Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Adobe Lightroom Q&A => Topic started by: Kenphoto on February 16, 2017, 09:49:14 am
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I currently use Lightroom on a PC desktop. If I get a MacBook, will an external disk drive containing my pictures be usable by both systems?
Thanks
Ken
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Yes.
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Not "out of the box", but easily enough. My main computer is a PC, I have a Mac laptop, and I move my main catalogue onto an external drive when needed, mainly for travel.
The key is to find a way over how PCs use NTFS for the drive while Apple use HFS, meaning that the Mac can't write to the NTFS drive. But a small Mac program called Tuxera NTFS allows the Mac to read and write NTFS.
There are other issues relating to folder paths, and other details which depend on exactly how you plan to use the two computers (eg each daily, or switching for days at a time).
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Thanks for the quick reply. The MacBook is for occasional use only. Mostly travel.
Ken
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Your PC will be formatted NTFS, more than likely. Your Mac Pro will not read NTFS. You can purchase Paragon software for NTFS, this will allow your Mac to read anything from an NTFS partition. If you are attempting to move your catalog over, you are a better Man than I am, as I would not attempt that. I would just create a new catalog on the Mac.
You can also purchase MacDrive for your PC, which will allow it to read the HPS+ formatted files.
NET it's not pretty, but it will work, I do it.
Also, Mac will format a drive in a format called exFat, this is FAT32, so it will be limited to a 2 TB partition in Windows, but if you have a lot of smaller externals, this is always an option as both systems will Play well this way. BTW, Mac can read see NTFS as you can run bootcamp under a HPS+ partition, Apple just choose to not allow the Mac to work with it. Typical situation.
If you use a Drobo, this is how to make it work:
Format it HPS+ on the Mac, then use Macdrive on your PC to read it. For some reason Paragon will see a NTFS formatted Drobo, but will not load it. I have not had any problems except an occasional Blue screen on the PC with MacDrive and Drobo. Currently working with them on that.
Paul Caldwell
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You can simply use a disk formatted in exFAT (you can do it both under Windows or Mac) and forget about additional applications or compatibility issues. It's fully supported by both systems, works like FAT32 but doesn't have the same limitations on file sizes (you can have up to 512PiB of storage space and 128PiB files).
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Just use Tuxera - NTFS as suggested by John Beardsworth.
No need to bother with alternate file systems.
Tony Jay
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Thanks everyone, now I just need to decide if I will buy a MacBook
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Thanks everyone, now I just need to decide if I will buy a MacBook
and then you can always put windows on a macbook of course with bootcamp.
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I use a W7 desktop and MacBook Pro and a shared external NTFS 4TB USB drive with the LR catalog. Used Paragon NTFS on the MBP to read/write to NTFS. When switching between the two OS, opening LR catalog the links may be broken showing the question mark. Just point to the ext drive and LR will re-establish the broken links.
While I was at it, I placed an HTFS and an HPS partition on Sandisk 500 Extreme USB3.0 using iPartition and use the HFS partition as a swap drive for CS6 on the MBP.
Corrected:substituted Paragon for iPartition for read/write on the MBP.
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Put the catalog on the external drive with the files if it is not already.