Mac windows Share different libraries + Wifi

[glenzade]

Sorry for the dodgy title anyways

Since my countries first apple store opened up nearby and with the supposedly new macs coming I will most likely be buying one. My main concern is sharing between my pc and mac. I have an itunes library 40gb in size and for obvious reasons I dont want to store this externally as I want to bring my music with me but the size is a bit much for (taking the base modle MB) 120gb hdd. So would a good solution be having two separate libraries one for mobile use and one for home. So when im home and on my network I can listen to my main itunes and when I disconnect from the network itunes will switch to the local music on my HDD.

Wifi: I will be buying a WRT54g on the basis that it can be modified etc. I had problems with my dell and its pcmia wifi card it would disconnect during downloads etc. Is the macbook wifi reliable?

My itunes doesnt like itms links, when i click them it just makes itunes flash its really strange, should i reinstall it.
Backup for windows, just thought i throw this in. What programs do you use for backups?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

The solutions I'd recommend are these:

1) Put your iTunes library on one of those slim profile external drives. These are very portable, and easy to take with you when you travel. Additionally, if you format it in FAT32, you can use it in both Mac OS X and Windows.
2) I've never owned a MacBook so I don't know for sure. However, with the MacBook Pro I owned until recently I noticed that my Wifi connection never dropped out completely but varied considerably in signal strength depending on where I was.
3) What version of iTunes do you have? Update to 8.0.1 if you haven't already.
4) If you have a Boot Camp partition on your Mac, there's a Mac program for backing up your Windows partition called WinClone. I use it, and it works great.

 

[glenzade]

Thanks for the reply, yes I have updated to the latest itunes.
About the slim hdd, When I connect it to the MB at home will it update from the "master" itunes on my pc/network? If so Ill definitely get that! Any models in mind?

Thats great about the wifi ty

Winclone is great Ill use that for the MB, but what program can I use for my desktop PC for backing up as well?


Thanks alot for your reply.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Thanks for the reply, yes I have updated to the latest itunes.
About the slim hdd, When I connect it to the MB at home will it update from the "master" itunes on my pc/network? If so Ill definitely get that! Any models in mind?

Alas, no - if you have 2 libraries set up you'll have to manually sync them, unless you happen to have a syncing app that does this task for you.

Keep in mind that iTunes is smart enough to understand Mac OS X and Windows library formats on both versions, and will convert to the proper format if the wrong one is there. This feature makes syncing two iTunes libraries MUCH easier.

As for slim HDDs, I didn't have a particular model in mind. I must admit though - if you can find one that's the right size for your needs they are extremely handy to have around.

Thats great about the wifi ty

Winclone is great Ill use that for the MB, but what program can I use for my desktop PC for backing up as well?


Thanks alot for your reply.

For backing up your desktop PC... I must admit, I am a total newbie to Windows backup solutions, and have never really used one enough to review it. That said, if all you need is a backup of your user data files, the backup program built into Windows XP and Windows Vista works quite well - it's the only one I've used.