What's the best way to wipe clean a 2006 macbook pro?

I have a 2006 15-inch MacBook Pro, and I'm looking to wipe it clean to speed it up and use it as a bedroom media player (front row/itunes and netflix). What's the best way to wipe it clean and start over?
Also, any suggestions on a media player to use? I hear XBMC and Plex are great, but I don't want it to power another TV, I am going to use it as the "TV" and all controlled by the (old, included, white) Apple remote.
Thanks for any and all help. I'm relatively adept with mac's so it doesnt have to be super simple, but hopefully it doesnt require coding or anything.

Back up all your files to external media. If you don't want this computer to access your iTunes material then "deauthorize" the computer in iTunes. Create a new account on your Mac with admin rights. Delete your old Mac account. Run disk utility and erase unused space.
If you have an iPhone then use the Remote app rather than the Apple remote clicker.
The new ApplyTV has some very good media center features. While using AirPlay you can also stream music thru the AppleTV.
If you're running Lion you made need to upgrade the memory to reduce page swaps.

Similar Messages

What is the best way to secure and harden a Macbook Pro against unwanted surveillance?

What is the best way to secure and harden a Macbook Pro against unwanted surveillance? Tor, VPN, Little Snitch, etc. This would be for that latest version of Mavericks.

djbabybokchoy wrote:
Nothing specific, just speaking in general. Ex-wives, governments, bad guys...anyone really. I'm just looking to make my Mac a bit more private and secure, especially when on public networks.
Governments and ex's will/may have recourse to the legal process (or in the case of the Gov they can choose to ignore the legal system if they feel like it) when they want to see something of yours, good luck hardening your Mac against that. The best way to avoid the possibility of snooping over public networks is to avoid them but if you can't then Kappy's suggestion will help.
Strong passwords (everywhere) and don't use the same password in multiple locations.
If you really want to secure your home wireless use Mac address connection authentication, do not allow unknown Mac addresses to connect. It's much stronger than a WPA password alone.

What is the best way to run Sage on a MacBook Pro?

What is the best way to run Sage on a MacBook Pro? I am a first time Apple user.

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What's the best way to transfer an old 15" MacBook Pro to a new MacBook?

Hello.
My client will be buying a new MacBook soon (don't know which model yet) from his university. We are currently researching and planning ahead to minimize problems and prepare. I noticed there are multiple ways to transfer data from his old 15" MacBook Pro to the new one. What's the best and fastest way?
We only need to (manually?) copy data (lots of documents, photographs/photos., etc.) and not the programs (better to start clean!). Also, will old Mac Office 2008 work in the latest Mac OS X version (assuming it comes with it or maybe 10.7.x) or will he need to buy a new one? He also uses an iPhone 4S and iPod Touch (music mostly).
Thank you in advance.

Kappy wrote:
How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac
If you only need to transfer files then connect the two via Firewire cable and use Target Disk Mode to access the old computer's hard drive from which you can select and copy the data you need.
Office 2008 will work, but it would be better to upgrade it to Office 2011. If you want a seamless changeover with respect to the iDevices, then you need to transfer the entire /Home/Library/Music/iTunes/, /Home/Library/Music/iTunes Playlists/, /Home/Library/Music/imm Media/ folders to the /Music/ folder of the new computer. Also copy over the /Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.itunes.plist file to the /Home/Library Preferences/ folder on the new computer.
Be sure you de-authorize the old computer: iTunes Store- About authorization and deauthorization. Be sure to do this before any of the above is done.
Firewire, we don't have any of those cables and devices unless the new MacBook comes with it? It's all USB(2). Can we use USB (yes, it is slower)? He use it for digital cameras, Time Machine backups in Mac OS X 10.5.8, etc.
OK, I will tell my client to get a new Office 2011 then to avoid the mess. Hmm, can't we just synchronize our iDevices with iTunes to copy back to the new MacBook's new HDD?

What is the best way to upgrade my Early 2009 Macbook Pro 17"?

My Macbook hasn't been working well and I'm worried about things getting worse when going to Yosemite. My system has some hardware problems (CD drive doesn't work, needs a new battery), but I'm looking to upgrade the whole system now. I'd like to up the RAM to 8GB, put in a new hard drive (solid state?), etc...
Here is my EtreCheck-- I am looking for advice about what needs to be done to get my system back up and working? Thanks!
Problem description:
slow processing, freezing, crashing
EtreCheck version: 2.2 (132)
Report generated 5/4/15 6:27 PM
Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck
Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.
Hardware Information: ℹ️
    MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009) (Technical Specifications)
    MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro5,2
    1 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core
    4 GB RAM
        BANK 0/DIMM0
            2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok
        BANK 1/DIMM0
            2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok
    Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
    Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
    Battery: Health = Check Battery - Cycle count = 693 - SN = 9G91301DJ4M0A
Video Information: ℹ️
    NVIDIA GeForce 9400M - VRAM: 256 MB
        Color LCD 1920 x 1200
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT - VRAM: 512 MB
System Software: ℹ️
    OS X 10.8.5 (12F45) - Time since boot: 1:50:40
Disk Information: ℹ️
    ST9500325AS disk0 : (500.11 GB)
        disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 499.25 GB (31.65 GB free)
        Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
    MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-868
USB Information: ℹ️
    Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
    Apple, Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
    Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
    Kensington      Kensington Expert Mouse
    Broadcom Corp BCM2046A
Configuration files: ℹ️
    /etc/hosts - Count: 15
Gatekeeper: ℹ️
    Mac App Store and identified developers
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
        /Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/kexts
    [loaded]    com.vmware.kext.vmci (3.0.0) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.vmware.kext.vmioplug (3.0.0) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.vmware.kext.vmnet (3.0.0) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.vmware.kext.vmx86 (3.0.0) [Click for support]
        /System/Library/Extensions
    [not loaded]    com.Avid.driver.AvidDX (5.6.0 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.SafeNet.driver.Sentinel (7.5.2) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.PACESupport (5.8) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.PACESupport2 (5.8) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.master (5.8) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.seagate.driver.PowSecDriverCore (5.0.1) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.silabs.driver.SiLabsUSBDriver (1.0.1) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.sony.filesystem.prodisc_fs (2.0.0) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.sony.protocol.prodisc (2.0.0) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.squirrels.airparrot.framebuffer (3 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.squirrels.driver.AirParrotSpeakers (1.7 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    net.telestream.driver.TelestreamAudio (1.0.6 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]
        /System/Library/Extensions/PACESupportFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns
    [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.leopard (5.8 - SDK 10.4) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.panther (5.8 - SDK 10.-1) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard (5.8 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.tiger (5.8 - SDK 10.4) [Click for support]
        /System/Library/Extensions/Seagate Storage Driver.kext/Contents/PlugIns
    [not loaded]    com.seagate.driver.PowSecLeafDriver_10_4 (5.0.1) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.seagate.driver.PowSecLeafDriver_10_5 (5.0.1) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.seagate.driver.SeagateDriveIcons (5.0.1) [Click for support]
Startup Items: ℹ️
    PACESupport: Path: /Library/StartupItems/PACESupport
    Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite
Problem System Launch Agents: ℹ️
    [failed]    com.apple.accountsd.plist [Click for details]
    [failed]    com.apple.coreservices.appleid.authentication.plist [Click for details]
Problem System Launch Daemons: ℹ️
    [failed]    com.apple.wdhelper.plist [Click for details]
Launch Agents: ℹ️
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.adobe.CS4ServiceManager.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.hp.messagecenter.launcher.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.seagate.SeagateStorageGauge.plist [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist [Click for support]
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
    [loaded]    com.adobe.versioncueCS4.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.bombich.ccc.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.daemon.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.memeo.Memeod.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.paceap.eden.licensed.plist [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.vmware.launchd.vmware.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    PACESupport.plist [Click for support]
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.digitalrebellion.SoftwareUpdateAutoCheck.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Click for support]
User Login Items: ℹ️
    RED Watchdog    Application (/Applications/REDCINE-X Professional/Utilities/RED Watchdog.app)
    iTunesHelper    UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)
    Skype    Application (/Applications/Skype.app)
    Google Drive    Application (/Applications/Google Drive.app)
    AdobeResourceSynchronizer    Application Hidden (/Applications/Adobe Acrobat XI Pro/Adobe Acrobat Pro.app/Contents/Support/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)
    Google Chrome    Application Hidden (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)
    MemeoAgent    Application (/Library/Application Support/Memeo/Memeo Backup/Agents/MemeoAgent.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
    o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.41.0.0 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]
    OVSHelper: Version: 1.0 [Click for support]
    OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.1 [Click for support]
    Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.1.4 [Click for support]
    AdobeAAMDetect: Version: AdobeAAMDetect 2.0.0.0 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]
    FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.1.102.55 [Click for support]
    AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    DivXBrowserPlugin: Version: 2.1 [Click for support]
    Flash Player: Version: 11.1.102.55 Outdated! Update
    AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin: Version: AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin 1.0.15 [Click for support]
    googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.41.0.0 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]
    LogMeIn: Version: 1.0.465 [Click for support]
    AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0
    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
    Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30317.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 51 Check version
User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
    CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.60 [Click for support]
Safari Extensions: ℹ️
    DivX HiQ
    DivX Plus Web Player HTML5 <video>
Audio Plug-ins: ℹ️
    DVCPROHDAudio: Version: 1.3.2
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
    Adobe Version Cue CS4 [Click for support]
    DivX [Click for support]
    Flash Player [Click for support]
    Flip4Mac WMV [Click for support]
    Growl [Click for support]
    Java [Click for support]
    Perian [Click for support]
    REDcode [Click for support]
Time Machine: ℹ️
    Skip System Files: NO
    Auto backup: YES
    Destinations:
        Eileen Backup Drive [Local]
        Total size: 0 B
        Total number of backups: 0
        Oldest backup: -
        Last backup: -
        Size of backup disk: Excellent
            Backup size 0 B > (Disk size 0 B X 3)
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
        97%    Google Chrome Helper(9)
        13%    mdworker(3)
         2%    Google Chrome
         1%    WindowServer
         1%    mds
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
    1.73 GB    Google Chrome Helper(9)
    111 MB    Google Chrome
    86 MB    mds
    70 MB    iTunes
    61 MB    WindowServer
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
    151 MB    Free RAM
    3.85 GB    Used RAM
    1.60 GB    Swap Used
Diagnostics Information: ℹ️
    May 4, 2015, 04:32:04 PM    Self test - passed
    May 9, 2010, 04:57:04 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Kernel_2010-05-09-165704_[redacted].panic [Click for details]

1. Increase your RAM to the maximum 8 Gigs.
2. Replace your 5400 rpm hard drive with either a SSD or, if price is an obstacle, a hybrid 7200 rpm drive.
3. Buy a new battery, recommend the genuine Apple one.
4. Replace the DVD drive, if you need it.
Recommended part sources:
https://www.macsales.com
https://www.ifixit.com
http://www.powerbookmedic.com

I am giving away a computer, what is the best way to wipe out data prior to depature

i am giving away a computer, what is the best way to wipe out data prior to depature

Did the Mac come with two grey disks when new? If so, use disk one to erase the drive using Disk Utility and then re-install the OS from the same disk. Once installed, quit and when the new owner boots they can set it up as a new out-of-the-box Mac when they boot it up. The grey disks need to be passed on with the computer.
If you need detailed instructions on how to erase and re-install please post back.
If the Mac came with Lion or Mountain Lion installed the above process can be done using the Recovery HD as since Lion no restore disks are supplied with the Mac.
The terms of the licence state that a Mac should be sold/passed on with the OS installed that was on the machine when new (or words to that effect).

What is the best cable to use to connect my MacBook Pro to my LG HD TV

What is the best cable to use to connect my MacBook Pro to my LG HD TV?

Read the tv user manual to see what they recommend.

What is the best external hard drive to backup my MacBook Pro?

What is the best external hard drive to backup my MacBook Pro?

The best is a Hitachi. This is basically the ONLY thing the "HD gurus" agree on.
Toshiba is nearly neck and neck in 2.5" USB external HD to Hitachi.
Here are "best for the money"....at bottom is BEST external USB HD
best options for the price, and high quality HD:
Quality 1TB drives are $50 per TB on 3.5" or $65 per TB on 2.5"
Perfect 1TB for $68
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YA3W/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379452568&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+toshiba
Nice 500gig for $50. ultraslim and perfect
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb
2 Terabytes, 2.5" and only $129
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Basics-Portable-HDTB120XK3CA/dp/B00ARJD56K
updated "design" casing cousin $119
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba
*This one is the BEST external HD available that money can buy:
$75
HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive
http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Touro-Mobile-External-HTOLMX3NA10001ABB/dp/B0062FZ2WS /ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379185002&sr=1-1&keywords=hitachi+extern a l+hard+drive
Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"

What is the best external battery to use with a macbook pro retina?

Looking for the best option here. What is the best external battery to use with a macbook pro retina?

You should check your date of purchase against the manufacturer's warranty
or guaranty since some of those better brands have some recourse should
they fail within a specified time period. A good reason to save dated receipts.
Since solid-state USB drives probably don't (all) use a wear-leveling software
to equally utilize their recordable space evenly, it is possible that some of these
may exhibit a failure in some sector areas due to excessive over-writing. If the
ones you use do not have such a technology or an undercounted total capacity
with a means to automatically write in other sections, you may have to consider
manually using a disk utility to zero-overwrite and reformat them occasionally.
Even so, that may only help a marginal flash or thumb drive work a little longer.
Should a camera memory card fail you still may be able to attempt with margin of
success, to +recover image files+ from it. re: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec
The standard default format they ship with works well for most file types; so if
you aren't moving OS X or Mac app specific files around on a USB flash drive,
the original format should be fine. Oh, you can use Disk Utility to attempt to do
a repair; but in some cases you may have to reformat them, etc.
{Some of the flash drive warranties or guarantees may vary from between regions;
so if you have one with a '5 Year' guarantee in the US, other rules may apply in EU,
or when you seek to replace an item under warranty outside of where it was bought.}
Good luck & happy computing!

What is the best way to wipe my hard drive for a clean install?

I've been having a lot of insane issues with my iMac like my Dock icons not staying, email messages showing in Mail but when I click on them I can't see any text, Spotlight finding emails and files that don't show on my hard drive, etc.
I've decided that I just want to wipe the whole thing clean and start from scratch. What is the best way that I can do this to make sure that absolutely no data is left on the drive and I am totally starting from scratch?

Hi David Hamilton1;
I guess that all depends on how critical your data is in relation to how much time you want to spend doing the erasure. Those higher level erasure options can take a significant amount of time to complete. Personally I don't have anything on my Mac that I think is worth more time then a simple erasure even if that does leave it some what recoverable. To me it seems some people are going overboard on this issue.
Allan

What is the best way to set up my new Mac Pro?

Not wanting to screw up in a process I've not done with a brand new machine before, I'm looking for feedback on my plan for setting my new Mac Pro next week...
The physical plan is this:
For RAM, I have four 2GB SDRAM's plus the supplied six 1GB modules. My plan here is to install the 2GB rams into the first four slots and install four of the 1GB modules into the remaining four slots for a total of 12GB's.
When the cost for 4GB modules gets down to reasonable, I'll buy four of them and bump the current rams down the line which will then give me a total of 24 gigs where I'll stay.
For my hard drives, I'm installing a 160GB Intel X25-M into the first drive bay
http://www.intel.com/design/flash/nand/mainstream/index.htm
using one of MaxUpgrades' 'MaxConnects' kits. I will use this drive for the operating system software and my applications and their libraries.
Next, into the remaining three drive bays, I am installing three 300GB WD Velociraptors. Mine are the pre-'backplane ready' versions:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=459
so I have bought these sleds for them...
http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_i d=180
I own one of Sonnet's Tempo SATA E4P cards
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/temposatae4p.html
which, thanks to this forum, I now understand, with the correct firmware installed, function well so I will install it and be able to establish hardware RAID. I will create a RAID 0 set with the three Velociraptors and use it to store all of my data files.
Backup will happen on a 1TB WD 'Caviar Black' external drive connected through one of the Sonnet card's external eSATA ports and using the OS 'Time Machine' software.
And that's the physical plan. My question is about setting things up. The physical installation part is straight forward and I don't expect any difficulties but I'm wondering what is the best way to install the operating system.
Do I take a first step keeping the supplied hard drive installed, install the solid state drive into the next drive bay and then transfer the contents from the supplied drive onto the SSD or do I do the complete physical installation process and do a 'C' drive start up and install the OS that way?
And, do you have any tips/suggestions on setting up the RAID 0 set?
thanks for the help. I want to do this right.
JQ

oh mighty Hatter, I knew you'd have helpful guidance to offer! And thank you. You've confirmed my anxieties about the Sonnet card; kind of a 'too much, too quickly' sort of thing. And it's not that Sonnet's not a good company. Just everything to do with new technologies and the growth curve we all, manufacturers and users, go through when they come out. And, for sure, the new Mac Pro's are new technology; the single biggest forward leap in Apple's top-of-the-line machines for some time far as I can tell. Just reading at Intel's website about the Nehalem's is a joy!
So, I will proceed now with everything except for the controller card, leaving that 'til later. In the meantime, I think I'll just happily run with the four hard drives all running independently. No software RAID. I know just those, the SSD boot drive plus Velociraptor trio's going inside of a 2.66ghz 8-core Nehalem Mac Pro is going to be a working pleasure. Heck, this way, I'll get settled in and used to the machine's speed, have a great time doing so and then, in however many months, I can jump into spending another chunk of money on an excellent RAID card, RAID card's dear Barefeats will have tested and reviewed for us, set up my RAID 0 set and head of to those new races watching my computer leap for joy! Could be that, by then, the cost of Intel 160GB X25-M's will have dropped enough that I can afford to go for a second and have a two SSD RAID 0 boot drive... Yummy!
Thanks for the help. Like I say, I knew there was useful guidance hanging on some limb within your personal kit, (otherwise referred to as your mind)!
Interesting to read about the problems people have had with Sonnet's 2.17 update in PPC's... In this computer, my PowerMac G5 dual 2.7ghz, I have a Sonnet 'Tempo Sata X4P' controller card. I downloaded and installed 2.17 and got the same troubles; no cut, no paste, no 'drag and drop' etc. It was miserable.
Mine, fortunately, magically corrected after running the 'permissions verify and correct' process in Disc Utility and, after a restart, all was back to almost normal but for one exception; the Sonnet card was no longer present or functioning including the four eSATA ports out the back. (I ran Tech Tools Pro 5's repair suites first but, and who knows why, it didn't correct the problem...) This one was absolutely in the 'who knows what the f_'s going on and why it disappeared but did' class.
Oh, the other remnant is that, when the computer goes into sleep, after about five minutes, the fans rev up, and up, and the computer's frozen; only access is to do a forced shutdown pressing and holding the power button, so I've had to adopt a 'shut down whenever leaving it for more than fifteen minutes' approach to this dear friend. Once I've fully moved into and established my new one (which should arrive today, by the way... Yippeee!!! Can't wait!), I'll do a complete restoration on this one including taking out the Sonnet card. Usually, I sell my old Pro's but, this time, I'm going to keep this one as a back up and just general second computer for times I might need it. It has been such a great and dependable machine. Keeping it seems the right thing to do.
thanks Hatter. I'll let you know how things go, including what happens with the SSD. I don't have speed test software so I won't be able to track it's performance like that guy in the post you gave me did...
JQ
ps- Gotta love that ILLogic fellow eh? Talk about not getting the essence!

What is the best way to handle .mod files in premiere pro cs4?

I recently got a JVC Everio GZ-MG130u and as I'm sure many of you are aware, it saves footage in the .mod format.
I have googled this and found quite a few different solutions, but I'm just wondering if anything has changed since some of these solutions were posted, or in other words, what is the best way at this current point in time to handle .mod files in premiere pro cs4?
As far as I know, the best thing to do is convert the .mod to .avi and then import it into premiere so it can be edited.. Is there a better way to do it than this? Also, by doing it this way, will I have separate audio and video tracks?
Thanks.

I have just done a bit of reading, here. All of the quotes that follow are from users who have posted in that thread.
It seems that there isn't one solid answer on this subject. The thread that I linked to was started 2 years ago, and replied to just 4 ago, so it's relatively current.
I noticed a couple different interesting statements:
posted by mmontgomery:
In the case of .MOD, you are actually getting a MPEG-2 file. The way
video files work is that there is a codec (COmpressor/DECompressor)
algorithm and a file wrapper (or extension). A JVC .MOD file is a
MPEG-2 encoded file, with a .MOD extension.
You're faced with two
challenges, first the .MOD file type is only recognized and support by a
few applications. I think we covered some of those already. The
interesting thing about wrappers and extensions is that they can be
dealt with in a variety of ways. Sometimes all you need to do to convert
the video file to a compatible video file is to change the extension.
In the case of .MOD files that's not enough. The .MOD wrapper apparently
does a few more things than just bare a unique extension name. It
requires a slightly more complicated method to convert that file. That
is why there is supplied software and that certain third party
applications have .MOD support.
(posted 2 years ago)
This seems to indicate that Ann's solution of simply re-naming the extension is not good enough, unless I am mis-interpreting what she meant.
However, another user said:
posted by futball8:
I edit with Adobe Premiere Pro CS3. All I have to do is simply rename
the .MOD files as .MPG and then import into PP CS3. It takes a small
amount of time to conform the audio, but no file conversion is
necessary. It's a pretty slick workflow and I've never encountered any
problems editing them this way.
(posted 5 months ago)
One can only assume that simply re-naming the extension from .mod to .mpg works in some circumstances, and doesn't work in others. I assume it depends largely on the editing software being used. Perhaps there are still issues that futball8 was simply unaware of or never encountered.
That said, there seems to be a couple of different real solutions to this problem that I have found:
1. Simply use an editing program that supports .mod file format. While pe7 and pe8 supposedly support the .mod format, the following should be noted:
posted by macksgarage:
While Elements 'supports' these files, it is markedly unstable and frequently crashes while using the files, though the application is otherwise reliable. The solution I have arrived at is to repair the container using ffmpeg. (see #3)
(posted 5 months ago)
2. Use a file conversion utility of your choice that will covert .mod to .avi, or another desired format. Import the resulting .avi file into premiere pro cs4.
3. Use FFmpeg. This seems to be the best solution as it does not convert any audio or video:
posted by macksgarae:
If you are not familiar with ffmpeg, it may be a bit of a bear to
learn, but it's not only useful for this, but functions as a video swiss
army knife useful for splicing, muxing/demuxing, and rendering just
about any format into just about any other format.
ffmpeg is an open source project from the linux world, but it has
been ported and is supported on windows. Fetch it here and place it somewhere handy
on your system.
To rewrite the container into a nice, standards compliant .mpg file
that doesn't make applications die, WITHOUT rerendering video or audio
itself, I use this command.
ffmpeg -i INFILE.MOD -acodec copy - vcodec copy OUTFILE.mpg
This not only renames the file, but actually rebuilds the container
around unmodified video and audio data, yielding a file which works much
more stably with Adobe applications, and presumably others as well, as
ffmpeg's open source development goals result in very standards
compliant files.
(posted 5 months ago)
Now, this seems to properly address the issues that can arise from simply renaming .mod to .mpg, as suggested by Ann. So from this point, I assume you can simply import the .mpg into Premiere Pro cs4 (or any other .mpg compliant program) and edit without issue, but it seems like I remember hearing something about Premiere not liking mpegs or something like that, so in that case, maybe it'd be better to skip this and go with option #2. But, it's been awhile since I've touched any NLE, much less premiere pro cs4, so I could be completely wrong and it may have no problems handling mpegs.
All of the things that I've quoted here came from the same thread, so I don't know how accurate any of this is, but the people that have posted these things seem fairly knowledgeable. If someone reads all of this and can confirm or deny any of it, it would be much appreciated.
Option 1 is not really an option for me, because I am sticking with premiere pro cs4 -- I'm not going to get another editor just because it has .mod support. That leaves me with options 2 and 3: Convert to avi, or change the file wrapper/extension properly with FFmpeg and then simply import the resulting .mpg file... Which is better? Or is there yet another solution that I am unaware of that would be even better?

What is the best way to wipe Photoshop CS 3 off computer, when uninstall is missing. I want to start fresh with PS CS 5.

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It has not been possible for me to uninstall them.   The uninstaller cannot be located, by me and Adobe in an hour and a half phone call.
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Hi   -- It appears that Adobe does not provide an uninstaller, because the Adobe tech and I tried all sorts of work arounds.
I dragged things to the trash on my own, without success, before this. Then, I put them back.   I did not empty the trash.
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What is the best way to export HDV from Final Cut Pro 5.1.2 ???

Should I even use the compressor route? i want my to export hdv footage to dvd studio pro and burn to dvd. i want to understand the best way so it looks like the original mini hdv tape.
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you can use compressor to encode your HDV footage.
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what type of footage, overall, would you say you have (fast action paced, slow action, interviews)?
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What is the best way to remove malware from my Macbook

Safari on my MacBook Pro is infected with malware. What is the best tool for removing malware from my MCBOOK?

Hi.
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Press command + option + esc keys together at the same time.
When Force Quit window appears, select Safari . Press Force Quit button at the bottom of the window.
2. Relaunch Safari holding the shift key down.
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Turn off Wifi. Click Wifi icon in the menu bar and select “Turn Wifi off”.
Visit another website.
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Turn on Wifi. Click Wifi icon in the menu bar and select “Turn Wifi on”.
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Cookies and website data:
Click “Details” button.
Remove the cookie related to this, if there is one.
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