New Mac User: First Time Setup

In theory getting online should be a piece of cake. Definitely easier that it was setting up the connection on your windows box. For the most part it'll just be a matter of plugging in your ethernet cable and you'll be online. That's assuming your connection is not out of the ordinary though. Wireless is just as easy.

If you give us some more specifics on your type of internet connection, maybe we can give you a heads up and save you time.

lol. If you did it on your Windows PC, you can do it on a Mac.

Setting up the internet connection varies depending on the ISP and your hardware, but come again to ask! (or call your ISP, which would be faster and better..)

But just in advance, if your ISP is SBC/AT&T, their Mac support really sucks balls...(imo)

When you turn it on, it will play you some music and welcome you to OS X

It will ask you to enter your name - and the short name you want to use for your home folder. If you have a wireless keyboard/mouse, it obviously handles them first.

It will ask you if you want to configure your internet connection. If it's wireless, it comes up with a box to enter the WPA name/password. If it's wired and the log-in details are in the router already (which it sounds like they are), it will just go online. You shouldn't have to enter anything - it usually just autodetects the router in the ethernet port and you're done.

It's a very fast process. You should be up and running (and online) within 5 minutes.

Well working with a mac is a little different. For example on a mac you will find less buttons to click on, less options when trying to connect to teh internet, less things when trying to fix your display. The reasons for this is that they are all that you need, while on a windows box you will find 40 buttons and 40 options that you will never use that does the same thing on the mac.

The remote that comes with the intel mac mini has 6 buttons, if it was made by microsoft it would have 12 or 18 and still only do 6 things.

Atleast thats how i see my mac different from a PC, its simple, faster and better to use. It will take some time to get used. When i first started using my mac it would take me ages to get anything done, because i would always overcomplicate it. If you think that what you want to do is import a music cd into your libary the best thing would be to have a button on teh top right corner where on a mac it is. On a windows which i has used to it would be in a drop down menu with 20 options to it.

These are some example that i could think of but there are many more. If you have any problems the best thing to do is to post them here.

Grats on your new mac.

Should be if your using DHCP

xflare said:

I'm in the UK...... my ISP is Plusnet. Router: Netgear DG834G .

So is it a simple case of connecting the router to the mini switching on and the mini will automatically detect all the settings etc? The router is already setup.

Click to expand...

Should just auto detect and go online - particularly since you're going with the wired connection initially.

Just plug it in and you should be good to go
Unlike windows you will not have to worry about downloading drivers etc etc to set up your Mac. When I first got my Intel i Mac I plugged the cord into the wall then the modem in back of the Mac, surge protector, Then about 5 minutes latter auto detect detected all of my settings, even detected the printer. The whole process took less then 15 minutes. (I had no ida that installing a Mac would be so easy.) Unless Intel i Macs differ from Mac minis you should have no problems what so ever.