About to buy a Macbook, Need advice

[esadb]

Hi,

Im new on these forums and new to the mac world, but after many years of using windows based machines i want to switch over and give MAC a try.

I found this pretty good deal locally a guy selling a "black macbook,2.0 ghz processor, 1 gig of ram,superdrive,60 gig hard drive,wireless and bluetooth" apparantly has leopard pre installed on it but doenst come with any kind of install dvd's or anything, just a power adapter.

question is, since im totally new to macs, is there anything i should be looking out for? I was researching the black macbooks online and i couldnt find that they came with a 60gb hdd, i only found 80gb so that was a bit weird to me. so any idea what generation this is? And if so any faults with them?

im probably going to take a look at it tomorrow, but would like to know what to keep an eye out for.

also ive seen screen shots of how people display the system information of CPU Speed, Ram etc.. how do i get to that so that i can actually see what CPU its running on, ram etc.. not just believing someone says its 1gb and not verifying 100%

also the price hes looking to get out of it is ~490$

thanks

 

[SBG]

probably stolen...especially no restore disc and the seller only wanting 490. Ive seen the broken units go for more than that. I'd save up and buy off the apple refurbished website instead of taking the chance with a stolen unit. From past experience its better to buy from apple.

 

[rtmadden]

Ditto SBG. Besides, is the unit even on warranty still? Good chance you might end up with a defective unit which will be costly to repair.

 

[iParis]

Same as the other poster, stick with the Apple refurb store.
You're guaranteed a disk and they're not really that expensive, especially since you know they're going to work and aren't stolen.

 

[esadb]

high doubt the unit is still under warranty as it appears to be an older model anyways i just cant figure out what generation it is since no black macbook came with a 60gb hdd,

 

[iParis]

high doubt the unit is still under warranty as it appears to be an older model anyways i just cant figure out what generation it is since no black macbook came with a 60gb hdd,

I wouldn't be surprised if he swapped the hard drive out for one with a lesser capacity.
Or maybe it does have a 80GB HDD, he just doesn't know it.
OR maybe the person he stole it from swapped the drives.

 

[esadb]

hmm well now im curious if it is stolen or what.

Well i sent him an email asking him how old the thing is and where i could take a look at it, and see what he replies.

Just that this was perfec in my price range so i wanted to jump on the deal.

 

[ab2650]

I also doubt there's any sort of warranty left. I wouldn't be *so* quick to assume it's stolen however.

Ask for the serial number or get it when you see the Mac (Apple menu -> About this Mac, then click the version number of OS X two times).

You can enter the serial number to check for AppleCare status or to get the original specs.

HTH, and GL.

 

[nyquist11]

Yeah I would agree with them to look at apple refurb units, but I find that some of those can have a price rather close to what they were bought for, anyway I always take a look at some third party resellers like amazon, macmall, and best buy. Of course these could easily be out of your price range. I agree, computers are too expensive.

 

[iParis]

Yeah I would agree with them to look at apple refurb units, but I find that some of those can have a price rather close to what they were bought for, anyway I always take a look at some third party resellers like amazon, macmall, and best buy. Of course these could easily be out of your price range. I agree, computers are too expensive.

Best Buy has the same exact prices as Apple.

 

[esadb]

well apparantly the computer is about a year and a half old. that makes it mid 2007 generation.

I think im gonna go take a look at the unit and see.

The refurb units are pretty much the same price as a brand new one lol, and plus im handy with computers i always fixed/repaired my computers on my own. I know this is my first time with a mac but again cant be much more different.

 

[silverblack]

Before you go, ask if the AC adapter is the original Apple one. Also ask for the serial number (thefts don't like giving those out). You *might* be able to call the 1-800# of Apple to see if it had been reported stolen.

I would go see the computer yourself. To see the information about the computer, click the Apple on the upper left corner, select About This Mac, and then More Information.

Ask him to tell you the history about the computer, get him to show you everything (software, hardware).

Go to System Preferences (Dock), select Accounts, see if the account name is his/her, and get him to change the password in front of you.

By the way, since you don't have a copy of the restore DVD, you'll need to get a retail copy of Leopard and iLife08 (or wait for SnowLeopard and iLife09). The original DVD for that particular model was probably Tiger.

 

[esadb]

you say restore DVD, so what if i just got a copy of leopard from the store? Or do i need to have a restore DVD? Is it the same type of deal as with windows xp where you can just format and freshly install the OS on the pc no matter if its the CD that came with the computer or not?

 

[UrielSynthesis]

you say restore DVD, so what if i just got a copy of leopard from the store? Or do i need to have a restore DVD? Is it the same type of deal as with windows xp where you can just format and freshly install the OS on the pc no matter if its the CD that came with the computer or not?

Macs come with their own restore DVDs but if you bought Leopard from the store it is pretty much the same thing. Everything that comes on a mac (like iLife) is packaged with the OS itself (correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[Beanlok]

If its on craigslist make sure you can pick it up dont pay or accept a shipping deal there are several mac scams on there. chances are that the original machine came with tiger and there is a d/ld copy of leopard installed this doesnt really matter and you can make time machine backups eliminating the need for a restore dvd. It sound's like a good deal to me provided it isnt stolen and you can get the computer in your hand before ponying up the doe!

 

[esadb]

oh yah the computer is locally, i dont know if you guys heard but its on www.kijiji.ca not craiglists. And hes asking 600$ CDN that is

Im located in Canada and its a local sale, ive sent him an email asking where i can come to see it i wouldnt be buying anything like this and make him ship it to me.

 

[silverblack]

you say restore DVD, so what if i just got a copy of leopard from the store? Or do i need to have a restore DVD? Is it the same type of deal as with windows xp where you can just format and freshly install the OS on the pc no matter if its the CD that came with the computer or not?

Yes, the retail copy will work, bootable and good to reinstall this MB, kind of like XP. The only thing missing is iLife. Restore DVD would have had it. You'll need to get you own copy from store, or ebay (cheaper).

 

[ab2650]

Macs come with their own restore DVDs but if you bought Leopard from the store it is pretty much the same thing. Everything that comes on a mac (like iLife) is packaged with the OS itself (correct me if I'm wrong).

I believe the Leopard retail disc does not include iLife apps (Garage Band, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD), only the bundled OS apps (iTunes, iCal, Safari, Mail, etc).

 

[esadb]

i dont think im too worried about the programs and what not i can get those down the road.

Im gonna have to take a look at this laptop. Any ideas if you guys would know if this is a just a core duo or core 2 duo cpu?

 

[esadb]

is the 2.0ghz core duo processor a good cpu?

 

[silverblack]

According to here, only the Rev. A models had Core Duo (mid-2006). All MacBooks came with C2D processors after late 2006.

Whether or not the Rev. A model is sufficient depends on what you plan to do with it. For internet and word processing, it won't be a problem at all.