OT: MacDrive???

[Perry]

I have a client bringing me files on a LACIE drive from his Mac. I'm doing overdubs and mixing for his project. I quickly downloaded a MacDrive demo so that I could access his drive and that worked fine. I copied a bunch of files today with no problems.

It looks like we're going to be doing more work together though so I should buy a program for doing this and I'm wondering if MacDrive is the best choice or if there are any other options I should consider. As far as I know the most I will ever need to do is to simply access the Mac formated drive in order to copy files to my computer.

Any suggestions or comments much appreciated! :)

Thanks,

Perry

[TotalSonic]

I have MacDrive 6 on both my Win2k DAW's and it's definitely helped me a lot in dealing with clients who bring their files in on Mac formatted drives and discs. Highly recommended! - personally I wouldn't want to be without it.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[soundtrack2life]

I have Mac & PC computers and use MacDrive 7. And like Steve said "I wouldn't want to be without it."
Joe

[Sean McCoy]

Same here---highly recommended. If you also happen to use Pro Tools, it comes with a version of MacDrive that seems to be incompatible with the standalone version. Something to watch out for.

[Perry]

Thanks for the info guys.. much appreciated. I'll probably purchase this.... wondering about Sean's comment still. When I used MacDrive for my session it worked super slick... I was just wondering if there are other worthy alternatives but sounds like this is the one to get.

Thanks again!

Perry


Same here---highly recommended. If you also happen to use Pro Tools, it comes with a version of MacDrive that seems to be incompatible with the standalone version. Something to watch out for.

??? Ummmm.... interesting.... does the PT version screw up the stand alone version.. .or what exactly happens? Can the two versions co-exist on the same computer at all or is that not possible? Thanks for the tip.

Perry

[TotalSonic]

??? Ummmm.... interesting.... does the PT version screw up the stand alone version.. .or what exactly happens?

This is 2nd hand info but I've seen a few posts on forums that a new PT install will screw up the DAW if MacDrive standalone is already installed.



Can the two versions co-exist on the same computer at all or is that not possible?

afaik it's been recommended to uninstall MacDrive stand alone prior to a PT install and just use the version that comes bundled with PT for best results (even though the MacDrive version with PT is a "lite" one)

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[TotalSonic]

Hmmmm. I've heard quite the opposite. What's the point of installing the PT version (which isn't called "mac drive" by name, IIRC) if you have real MacDrive on board?

Is it an auto thing with PT install, or an option?

It's second hand info for me as well.

Mark

Since I'm also giving 2nd hand info and don't have direct experience I think I should refrain from giving any more advice on this and note that my posts should be taken with a grain of salt. Hopefully someone who has dealt with this directly will chime in here soon.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[Sean McCoy]

When I installed PT I unknowingly checked their Mac format recognition option, which they don't call MacDrive even though it is, and that totally hosed both PT and my already-installed MacDrive 6. I had to spend a lot of time with Digi tech support, and we uninstalled everything---including a sweep through the registry to eliminate all traces of MacDrive. They told me to use the PT version only, I obeyed, and everything has worked fine since. I'm sure the Digi add-on is a restricted lite version, but my system is still able to recognize Mac-formatted drives, and that's all I really need.

[Naturally Digital]

Perry,

There is an alternative. It's called MacDisk. http://www.macdisk.com/mden.php3

I would recommend this for someone who doesn't want MacDrive to embed itself on their system. I've owned MacDrive 6 for a few years now and I experienced one problem while mastering a mixed mode (CDaudio + CDrom) where MacDrive had set a file association and it messed with Wavelab on me. I've since removed the program and don't use it anymore. I'll be getting MacDisk next time I need this function.

Other than this one glitch, MacDrive worked well for me. I had no problems recognizing anyone's files. Having said this... I *may* have had a few problems with dual platform (mac and pc) install discs for software. I seem to remember my pc defaulting to the mac image on the CD instead of the pc image... I think there was a setting for this in MacDrive.

Cheers,
Dave

[Perry]

Hey, thanks for all the additional info guys! Big help.

Sean.. Yeow!!! :eek: Sorry you had so much trouble.. that's pretty scary stuff. Thanks for explaining.

Dave, I'll check out MacDisk before purchasing anything. These 'gottchas' is what I'm wanting to find out about 'before' I buy! Thanks again to everyone for all the info! :)

Perry