How to buy a good second hand mac??

[mungai]

Hi,
My friend's friend is selling a macbook pro, latest gen and i was wondering how i could tell if it was decent?...
he's already played around with it a bit S:... some how he deleted the 'sound driver' for the mac OS?? is that even possible?? If so is there a way to restore it?

He also deleted the apple OS -__-“ but I think he has a leopard CD so would I be able to re install it with that? He currently has windows 7 on it.. don’t ask me why..
But I think that’s about it, I am only considering it due to the low price 700NZD so about 350US as he recently bought it second hand off his flat mate a week ago…

But yeah, if he reinstall the apple OS
- would there be a way to restore the sound if it is still missing?
- And is there a way to check to see if everything is running ok? Im not sure if he has techtool on it…
Thanks

 

[spinnerlys]

Hi,
My friend's friend is selling a macbook pro, latest gen and i was wondering how i could tell if it was decent?...
he's already played around with it a bit S:... some how he deleted the 'sound driver' for the mac OS?? is that even possible?? If so is there a way to restore it?

It is possible by deleting specific files. Why one would do that is beyond me though.
You can restore all the drivers and the complete system by re-installing the system.

He also deleted the apple OS -__-“ but I think he has a leopard CD so would I be able to re install it with that? He currently has windows 7 on it.. don’t ask me why..

Even if you don't get any restore DVDs with the MBP, you can buy a Snow Leopard (SL) DVD for 25€ and use that to install Mac OS X on it.

But I think that’s about it, I am only considering it due to the low price 700NZD so about 350US as he recently bought it second hand off his flat mate a week ago…

That's quite cheap, have a look at www.mac2sell.net, what this MBP normally goes for.

But yeah, if he reinstall the apple OS
- would there be a way to restore the sound if it is still missing?
- And is there a way to check to see if everything is running ok? Im not sure if he has techtool on it…
Thanks

Do the installation yourself, as your friend does not seem to know what s/he does.

You can do the Apple Hardware Test with the gray restore DVDs (or the SL DVD) to confirm any existing hardware errors.

When do you say, it is the last generation MBP, do you mean the Aluminium or the Unibody one?
Does it still have warranty?

Aluminium

Unibody

 

[mungai]

hi! thank you for the reply
it is the uni body one but i think it no longer has warranty ):

so by reinstalling leopard OS it should restore the sound drivers?

with the grey restore dvds, would my ones work on it? or would i need a new serial key? or do i not need one
sorry im not to sure about installing Mac OS, i used to have a 17" aluminium body but nothing major happened to that apart from the battery expanding S: so didnt have to restore... then i upgraded to a 21.5" imac and it came with the grey dvds i think youre talking about, the app and mac OS dvds

thank you for the link btw but i live in New Zealand so would prefer to buy here

 

[eawmp1]

1) I'm sure the link was provided for you to check pricing for comparison.
2) Boot the mac from the DVD. Then run hardware tests. By booting from the DVD you will have sound. If not, possibly a hardware issue.

 

[mungai]

opps yeah, heh; i dunno the site didnt work for me S: kept telling me to enter the ghz but idk wouldnt go through...

hmm ok i will try that next time i go around thanks!

 

[spinnerlys]

hi! thank you for the reply
it is the uni body one but i think it no longer has warranty ):

so by reinstalling leopard OS it should restore the sound drivers?

with the grey restore dvds, would my ones work on it? or would i need a new serial key? or do i not need one
sorry im not to sure about installing Mac OS, i used to have a 17" aluminium body but nothing major happened to that apart from the battery expanding S: so didnt have to restore... then i upgraded to a 21.5" imac and it came with the grey dvds i think youre talking about, the app and mac OS dvds

thank you for the link btw but i live in New Zealand so would prefer to buy here

The gray restore DVDs are machine specific, so the ones that came with your iMac will not work with your MBP or any other Mac, even iMac (if differing in configuration).
And no serial number is needed.

 

[mungai]

The gray restore DVDs are machine specific, so the ones that came with your iMac will not work with your MBP or any other Mac, even iMac (if differing in configuration).
And no serial number is needed.

hmm, so if he didnt have the gray dvds for his MBP is there a way around that? :/