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My first iMac to arrive tomorrow - questions

M

msw123307

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 25, 2007
433
0
I have owned a Macbook for awhile, and finally pulled the trigger on an Imac. Bought it from a reputable ebay seller, 24" w/4gb ram, 2.4 ghz. Couldn't pass up on the crazy ebay % off promotions.

Of course...I have some questions..

1 - the computer will (I'm sure) arrive formatted. Is a Mac, when formatted and reinstalled with the OS, completely wiped? I know with Windows a simple format won't always do the trick. Just wanted to wipe the computer completely before I began using it.

2 - I guess the best way to migrate my iTunes over is to pull it from my external hard drive? I'm going to use the iMac as my main computer for syncing all my :apple: products.

3 - What's a good free photoshop program for use with Mac? I will be doing some minor editing and entry level design. If not free - let me know what would be a good start for me. I don't have a lot of past experience.

4 - If I wanted to - What's the best way for me to hook this up to my 40" 1080P Samsung set so I have the best picture?

5 - Applecare - I think the cheapest I've seen it is LAComputer. Amazon has two different boxes for iMac applecare. One appears to correlate to the previous gen. Do I have to get the correct Applecare box? They both say for iMac, but one is quite a bit cheaper. Just wanted to make sure before I paid for the more expensive.

Any other advice or tips would be great. Sorry for all the questions...didn't want to make 6 posts! I'm pumped for UPS to come by tomorrow! Thanks guys.
 
aaquib

aaquib

macrumors 65816
Sep 11, 2007
1,496
1
Toronto, Canada
1. Yes, at least from my experience. You will still get the iLife suite and all the extra applications included with OS X.

2. You can use an external hard drive, that's what I do, but you can also use Finder to access your other PCs and Macs and just view and transfer your files wirelessly, but it will be a lot slower than just using an external drive.

3. Would iPhoto and iMovie be acceptable? If not, here's another thread on Mac rumors by a user asking the same question: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/206926/

4. I use a DVI to HDMI cable with my Mac Mini. It works great, but sound will have to be connected externally or using the iMac's built in speakers, as DVI does not travel sound, but it's digital so it's the highest quality possible.

5. Not sure about this one. Both should be fine. I bought one on eBay and it worked perfectly.

Good luck with your iMac!
 
angemon89

angemon89

macrumors 68000
Feb 5, 2008
1,846
110
Northern CA
1) If when you turn on your iMac for the first time and you get the Welcome screen where you have to set all the settings then you should be good to go.

If it boots directly into the OS and you see the desktop then I would suggest you reformat just so you can make sure everything is as good as new.

If you need help with the reformatting just ask here or do a quick google search. It's very easy to do on a Mac.

aaquib said:
4. I use a DVI to HDMI cable with my Mac Mini. It works great, but sound will have to be connected externally or using the iMac's built in speakers, as DVI does not travel sound, but it's digital so it's the highest quality possible.
Click to expand...
Yep, DVI-HDMI is the best. Remember though, you're also going to need a mini DVI to DVI adapter since the iMac only has a mini-DVI and not a full DVI port.
 
B

blueicedj

macrumors 6502
Jul 11, 2007
274
2
use gimp for photoshop, it's free, and it's almost as powerful as something like photoshop
 
M

msw123307

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 25, 2007
433
0
Thanks for the replies guys. I'm going to look into Gimp when my iMac arrives. Still waiting for UPS....:eek: I'm just trying to do some basic photoshop, may create some banners, do some t-shirt design, etc.

And for the format question - I have formatted my Macbook a couple times, but I know that on Windows machines bits and pieces of info can be left behind, recovered, etc even with a system restore disk. I just didn't know if Mac's did that as well.

Any other tips would be great, thanks!!
 
angemon89

angemon89

macrumors 68000
Feb 5, 2008
1,846
110
Northern CA
msw123307 said:
And for the format question - I have formatted my Macbook a couple times, but I know that on Windows machines bits and pieces of info can be left behind, recovered, etc even with a system restore disk. I just didn't know if Mac's did that as well.
Click to expand...
If you really want to make sure all data from the previous owner is gone, you must erase your hard drive with security options. To do this you must boot from the OS disc and go in to disk utility. You then select the hard drive on the left hand side and click the erase tab. Click on the Security Options button and select "Zero Out Data" then proceed with erasing the hard drive. Zero Out Data writes zeros to the hard disk and provides a good amount of data security in a minimum amount of time.

Once you're hard drive is erased you can then proceed with installing the OS and your Mac will be good as new.
 
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