Converting from Mac to PC

[Royal Jayhawk]

Hi Brian -

So... I am sure Damien will approve... I broke down and bought a PC (longtime Mac user here).

I ended up getting this:

https://www.costco.com/Dell-XPS-Tower---Intel-Core-i7---8GB-AMD-Graphics.product.100347160.html

I realize that I will have to be SUPER ANAL about my SSD.  But, eventually it will probably be swapped for something bigger.

Coming from Mac land, I have a general question.  I know that I've seen threads about a PC equivalent to "Clean My Mac" that you guys recommend.  I would search for it, but I just don't know what it is called... so I don't know what to search for.  Hahaha.  Can you provide any guidance?

Any other things I need to have high on my radar with a PC?  I am pretty computer savvy (read - I am not scared to tinker with stuff - I used to know windows well but the last time I seriously used a PC for reasons other than my day job at work (where I never use anything but internet and Microsoft Office) was a LONG time ago (at least XP)).

I cannot wait to get everything set up.  I am working on calibration and getting my photoshop settings correct tonight.  Hope to start posting for Damien again very soon.

(Oh - and picked up a Dell u2412m monitor - SO excited to get away from the retina where my eyes strain to see detail due to small pixels).

Thanks!

-Kris

[Damien Symonds]

9 minutes ago, Royal Jayhawk said:

Coming from Mac land, I have a general question.  I know that I've seen threads about a PC equivalent to "Clean My Mac" that you guys recommend.  I would search for it, but I just don't know what it is called... so I don't know what to search for.  Hahaha.  Can you provide any guidance?

This is the one I use: http://www.glarysoft.com/

[Brian]

I've used a program called CCleaner for years. It works well and I even use the "Free" version. Here is the link: https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download?pc

[Brian]

Glary or CCleaner is what you are looking for. Both programs are excellent. As for which one? Canon or Nikon? Toyota or Honda? Ford or Chevy? Etc. etc. It all boils down to how you like the interface.

[Royal Jayhawk]

Great!  Thanks a ton guys!

One (hopefully) last question - I have an extra external harddrive that came with my new camera.  Never been used.  Is there an easy way to use that to transfer my files from my Mac to my PC?  I have another external drive which already has all of my mac files on it (e.g., pictures, etc.) that my PC won't recognize due to the Mac OS formatting.

Thanks again!

Edited June 7, 2017 by Royal Jayhawk
add clarification

[Brian]

Just now, Royal Jayhawk said:

Is there an easy way to use that to transfer my files from my Mac to my PC? 

By default, a Mac will read Windows files, but not write to a Windows HD. There are ways around this, but you could create a 32GB FAT32 Partition in Windows and call it "Transfer" on that EHD. FAT32 plays nicely with both Macs and Windows. Yes, there are other ways to do things, but I don't recommend them. (i.e. exFAT partition.) There are also programs for the Mac that will enable you to read and write to a Windows HD and there is a command that you can run in the Mac OS Shell to turn on write function to NTFS. You could network the two as well, but then there is that whole Mac HFS+ (Mac OS Extended - Journaled)  vs. Windows NTFS and now Apple has a new partition file system that you'll have to contend with.

I'm not going to get into that. Too much liability. The "Safest" route is the 32GB FAT32 Partition. Or use a Thumb Drive. LOL!!

[Royal Jayhawk]

1 minute ago, Brian said:

By default, a Mac will read Windows files, but not write to a Windows HD. There are ways around this, but you could create a 32GB FAT32 Partition in Windows and call it "Transfer" on that EHD. FAT32 plays nicely with both Macs and Windows. Yes, there are other ways to do things, but I don't recommend them. (i.e. exFAT partition.) There are also programs for the Mac that will enable you to read and write to a Windows HD and there is a command that you can run in the Mac OS Shell to turn on write function to NTFS. You could network the two as well, but then there is that whole Mac HFS+ (Mac OS Extended - Journaled)  vs. Windows NTFS and now Apple has a new partition file system that you'll have to contend with.

I'm not going to get into that. Too much liability. The "Safest" route is the 32GB FAT32 Partition. Or use a Thumb Drive. LOL!!

After I typed my question, I cringed that I would get the "Let Me Google That For You" link.  I just trust you will tell me the "right" way.  I appreciate that.  FAT32 it is!

[Brian]

I'm feeling generous. How about test driving this program for me?

http://www.mediafour.com/software/macdrive/

See if it will do what it says it will do. It states you can plug in a Mac EHD into a Windows Computer and be able to read / copy the files.

The reason I ask is I'm probably going to go back to Windows 10 for my next computer. I don't want or need a 5000K Retina Screen. 1920 x 1080 works just fine.

[Royal Jayhawk]

27 minutes ago, Brian said:

How about test driving this program for me?

http://www.mediafour.com/software/macdrive/

So this was awesome (partially).  It saved me a ton of time because I could skip the FAT 32 hassle (e.g., formatting on windows --> then uploading all of my mac to ehd --> then ehd to pc).  It really was as simple as:  download program --> ehd to pc.

The only issue is that it would not transfer a 24GB file of JPEGS that I had on my drive (from WAY before I was into photography and shot RAW).  I only attempted to transfer photos for now.  So, I will see if it works with my music and then I'll be good for my purposes.  But, I do advise caution that I received an error on that one folder that just won't transfer.

I'll update if I have further issues.  Everything else worked like a charm.  Thanks for the tip!

[Brian]

Yeah, these software packages are not fool proof. Also, having a single file of 24GB is not a good thing. With FAT32, the maximum single file size is slightly less than 4GB. So you might want to create a bunch of chunks from that 24GB file before attempting a transfer, like creating 12 2GB chunks.

Oh, be sure to "copy & paste" and NOT "cut & paste." If you "cut" or move the file, if something goes wrong during the transfer, files can go "Poof." I've been bitten once by this; of course the files were irreplaceable and not backed up. I learned the hard way that day. 

[Royal Jayhawk]

19 minutes ago, Brian said:

Yeah, these software packages are not fool proof. Also, having a single file of 24GB is not a good thing. With FAT32, the maximum single file size is slightly less than 4GB. So you might want to create a bunch of chunks from that 24GB file before attempting a transfer, like creating 12 2GB chunks.

Oh, I wasn't entirely clear.  This was the parent folder of quite a few sub folders - I just wasn't thinking about that when I moved all of my other photos (which are in separate folders by session with no real "parent folder" yet).  I will try much smaller batches of copy & paste.  

I am going to retract my statement about being computer savvy.  I will say that I once WAS computer savvy, which probably makes me more like "computer dangerous" today... hahaha.  But I will say that I'm not scared to learn.

[Brian]

There are two things that are extremely dangerous when it comes to computers:

1. 14 Year Old Sons
2. Brother-in-Laws

I had one customer way back when telling me a very long story about her computer troubles. I looked at her square in the eye and asked, "Did your Brother-in-Law try to "fix" your computer and now it's worse than ever before?" Her mouth dropped. She said, "HOW DID YOU KNOW?!?!!!"

Just a hunch.