Sync-ing two Macs - advice needed

[BillN]

I have just acquired a MacBookPro and I would like to sync it to my iMac

All my images are in Lightroom 3 on the iMac and I have the same software on my MacBookPro

Can you give me some simple advice on how to sync the following:
1). The images in my Pictures Folder plus the LR3 files that contain the LR adjustments, (which files are these and were are they)
2). My address Book
3). My iCal
4). any other folders etc., e.g. Bookmarks

Are some of the files that I need in the Library Folder and in Applications support Folder within the Library folder - can these be successfully copied between machines or are they encrypted to the machine on which they were created

I no very little about the workings of the Mac software sytems being a PC user since the days of the twin floppy IBM machines, (1984?)

New to Macs this year - thanks to this Forum - they persuaded me!!!

Can you recommend any sync software that does this that operates in the "background" once set up - (there was some that came with the latest Mac Prom bundle but it does not seem to be that great)

I back up my iMac to a hard drive using Time Machine

Cheers

 

[WT21]

I can do these things, but I cannot easily describe them to you. Sorry. I am not good at directions like that.

I can say, though, that if you Google for these things, you can easily find step-by-step instructions.

Apple also sells MobileMe ($99 per year, I think $69 if you purchase with your Mac. Not sure of the prices or availability in France, though). This will keep your iCal and address book in sync (also bookmarks). You can read more here: Apple - MobileMe - Your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC. In perfect sync.

Lightroom will have to be done more manually -- and you have to back up both the files and the LR database. Do you have an external drive? You can set that up as a time machine for both devices, and you may be able to sync that way (not entirely sure).

Hopefully someone can add more here than I have. Good luck.

 

[LisaO]

Mobile me for 2, 3 and 4
I just ordered mobile me from amazon for $50 instead of the $99 from apple it was listed as older version but it doesn't matter as it is just a code. I have been using mobile me for years.

Chronosync For #1 to do it automatically or you can do it manually over a network or through firewire by mounting one computer as an external hard drive
ChronoSync | Perform File and Folder Synchronizations and Backups Like Clockwork | Econ Technologies

 

[deirdre]

You can restore directly from Time Machine, btw.

I'm enough of a Unix geek that I do it the old-fashioned way.

1. Slower way with less setup:

In order to do this, you need to enable sharing on the computer you're syncing to (System Preferences -> Sharing -> Remote Login -- be sure to turn it off when you're done)

Let's say my remote machine is at ethernet address 10.0.1.9. Open Terminal (in Applications/Utilities) and type:

rsync -e ssh -avE ~/ deirdre@10.0.1.9:~/

2. Faster way:

Re-boot your newer computer (once you've set it up) as a target disk on your old computer. See: Mac 101: Target Disk Mode: Apple

Open Terminal (Applications/Utilities) and df to find the named volume mount point of the target disk, e.g. /Volumes/MyNewComputer

rsync -avE ~/ /Volumes/MyNewComputer/Users/deirdre

(Obviously, use your username)

 

[BillN]

thanks deirdre

seems too complicated for me and i only want to sync "selected" parts of my imac - i do not want to sync all that is on my imac

cheers

 

[jonboy62]

Look at "Migration Assistant" either in Utilites or Applications. If I remember it transfers your date from one Mac to another and you have the option to choose what info gets transferred. It is a standard part of the OSX software.

 

[deirdre]

Look at "Migration Assistant" either in Utilites or Applications. If I remember it transfers your date from one Mac to another and you have the option to choose what info gets transferred. It is a standard part of the OSX software.

It's in the Utilities folder within the Application folder. There are things it doesn't transfer (outside the home directory) which is one reason I tend not to use it.

 

[LisaO]

DANGER WILL ROBINSON! Migration assistant is made so you can transfer data from old mac to new mac, it's not a two way sync. DANGER WILL ROBINSON! Giving a newbie terminal commands can also be very dangerous, they could wipe out their user folder by mistake.

 

[deirdre]

True, but in this case, the OP wasn't looking for two-way sync.

Also, the command I gave wouldn't wipe out the user folder, but there are Terminal commands that would.

 

[Streetshooter]

Bill,
For lightroom, I have all my image files on an external hard drive. So, I can open LR from my MacBook or my IMac and work with either.
Just remember to sync the catalog and optimize it also.
I never had an issue.

 

[Streetshooter]

Bill...
It would be a good idea to contact Kevinparis. He's the Apple/Mac guru....
don

 

[LisaO]

The title says sync two macs I assume Bill wants to keep the libraries in sync.

Sure the command you gave wouldn't but it can be a dangerous place for someone who doesn't know what they are doing..

True, but in this case, the OP wasn't looking for two-way sync.

Also, the command I gave wouldn't wipe out the user folder, but there are Terminal commands that would.

 

[BillN]

True, but in this case, the OP wasn't looking for two-way sync.

Also, the command I gave wouldn't wipe out the user folder, but there are Terminal commands that would.

My purpose is to sync two macs in the same way as I can syn the address book between my ipod and imac - in this case using itunes - but I have to do this manually - I would like any sync that I set up to be automatic once set up

(the main reason I want to do this is that I have bought my MBP for travel purposes, and I want to take my LR stuff etc., with me)

Please look at my initial post

1). I need some software - thanks LisaO

2). I need to identify the LR files that I need to sync - I know where the images are - but where, (which directory), are the other specific LR files - AND can these be synced or are they encrypted to each Mac.

3). I have ALL my Mac files "backed up" using Time Machine which is running all the time

I can find most of the other stuff that I need to sync - i.e the Bookmarks folder, address book etc.,

I try Chronsync - but it will not be of much help unless I can identify which LR specific files I want to sync

Thanks for the input so far - but it is the LR files that I would like to identify and syn (both ways) at least twice a day

 

[deirdre]

Ahh, okay, so it is a continuous sync after the fact. I didn't get that at first, sorry.

 

[ragtop]

Hi BillN. I am an IT Network Administrator for my local NewsPaper and Mac's make up 70% of our workstation installed base. For what you want, LisaO has given you the right advice. MobileMe will sync everything effortlessly for all items you want except your Lightroom stuff. An added bonus with MobileMe is if you have an iPhone or plan on getting one, all your contacts, address book, iCalendar, bookmarks, mail accounts, etc will be sync'ed there as well. Anyway, back to Lightroom, for that, it is a bit more complicated. As LisaO suggested, ChronoSync to set up automatically or I use a free program called FileSync. It's best if you use these to read the set up instructions yourself so you can become familar with what they do and how they work. Finally, my solution for the lightroom syncing would be not to sync at all, but as someone suggested above, use an external hard drive and inside lightroom, set that volume up as your main library and you can then freely use that on your MCP, just plug it in and you have the same library on both machines.

Hope this helps some,

Jim

 

[dixeyk]

Your mileage may vary

I use an external 500GB HD for my image files (Aperture etc.) and it moves between home and work. I use 1Password to manage my passwords and I have the password key on Dropbox so I sync to between the various machines (it's free). I have all my bookmarks on a web service called Pinboard.

It seems to be working pretty well and I am about as mobile and machine independent as I have ever been. The caveat is keep that external HD backed up somewhere. Now mine is a Mac based solution but all the products are available for Windows or web based so it would work either way and if you had the drive formatted as FAT32 you could have this work between platforms.

Kevin