HELP! Moved from PC to MAC- need Lightroom and HD help

jennverr · 01-13-2013, 08:17 AM

Hi all

I recently just switched to mac. YAY! But, the whole transfer has not been completely smooth so far (not yay).

I have installed LR on the mac. works.
I have copied the LR cat and related files to my external HD and then to the Mac. Good, works!
I can see all my photos both on the external Drive and on the Mac HD in LR, all edits copied over, good works.
I have reinstalled all the presets I had.. .looks good.

The problem I have is that there seem to be certain things I can't do within lightroom with the files on the external HD
So I have all my files and folders listed on the left panel. But I cannot move any of those folders that are on the external HD to another location (for instance the Mac HD) I am guessing this has to do with it being a PC formatted HD, or something. Also I've been trying to copy a folder from the external HD to the Mac desktop (not even in LR, just in the finder area), and then having LR find it, but that isn't working either.

I'm not very tech savvy with this kind of stuff, so if you have any advice, please keep that in mind. Thanks for any help!

**boriscleto** · 01-13-2013, 08:39 AM - **1 Like**

If the external drive is formatted as NTFS you will need to buy a NTFS driver. The NTFS driver that comes with OS X is read only.

Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X software

The best solution may be to copy all the files from that HD to another and then format the external to Mac OS Extended format.

**Tamia** · 01-13-2013, 09:19 AM

In addition to that Boriscleto said, consider the possibility that this is a permissions problem. I have multiple Macs, and when I transfer files from one computer to another -- whether by stick, drive or dropping into the box through "sharing" -- I cannot work on the files directly. I have to copy them and then work on the copy. I haven't figured a way around that. Then again, I'm working on older operating systems (Leopard and Tiger), which might have a bearing. But it might be worth your trying to make duplicates of your files to see if you can work on those.

Anvh · 01-13-2013, 09:19 AM

exFAT might be best solution between all the systems.

**boriscleto** · 01-13-2013, 09:27 AM

Originally posted by Anvh

exFAT might be best solution between all the systems.

But only if you want a cross platform solution. If you are using just one platform it is best to use that platform's native file system. With exFAT you will not have Mac OS Journaling for instance. On Windows you can not pre-allocate disk space like NTFS can etc.

Mac OS X: About file system journaling

jennverr · 01-13-2013, 09:48 AM

Thanks everyone. I downloaded a trial version of the software and so far seems to be working! Keeping fingers crossed ! Even if I end up paying the $20 for the full driver , it's still not too bad. I think this will work for now. hopefully. Thanks again!!

jennverr · 01-13-2013, 09:58 AM

Actually now I am wondering if it would make sense to copy everything from the xternal HD to the Mac HD, refomat the external so it's Mac compatible, then move everything back on to it. So conceivably I wouldn't need the driver anymore, and hopefully wouldn't run into any issues down the road in the future. Good idea, bad idea?

IchabodCrane · 01-13-2013, 12:53 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by jennverr

Actually now I am wondering if it would make sense to copy everything from the xternal HD to the Mac HD, refomat the external so it's Mac compatible, then move everything back on to it. So conceivably I wouldn't need the driver anymore, and hopefully wouldn't run into any issues down the road in the future. Good idea, bad idea?

If this is the end of your need for a Windows external drive, then I'd recommend doing just as you suggest.

01-13-2013, 08:17 AM	#1
jennverr Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: washington, dc Posts: 224	HELP! Moved from PC to MAC- need Lightroom and HD help Hi all I recently just switched to mac. YAY! But, the whole transfer has not been completely smooth so far (not yay). I have installed LR on the mac. works. I have copied the LR cat and related files to my external HD and then to the Mac. Good, works! I can see all my photos both on the external Drive and on the Mac HD in LR, all edits copied over, good works. I have reinstalled all the presets I had.. .looks good. The problem I have is that there seem to be certain things I can't do within lightroom with the files on the external HD So I have all my files and folders listed on the left panel. But I cannot move any of those folders that are on the external HD to another location (for instance the Mac HD) I am guessing this has to do with it being a PC formatted HD, or something. Also I've been trying to copy a folder from the external HD to the Mac desktop (not even in LR, just in the finder area), and then having LR find it, but that isn't working either. I'm not very tech savvy with this kind of stuff, so if you have any advice, please keep that in mind. Thanks for any help!

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01-13-2013, 08:39 AM - 1 Like	#2
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	If the external drive is formatted as NTFS you will need to buy a NTFS driver. The NTFS driver that comes with OS X is read only. Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X software The best solution may be to copy all the files from that HD to another and then format the external to Mac OS Extended format.

01-13-2013, 09:19 AM	#3
Tamia Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Here, there, and everywhere. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,384	In addition to that Boriscleto said, consider the possibility that this is a permissions problem. I have multiple Macs, and when I transfer files from one computer to another -- whether by stick, drive or dropping into the box through "sharing" -- I cannot work on the files directly. I have to copy them and then work on the copy. I haven't figured a way around that. Then again, I'm working on older operating systems (Leopard and Tiger), which might have a bearing. But it might be worth your trying to make duplicates of your files to see if you can work on those.

01-13-2013, 09:19 AM	#4
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	exFAT might be best solution between all the systems.

01-13-2013, 09:27 AM	#5
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Originally posted by Anvh exFAT might be best solution between all the systems. But only if you want a cross platform solution. If you are using just one platform it is best to use that platform's native file system. With exFAT you will not have Mac OS Journaling for instance. On Windows you can not pre-allocate disk space like NTFS can etc. Mac OS X: About file system journaling

01-13-2013, 09:48 AM	#6
jennverr Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: washington, dc Posts: 224 Original Poster	Thanks everyone. I downloaded a trial version of the software and so far seems to be working! Keeping fingers crossed ! Even if I end up paying the $20 for the full driver , it's still not too bad. I think this will work for now. hopefully. Thanks again!!

01-13-2013, 09:58 AM	#7
jennverr Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: washington, dc Posts: 224 Original Poster	Actually now I am wondering if it would make sense to copy everything from the xternal HD to the Mac HD, refomat the external so it's Mac compatible, then move everything back on to it. So conceivably I wouldn't need the driver anymore, and hopefully wouldn't run into any issues down the road in the future. Good idea, bad idea?

01-13-2013, 12:53 PM - 1 Like	#8
IchabodCrane Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,728	Originally posted by jennverr Actually now I am wondering if it would make sense to copy everything from the xternal HD to the Mac HD, refomat the external so it's Mac compatible, then move everything back on to it. So conceivably I wouldn't need the driver anymore, and hopefully wouldn't run into any issues down the road in the future. Good idea, bad idea? If this is the end of your need for a Windows external drive, then I'd recommend doing just as you suggest.