2011 iMac out for delivery. First things to do with a new iMac?

[Amnesiac1]

You asked this question before, and it was answered.

See this thread - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1170529/

Applications are on the SSD. As was explained in the thread above.

Yes, but does that mean that if I download STEAM it will automatically install on the SSD?

 

[Icaras]

Yes, but does that mean that if I download STEAM it will automatically install on the SSD?

Wherever your "Download" folder is, is where your "downloads" will go.

It's a really novel and genius idea. Go !!!

 

[iSayuSay]

Yes, but does that mean that if I download STEAM it will automatically install on the SSD?

All application and dmg AUTOMATICALLY installed on Application folder in your Home directory. No need to config anything but Home folder location (which should be on SSD already)

Next...

 

[johnfkitchen]

Wherever your "Download" folder is, is where your "downloads" will go.

It's a really novel and genius idea. Go !!!

And then when you instal from the download, it will go in the Applications folder which is on the SSD like you've been told countless times before.

Another novel and genius idea!!

Unless you decide to override that destination. Which is not a good idea. But go ahead anyway!

 

[Rocketboyo93]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Bask in it's glory.

 

[Bolo4u]

Uhhhh

First thing I do with a new Mac right out of the box is load a few custom made images I've made at the exact screen resolution native to the monitor size in solid colors of Black, Grey, Yellow, White, and Red to check for stuck and/or dead pixels.

Next thing is to insert the OS restore disk that comes with the Mac, boot from it, and wipe the internal drive using Disk Utility. I would not use a 7 or 35 pass erase, a single will do, as the others will take hours or even days. Then once the drive is wiped of the OS, reinstall it (you are still booted from the restore disk which is the only way to wipe the drive). Customize the install to take out all the nonsense you don't need, which for me includes support for booting into umpteen languages that I don't speak, read or write as well as not including all the additional language fonts, and the printer drivers. You don't need plug and play support for every printer made, just download and install the most current one(s) you will need for your printer(s) after setup. This will trim quite a bit of fat from the OS. You can also opt out of Rosetta support and if you don't develop, X11 as well. You will shave 3-6 GB off the OS space.

After the OS is reinstalled, run software update to get to 10.6.8 which just came out yesterday and won't be installed. You will also most likely need to install either from the restore disk or a 2ndary restore disk the iLife suite to get iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD etc, on there and can choose if you want all the iDVD themes and Garageband loops included. It will tell you the space all these items take.

I suggest not using the migration assistant and manually copying over data that you need as well as installing the latest versions of your apps from scratch with your license codes. This is your opportunity to clean up all your data rather than bringing it over in whatever mess it was in on your prior system.

I read your post regarding doing a "clean install" of OSX and the directions. I am hoping for a little more detailed/specific instructions, as I am exceptionally new to Mac and the OS environment. I just purchased my first Mac (except iPhone) this week.

I'm just seeking some clarification. When I put the OS disk in the drive and boot, I see a erase freespace (or something similar) option. Is this the option I chose, then using the 1 time write as you suggested? If so, how does this actually erase everything on the disk, vs. just erasing the freespace?

Thanks in advance

 

[Fuith]

You need to open the disk utility from the menu bar and erase the entire disc for a clean install. It will give you different options as to how many passes. When you close the Disk Utility the installer will be ready for you to reinstall. It's really not necessary for new macs though.

 

[sheilaef]

I checked mine for dead pixels, but

with the May 2011 27" refurb machine I got last week came one of Apple's great refurb surprises-
The 2.7 i5 with 4 GB memory came with the -not 1 TB, as advertised, drive- but the 2 TB. I now have:
Available: 1.99 TB (1,985,154,301,952 bytes)

I don't think I need to do a custom install to save the 4-6 GB of space?

Can't wait for Lion!