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So I've finally done it. Bought a Mac, well, older model Macbook Pro. Always been a Windows user but owning an iPhone for years has persuaded me to jump. Especially as I do a lot of music production and graphics work and my Windows laptop is literally falling apart and needs replacing anyway.
What's the recommended way to move over? The HDD's are the same size so in theory could just migrate over somehow. But then I think the apps and programs are different? Tempted to just start fresh which will help me weed out the stuff I don't really need. Keep the Windows machine for a while and just gradually move over.
Yep, start a fresh.
But then I think the apps and programs are different?
Yes. You need to get Mac versions of all your apps, or run Windows in a virtual machine. Dropbox or whatever similar cloud storage makes it simple to backup and move your data.
It's years since I used a Mac, but there used to be a wizard to help with moving from Windows to Macs.
Thanks!
but there used to be a wizard to help with moving from Windows to Macs.
Yes, when I was initially booting it up I got the option to run the 'migration assistant'. Thought I'd check with STW first 🙂
Got some dodgy old programs too which might cause an issue. Mainly really old cracked music plug-ins which simply aren't available anymore rather than being too tight to buy them. Best to start afresh.
A Mac will not run Windows programs natively any more than a petrol car will run on diesel. You will be able to migrate data but not applications.
Pretty much as above. The easiest way will probably just be to move your files across with a USB drive.
Yep - start fresh. There’s no point trying to replicate your Windows set up on a Mac.
Ok
So my plan is to make a list of all apps/progs then start getting the mac versions. Steinberg Cubase is my main thing which has a duel installer. Then Adobe stuff. Then all the little bits. Is there anything Macs do natively? I'm thinking office stuff? I use Open Office etc for all that currently.
Shouldn't these have been questions before you bought it? 😁
I use Open Office etc for all that currently.
For home use LibreOffice is usually a better choice than Open Office. AFAIK both have Mac versions.
Open Office is available for Mac too.
Or you could use Apples Apps - Pages, Numbers, Keynote.
SoundSource is a nice utility for soundy people
VLC for moving pictures.
MacsFanControl if things start getting hot (use with caution)
Pacifist, Funter and The Unarchiver are useful.
Open up Finder and go to Applications. All your installed apps are in there and should give you a good idea of your starting point. Going to a Mac from Windows is a bit of a learning curve and Finder is a bit clunky imo, so I'd recommend getting to know Spotlight for finding your way around (Cmd-Space).
mac's come with Pages which is a word processing app. free obviously
you can buy office if you need that, just the same as windows
adobe is easy, you just install CC and click 'install' next to the apps you want on the system and it does it all for you
+1 on spotlight, I use it for everything. cmd+space anywhere, start typing and its pretty smart at bringing up whatever you want - similar to the swipe down search on an iPhone if you have one
I have auto-hide on my dock - I'd rather have the real estate
I use expose/hot corners (whatever it's called now) where you nudge the mouse to a corner of the screen to: show all windows, show desktop, etc. I find it mega useful and prob use it 20-50 times a day. I'm always moving files around so find it super useful to have one of the corners as 'show desktop'
Thanks. All good info!
Get a copy of parallels?
That way you can run Windows in a window on Mac. Most of your old stuff will run in the VM.
You’ll be missing out on MacOS’s neatness, but this might help you transition.
Migration assistant is OK, but slow. I’ve only used it for moving from Mac to Mac.
Consider copying your documents to a cloud-based store. It can make many things easier.
Quick question
The mac has the latest OS Monterey 12.5.1.
The very first thing I've tried to do is install drivers for my old Focusrite USB audio interface and straight away I've hit a snag - 'This package is incompatible with this version of MacOS'
Is that just the way it is? Or is the latest OS a bit 'beta' and maybe worth (possible?) to roll back to a more stable version so I've got more chance of getting things working?
Cheers
Are there any new drivers available from Focusrite?
Perhaps ask on some music production forums. Macs are used widely for this so their may be a workaround.
The very first thing I’ve tried to do is install drivers
Where did you get those drivers from? https://downloads.focusrite.com/focusrite
Does it need them? (How very 20th Century...)
👍
Aye, Focusrite. It's an ancient interface but is perfect for my needs.
try using the latest version of installers if you hit a snag look for legacy versions,
sometimes SIP can get in the way, you mingt need to allow System pref/security and privacy:"allow apps downloaded from anywhere"
occasionally I've had to disable the codesignature check to get the odd bit of software or plugin to load using terminal and a couple of commands.
As an aside for older hardware the best OS is often the versions around its release date, the latest and greatest OS releases really do not offer much IMO and are sometimes just resource hogs. The only reason I really see to run the later OS versions is if you need software or hardware that will not run on a legacy version.
try using the latest version of installers if you hit a snag look for legacy versions,
sometimes SIP can get in the way, you mingt need to allow System pref/security and privacy:”allow apps downloaded from anywhere”
occasionally I’ve had to disable the codesignature check to get the odd bit of software or plugin to load using terminal and a couple of commands.
Looked into it. My interface will only work on Mac OS Mojave. To be fair, it wasn't supposed to work with Win10 but it did, kind of, so I knew I was pushing it. It's an anticipated problem but I'm tempted to see if I can roll back to that OS rather than replace the interface just right now, as I have the same interfaces both at home and at my studio so would mean replacing both. My version of Cubase (main music production software) is also quite old so might be better suited to an older OS.
High Sierra is pretty stable and runs nearly everything bt the latest versions of software that support silicon.. 🙁
in case you are having any issues obtaining and installer with the macappshitestore..
this tool is for unsupported macs but you can use it to make a regular bootable installer and it has a tool for downloading HS directly from their server.
http://dosdude1.com/highsierra/