View Full Version : Going from a Hackintosh to a Mac Pro, some tips needed.
It's been four and a half months since I started my adventures with OS X (http://www.boat-drinks.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7574) and I'm hooked. I've played around with this system over that time and I've decided that I do thoroughly like using it. I've done the ultimate try-before-you buy by running the operating system on PC hardware.
I've also done some research and I discovered that Apple hardware isn't as stupidly overpriced as some people claim. I priced up a system as closely in spec as I could to the current Mac Pro and once you take into account the discounts which are available, the price wasn't very different. I felt vindicated to find that I wasn't alone and that Tom's Hardware have done a similar comparison (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/apple-mac-leopard-windows-vista,1985.html) with similar results.
So it's happening, in a few weeks time I shall be moving away from a PC and for the first time ever, buying a computer that's pre-built. I've never owned an 'off the shelf' computer before so it's all quite exciting.
So I have some questions regarding the change from the hackintosh to the real thing.
Access to the hard drive. I'm planning on taking the drive I use for OS X out of the PC and putting it into the Mac. It won't be the boot drive but I'll use it to copy files and stuff off so that I can reinstall applications on the Mac and if possible keep settings. Will I be able to still access this drive in the new machine or will I need to do the equivalent of windows 'take ownership' to do it?
Keychain - Can I export it from here and import it into the Mac?
Mobileme - This machine is currently called "Feek's Mac Pro" which is the same name I expect the new box to be called. Is this going to cause me a problem when I sign into mobileme to sync my data from the cloud back onto the new box?
Firefox - Saving bookmarks and extensions and stuff? Can I just grab it from the applications directory on this drive and drag it into the new drive? Will it all work?
Sleep mode - I've heard this mentioned a lot (it doesn't work on the hack). How long does it take a Mac to sleep and how long to wake up? What's power consumption like in sleep mode?
I'm sure there will be more things to think about, but this is a start.
Ta :)
There's one warning I'd best give you on the Mac Pro. From users of non-Mac systems I've heard FB-DIMMs are rather power-hungry. It's quite possible that the Mac Pro will need more juice than your hackintosh. I guess if you have a working sleep mode that'll do a good job of offsetting that, so it probably won't be a problem. Just fair warning. :)
Access to hard drive - Plug it in and it'll work. if you have some strange permissions on then you may need to play about a bit but it should be a plug and play operation.
Keychain - There is an import/export function in Keychain. You could also try copying the keychain file over if that doesn't work. It's in ~/Library/Keychains, /Library/Keychains and to a lesser extent /Network/Library/Keychains.
MobileMe - No idea. I suspect having 2 machines with the same name will upset the apple cart but don't know for definate.
Firefox - It can work with just copying ~/Library/Firefox over but I wouldn't advise it. Think of it as copying a directory from Program Files on a Windows box over to another. I'd export your bookmarks, import them and grab the addons manually.
Sleep mode - I don't have a Mac Pro so can't comment on that, but on my Macbook it takes about 2 seconds from when I close the lid to when the light goes off and then about 4 seconds from opening the lid to have a working machine. Sleep mode ont eh Macbook (maybe OS X in general) is fantastic. No idea on power consumption.
When you setup the new Mac Pro there is an option to migrate your user over from an existing OS X installation so that might be worth a try as knowing OS X I would expect it to do a sterling job.
Oh, and I shall be jealous when the new toy arrives.
When you setup the new Mac Pro there is an option to migrate your user over from an existing OS X installation so that might be worth a try as knowing OS X I would expect it to do a sterling job.
Thats what I was going to suggest. Works over firewire at a guess?
Firewire and ethernet I believe.
Thanks for the info I can see I'll have to make some notes about what extensions in FF and what settings I have unless I can find a settings exporter, there probably is one that I've not even looked for yet.
I'm not too bothered about doing a complete user migration because I've probably installed a lot of rubbish in here that I don't need or want so I'd rather start with a spanking clean system and build it from scratch. I'll also be upping the memory from the stock 2Gb which isn't enough as quickly as I can :)
Sounds as though it should all be pretty painless.
Get FEBE extension, there is a beta out for for FF3 which works fine. Just google it. That will make exporting and importing very easily. It will do everything from cookies to add-ons.
http://customsoftwareconsult.com/extensions/febe/febe.html
Firewire and ethernet I believe.
Not sure about ethernet but it seems likely. I know you can do it with Firewire though (assuming you can boot a hackintosh into target disk mode (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661)).
Chuckles
10-08-2008, 21:28
what do you use it for mostly? Unless it's very intense gfx/audio/video you could save a heap and get an iMac. The latest revisions are real beefy
Get FEBE extension, there is a beta out for for FF3 which works fine. Just google it. That will make exporting and importing very easily. It will do everything from cookies to add-ons.
http://customsoftwareconsult.com/extensions/febe/febe.html
I'll have a look at that, ta.
what do you use it for mostly? Unless it's very intense gfx/audio/video you could save a heap and get an iMac. The latest revisions are real beefy
No they're not. Dual core at just over 3GHz with a maximum of 4Gb RAM and no space to nail any extra internal hard drives in is crap in my opinion. It's certainly no faster than I'm currently running and I'd be paying for a non height adjustable 24" monitor which won't fit on my desk when I already have a 24" monitor which does fit on my desk and is only a couple of months old.
Nice thought though :)
Chuckles
10-08-2008, 23:08
No they're not. Dual core at just over 3GHz with a maximum of 4Gb RAM and no space to nail any extra internal hard drives in is crap in my opinion. It's certainly no faster than I'm currently running and I'd be paying for a non height adjustable 24" monitor which won't fit on my desk when I already have a 24" monitor which does fit on my desk and is only a couple of months old.
Nice thought though :)
If your current kit is better spec than that, what are you running which is sluggish and would warrant the extra speed?
Nothing specific but a jag of extra performance is always useful. Plus I don't want the (albeit minor) agro of having to frig the updates when the OS is updated and I'm adding in a nice level of future proofing as Apple hardware is good for years rather than the much shorter timespan of PC hardware. This PC is 18 months old and worth less than a fifth of what I paid for it. That's not the case with Apple stuff, it holds the value.
iTunes
1) Deauthorise the hackintosh
2) Copy the entire iTunes directory to my new machine
3) Hold down the option key as I open iTunes and tell it to open the existing library
4) Reauthorise
As simple as that? This should keep all counts and ratings (not that there I have any ratings) and downloaded content?
You're going to the darkside? :(
He's already past that. I'm going to the dark side just having to install iTunes as Dee's probably getting an iPhone ;D
You're going to the darkside? :(
You're a bit out of date - Look at the link in my first post :)
This PC is 18 months old and worth less than a fifth of what I paid for it.
That's the worst justification I've seen for buying a new computer ;D
LeperousDust
12-08-2008, 15:42
He's already past that. I'm going to the dark side just having to install iTunes as Dee's probably getting an iPhone ;D
Naaaaah, use Media Monkey :) iPhone compatible (so's winamp btw, but its not half as good as MM when set up properly). Obviously it depends what you want to do with your music software wise, but MM has so so so many more features and expandability with scripts/scripting. It also has a now playing playlist! Unlike iTunes (wtf were they thinking?)
leowyatt
12-08-2008, 15:45
It also has a now playing playlist! Unlike iTunes (wtf were they thinking?)
Surely that playlist will only contain 1 song at any given time :confused:
LeperousDust - 52 minutes? You're getting slow. :p ;D
Gonna go off topic here, but it's gonna happen - activation, app store and all that, and from Dee's point of view it just all has to work, so it's better to stick with it.
It wont be used to manage our library on the server.
Chuckles
12-08-2008, 15:54
iTunes
1) Deauthorise the hackintosh
2) Copy the entire iTunes directory to my new machine
3) Hold down the option key as I open iTunes and tell it to open the existing library
4) Reauthorise
As simple as that? This should keep all counts and ratings (not that there I have any ratings) and downloaded content?
You can have up to 5 machines authorised at once I think, so you only really need to do that if you're going to kill your hackintosh?
You're going to the darkside?
-5 cool points for you :p
Macs are awesome! You wanna look like a model from GAP don't you? :cool:
Macs are awesome! You wanna look like a model from GAP don't you? :cool:
How many Macs have you got then?
You can have up to 5 machines authorised at once I think, so you only really need to do that if you're going to kill your hackintosh?
The hack is going back to being a PC, so yes I will deauthorise it - I'm sitting at four computers authorised at the moment of which I only have one so I think it's a good idea to deauth the old box.
LeperousDust
12-08-2008, 16:20
LeperousDust - 52 minutes? You're getting slow. :p ;D
;D;D I do seem to peddle software that i truly think is worth it!
Surely that playlist will only contain 1 song at any given time :confused:
Yes, but you can queue up songs as you see them in your library, essentially a now playing playlist is a temporary playlist. Closest iTunes gets is party shuffle if you set it to 0 random, but thats not really a now playing, its just using it in a different way :p. Anyway thats not my major gripe, but its little features like that you'd think have been added over 7 major versions :p
Gonna go off topic here, but it's gonna happen - activation, app store and all that, and from Dee's point of view it just all has to work, so it's better to stick with it.
It wont be used to manage our library on the server.
Fair enough, that makes sense i guess :) I forget the iPhones a bit of a hassle when it comes to activation etc...
Chuckles
12-08-2008, 16:23
How many Macs have you got then?
Got a macbook. Can't be doing with desktops anymore. I only play games on consoles and with 4GB its way good enough for Logic Studio, Final Cut Pro and Aperture 2 which is the most intense stuff I do. PC's tend to get people chasing 3Dmark scores and paying $$$ for stuff when all they ever do is surf the net!
Got an iPhone as well which sort of counts as a mac. :p
leowyatt
12-08-2008, 16:47
The hack is going back to being a PC, so yes I will deauthorise it - I'm sitting at four computers authorised at the moment of which I only have one so I think it's a good idea to deauth the old box.
You can reset the authorise count once every year :)
Fair enough, that makes sense i guess :) I forget the iPhones a bit of a hassle when it comes to activation etc...
Hassle? You plug it in and it works pretty much, or at least it did for me :p
I quite like itunes though, but all mac products have grown on me in the past year or so. I can't think of anything I do on the PC that I wouldn't be able to do on a mac now. :) Just need the money for a macbook :D
You can reset the authorise count once every year :)
I thought that was only if you used all five?
If Feek doesn't mind me taking advantage of the audience - should iTunes be able to connect to a UPNP server?
Just need the money for a macbook :D
I've been saving up, managed to *ahem* forget to put my expenses in for a while :) Did them yesterday, that's a third of the cost of the Mac Pro taken care of. Bwhahahahaha
Nope, don't think so.
Hmm, trying to work out how best to get the music library seen by it so Dee can sync stuff off it.
What's my best bet, mount a read only share (dont want it messing) to a letter and point it at that?
LeperousDust
12-08-2008, 20:11
Hassle? You plug it in and it works pretty much, or at least it did for me :p
I quite like itunes though, but all mac products have grown on me in the past year or so. I can't think of anything I do on the PC that I wouldn't be able to do on a mac now. :) Just need the money for a macbook :D
I don't understand how anyone can like iTunes :D I mean i've used it, and used it exclusively for a year, because i couldn't find anything that worked with my iPod, and managed music well (i don't count winamp, thats still stuck in the 90's :p). My none computer literate friends use it, and i agree it works. But as software go, its really nothing special at all :( Which is a shame because apple can do things well, but they bought out the wrong software developer for this... When i found Mediamonkey i realised again how much i'd been out music wise while i was using iTunes, no more messing around trying to get the library to watch a folder, no more messing around generally getting rid of duplicated with iTunes etc... I could go on but this isn't the place :p
I've been saving up, managed to *ahem* forget to put my expenses in for a while :) Did them yesterday, that's a third of the cost of the Mac Pro taken care of. Bwhahahahaha
Saw your thread on OcUK :)
My current aim is hopefully sometime next year I can manage a Macbook if I'm careful and pass my laptop onto my Mum.
I don't understand how anyone can like iTunes :D I mean i've used it, and used it exclusively for a year, because i couldn't find anything that worked with my iPod, and managed music well (i don't count winamp, thats still stuck in the 90's :p). My none computer literate friends use it, and i agree it works. But as software go, its really nothing special at all :( Which is a shame because apple can do things well, but they bought out the wrong software developer for this... When i found Mediamonkey i realised again how much i'd been out music wise while i was using iTunes, no more messing around trying to get the library to watch a folder, no more messing around generally getting rid of duplicated with iTunes etc... I could go on but this isn't the place :p
I agree it's nothing special. But I don't want anything special :p It plays music, that's fine for me! Used to use foobar but in the end I realised all I ever did was just play music, so might as well just stick with itunes as it's what was installed first when i got the iphone and I need it to install updates etc. My music's fairly organised and I just don't need any fancy features simply put :)
leowyatt
12-08-2008, 20:33
I thought that was only if you used all five?
nope you can use it anytime :)
Oh great, I shall do that once I've deauth'd the hack then.
Memory
Dreeds has suggested this site here (http://www.thomann.de/gb/dimm_ddr2_2gb_800mhz_ecc.htm) for memory. Prices look good, anyone know of anywhere bettererererer?
Oh great, I shall do that once I've deauth'd the hack then.
Memory
Dreeds has suggested this site here (http://www.thomann.de/gb/dimm_ddr2_2gb_800mhz_ecc.htm) for memory. Prices look good, anyone know of anywhere bettererererer?
I've never heard of those guys but can't argue with the price. I always get my memory from Crucial (http://www.crucial.com/uk) who aren't always the cheapest but when I've had to return stuff (admittedly very rarely) the RMA and replacement procedure was a breeze.
Hmm, trying to work out how best to get the music library seen by it so Dee can sync stuff off it.
What's my best bet, mount a read only share (dont want it messing) to a letter and point it at that?
Yep, that's what I'd do. There is an option in iTunes to make it not organize and manage your music but I went down the read only share route just incase.
Mohinder
14-08-2008, 01:53
Macs are awesome. Feek is doing The Right Thing. That is all.
Macs are awesome. Feek is doing The Right Thing. That is all.
I've bought one! Second hand, about six months old. Awesome price.
Collecting it tomorrow :)
LeperousDust
14-08-2008, 22:48
Even more sensible, let someone else pay for it first!
Don't tempt me to go looking. I've wanted a Mac Pro for a while. Thankfully I don't have access to the HE discount, otherwise my credit card would be bleeding by now. :(
LeperousDust
14-08-2008, 23:29
Feek didn't either *ahem* :p
Memory
Dreeds has suggested this site here (http://www.thomann.de/gb/dimm_ddr2_2gb_800mhz_ecc.htm) for memory. Prices look good, anyone know of anywhere bettererererer?
Thats me... :)
Yup, i bought 8gb (4x2gb) for my Macpro a while ago from these guys, it came very quickly and works perfectly, when im less poor ill be ordering another 8gb for this Macpro and maybe 4 for my old Macpro.
One thing that does trouble me is Firefox? why? i used to use it and found it very nice, but I switched to Safari and find it does everything Firefox does, but generally faster and thing look nicer (if thats possible, or just my imagination) :confused: I really like the ability in Safari to cut a piece of a website and have it as a Live Dashboard Widget, great for watching Auctions and stuff like that.
I found plenty of sites that didn't load with the older Safari, but I admit I switched to Firefox at that point and didn't switch back, so I haven't really tried with Safari 3.
I have a further ponderence.
I was thinking about getting 16Gb of RAM, just because I can but I'm now thinking that I might be better off spending the cash on 8Gb of RAM and an Apple TV instead for silent streaming to the telly using the HDMI port instead of faffing about with the external hard drive on my noisy Xbox :)
What'd'ya reckon?
16GB of RAM?!?! What the fudge would you do with that?! I have production ESX servers running big SQL DB's with less RAM than that.
From what I understand AppleTV isn't very friendly with it's format support but works pretty slick. Well, like an iPod really. If you're aright with that it'll certainly be a quieter option than the 360.
What'd'ya reckon?
I reckon that 16Gb of RAM is overkill. I'm all for having boxes sized properly but IMO that's OTT.
Apple TV is a very interesting idea, something I have been meaning to look into.
IMO, a MacMini is a better solution that Apple TV, it can do all the same stuff and much more.
16GB of RAM?!?! What the fudge would you do with that?! I have production ESX servers running big SQL DB's with less RAM than that.
I agree with this. Apple hardware certainly loves to have bucketloads of RAM, a lot more than even Windows, but unless you're running heavy apps like video editing or Photoshop with RAW images, then 8GB, or even 4GB is enough.
From what I understand AppleTV isn't very friendly with it's format support but works pretty slick.
The Apple TV, like most other things, can be hacked, including support for quite a few additional formats. If you just want an 'it works' solution, then a hacked Apple TV should work well.
Mac Mini isn't a bad option either. Runs silent until you load it, and even then isn't loud. Doesn't have HDMI (at least mine doesn't, may have been added), but does have DVI. Can also, easily, be made to just work. If all you want is a media server then the Apple TV route still makes sense.
leowyatt
15-08-2008, 12:25
Regarding apple tv and format support I think I posted a thread about a usb stick you can use to get mkv support on it :) but cba to search for the thread ;D
LeperousDust
15-08-2008, 13:21
Yeah apple TV, they've got looooads of potential in the hacking department, from the bits i've read about them :)
Or as mentioned get a mac mini cause they do even more and can be set up it seems to work like apple tv as well :)
The 16Gb idea was literally just because I can. I've allocated a sum to this project and with a big saving on the box, more memory was the first thing I thought of but I now think the Apple TV is the better idea and I'd already planned on the USB thing that Leo mentioned!
Currently in Membury services on my way to pick up the computer. BTOpenzone for the win:D
Greetings from just down the road from there then. :)
LeperousDust
15-08-2008, 14:44
If you can afford it, i'd still say go for a mini feek, more ram, non underclocker processor, better graphics, a dvd drive. Ok its slightly bigger and doesnt have a real TV connection (HDMI out) just the usual, and runs a slightly modified front (which you can put on the mini yourself its just not so much get up and go). But you get more for your money with the mini, could even use eyeTV (is it?) and use it as a PVR too!
Very quick google reveals this (http://www.jonandnic.com/topics/digital-toys/turning-a-mac-mini-into-an-appletv)!
There's a lot to be said for dedicated appliances though. We dont use PC's in place of Hi-Fi's, PVR's, games consoles etc for a reason - it's an easier life.
LeperousDust
15-08-2008, 16:49
True but you can just set a startup script which just launches the front row application. So you never need to even touch the OS, which is essentially what apple TV is. Except this way you get use of better hardware a DVD drive and the option of a real OS under the hood if need be. Basically if you're willing to hack an appleTV to make it do what you want, why not just use a mac mini to begin with? It does cost probably £150 more, but you do get a fair amount of extra hardware and expandable space to boot...
I appreciate all the thoughts about a Mini or the Apple TV but I've gone with the Apple TV. I've also got the Mac Pro home and am in the process of getting it all set up as I want it.
Now that I've got this beast in my hands, I'm happy to say what I paid for it - I didn't want to do that before in case I was tempting fate that I might not actually get it!
It's just over six months old, a 2008 model Mac Pro and I paid £1,000 for it. An absolute bargain! It means that the cash I'd got collected for this box can get used for other stuff, such as a nice chunk of memory and the Apple TV.
To say I'm chuffed with the deal is an understatement :D
LeperousDust
16-08-2008, 01:19
Yeah either way you have got yourself a great deal sir, and saved me hassle too :p. I do quite like the idea of an AppleTV, i need some kind of media extender for our living room now i've got my server set up and running how i want it (finallly!). But i can't imagine me running (actually i dont have the connection - old tv) an appleTV just yet :p
I had an extended play with an Apple TV in an Apple store last year and have to say it was rather slick. I got a Mac Mini to play about on and in all honesty haven't really made the most of it. Mostly it gets used as an iTunes/Podcasting box, so for me an Apple TV would have done. I already have a PC doing that role though (and it's currently doing stuff no Apple TV could do, and stuff I never thought of doing with it before).
It's just over six months old, a 2008 model Mac Pro and I paid £1,000 for it. An absolute bargain!
What was the price supposed to be and what spec do you get for that?
£1,749 - 2 x 2.8GHz quad core Xeons (so 8 cores), 2Gb RAM, 320Gb drive is the main spec. You're going to say that it's overpriced but before you do, take a look at the Toms Hardware comparison link I posted up the top in the original post :p.
It's considerably more expensive than a dual Quad core workstation I got from Dell, with more RAM and a 3 years next business day warranty :dunno:
I paid about what you got it discounted for, so bargain on that front.
Did you read the link? Not trying to be awkward Daz, but I did some similar pricings about three months ago and although they weren't as precise as those in the link, I decided then that the hardware was overpriced, but not by as much as one would expect.
Yep, read the link, just telling you my experience. Was the same with the Macbook Pro we bought for Marketing - the reality was, for our business, they were significantly more expensive like for like with the Dell kit. The Macbook in particular.
We get business discounts of course, so comparing to consumer and list prices is a different story, but at the end of the day the bill to the business was what it was. With the Macbook Pro, a slight concession on the spec would have got us 2 laptops.
The boss wanted some more memory for his Macbook Pro so we ordered that along with my 8Gb from Thomann today hoping for a delivery tomorrow. Sadly, late afternoon they emailed wanting a scan of both sides of the credit card (with some of the numbers and the security code blanked out) and a passport to ensure there was no card fraud going on because it's quite a large first order at £250.
Can't blame them, but we won't be getting that tomorrow then :(
Thats a sickener, suppose fraud prevention is a good thing, but, its a shame youre not getting it when you want, but it does show they are vigilante.
My first order with them was for 480euro, and that wasnt queried. :confused:
It probably got flagged for verification because we used work as a delivery address so the cardholder address and delivery addresses were different.
That'll do it. You're lucky they accepted the order at all as a lot of places refuse to deliver to anywhere other than the cardholder address for a first order.
Memory is in and it makes a big difference, it's been up for a couple of days and I have over 2 million page outs and about 10,000 page ins! It's noticably quicker switching between applications and whereas before I was making a point of shutting them down I'm now not bothering.
I bought AppleCare from eBay for $105 which is somewhat better than the £199 Apple want for it, that's all received and registered :)
How much memory does it have now then Feekles?
Rather scary just how much a Mac 'needs' to be 'comfortable'. :shocked:
Rather scary just how much a Mac 'needs' to be 'comfortable'. :shocked:
A Mac doesn't 'need' 10Gb to be 'comfortable'. My Macbook came with a meagre 2Gb and that was perfectly 'comfortable' but I upgraded to 4Gb so that I could run VM's.
The hack was comfortable with 4Gb, I never bothered closing stuff with that, no difference to Vista x64 really.
Of what? Me, the memory, the AppleCare? ;)
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