MacBook Care Guide

[jav6454]

Ok, so there are many posts out there repeating each other. For example, I have seen double posts regarding incase sleeves, backpacks, cleaning methods and much more. All of these posts for the sake of taking care of our beloved MacBooks.

However, as many know or have come to realize, reposting our answers over and over and over again can get tiring. So, I have decided to write up this guide for the MacBook. Of coarse, initially this guide will be rough as i don't own all the accessories out there to judge and recommend. That is where you all MacRumors members come in. Those of you who do have experience, help me out in writing this Guide.

I would also love help in any way possible like pictures how to do stuff, etc. The more help, the better this guide can get. As of 11/18/08 this guide is still not finished.

Here is the rough break down:

Post 1 - General Knowledge
Post 2 - Cleaning
Post 3 - Incases and BackPacks
Post 4 - Software Care & Apple Care

General Knowledge
Ok so to get started with the guide, I find it essential to define some terms before continuing. Here are some of the terms you might encounter:

FSB - Front Side Bus, this is the device in your MacBook (rather a part of your motherboard) that transfers data from the CPU to the RAM to the devices in your Mac. The faster the clocking of this, the faster your system will be.

CPU - Central Processing Unit, handles every calculation in the computer.

GPU - Graphics Processing Unit, is the chip that acts like a CPU, but this chip is dedicated to graphics (3D rendering, video, pictures, etc) computing and processing. These processors are starting to come out in dies with multiple cores.

Super Drive - Your CD or DVD drive.

iSight - The integrated webcam in all new Macs

RAM - This is the memory your computer uses to store temporary files. The higher the RAM, the more optimal the level of computing gets. It is recommended that you get as much memory as you can afford.

Sleep Mode - This mode is achieved when you close you Mac's lid. A Mac easily goes asleep and wakes up. It is a convenient mode to leave your Mac in a low power consumption state.

Backlit - A type of keyboard present in all MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs and the high-end MacBook. It is convenient in poor lighting as the keys light up thanks to a LED behind them. Makes keys easier to see.

HDD - Hard Disk Drive, where you store all your media, files, OS, and any other thing you download or create.

TrackPad - The pad where the MacBook senses your fingers and interprets the click.

Widget - Helpful program that actives small, but important tasks (user dependable).

Any other terminology needed to be define, just send me a PM and I'll get to adding it. Please make sure said term is common use in the forums.

 

[jav6454]

Cleaning Guide

Well, this is one of the most important processes in the life of your MacBook if you wish to have it for a long, long time.

First of, people must appreciate that the MacBook consists of various elements that each require its own care and special treatment. For example, the method to clean the LCD may vary from the method of cleaning the outer case.

Screen
Yes, it gets dirty alot. Quite frankly, you clean it and the next minute its already dirty. Apple is kind enough to provide us with a cleaning cloth for our Macs, but that cleaning cloth is universal. So, its not designed to be 100% successful.

Screens in my experience are easier to clean when they are by some chance, humid. Also, any debris, dust or smudges are easier take of if the kind of cleaning material used is a kind of paper product.

Paper products consist of Kleenex or equivalent (non aromatic), Terri Towel, Paper Towel, old newspaper and/or Toilet Paper. Choose the one that you can most likely use. I recommend trying to use Terri Towels, if that is not available to you go with Paper Towel, Toilet paper and last old newspaper.

The following steps are best done with your Mac completely off. Also, this steps are the ones I use. Bear in mind wrongfully doing them may damage your machine. Also the obligatory warning, you do this at your risk.

Steps to cleaning the Screen
1. Using a slightly damp paper product, make the screen slightly humid.
2. Using another sheet, dry up the small humidity and start wiping off and scrubbing gently smudges, dirt or other.
3. The fabric of the paper product is ideal for this job and will leave no mark nor a scratch.
4. Using a dry sheet, finish wiping off or cleaning your screen.

Unibody or Body
Almost same procedure. Except we are not damping the body. Instead we damp the paper product and use its humidity to wipe off the body. After initial wiping proceed to dry out anything and repeat a third time with dry sheet.

Stains Scratches
Unluckily some users stained or scratched their MacBooks. There is nothing that can be done regarding a scratch. However, a stain is much different.

They key to wiping a stain before it become permanent is not to let it dry up. The more water or more humid it is the better chances it will come off. Likewise, the longer it dries, the more unlikely it gets to clean it.

To clean stains use a paper product follow same directions as when cleaning the screen but with a little bit more damping. Beware, if the stain is in a place where a nature crease or crack is, you will have to be twice as careful not to let water drop into it and ruin your machine.

 

[jav6454]

post reserved for backpacks and incase sleeves guides

 

[jav6454]

Software & Apple Care Guide

So we got to a point where we have to talk about the internal care of our MacBooks, that means its software.

Software Care
There is no actual process of taking care of your software. Simply because Macs do not need one process. Unlike Windows machines that need defragmenting and stuff. However, there are some tips for you.

Software Care Tips
1. Don't visit websites that look suspicious. Its true, Macs don't have viruses, but its best not to poke the tiger with short stick. Just because we don't know of one doesn't mean there are none. Unlikely as it is, a Windows virus may affect us...

2. Don't delete files and folder if you don't know what they are. People have the habit of deleting things even though they don't know what x file was. Reason is HDD space is running out and need more movies or music. That is a dumb move as you may accidentally delete a system file or folder.

3. Don't force work a program. True that Macs barely have a hang or program crashes. However, there are times when a program might encounter a glitch and quit. If you know the glitch, report it to Apple and don't replicate the bug. Refrain yourself from using the program in a way that causes the system to slow down or replicate the bug on purpose. True, today's machines are built to handle this, but over stressing out machines for the heck of it is not healthy as chips heat up in vain.

4. Maintain a daily or weekly back-up. Macs now bring a useful feature called Time Machine. It will protect and provide copies for you in a case you loose all your files in an incident.

5. Install and run iStat. This helpful widget or program helps you keep track of your fans and pretty much everything in your Mac. iStat can be useful to determine the current temperature in a Mac's CPU or HDD or other. By knowing what temperatures you have, you can determine how well your system is performing. High temperatures should be visible only when heavy tasks are being done. Otherwise, your Mac should keep itself cool. In any case contrary to what is expected you should check your Mac and contact Apple if you think the Mac's operation is out of sorts.

Apple Care
Once in a while we run into problems with our Macs. Some of these problems are fixable by user and other times they are not. For those time when the user has exhausted every method, we have Apple Care. These are the guys that look out for the technical issues we might have. They repair, or replace or Macs if the situation calls for it.

Apple Care offers every Mac buyer the option of buying an Extended Warranty which extends Mac hardware warranty for 2 more years besides the 1 year already included with your Mac. That makes a good 3 years of piece of mind, in which if anything should go wrong with your Mac, Apple is there to repair it or replace it.

 

[J the Ninja]

Good thread! Cleaning advice is always helpful. On another note.....

I was thinking of doing something similar over on the MBP board about taking off the bottom and cleaning out the fans and heatsinks. If I ever bother to get the screwdriver and get the case open, I'll take some pics and walk through how to do it.