A few questions from new Mac user (just purchased a MacBook Pro)

[jh0720]

Hey cousins, I just purchased a macbook pro (mid 2012) and I had a few questions. I'm a life-long windows users so I'm not familiar with the os x environment.

1.) What's the best tool to control the fan while i'm in OS X? I know if I use bootcamp -> win 7, I can use lubbo's macbook fan tool
2.) There's a few apps I want to run that I only have the MS version for/are only made for MS, specifically the 2010 office suite (word/excel/ppt) and dbpoweramp (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/). I plan on installing win7 via bootcamp, but I understand that I can't access the mac hdd in windows and vice versa? I would like to be able to do this so I can work on ppts and convert audio files that are on my mac hdd in win7
3.) I have a samsung 840 ssd that I recently purchased. I don't really do anything that intensive (coding and light gaming at most)...is it even worth it to swap the ssd with the hdd? I heard that the bootcamp booting into win7 takes forever
4.) Could I put ubuntu on my system or is it not possible to have osx/win7/ubuntu? If so, how would I be able to do it? Would following these two guides be enough?

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBookPro10-1/Precise
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/How to install Ubuntu on MacBook using USB Stick

5.) I have this TV: (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN32EH5000-32-Inch-1080p-Black/dp/B0071O4ETQ/) what's the best/cheapest way to hook my mbp (1680x1050 matte display mbp -> 1080p tv)...preferably have the audio and video in one link

thanks!

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Hey cousins, I just purchased a macbook pro (mid 2012) and I had a few questions. I'm a life-long windows users so I'm not familiar with the os x environment.

1.) What's the best tool to control the fan while i'm in OS X? I know if I use bootcamp -> win 7, I can use lubbo's macbook fan tool
2.) There's a few apps I want to run that I only have the MS version for/are only made for MS, specifically the 2010 office suite (word/excel/ppt) and dbpoweramp (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/). I plan on installing win7 via bootcamp, but I understand that I can't access the mac hdd in windows and vice versa? I would like to be able to do this so I can work on ppts and convert audio files that are on my mac hdd in win7
3.) I have a samsung 840 ssd that I recently purchased. I don't really do anything that intensive (coding and light gaming at most)...is it even worth it to swap the ssd with the hdd? I heard that the bootcamp booting into win7 takes forever
4.) Could I put ubuntu on my system or is it not possible to have osx/win7/ubuntu? If so, how would I be able to do it? Would following these two guides be enough?

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBookPro10-1/Precise
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/How to install Ubuntu on MacBook using USB Stick

5.) I have this TV: (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN32EH5000-32-Inch-1080p-Black/dp/B0071O4ETQ/) what's the best/cheapest way to hook my mbp (1680x1050 matte display mbp -> 1080p tv)...preferably have the audio and video in one link

thanks!

1. smcFanControl. There is also a Windows version but I personally have never tried it.
2. I suggest VMware Fusion. This software allows you to run Windows (or any of the various flavors of Linux and pretty much any other OS) in a window alongside Mac OS X. Parallels Desktop is another software that does the same thing although personally I find Fusion to be more stable and solid.
3. You'll immediately notice the difference between SSD and HDD. If you want to, you can first use your MBP with the factory HDD and then swap it out for the SSD. Then you will see the difference between the two. The SSD is much faster than HDD. It speeds up everyday tasks including gaming and coding too. The Samsung 840 SSD can be 5-10x faster than HDD in both reads and writes. It's hard to go back to HDD after using an SSD-equipped machine.
4. Yes that is possible. It's a rather complex/lengthy/tricky process but I do know people who have done this.
5. Use HDMI. Monoprice has a relatively cheap HDMI adapter for your MBP's Thunderbolt port. Link. If you don't have an HDMI cable, you can purchase one from Monoprice. I use their cables and adapters and can vouch for their excellent quality.

 

[Wicked1]

I have the base 2012 13" but pulled the internal hdd and installed a Monster 240GB SSD data III. I reloaded OS from scratch est way to get it to work at peak performance, then loaded all my Mac apps.

I created a 32 GB boot camp partition as I do use Windows once in a blue moon for work, so used Windows 7 32-bit (it is free and I only use it for light gaming and a vpn connection, office will run fine on it as well.

I do not know wo told you it takes forever to boot, but my mac boots in 8 seconds, and shuts down in 3-4. As far as Windows 7, mine loads quicker on bootcamp then it does on my new work Dell laptop, in bootcamp it boots in 10-12 seconds full boot. I can open IE 8 and get onto a website in like 1-3 seconds, so fairly speedy to me.

My SSD is not the best but rated at 550R, and 520W, and I am getting 500R and 420W, so fine by my standards, and I am in the it field, software tester/developer.

 

[jh0720]

great, thanks cousins. my last question is...how could I see my mac hdd and access its files while i'm in win7 bootcamp? Is this possible?

 

[runebinder]

When you use the bootcamp assistant to set up Windows, go with the option to create a drivers disc/USB stick. Once Windows is installed run this and you'll have read ability for the Mac partition, just won't be able to write to it.

You'll need Mac disk or Paragon HFS+ if you want to write to it as well.

 

[jh0720]

i'm guessing mac disk is free? which version should I download and is there a guide on what to do?

thanks!

 

[jh0720]

would that be the easiest way for me to read/write my mac hdd from win7/bootcamp?

 

[runebinder]

i'm guessing mac disk is free? which version should I download and is there a guide on what to do?

thanks!

Sorry meant MacDrive, no it's not free.

There is free SW that will let you read & write on the Mac HD in Bootcamp but it's not integrated into the OS so everything has to be done from within the app.

MacDrive and Paragon HFS+ both integrate so the Mac HD shows up the same as as any Windows drive in Explorer. MacDrive is the more expensive of the two, would recommend reading some of the forum posts on these. While I haven't had any issues when I tried them, others have had different experiences.

The read only HFS function the Bootcamp SW setup installs also integrates into Explorer. Personally this is what I use. If there is a file on the Windows I need to work on, I copy it on to the OS X partition and when I do boot to Windows later copy it back and vice versa.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[jh0720]

Sorry meant MacDrive, no it's not free.

There is free SW that will let you read & write on the Mac HD in Bootcamp but it's not integrated into the OS so everything has to be done from within the app.

MacDrive and Paragon HFS+ both integrate so the Mac HD shows up the same as as any Windows drive in Explorer. MacDrive is the more expensive of the two, would recommend reading some of the forum posts on these. While I haven't had any issues when I tried them, others have had different experiences.

The read only HFS function the Bootcamp SW setup installs also integrates into Explorer. Personally this is what I use. If there is a file on the Windows I need to work on, I copy it on to the OS X partition and when I do boot to Windows later copy it back and vice versa.

Hope that makes sense.

Oh sweet, that was what I was looking for. My mbp doesn't get here until wednesday, but you're saying if I just install win 7 through bootcamp i'll be able to read from my mac hdd (and read from my windows hdd on os x)?

 

[dw3bb10]

When would be appropriate times/uses for smcfancontrol?

 

[glenthompson]

Having used both bootcamp and Parallels, If you need to run Windows on a regular basis don't use bootcamp. Get Parallels or VMware. You'll be much happier.

My old MBP maxed out at 3gb so running parallels was a problem due to lack of memory. Bootcamp had better performance but rebooting was a pain. I now have 8gb and Parallels runs great. However I find I use it less these days since I'm doing everything under OS X.

 

[jh0720]

my only usage for windows will be visual studio and gaming, so i'd rather just go straight into bootcamp as i won't be switching around. my main concern is if I can just install win 7 through bootcamp and i'll be able to read from my mac hdd (and vice versa read from my windows hdd on os x)?

 

[runebinder]

Oh sweet, that was what I was looking for. My mbp doesn't get here until wednesday, but you're saying if I just install win 7 through bootcamp i'll be able to read from my mac hdd (and read from my windows hdd on os x)?

Yes, works well and have not experienced any issues with it.

my only usage for windows will be visual studio and gaming, so i'd rather just go straight into bootcamp as i won't be switching around. my main concern is if I can just install win 7 through bootcamp and i'll be able to read from my mac hdd (and vice versa read from my windows hdd on os x)?

Bootcamp makes a lot more sense, parallels is very good for running programs like Office (I don't like the Mac version), but not worth it for gaming. Just be aware that updating drivers take a little more effort, for the graphics you quite often need to add a modified inf file in order to get the installer to recognise the GPU. It's worth doing as the Bootcamp drivers are pretty old so you'll get a better gaming experience, this site has the drivers and inf files: http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/178-30x-series-geforce-driver-release/

 

[dw3bb10]

When would be appropriate times/uses for smcfancontrol?

Anyone?

 

[A Hebrew]

Anyone?

When you are doing intense tasks for an extended period of time....or when you are bored and want to hear what the fans sound like since they don't come on full speed very often.