[PSB Guy]

I'm going to be switching from a Windows 7 based system to a Mac in the near future.  Currently my music is stored on two identical 2TB hard drives formatted in NTFS. Obviously,  with a Mac I'll want those drives formatted in HFS+. My question is this - can I plug both drives into the Mac, format one of them HFS+, copy the data from NTFS to the HFS+ drive, format the other drive HFS+, and copy again? Thanks.

Cornelis

[srb]

My question is this - can I plug both drives into the Mac, format one of them HFS+, copy the data from NTFS to the HFS+ drive, format the other drive HFS+, and copy again? Thanks.

Yes. Mac OS X has supported NTFS read-only since v10.3.  Although there are hacks and third-party apps for NTFS write support, I wouldn't recommend them.

Steve

[PSB Guy]

Thanks,  much appretiated.

Cornelis

[skunark]

Cornelis

You also have a few other options to migrate the music from your windows to mac leaving the all the album art and even tags in tack (if you use files like wav).

Probably the easiest option is within iTunes itself is to turn on home sharing and have your mac copy all the files (confirm the # of songs on both computers).  Also make sure you point your iTunes library to your external disc before the copy.

Another option is to use the Mac Migration Assistant to copy over music (and even photos if you want) to your mac.

Jim

[PSB Guy]

Thanks Jim,  it's good to know there are options.  All my music is ripped to AIFF, so I'm hoping that will help to keep all the tagging and metadata intact.  I spent a LOT of tme getting it just right.

Cornelis

[srb]

There are two ways to add artwork to files in iTunes:

(a) Automatically or with the "Get Album Artwork" command.  With this method the album art is not stored in the file itself, but in the iTunes library database.

(b) Manually pasting the artwork either into the Artwork window or into the Get Info > Artwork tab.  With this method the artwork is stored within the file.

All other metadata tags within iTunes should transfer with the file.  But if your artwork was acquired with scenario (a) above, Jim's suggestion about using iTunes Home Sharing to copy between libraries is a good one and will preserve the artwork for sure.

Steve

[PSB Guy]

The vast majority of my artwork was added manually (just as you described) from Album Art Exchange so it should stay intact.  That website is a godsend for its wealth of good free artwork,  donated by users. I guess all the work I put into it will be rewarded after all.

Cornelis