Exporting iPhoto to Windows Media Center

Found Phoshare - exports EVERYTHING from iPhoto to a folder, putting EXIF data in too!

Brilliant!

Use Finder to mount smb://lounge/Users, and export into that.

But latest version 1.4.2 doesn't run for me. Logged an issue on Google Code. Tried updating ExifTool from 7.x to 8.4.3. No difference.

Update: developer fixed it and 1.4.4 works perfectly! Took 30 hours or something, but future updates won't take so long.

Help for scripting it here.

Setting up Media PC

Got Windows 7 going and Media Center. Installed Cyberlink PowerDVD 10 OEM Blu Ray edition.

Now installing DVD Decrypter and HandBrake.

Ripped successfully, and converted to MP4/AC3 using HandBrake.

After installing AC3Filter, Media Player plays the file. Media Player Classic Home Theatre installed, and confirms that audio is AC3. But still won't play in Media Center - just flickers screen and comes back to the menu.

Media Player Classic Home Theatre wants very latest DirectX 10 End User Runtime - so installed from Microsoft. Still no difference in Media Center, but MPCHT runs without an error dialog now.

Should install Media Player Vis's from Microsoft, or Twisted Pixel gets good reviews.

Used HandBrake to encode an mp4 with (downmixed) AAC and AC3 sound - original one I did was AC3 only, maybe that's it. Yup, now that mp4 plays using "Normal" preset in HandBrake. Shouldn't have removed the AAC audio track!

Installed 'ffdshow tryout', a free codec package. Interestingly it allows to set the priority of its codec for DirectShow, and to see stats of its operation. But no stats appear in video OR sound sections when trying to or actually playing videos.

Can apparently use DirectShow Filter Manager to set the 'merit' of each codec, a problem which is well described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectShow#Codec_hell. Also GSpot for identifying what is actually in a file, and thus what codecs are required.

Toning down Kaspersky

Kaspersky's avp.exe process was hogging resources and causing windows to act like a dog. I turned off things like

anti-phishing
anti-spyware

and also changed so scans and on-access checking was a lot less aggressive, for example not checking every file, and only checking files when opened. I set it so that it paused while OneNote was starting up.

Getting Windows to recognise increased Parallel's Virtual Disk size

A week or two ago I increased the size of the virtual disk image that Windows XP was using - from 9 to 20 Gb - using the Parallel's image tool. Actually, I changed it from Expanding to Fixed size as well, as I found hints that it would improve performance, which is a bit slow in Windows.

Today I got Low Disk Space warnings, and found that C: was only 9Gb. I tried using these instructions to expand the NTFS partition up to the whole space available.

I also got into the Virtual Machine settings in Parallels and changed it so that it was using Shared Networking (VM and host appear on same IP), and Shared Folders for My Documents = Documents. Now My Documents is my Mac's Documents folder, which is much better than having to access a network drive (X:).

Using Parallels Transporter

I tried VMware's Converter and, after I ran it from the Windows XP install (had to swap HDD back in) it did create a virtual disk on the FAT32 partition I created at the end of the Leopard-installed HDD (now in the USB drive). But in looking around for instructions on exactly which of the three options for the VMware file type I should use I found Parallels has their own Transporter.

http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/features/transporter/

And it's a free download, coming in Linux and Windows flavours. I downloaded and installed it. I actually had to install it twice (uninstall and reboot in between) because the first time it didn't work. Probably something to do with running the Tech Guys Recovery Backup on the same reboot (now have backup on 2Gb Memory Stick which somehow turned up once at work and nobody claimed - finally found a use for it). It was pretty straightforward to select the options and use Transporter to make an image of the Windows install. Even while writing this.

Scratch that, it has bombed out three times while around 20-30%.

I tried an import of the VMware image, back in OS X using Transport, choosing the file with the fewest characters! (I guess it's split to avoid any 2GB file size limit problems.) It progresses well, and at the end boots up and brings up a cmd window telling you what to do - cancel all the PnP New Hardware Wizards and deny the reboot request. The cmd windows says to press and key and reboot. That happens and, lo, I have my 'old' windows running!

Backup using SMB Windows sharing

I'm trying to back up all my photos from the Mac to Windows.

I enable a share in Windows and try to connect to it from OS X by using the Connect to Server option in Finder. Connecting to smb://limpet/Music brings something up, asking for the workgroup (DHG), username and password, but when I look at the folder contents there is nothing. I can't copy anything into it, and also I know there are files there on the Windows PC that I should be seeing. I tried this also for another share and the same result.

I tried browsing at the bottom of the Connect to Server dialog. It finds me the group Dhg and the computer Limpet (with a capital now). The next box over says Connect... To see the avialable shares for server "Limpet", click Connect. I do, and after a while it asks me to select from the shares available on Limpet. There are Authenticate Again, OK and Cancel options. I choose OK, but it just returns me to the dialog. Oh, there is a folder on the desktop.

All the folders I have opened correctly tell me how much free space I have on the Windows drive, but they are empty and I can't put anything into them.

Actually, the easiest way to connect is from the Network in Finder.

I tried fiddling with the Windows Firewall. File and Printer Sharing is only enabled for computers on the local network (this is XP, Windows Firewall -> Exceptions -> Edit -> Change Scope), so I enable it for all computers. No effect. I turn off Windows Firewall altogether and it doesn't work still.

If you drag a connected share to the trash, it doesn't eject. But if you hit the eject symbol in Finder, it does. That's pretty shoddy.

It turns out that I was using the wrong username!! Now it works fine (and really quick). And dragging to the eject/trash icon works too.

So now I can connect to my work laptop and backup everything onto it - relief!

I had a problem where copying files from Mac to Windows stopped, saying I did not have the correct permissions to perform the operation. Turned out that some of the files I was copying OVER were read only, so it couldn't complete.

Installing Parallels on Mac OS X to get Windows XP Pro going

When I first started up Parallels after installing it, it seemed to find the My Boot Camp virtual machine. I'm not really sure where it came from. I tried to run it and at hung up, trying to 'start from hard drive'. Anyway, I deleted it (seems to be just a 4kB file somewhere in my Documents folder).

I ran Parallels Desktop again, and this time it did what the Quick Start guide said it would - offer to make a new VM. Good. The 'more options' section has the very useful option to Share virtual machine with other Mac users, which forces you to put the VM in /Users/Shared/Parallels - this is good I think, means other people could use Word and Excel and so on.

I was also able to tell it to install from the XP Pro image I had made as a backup on my desktop - neat.

However, it seemed to try to boot from various devices then said non-system disk or disk error. Oh. I selected Devices->CD/DVD 1 and told it to use the hardware DVD drive and it worked after that. Hmm.

Unlike the last time I had this going, I haven't had to create a separate partition. There is a file called winxp.hdd in the Parallels folder for the VM, and it keeps getting bigger as the copy/install happens. That's great - it was awful having this unnecessary partition last time. Only I made such a partition already, thinking I would need it!

Coherence doesn't work like it used to - seems to say I have to install the Parallels Tools. I do this from Parallels menu Actions -> Install Parallels tools. That works much nicer now, and has, as promised, linked up my Desktop and other folders.

Also do Actions -> Install Kapersky Internet Security which I bought as part of the Premium edition of Parallels (since I was so impressed)

Installed my favourite Firefox addons:

Ad Blocker

Gmail Manager

Download Statusbar

CookieSafe

dragdropupload

Had problems with an update error in Windows Update.

Got Office 2007 Home and Student edition installed - now I'm up and running for the project that's kicking off very soon.