Moving files from windows to mac

Hi All,
Some time soon my son is going to buy a Mac Pro or if they come out w/ a new model I will buy a new one and give him this one which is not too old. He now uses a windows XP pc. the question I have is how do I / he transfer his files from the pc to the mac pro
Thanks
Mike

Apple - Support - Switch 101

Moving iPod from Windows to Mac OS

I have an 80GB iPod color. I was using it on my Windows laptop, till the laptop died. I purchased a MacBook Pro and would like to start using the iPod with the MacBook. When I connect the iPod to the Mac, I see the Do Not Disconnect message. The iPod was locked when I connected it, and the lock symbol remains no matter what position the switch is in. Also, the battery life indicator is not showing an increase in charge. My guess is the iPod is frozen. When I sync'd my iPod to my old Windows laptop, did I essentially lock myself out of using it with a Mac?
Right now, I have unplugged it from the MacBook and I am hoping that when it loses it's current charge it will reset back to a state where I can play music. But how do I use my iPod with my new laptop I guess is the real question.
15' MacBook Pro 2.33GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8)
15' MacBook Pro 2.33GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8) 80GB iPod Color

You simply plug the iPhone into the new Mac via USB and sync it with iTunes. Doing that, though, will erase all the contents on the device. Before you do anything you should transfer your personal data, including iTunes library, from the original computer to the new Mac. These Apple KB articles will help:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1408
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527

Elements 9 Switching from Windows to Mac - two big issues

I've just started looking into the process of switching from Elements on Windows to Elements on the Mac. For the most part, the two versions appear to be quite similar in looks and functionality. There are however two major gaps (in my opinion) in functionality that really make me question whether I'll move forward with Elements on the MAC. Hopefully these are planned enhancements and I was hoping that someone would have some insight on the issue.
First, there is no EXPORT feature that I can see on the Mac version. I used this all the time on Windows(Organizer->File->Export as New File). A huge gap if one uses the product for building personal photo websites.
Second, and maybe I just missed some setting, but the SAVE behavior when you EDIT photos places both the original and Edited version of the photo in the default Save Location as indicated in the product Preferences. So what I have seen is that it takes both the originals and edited versions and moves them. Again, this seems to be a major difference from how the Windows versions handles this. Seems as if the default should be to leave the photo's where they are.
If anyone has a solution to these issues I'd appreciate the help.

First of all, I know for a fact there was another user on a Windows platform indicating Shutterfly was an option.
Secondly, right on Elements' website it indicates it is partnered with Kodak, Shutterfly and even Costco (now Costco, I think you need to buy the program right at Costco warehouse if I understand the disclaimer, which would mean a trial, downloaded or purchased anywhere else would not have Costco listed as an option). http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family/partneroffers/
PRINT
Turn your photos into professional-quality prints, photo books, and greeting cards.
Turn your photos into real U.S. postage.
Create personalized photo books, greeting cards, and digital scrapbooks.
NEW
Enjoy the convenience of printing directly to Costco Photo Center from Photoshop Elements 9* purchased at Costco Wholesale, U.S., only. * Available through product purchased at Costco Wholesale, U.S., only (not available with product purchased in Canada, at Costco.com, or through any other retailer). ^
and, then another member on this forum had posted this visual:
But I have Shutterfly available on Windows PSE9 Photo Book.
AGAIN, I AM WONDERING WHY MY SCREEN DOES NOT OFFER THESE SAME OPTIONS ON MY MAC??????

External Hard Drive (from windows to Mac)

Hi Mac users!
I just moved from Windows to Mac and I'm very glad I made the switch. However, I am having some issues with my Win-Mac transistion. I have 3 external hard drives that I used under Windows to keep backups of my videos and personal files. Out of the 3 external hard drives, only one is recognized by OS X (10.5). I really need the other 2 to be recognized to transfer some more data to my new Mac system. Could you please help me to figure out what to do??
Here are some information on my 3 externl hard drives:
1 is a WD My Book (working fine)
1 is a La Cie Porsche model (Not working)
1 is a Ximeta (Not working)
I tried several USB ports, USB hubs. I have checked the Utilities to make sure the hard drive is not recognized/detected. Please, i need help to recover some important information and to complete my Windows-Mac transistion!
Thank you for your help!

I had to ask...I also have to ask, when you tried a USB hub, was it an externally powered hub? Sometimes a USB disk won't mount because there isn't enough USB power. However, Mac OS has always given me an explicit message to that effect...
If your LaCie came with a CD, you might use it to install drivers. In principle, that shouldn't be necessary, but is a possibility. If it is a drivers issue then you may be SOL for the Ximeta; glancing at their website--but not necessarily for the right product--they seem to claim that their hard drives require Windows. But I've never had to install drivers on a Mac to use an external hard drive.
It shouldn't be an NTFS issue because NTFS is still readable, just not writable, as you already observed with the WD. The filesystem(s) should still mount.

How do you change the format from Windows to Mac

Does anyone know how to change the format from Windows to Mac? When I first bought my iPod I had windows but now would like to change this. Also is anyone aware why some tracks pause for 2 seconds and then carries on.

Restore the iPod in iTunes for Mac. Restoring will erase and reformat the iPod's hard drive, reload the software with the Mac version and put it back to default settings. Once the restore is complete follow the on screen instructions to name the iPod and automatically sync your songs and videos onto the fresh installation. Press Done and the iPod will appear in iTunes and start to sync. If you want to sync using selected playlists uncheck the box beside the sync automatically instruction and press Done, it will default to manual mode and you can choose whatever setting you like: Restoring iPod to factory settings with iTunes

Moving iTunes from Windows to a Mac... for multiple iPods

I have just bought a new MacBook Air, and am facing a problem of how to move my current iTunes over to it!
The main problem is that I currently have 3 different iPods on the go (shuffle, video and iPhone) all with different music on them. At the moment I have managed to put an iTunes library for each of them on 3 different windows laptops/computers, but as I'm off to university I would ideally like to put all 3 libraries on my new MBA.
Has anyone got any advice on how the best way is to do this? Would a separate hard-disk work for moving the music over from Windows to Mac? Also I have no idea how you create 3 separate iTunes libraries on one MacBook!
Thanks in advance

The easy answer is to just drag and drop all her music files into the new iTunes Library on her new 12" PB.
Get them on media (CD/DVD) or however you want. My favorite method is to get both systems on the network, drag copies to a temporary folder on the desktop. Then the PC is out of the loop. And you have not commited to a MOVE or DELETE of the source at this point. Then, drag and drop the temporary folder into iTunes. As long as it is setup properly, iTunes will COPY the files as added, and ORGANIZE the files and folders for you. After all that, delete the temporary folder.
Beavis2084

How do i convert my music and pics over from windows to mac using a external hard drive.

New mac user. How do i convert my files from windows to mac using external hard drive. I am using a Seagate freeagent go flex.

leave as is and add NTFS driver to write to the drive / migrate maybe / reading NTFS drives isn't always perfect, some times external drive case has trouble mounting or staying mounted and suffers slow copy speed after awhile or with large files which is why I suggest Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X.

HT1515 I have moved from windows to mac and had to reset my airport. I am trying it to join the existing wireless network. the process ends in an unexpected error. The ethernet connection seems to work OK

I have moved from windows to mac and had to reset my airport express. After the reset I enter the name of the existing network, name the base unit, enter its password twicw and select additional options as join the existing network. It comes back with a screen asking for the name of the base unit and password. Aftre which it starts cycling between "waiting for airport express", "connecting to 'network name'" and ends with an error message. When I try to set up using ethernet cable evrything works but I need wireless (it worked OK just hours ago). Any advice?
Thank you

Hello, vgafromva.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
Sometimes a simple power cycle of the AirPort can resolve this issue. However, here is an article I would recommend going through when experiencing issues connecting to Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi: How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4628
If these steps do not resolve the issue, please reply back with the exact error message received.
Cheers,
Jason H.

Formatting my ipod from windows to Mac

A week ago I purchased an IMac and would like to know how to format my Ipod from windows to Mac?

hola adolfo, acabo de comprarme un macbook y descubro el mismo problema que tu. mi ipod 30gb estaba con windows pero ahora mac no lo reconoce. he estado leyendo y parece que hay que restaurarlo pero mi duda principal por ahora es: si se borra la musica y fotos que tengo actualmente en el ipod? agradecere mucho tu experiencia, mi nivel de ingles no es bueno. diego

Reformatting an external HD from Windows to Mac

I tried to re-format an external (LaCie) hard drive from Windows to Mac using the Erase option in the Disk Utility, but it would not go through. The error message is not informative; it just states the formatter encountered an error and was unable to finish the operation. Any pointers on how to solve this issue? Thanks!

Hi and welcome to Discussions,
you should use the 'Partition-Tab' from Disk Utility and then click on the 'Option'-Button to set the partition Table to GPT (GUID partition Table).
Sounds to me like the external HD is till using the MBR (Master Boot Record) common to Windows PC on which you can't make a partition using the 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)' file system.
Regards
Stefan

Going from windows to MAC OS

Hi
I have an iPod video 30GB. Currently I am a windows XP user so it is formatted for that. However, I am considering buying a MAC. I was wondering how this would affect my iPod. I presume it will have to be re-formatted. How will this affect any music on the iPod?
Pippa

You can use your iPod formatted as it is as Macs can read Windows formatting. I've seen a few posts on the forum where there have been problems but these would be the exception. Have you thought about how you are going to get your music from your PC to your new Mac? There is a good general guide to switching from Windows to Mac at the following link that touches on moving music as well How to Move to a Mac - Get your stuff from your PC to your new Mac
There are also these guides:
How to move music between authorised computers
Networking with a Windows PC
Alternatively you could copy the music directly from your iPod. There's a manual method of copying songs from your iPod to your Mac at this link: Two-way Street: Moving Music Off the iPod
There are also a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod, this is just a selection. Have a look at the web pages and documentation for these, they are generally quite straightforward. I use Senuti but check the others out and choose whichever you are happy with.
Senuti Mac Only
iPodRip Mac Only
PodWorks Mac Only
iPod.iTunes Mac Only
PodView Mac Only
iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions

HT202879 I am switching to Apple macbook pro from Windows laptop. Is Apple compatible with Microsoft Office? How can I transport from Windows to Mac? What I have saved on external hardrives, will I be able to open it on Mac?

I am switching to Apple macbook pro from Windows laptop. Is Apple compatible with Microsoft Office? How can I transport from Windows to Mac? What I have saved on external hardrives, will I be able to open it on Mac?

Office for Mac, http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products, can open/edit/create Office documents.If your external drive is formatted NTFS then you can copy the Office documents to your computer and work on them. You won't be able to save the files back to your NTFS formatted drive. But you will be able to save the documents to your internal drive. You can move all the external files to your internal drive then format the external drive for Apple. Then you can copy the files back to your external drive for ongoing use.

IPod classic - switching from Windows to Mac

I have an iPod classic and am switching from Windows to Mac - what's the best way to retain my iPod library? Thanks!

If you just want to connect and use the iPod on the Mac then set it to manual update on your PC first. The content of iTunes and the iPod are not syncronised in this mode so the two can be different. You can directly access the content of the iPod and play it through iTunes and you can drag and drop whatever you want to the iPod from either library:
Using iPod with Multiple computers
Managing content manually on iPod and iPhone
Syncing Music to iPod
Something else to be aware of when using an iPod in manual mode is that the "Do Not Disconnect" message will remain on the display until you physically eject the device: Safely Disconnect IPod
Macs can read Windows drives, the iPod shuffle for instance comes Windows formatted and is fully supported (you can update the firmware or restore it on the Mac and it retains it's Windows formatting). Other iPods (such as a 5th Generation or Classic for example) can be used in Windows format on a Mac but have to have the firmware updated or be restored on a PC to maintain the formatting. If however you don't intend using the iPod on a PC again you'll need to transfer your library from your PC so you can restore and reformat the iPod and keep it's firmware updated.
Once you are safely connected there are a few things you can do to restore your new iTunes directly from the iPod. If you have any iTunes Music Store purchases the transfer of purchased content from the iPod to authorised computers was introduced with iTunes 7. You'll find details in this article: Copying iTunes Store purchases from your iPod or iPhone to a computer
The transfer of content from sources such as songs imported from CD is designed by default to be one way from iTunes to iPod. However there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve music files and playlists from your iPod. I use Senuti but have a look at the web pages and documentation for the others too, you'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos and games as well. This is just a small selection of what's available, you can read reviews and comparisons of some of them here:
Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
Comparison of iPod managers
Senuti Mac Only (Currently only the beta version is iPod Touch & iPhone compatible)
PodView Mac Only
PodWorks Mac Only
iPodDisk PPC Mac Only (experimental version available for Intel Macs)
TuneAid Mac only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPodRip Mac & Windows
YamiPod Mac & Windows
Music Rescue Mac & Windows
iPod Music Liberator Mac & Windows
iGadget Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
Floola Mac & Windows
iRepo Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Access Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TouchCopy Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
There's also a manual method of copying songs from your iPod to a Mac or PC. The procedure is a bit involved and won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's available on page 2 at this link: Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide

Moving LR2 from Windows to Mac; drive formatting issue...

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for