Start from scratch with multiple catalogues

I have just installed Lightroom 4 and want to get started by setting up more than one catalogue but I am not sure if you have to have one catalogue for every photo in addition to the separate catalogues I want for subsets of photos. Can I just go ahead and make several catalogues and sort my photos (which are on my hard drive) into them without making a catalogue that references every photo? Maybe it's a good idea to have one complete catalogue as well in order to make it easier to find that missing photo?Also I have read that it is a good idea to store catalogue files in a separate folder in the root, which appeals to my sense of organisation, but do I need to make separate sub-folders for my individual catalogues or can they just all go into the one folder? Can't wait to get started!
Thanks,
Nick

In my opinion, multiple catalogs is usually a bad idea, especially for beginners. It will lead to confusion, duplication of effort, and waste of time.
The only time I can envision using multiple catalogs is when you have totally non-overlapping subject matter, such as business and work.
The idea you are considering, a "full" catalog, and several sub-catalogs, is just extra work with no benefit. Furthermore, since Lightroom stores edits and metadata in its database, changes you make in one catalog are not reflected in the other catalog(s). Did I say extra work with no benefit? I think I meant extra work with no benefit and significant disadvantages. I'm sure if I wanted to, I could make a list of 10 disadvantages to multiple catalogs.
So, I recommend a single catalog for all your photos. Make your life as simple as possible. You lose nothing by using a single catalog. You can take advantage of Lightroom's capabilities (which are significant) to slice and dice your photos in many many ways, giving you "virtual sub-catalogs" whenever you need them, without the effort of creating and managing a sub-catalog.

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I want to upgrade my old airport express to the new express. Can I just switch out the old for the new or must I delete the old network first and start from scratch with the new express?

I want to upgrade my old airport express to the new express. Can I just switch out the old for the new or must I delete the old network first and start from scratch with the new express?

It is not necessary to delete your old wireless networks first, but doing so may eliminate confusion. If you wish to do that, open System Preferences > Network, and select Wi-Fi from the left column. Click the Advanced... button, then select your old wireless networks and delete them with the "–" (minus) button. Make sure the "Remember networks this computer has joined" remains checked.
OK then Apply.
This prevents your Mac from searching for your previous network which will no longer exist.
A new Express creates an open wireless network that you must select before you can configure it. It appears in your Wi-Fi menu like this:
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I want to start from scratch with my itunes. How do I do this?

I want to start from cratch with my itunes. I have a lot of music on my PC, but since changing to my current laptop, all the music is duplicated, there is a lot I want to delete and I am in a real mess. Thanks in advance.

Hi Norm
I would love advice on a similar situation. Long story short: I want to scrap itunes completly and move all music files to yet another external drive and reinstall itunes.
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So my clear solution is a fresh start. I just want to search my entire computer for music files e.g. (*.wav) and put them on a brand new clean external drive and start over. That way I can safely delete all these enormous backup files that are using up over 500g's of space on my computer. New library- New Location- new itunes.
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How to start from scratch with iCal (getting rid of duplicate iCal events)

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Is there a method for just starting fresh with iCal?

see this thread that may help you with duplicate events: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1192813&tstart=0
hope this helps

Starting from scratch with external drive

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Thanks John and Jolly,
I'm not sure what I'm doing here. I thought I did what you suggested and I tried to read that article but ...
What I have:
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"Album Artwork" folder,
"Automatically Add to iTunes" folder,
"iTunes Library" file,
"iTunes Library Extras.itdb" file,
"iTunes Library Genius.itdb" file,
"iTunes Library.xml" file
"itunes music" folder,
"iTunes Music Library.xml" file,
"Previous iTunes Libraries" folder,
"Temp File.tmp" file
What I did:
* Plugged in the external so it shows up in my finder
* Launched iTunes and working through the setup was asked some sort of question like "do you want to copy files now or do it yourself later?" I clicked I'd do it myself.
* Went to iTunes / Preferences / Advanced and changed the iTunes Media folder location. It now shows "/volumes/'name of External HD'/iTunes" The "keep iTunes Media folder organized" box is checked and so is the "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" box. I hit OK.
* Went to iTunes / File / Library / Organize Library ... and I clicked the "Consolidate files" box but not the "Upgrade to iTunes Media organization" box.
* now in iTunes I have nothing in "Music" -- a screen telling me songs and videos I add ... and there are none of my folders or playlists.
I bet I'm one click from blast off but no idea what that step might be.
Any ideas?
Thanks

Confusion...how do I start from scratch with Airport?

Hi!
I have scoured the boards but am now confused as to what I need to run express using my Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 (purchased last May)? I haven't done anything wireless to date so I am clueless.
I guess I'm confused by the following issues...bear with me:
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It takes me a while to get into the new century's technologies...
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Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

1) Since I have "no information" listed under
airport card in my about my computer selection, I
have figured I need an airport card, am I right?
Which one would I need?
Yep, you need an airport card. A recent card should do.
2) Some posts have said that the airport card has to
be installed by a certified mac person. I read
instructions online and it looks pretty
straightforward to me. I am confused about some of
the posts saying that self installs can ruin your
machine. I have installed cards with my old g3 and
survived the process.
I installed mine without any problem. I suppose if you haven't done this before, you could do some damage.
3) My goal is to hear itunes with speakers all
around my house. I am assuming that the base station
is only necessary should I wish to connect to the
internet all over my house. Just to listen to music,
I should only need the card and the express station,
not the extreme?
Yes, you can use Express for this. How are your speakers setup? If they are connected to your stereo, you'll need to purchase an AirPort Express Stereo Connection Kit. Or you can connect directly to powered speakers (using the Stereo Connection Kit). Of course, if you have separate speakers in each room, you'll need multiple setups. This might help explain how it works.
http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/airtunes.html
Jim
It takes me a while to get into the new century's
technologies...
Thanks for any help!
Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 Mac OS X
(10.4.4)

TS1382 Lost my playlists on itunes that were on another computer now I had to start from scratch with a new itunes which will not allow me to import my playlists from ipod to itunes ???

My itunes music which was on an old PC and lost it all and had to re-install new itunes but cannot upload music from my ipod back into itunes to re-create my playlists again....how can this be done?

See this excellent user tip from another forum member turingtest2 outlining the different methods and software available to help you copy content from your iPod back to your PC and into iTunes.
Recovering your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device
B-rock

Starting from scratch. New iTunes library.

I recently had an external HD failure that had all of my music stored on it. I want to reimport the music I currently have on my new external. But my problem is, I have my iTunes library from before, which is synced to my iPhone. The library still has all previous apps installed. I was hoping to start from scratch with the music portion. Do I simply just select all in the library and hit delete and then reimport music? or is there a better way? I just don't want to lose anything besides the music on my library list.

Take a look at this article, it may help.
How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451

Starting From Scratch -- How Complicated is This Going To Be?

I am starting from scratch with iChat (and with any video chatting for that matter).
By next week I have to either figure it out and make a video call or find a local set up I can use or fly ot the meeting which I'd really rather not do!
Looking at this forum I see lots of people with problems sharing huge complex error messages. These errors make me wonder if getting going will be too complicated.
What do I need to do? Are there resources / hints / tips / traps / ... people can suggest?
I have a G5 iMac without the built in camera but we do have an old cheap logitech webcam (or I could buy a better camera if needed). And I guess the iMac has a built in mic.
I'm running Tiger 10.4.11 and I believe my iChat is version 3.1.9
My internet connection is a high speed DSL
The call I have to make will just be between two points -- if I'm set up with iChat what do they need to do on their end. They have a professional set up.
At our end we would be three people -- will it be silly the three of us huddled around one computer?
With my first quick look it seems that one either needs to be a .mac or an AOL member -- is that right or are there other options?
If I'm starting from scratch is it worth the trouble to use iChat? Is this the excuse to upgrade to Leopard? Or should I forget iChat and try Skype?
Bla Bla Bla I can go on but I think you get the drift.
Can I do this? Will it work? What is critical? Should I bother?
Thanks
James

Hi,
Start at Ryan's Pages
My Version
The Built-in camera an Mic work.
It is better if the background is uncomplicated and that you are better lit from the front than the Background is (Setting the Screen to something light can also help with this)
You System Preferences > Quicktime > Streaming is almost certainly going to need to be changed to 1.5Mpbs.
If you change this whilst iChat is Open Restart iChat to see the new speed.
Depending on your modem and any router you have they may need to have ports opened as iChat uses ports above the ones that are open by default (And allow Web Browsers and Mail to work) much like an On-line Game.
There are test accounts and real people willing to test with
iChat can Video chat to other iChat users whether they have a camera or not.
Some people can have success with Video Chats to AIM on a PC.
Names
You can use the AIM Buddy list with either a AIM or @mac name
There is also a Jabber List which you can use a Jabber ID or a GoogleMail/Google Talk ID with
If you are connecting to PCs then Looking into MeBeam is a better option at present.
Uses a Web Browser and Flash to allow use of your Camera and Mic.
As far as the number of people around one camera goes it may pay to use two or more cameras as this creates a Drop down in iChat in the Preferences > Video section where one person could switch between the cameras.
Alternatively if this is iChat to iChat then up to 4 computers could be connected in the chat (providing you have the Bandwidth at one end of the connection as it will count and 4 chats)
The Critical bit is understanding your LAN
iChat does not like it when it can see two or more Subnets (or Parallels or being wired and wireless at the same time)
A Company LAN is not likely to use two DHCP servers but it is a common mistake on home LANs as web browsing and Mail still work due to the way the ports are opened.
The Logs you see posted are seen in the Pop up at the time of a failed chat if you open it and they are stored in You Home Folder/Library/Logs/iChatConnectionErrors
They can be somewhat interpreted and point you in the right direction at times.
On the whole people keep posting all of the log but the bit below where it says +Binary Images+ is rarely useful and does not need to be posted.
I hope this helps.
Summary.
Get name.
Test to Test accounts.
Test with real people
Post back any info and about Modem, Router and LAN set up.
+NOTE. With Tiger/iChat 3 you may possibly have issues with an ISP blocking port 5060 for use with their Own VoIP service+
Ask again.
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my link to my website.
10:06 PM Friday; March 28, 2008

Need to start from scratch

I would like to start from scratch with my MacBook but i don't have the startup disk with me, is it possible to do that or do I have to send for it?

No, it's not possible without the installer DVDs.

Had PSE 8 installed on PC Windows 7 with a catalog backup on an external drive. Now have a Mac with OS Mavericks. If I install PSE 12 or Lightroom on this Mac can I use the cat. backup from Windows or must I start from scratch

Had pse 8 on a Windows 7 PC with a catalog backup on an external drive. Now have a Mac with OS Mavericks. If install pse 12 or Lightroom on the Mac will I be able to use the old catalog backup or must I start from scratch.

If you made a full catalog backup using the organizer's backup command, and you did it to a removable drive, yes, you can restore it to the mac. A backup made on discs will not work, though.

Overwrite entire AAC 320kps collection with lossless or start from scratch?

Hi.
I have about 35gig of tunes ripped in AAC 320kps within iTunes. Now I want to re-rip my CD collection in the Apple Lossless format.
Now what is the best way to do this?
I'm wondering should I deleted and uninstall iTunes and start again from scratch with a fresh install or should I just get iTunes to replace the AAC with Lossless? I'm worried that if I replace all my tunes that way with out a fresh install iTunes might get a problem down the line with a corrupt database or run really slow and get bogged down?
What would be the best way?
Thanks.

Little_Mozart wrote:
Hi John thanks for your reply.
I think I'm going to do as you suggested and make two separate libraries. One AAC and one Lossless. That way If I damage or lose my iPod I will still have all the AAC versions available. It should save me having to convert loads of lossless files to AAC.
Also, I will be using my Ipad and the remote app to stream my PC based iTunes library to my hifi downstairs via a Airport Express. If I've got two databases I take it you can only use one at a time? So if I open the lossless database in iTunes the ipad will only see the lossless one and not the AAC one as well?
iTunes can automatically convert Apple Lossless to AAC when syncing to an iPod so you could have just a library in Apple Lossless and not need to worry about the size overflowing your iPod. It only needs to do the conversion for new tracks being added to the iPod so once you have done the first sync subsequent ones do not take very long at all.
With the AirPort Express it only streams what is playing in iTunes. If however you have an AppleTV version 2 or iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4, or iPad running iOS 4.3 (out March 11th) then you can use HomeShare and AirPlay to stream any track between all these devices including your Mac or PC running iTunes. This would only be for the iTunes Library open in iTunes so yes you can only use one library at a time.

I've lost iWeb and thus my web design. I must start from scratch. Should I reinstall iWeb 09 and use that, or is there a better way?

I've lost iWeb and thus my web design. I must start from scratch. Should I reinstall iWeb 09 and use that, or is there a better way?

The file you really need is named Domain.sites2 which resides in your Home/Library/Application Support/iWeb foldler. It's independent from the iWeb application. If it's not in there do you have a backup of your hard drive from an earlier time?
Resinatll iWeb 3 from the iLife 09 disk or wherever you got it from originally and then try what's described below:
In Lion and Mountain Lion the Home/Library folder is now invisible. To make it permanently visible enter the following in the Terminal application window: chflags nohidden ~/Library and press the Return key - 10.7: Un-hide the User Library folder.
To open your domain file in Lion or Mountain Lion or to switch between multiple domain files Cyclosaurus has provided us with the following script that you can make into an Applescript application with Script Editor. Open Script Editor, copy and paste the script below into Script Editor's window and save as an application.
do shell script "/usr/bin/defaults write com.apple.iWeb iWebDefaultsDocumentPath -boolean no"delay 1
tell application "iWeb" to activate
You can download an already compiled version with this link: iWeb Switch Domain.
Just launch the application, find and select the domain file in your Home/Library/Application Support/iWeb folder that you want to open and it will open with iWeb. It modifies the iWeb preference file each time it's launched so one can switch between domain files.
WARNING: iWeb Switch Domain will overwrite an existing Domain.sites2 file if you select to create a new domain in the same folder. So rename your domain files once they've been created to something other than the default name.
OT

How To "Start From Scratch" and Build a Clean iTunes Library on a Portable USB External Drive?

A while ago I posted about my confused (and confusing) mess of an iTunes:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16183210#16183210
While dozens looked I guess eveyone agreed with me "what a mess" and moved on.
So ... someone at the Apple Store suggested that what I should do is start from scratch. But I'm not sure if I understand all the steps. He said I should:
* create a folder of all my songs and just the song files not all the other iTunes stuff -- copy all the mp3 and m4a files that I have in Music > iTunes > iTunes Music > Music to a temp folder let's call it "all my music"
* launch iTunes and tell it to move to / always look at / whatever the terms my new portable external USB drive
* click on file / add to library and tell iTunes I want to add that "all my music" folder to iTunes
At this point I don't care if we lose playlists, artwork, play counts and all that stuff.
Does this approach make sense?
Is there another way?
So how do I tell iTunes to only look to the external? How do I get rid of the old stuff I have on the internal that is offering duplicates and phantom entries? Do I need to delete iTunes and then download a new copy? Should I delete the iTunes foilder? ...?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Many thanks!

jayessemm wrote:
So how do I tell iTunes to only look to the external? How do I get rid of the old stuff I have on the internal that is offering duplicates and phantom entries? Do I need to delete iTunes and then download a new copy? Should I delete the iTunes foilder? ...?
the simplest and working way.
go to iTunes -> Preferences -> Advanced
On there change the iTunes Media Folder location to your external hard drive
Check that the rest of the preference pane looks similar to the following picture.
After doing so, on menu bar go to File -> Library -> Organize Library
This will force iTunes to copy all songs and playlist's to the new place and to build up a new database for the Library.
Empty or corrupted files will left behind on the old location.
After checking that all is on place and working at the new location, you may delete all files at the former location.
Done
Cheers - Lupunus

ICal: how can I start from scratch?

I'm having recurring and persistent problems with iCal since I bought a new Mac Pro and migrated my user files from my previous computer (G5, which was also running Leopard).
At first, alarms weren't working. I read several threads here and went through a lot of troubleshooting and finally got that working again.
However, iCal is still very slow and buggy. For example, when I create a new to-do and click on the "due date" checkbox, it takes about 10 seconds for the check to appear. The spinning beachball is a frequent sight, and everything from creating new events to setting due dates and calendars takes five times longer than it used to when I was using iCal in Tiger.
I created a backup of my iCal file, and manually exported my calendars for extra protection. Then I used AppZapper to completely uninstall iCal and all related files, and I used Pacifist and the OS X DVDs to reinstall iCal. Then I imported each calendar individually.
This didn't work. iCal is still so unresponsive it's almost unusable. If there were another alternative out there that worked with my iPhone and other applications that sync with iCal, I'd be using it. But because I depend on those other apps I'm stuck with iCal, and I need to make it work.
Is it possible that one of my calendars is corrupted and causing problems? What else can I do to find out where the problem lies?

Harlan83,
to start from scratch, you’ll need the pair of model-specific grey installation DVDs which originally came in the box with your MacBook Pro. You can purchase a replacement pair of DVDs for your model MacBook Pro from either Apple or iFixit.

Start from scratch with multiple catalogues

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