INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => Media Center 12 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: john h on April 25, 2007, 11:38:06 pm
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I'm happy to report that I have successfully set up my new Macbook using Parallels Desktop software and installed MC12, and it all is working very well (although it was not as easy to go through all the installation as the manuals suggest).
My plan was to take my MC library that I created on my PC (my music files are storied on the PC hard drive, where I have several partitions (an E drive, an F drive, and a G drive) and restore the library in the MC12 program on the Mac so that I could play the files on the Mac over my wireless network. In other words, I want to use the same library on the Mac, and play the songs that are stored on the PC hard drive over my wireless network.
I restored the library on the Mac with no problem, and all seemed well. However, MC on the Mac won't play any of the files, because MC sees the file locations over the network differently than they are defined on the PC hard drive. For example, my PC is named "Basement" on the network. If a file is saved on the G drive on the PC, MC12 on the PC sees this file as "g:[artist]\[filename], while MC12 on the Mac sees this file as "\\Basement\data (g)\[artist]\[filename]." So the problem is not that MC12 won't play the files that are on the PC hard drive--it plays them fine. But the filename is different, so I can't use the library that I created in MC12 on the PC.
I suppose I could go through and manually change all the filenames to reflect the different way it is defined on the network, but I bet there is a better way. Has anyone encountered this issue and worked out an effective solution? Is this a problem that arises only when playing a file on a network using a Mac, or does the same thing happen using two PCs as well?
Thanks for your thoughts!
John
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Reimport the files, using UNC.
Instead of selecting a lettered drive folder choosing a folder to import from using Import Folder, e.g. G:\Music\, use a UNC path, e.g. \\Basement\data (g)\.
That approach would work using PCs, I presume it would work for a Mac and PC as well.
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What is G: mapped on your Mac.? In the Parallels Desktop on your Mac, try the following
SUBST G: \\Basement\data (g)\
This will essentially tell windows to use \\Basement\data (g)\ path to use as if it was G: , so, any references to G:\some_path will be automatically converted to \\Basement\data (g)\some_path
and then see if it works or not?
Osho
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Thanks, Osho and DW!
Osho, what you are suggesting sure sounds like it will work, but where do I type the substitute command? Is there a dialog box or something I should open?
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Thanks, Osho and DW!
Osho, what you are suggesting sure sounds like it will work, but where do I type the substitute command? Is there a dialog box or something I should open?
Just open the windows command line by doing cmd.exe on Start -> Run box.
Osho
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I've explained a few times how I use the SUBST command for creating virtual drive letters so that the same database can be used on various PCs. A quick search found these topics:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=36686.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=36306.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=35729.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=34995.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=34878.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=34863.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=34186.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=34211.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=33910.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=29585.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=29942.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=29459.0
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=28617.0
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Wow, very helpful. I reviewed all of the links from Alex and am learning. To be honest, I have never mapped a network drive on my own, so I'm now learning what that does too. See, you create this nice software program that all you computer guys love, and you attract the moths like me to fly close to the light bulb. or something like that.
Anyway, I think I can create the .bat file that Alex shows how to create in his other posts--sounds like you just create the file in word, save it as a .bat file in the startup folder, and restart. Am I correct that, in the scenario I have described, I would do this on the Mac, or client, computer, and not on the PC?
Also, before I do this, what is the difference between using the subst command and mapping the network drives? My review of the threads linked by Alex suggests they accomplish the same result. Does the subst command change things only temporarily, so that the command has to be given each time windows shuts down and starts up again (hence, I suppose, the reason to make the .bat file and run it in the startup folder).
Alex, I also found your posts on the "search and replace" strategy also very helpful. That seems the easiest way for a non-programmer like me to follow. But if writing my first .bat file will be better in the long run, I'll give it a shot. If I mess up, will the damage be fix-able?
Thanks for the help.
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Ok. So you have your library are stored on the root level on a disk called "Data (g)" on a machine called "Basement" right?
Then I think you can skip down to the Mapping Example, but I'll explain a bit about the subst command too just in case.
- Subst is a command to make you local directories appear as a physical disk.
Example: Let's say you have your library under "g:\Albums".
Hit Start -> Run and write cmd. In the command prompt write:
subst x: g:\Albums
This will make the content in the Albums folder appear as it's own disk called x:
If you have your library on the root of the g drive you do not need this though.
- Mapped drives are used to make network locations/folders appear as a physical disk.
Example: On the mac, you want to access g: (library) on your other machine right? This example requires that you have shared this disk as "disk (g)". NOT the name of the actual disk... If you have shared the disk, do this:
- Hit Start -> Run and write cmd. In the command prompt write:
net use g: \\basement\disk (g) /persistent:yes
OR you can open My Computer and go to Tools. There you choose "Map Network Drive". You choose the drive you want it mapped as, and Browse to your library disk/folder. If nothing are shared and do not want to, you can do this instead:
- Hit Start -> Run and write cmd. In the command prompt write:
net use g: \\basement\g$ /persistent:yes
G$ indicates that you use drive G's system share. It is enabled as default for administrators in XP.
"/Persistent:yes" at the end of the command indicates that the mapping will be restored at restart. Without it you would have to make a .bat file.....
By the way; .bat files can be made by right clicking in a directory, choose New and make a text document or what ever. Then you rename the file to .bat. Word can not save files to .bat. Notepad can however. But you don't need this now anyway
With all commands used in the cmd box (the black window) you can add "/?" at the end to see other options.
Like: "subst /?" and "net use /?"
If you are confused and the answer to the first question are yes, then simply do this:
Hit Start -> Run and write cmd. In the command prompt write:
net use g: \\basement\g$
;) Hope it helps
- Carl
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Many thanks, Carl. The "Map Network Drives" worked like a charm. Thanks also, Alex, for your guidance as well.
I'm learning a lot of new things, most of which are not intuitive to a novice. For example, who would have thought that you can't share a partitioned drive with a name that is too long? I tried and tried with no success, shortened the name of the drive, and then it showed up immediately on the Mac!
By the way, the forum here hands down beats the customer service/support forum for Parallels Desktop. That may be one of the angriest support boards I've ever visited!
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@John
I meant to ask you (and sorry I didn't get back to this thread myself --- I've been crazy busy lately)...
Have you gotten MC to work in Coherance mode on Parallels? I've been testing Parallels out on my MacBook Pro (using my Boot Camp partition as the Parallels volume) and most apps work fine in Coherance mode. MC doesn't though. The first time I tried it, MC showed up in my dock, but the UI never appeared on screen. However, I could see the MC UI open in the dock icon for Parallels (and when I switched back to Windowed UI mode MC was there and worked just fine). I tried it again and the computer completely hard locked.
After rebooting, now MC just doesn't even show up in the dock when running in Coherance mode. It works, and it loads in the Windowed OS UI, but it doesn't ever show up at all in Coherance (but runs in the little Parallels Dock Icon just fine). I'm wondering if it's just my system, or if it's just a problem with MC and Coherance.
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glynor:
I have been running MC under parallels for for about 7 months with very little problems. I updated to coherence recently and it does work fine on my mac mini. My problem was getting theater and 3d modes to work. But today I upgraded to parallels 3.0 and it works in theater mode! Although, I have had 2 crashes when coming out of theater mode. I love running this on my mac mini, it beats all my windows machines.
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Another Parallels/MC12 question:
I've restored my library file into my Parallels VM but of course it can't see the drive. I want to move my firewire drive to my Parallels VM and map it as I: can someone gently walk me through the process? :) The Mac can see the drive in OS X.
iTunes is fine but I LOVE MC12!!!
Thanks!
-=Tim=-