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New Mac setup questions
Hi there,
We’ve been using Discreet Edit* for 7 years but finally made the move to Final Cut. My mgr. decided not to use our vendor to pre-install everything to save $$. So, I received all of the boxes and now I need to get the system up and running this week. I’ve always been a PC guy and have never been on a Mac so here are a few questions:
1.I need to install both a Kona LS card and a SCSI card into our new G5. (We got a separate SCSI tower for video storage) Should I fire up the MAC first and make sure everything’s good or go ahead and install the cards immediately? Will the Mac detect them automatically? Are there other initial config. issues that I need to look out for?
2.Is there a good resource I can look at for striping the SCSI array? Is it similar to a PC in that regard?
3. I heard that I should go to a Mac web site and check on some updates before install Final Cut. Can someone give me more info on this?
4. Any other suggestions anyone wants to share for a guy who is new to Macs would be appreciated?
Thanks for all your help!
Carson -
2 Replies
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Carson,
I made the move from Edit without a VAR, you can too. G5s are by far the easiest computers in the world to setup and service.
Just install FCP right out of the box, and as long as you are connected to the Internet your G5 will notify you when updates are available. Or, click on the Apple button and manually select the Apple Update feature and it will search you machine and tell you what’s new.
As far as putting your new cards in, its never a good idea to put more than one it at a time. Always put one in, get it working properly, and then move on to the next, otherwise, if something goes wrong you won’t know which card is creating the problem.
Good luck,
DRW -
First off, your manager really should have purchased from a VAR. One stop shopping and they deliver a system fully set up. I always high recommend a VAR such as WH Platts here in Atlanta or ProMax in California. Especially since you’re coming from a PC background.
First, fire up the Mac and run Software Update to update the Mac.
Then install FCP and run Software Update to update it.
[Carson Hamlin] “1.I need to install both a Kona LS card and a SCSI card into our new G5. (We got a separate SCSI tower for video storage) Should I fire up the MAC first and make sure everything’s good or go ahead and install the cards immediately? Will the Mac detect them automatically? Are there other initial config. issues that I need to look out for?”
You need to go to both AJA’s website and the website of your SCSI card and drives to download the latest drivers. Then install the drivers for both cards. Then install the cards, probably the SCSI card in slot 4 and the Kona card in Slot 3, this ensures the fastest date throughput for the data.
[Carson Hamlin] “2.Is there a good resource I can look at for striping the SCSI array? Is it similar to a PC in that regard?”
Just use Apple’s Disk Utility. Again, make sure you have the latest drivers all around. OS 10.4 is not exactly friendly to SCSI as Apple continues to push Fibre Channel, which is what I run here.
[Carson Hamlin] “4. Any other suggestions anyone wants to share for a guy who is new to Macs would be appreciated?”
Purchase a Final Cut Pro training book and an OS X reference at a store like Barnes and Noble or Borders. You’re probably going to be rather frustrated at first trying to get your machine to operate like a PC, which it doesn’t do.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comNow editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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