Did My Custom MacBook Arrive Correctly?

[WhyIs TJ SoCool]

Hi all,

I'm a first time Mac user and I just got my new Macbook Pro the other day after ordering it from the online apple store. I had opted for the following upgrades, however, I'm not sure if I've received them all. If some of the following items are silly questions I apologize.

-4GB RAM: This I was able to check and is correctly upgraded

-iWork '08: This software package is what first raised suspicion that not everything i ordered was delivered. While they shipped the installation CD, the programs are not pre-installed as the website said they would be.

-250 gig Hard Drive: Before putting anything on my computer, there was roughly 220-210 gigs free. I realize that the initial programs the computer comes with take up memory but is it 20-30 gigs worth of space?

-AppleCare: When I check my order the website says that "APP FOR MACBOOKPRO - COL/AE-INT" is complete. Only I never recieved any physical package. Am I supposed to? I can't find anywhere on my notebook or the info booklets that came with my computer that states I actually do have this.

If anyone could help, that would be great, especially about the AppleCare.

Thanks!

 

[rhyx]

For AppleCare just enter your serial number on the Apple support website. It will let you know if AC has already been applied.

 

[Jason S.]

-250 gig Hard Drive: Before putting anything on my computer, there was roughly 220-210 gigs free. I realize that the initial programs the computer comes with take up memory but is it 20-30 gigs worth of space?

Actual formated capacity is less. This is how it is on all hard drives. You will never have the full 250GB, even if you completely removed everything from the hard disk.

 

[ivnds]

-250 gig Hard Drive: Before putting anything on my computer, there was roughly 220-210 gigs free. I realize that the initial programs the computer comes with take up memory but is it 20-30 gigs worth of space?

Thanks!

That's correct, after the formatting process, you end up with around 10% less of your drive (say your drive is 160gb, you get 148ish), plus leopard (around 15gb), you end up with the total 30gbs less. You can gain a lot of that space back if you uninstall some things, like GarageBand, which is 4gb.

 

[beefington]

i had two of the same things. i got a MBP with a 250GB HDD and when i received it it had i think 232GB free. also, i received the physical box for AppleCare about 1-2 weeks after i got the computer, so dont worry about that. also, isnt it better to receive the disc of iWork, because i didnt ask for it preinstalled, but i dont think that when it is preinstalled they give you the disc.

 

[kalimba]

Actual formated capacity is less. This is how it is on all hard drives. You will never have the full 250GB, even if you completely removed everything from the hard disk.

Just to be perfectly clear, the formatted capacity isn't really "less" than the advertised capacity. The size difference can be attributed to how the "GB" designation is interpreted.

The OS is showing the disk size in "gibibytes", which is equal to 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes. Hard drive manufacturers now (and for a long time prior) specify the storage size of their drives in true metric "gigabytes" (1,000,000,000 bytes) so as to make the drive sound like they hold more data.

If the drive manufacturers (and computer sellers like Apple, for that matter) used gibibytes, the drives would appear smaller to the customer, so they use gigabytes instead.

Here's a Wikipedia link that sums it all up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabyte