Bought an iMac. NOW what?

K

KogeJoe

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Been hearing the raving about how Mac is so much easier to work with for some time now, and I finally got an iMac to play around with.

Don't get me wrong, I like the cool visual effects, they look purty and all, but I'm having switching pains. First of all, I'm having trouble getting my USB external HD to work. Granted, it is in NTFS format, but according to people I've talked to, the Mac should still be able to read it.

Second, I'm having trouble understanding the way in which Mac OS stores files and applications.

Anyone know a good website/resource for Mac newbies like myself?

THX.
 
The Mac can read NTFS, but unfortunately it's read-only. Linux and other non-MS operating systems also have this problem. This is mainly because Microsoft hasn't made NTFS as accessible for everyone else. FAT32 on the other hand is more openly accesible to other operating systems and they can read and write to them.

As for how files are stored, you have a home folder where all of your personal documents and files go. In the root of the hard drive, there's an Applications folder which is where your applications go. Most applications are installed by ust dragging the app icon over to the Applications folder and are uninstalled by dragging the app icon from the Applications folder over to the Trash. Some applications are provided with installers/uninstallers, but the usual method on the Mac is just to drag-and-drop. Very simple.

As for helpful sites, you've already found one. ;) There are some books that you can purchase that will give you the lowdown on how to use Mac OS X. I don't remember their names, but I'm sure some others here will chime in with some good ones.

Hope this helps, and welcome to Macintosh (and the forum). :)
 
Well it might be worth getting OS 10.4, The Missing Manual as its a good primer in all things OS X.

In terms of other good sites, you're already here! Seriously, this board is friendly and there are many people ready to answer your questions. That said, there are some general guides that Looked ok. There was one on the basic OS X software you get with the machine, but just Googling for OS X switchers guide was pretty good.

Other specific sites that are good, MacFixit for diagnostics and Mac OS X hints for little hacks etc, but both of these are less generally helpful the macosx.com IMO.

To try and answer your more specific issues:

Your HD _should_ work, at lest for read only, as you seem to have been told, NTFS cannot be written to by any system but Windows as MS keep the system closed (linux users have the same issue). Let us know what you're tried so far and how the machine responded. Did anything appear on your desktop or in the sidebar of the Finder windows when you plugged it in? Did you get any pop up messages saying it couldn't be read? If you give us more info we can help you troubleshoot.

If you need a drive that can be read by both systems, eother use FAT and work aroudn the 2gb max file size or pick up MacDrive which allows Windows to read and write to the HFS+ format that Apple uses for drives.

On how things are stored, I'm guess what's troubling you are the standard locations for things.

In the root folder of your hard drive, there are a bunch of folders, the only ones you need to know about are 'Applications', where applications available to all users of the machine are stored (there is another applications folder for things for one user only but it's not relevant for most people who are the sole users of their machine).

The other key folder is Users. In here you will find a folder with the name of the account you set up when you first started up the mac. For me its MyHDname/Users/ora. This is often refereed to as you 'home' folder, and where most things are stored. If you use the apple programs, then its all quiet self explanatory. iTunes keeps your music in the Music folder, iPhoto keep your pictures in the Pictures folder. The desktop is generally used as a temporary space to keep things, but is also a proper folder in your home folder, predictably called Desktop. Most people keep text files in the "Documents' folder.

I hope this is what you were after, else let us know and we'll work it out.
 
I had a similar problem. Did you setup the usb hd on a PC? If so, you might have partition problems not related to the Mac. My problem stemmed from a drive overlay placed on the partition. When I removed the overlay then my connection problems went away.
I always understood the reason for Mac's inability to write NTFS stems from copyright issues. FAT32 is public domain (for now) but Apple would have to pay royalty money to Microsoft for the ability to write NTFS. There is a third party program giving Mac users the ability to R/W NTFS.
 
What program allows third party to write to Microsoft's proprietary file system? I know HSF+ (Mac OS X Extended) is open sourced and windows can see HFS+ volumes with the third party program MacDrive 6.
 
Satcomer said:
What program allows third party to write to Microsoft's proprietary file system? I know HSF+ (Mac OS X Extended) is open sourced and windows can see HFS+ volumes with the third party program MacDrive 6.
Click to expand...


Hello, I am in the process of switching to an iMAC intel and have been getting all my documents ready (organized) for the transfer. As I have many movie files larger that 2gig that rules out FAT32, as the MAC can read NTFS but not write to it i was planning on transferring all of my files over to a folder on the Mac HD, re-formatting the USB 2.0 drive under Mac OS and then moving them back. I will be using Move-2-Mac to transfer most of my documents and stuff as well as all my mail settings from Outlook, but as it is slow (15 min for 500Meg) I want to avoid moving all of my large files that way, it would take 7 hours. Can I use the import feture in Itunes and iMovie to import my music and movies as well? As I am getting a 500gig drive on the Mac there should be plenty of room. Anyone see any problem with this plan, or am I dreaming.
 
Satcomer said:
What program allows third party to write to Microsoft's proprietary file system? I know HSF+ (Mac OS X Extended) is open sourced and windows can see HFS+ volumes with the third party program MacDrive 6.
Click to expand...


Hello, I am in the process of switching to an iMAC intel and have been getting all my documents ready (organized) for the transfer. As I have many movie files larger that 2gig that rules out FAT32, as the MAC can read NTFS but not write to it i was planning on transferring all of my files over to a folder on the Mac HD, re-formatting the USB 2.0 drive under Mac OS and then moving them back. I will be using Move-2-Mac to transfer most of my documents and stuff as well as all my mail settings from Outlook, but as it is slow (15 min for 500Meg) I want to avoid moving all of my large files that way, it would take 7 hours. Can I use the import feature in Itunes and iMovie to import my music and movies as well? As I am getting a 500gig drive on the Mac there should be plenty of room. Anyone see any problem with this plan, or am I dreaming.
 
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