Page 66 • Idiotic Mac Questions for an Idiotic Mac Newbie Idiot. Idiot. • Non-Gaming • Apple, Mac, and iPod • Eurogamer.net

elstoof 31 Dec 2019 19:30:27 28,125 posts
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Did you restore from a time machine backup

beastmaster 31 Dec 2019 20:12:57 22,373 posts
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Yeah. But my photo library is on an external hard drive and somehow the new OS seems to have "corrupted" it. Not long before all the package files copy over to the new library created by iPhoto. Still may not work. Going to try to do the Repair when I open the new library.

Only abut 3,000 more items to copy. about 6 mins. Then see how it goes. If it works, I'll try and sort out my iPad next. Or I may leave that till tomorrow.

yegon 31 Dec 2019 20:14:19 6,511 posts
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I’ll be sticking with Mojave for as long a my 6+ year old Mac Mini & MacBook Pro expel air from their vents.

Ran go64, over half of the apps I use contain tonnes of 32 bit code, and a lot of them are ancient versions that work perfectly but no longer get updated. Catalina would break almost my entire workflow. Not that I have particularly unique requirements, but it’d be a pain in the arse finding alternatives. I wont mind if/when I have to do it on swanky new future macs I come to own.

I still like using my ancient Thunderbolt Display at its paltry 2560x1440, and given the current modern Apple equivalent is Ł4,600 (without a stand XD), think Ill have this for a while yet...

Edited by yegon at 20:18:16 31-12-2019

Zerobob 31 Dec 2019 20:24:12 3,017 posts
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Since updating to Catalina I've not been able to write to my external HDD because it's NTFS format, which Mac doesn't fully support.

I was previously using a program called Paragon to allow NTFS support, but this program no longer works on Catalina, as Catalina doesn't support 32 bit programs.

This has to be a common issue. Does anyone have a solution, other than reformatting the drive as fat 32?

beastmaster 31 Dec 2019 20:40:26 22,373 posts
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Can't help you on that. Catalina is taking a severe beating from everyone including critics. I did take a backup of the photos but they are on another hard drive which I keep at work. I don't know if those have been corrupted as I think I did that pre update. What a pain.

Above didn't work so the next thing is to copy the originals from the library packeting into a separate directory and re-import the entire lot. Will lose albums but I can re-create those over time. What a fucking fucker!

Edit: One of the worst software updates I've ever seen.

Edit 2: I could open the library on a mates Mac, export the photos then re-import as a worst case scenario.

Edited by beastmaster at 21:00:56 31-12-2019

Your-Mother 31 Dec 2019 20:46:26 8,172 posts
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Not that Catalina isn’t a shit show in other areas, but in fairness the big changes (dropping 32bit support, dropping iTunes and changing iDevice syncing) were detailed months, even years ago, so anyone going blindly in really only has themselves to blame.

Zerobob 31 Dec 2019 21:18:46 3,017 posts
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Yeah I'd have to agree. The lack of 32 bit support was something I was aware of, but never thought it'd affect the program that allows me access to NTFS drives. Catalina also moved masses of my directories from the root of my HDD and squirreled them away in my /users directory, as it deemed them a security risk. Wtf? It's up to me where I store my files thanks Apple, especially as some of those directories were required for my web development work.

I find Catalina a little faster than Sierra - apart from the startup time - the dark mode is nice, and I've noticed a few other improvements, but all in all I'm not sure if the upgrade was worth it.

I'd been putting off upgrading from Sierra for ages, then decided to upgrade. Unfortunate really, as I think if I'd upgraded earlier to Mojave I'd have been OK.

Edited by Zerobob at 21:20:20 31-12-2019

yegon 31 Dec 2019 21:25:30 6,511 posts
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It’s the first time I’ve not updated macOS.

I’ll check what NTFS prog I use with Mojave when I get home, can’t remember its name, might in fact be Paragon.

nickthegun 31 Dec 2019 21:56:17 87,711 posts
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Last time I looked, paragon hadn’t updated to work with the new OS. NTFS3G might have updated.

Tbh, I tended to use exFAT when I was using external drives to avoid fannying around with drivers.

yegon 31 Dec 2019 22:24:38 6,511 posts
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I try to, but my LG tv only accepts NTFS I think.

Hats off to the inbuilt LG media player, it just works, x265, HDR stuff, plays all the dubiously sourced content I throw at it, 4TB WD Passport hangs out the back. Simple folder structure just how I like, no ridiculous glossy interface with huge screenshots and needless scrolling.

Edited by yegon at 22:25:30 31-12-2019

yegon 1 Jan 2020 12:04:37 6,511 posts
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@Zerobob

Checked what I use, it's NTFS for Mac by Paragon Software and it IS 64 bit as it turns out.

v15.5.53

Edited by yegon at 12:04:54 01-01-2020

beastmaster 6 Jan 2020 18:16:34 22,373 posts
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My backup of my external HD which I keep at work has all my photo library intact and unmolested by Catalina.Got everything back to normal now. Phew! That'll learn me!

Downes_87 23 Jan 2020 21:16:12 172 posts
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Hoping for some advice...

We have a new iMac being delivered tomorrow and I am planning on using an external HDD to store our photos and plex media. Internal disk on the iMac is not huge.

I want to ensure I have a back up of the internal iMac disk and also the external disk. I see time machine can do this by backing up to a second disk from a bit of googling. Does anyone have any experience using this?

I’ve also looked into NAS and RAID options but it all getting very complicated. Or maybe I’m an idiot.

Any advice on the best way for me to back up my data? I have a severe headache from all the reading around I’ve done as there are so many ways to go about it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Edited by Downes_87 at 21:18:35 23-01-2020

mothercruncher 23 Jan 2020 22:46:19 19,474 posts
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Time Machine is absolutely flawless, just set and forget. The HD you’re using for the Tome Machine backups just needs to be bigger than your internal hard drive.

elstoof 23 Jan 2020 22:48:57 28,125 posts
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Time machine itself is very easy, you just plug an external drive in and leave it there, the Mac does the rest. I’m not sure how you go about backing up both the HDD and external drive with time machine though

elstoof 23 Jan 2020 22:50:36 28,125 posts
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Here you go, looks like it’s piss easy

https://www.macworld.com/article/3153995/how-to-make-sure-time-machine-backs-up-external-drives.html

Plug two drives into the iMac, use one as external storage, the other as backup for both you internal and external drives, time machine takes care of everything behind the scenes for you.

That’s what you want to do, right?

Edited by elstoof at 22:53:45 23-01-2020

beastmaster 24 Jan 2020 13:15:03 22,373 posts
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I’ve had to use time machine a couple of times to restore the iMac. Works perfectly.

If it comes with Catalina and you’re used to iTunes, prepare for some...headaches.

elstoof 24 Jan 2020 13:24:51 28,125 posts
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Or don’t, no real issues with Music or Catalina here

beastmaster 24 Jan 2020 20:58:02 22,373 posts
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No issues with syncing devices using Finder? That seems to be a first.

Downes_87 24 Jan 2020 21:42:58 172 posts
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@beastmaster I did a restore years ago when I had a 2010 MacBook Pro. Was very simple thankfully.

Moved to a pc but then the Mrs insisted on moving back to a Mac just recently. Not used iTunes for years, not much cause to. Not yet tried to sync a phone with finder? Is there much reason to?

beastmaster 24 Jan 2020 22:17:19 22,373 posts
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@Downes_87 Avoid if you can. If you've got your photos, music and videos elsewhere and don't want them on your devices (assuming you have iPhone etc.) then try and keep it that way.

There are pages and pages of threads about what a general mess using finder is to sync up devices with photos, music etc. Went back to Mojave and will keep my iMac on that.

I wouldn't mind giving Catalina a go though. Yes, I could do that on a bootable USB and all that. But I really fancy a new 16 inch MBP.

Downes_87 24 Jan 2020 22:31:49 172 posts
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@beastmaster music on Spotify, photos in google and videos bought through iTunes or on plex. I’ve had no need for syncing to a computer for a while.

Taking some getting used to after being back on a PC for about 5 years.

Oh and just discovered the lack of 4K content I.e Netflix I can’t play on this 5k iMac. Good stuff.

Edited by Downes_87 at 22:32:40 24-01-2020

Deleted user 24 January 2020 23:40:33

Yeah, I’m a big fan of OS X in general but so many things recently have forced me to move away. I replaced my MacBook with an iPad Air for everyday computing and run Windows 10 on a desktop for everything else

mothercruncher 31 Jan 2020 17:36:46 19,474 posts
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I got free Apple TV with an iPad purchase, but can’t quite figure it out. It looks to be less Netflix- which is great with everything available to watch- and more Prime- which I hate with the awkward mash up of stuff that’s “free” and stuff they get the begging bowl out for.

Is there any content that’s just available to browse and watch? Is any of it decent or are they still behind the curve?

Basically, I’m wondering if I can be bothered to put my password in...

Derblington 31 Jan 2020 17:51:13 35,161 posts
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Apple have 5 or 6 shows. That’s the lot right now. Pretty sure they’re all in a big tile bar that you can swipe through, it’s just the Apple stuff.

mothercruncher 31 Jan 2020 18:26:33 19,474 posts
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Sounds fairly bollocks, cheers.

yegon 31 Jan 2020 20:27:49 6,511 posts
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@mothercruncher

I got a free 12 months.

I enjoyed For All Mankind, easy to recommend. Alternate history, Russians land on moon first.

Servant is good IF you can tolerate Shyamalan, mysteries, questions going unanswered.

The Morning Show is a weird one. First couple of episodes I found a but subpar, a little soapy and a whiff of network tv filler. There’s one really weak episode around the middle, but the second half of the season is a lot better, the last two eps in particular. Great finale, although it’s a bit of unrealistic wish fulfilment at the end. Billy Crudup is excellent throughout.

See is garbage, based on the 1.5 eps I watched.

No way would I pay for such a paltry catalogue, but free* is free.

*The 12 months came with Apple TV 4K, which I wanted for other duties.

As for the app, scroll right to the bottom and you can select the TV+ channel, which contains just TV+ content. The app is shite.

Edited by yegon at 20:29:30 31-01-2020

MMMarmite 31 Jan 2020 20:45:58 1,659 posts
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As Derbs said there isn’t a huge amount available right now. The Morning Show is worth a watch though and I quite liked For All Mankind.

Mythic Quest, due of the 7th, also looks like it might be worth a try.

Derblington 31 Jan 2020 21:17:21 35,161 posts
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I’m currently using a free year myself, but I’ve not actually watched anything yet. Likely to buy a Apple TV 4K this year, so I assume that’ll stack a 2nd year on top.

It’s definitely not a service I’d pay for.

elstoof 31 Jan 2020 22:04:48 28,125 posts
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I’ve got a free year from something I bought. Might be the Apple Music family sub. Not tried it yet

Idiotic Mac Questions for an Idiotic Mac Newbie Idiot. Idiot. • Page 66