Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

[MBP] Essential Things to Do before Play..?

J

jamin.

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 27, 2008
190
0
I am going to be a 1st time MBP/Mac Owner, I'm wondering if people could tell me the essential things to do when you first get a MBP. Do I reinstall the OS, do I install anything?

If you can't be bothered explaining, is their perhaps any good online guides and stuff for new Mac Owners?
 
jamin. said:
I am going to be a 1st time MBP/Mac Owner, I'm wondering if people could tell me the essential things to do when you first get a MBP. Do I reinstall the OS, do I install anything?

If you can't be bothered explaining, is their perhaps any good online guides and stuff for new Mac Owners?
Click to expand...

Uh, no. Why would you do this in the first place? You don't have to do this on a PC when you first buy it....

If you're a switcher, just order it, unbox it, and enjoy. Believe me, that ALL you'll need to do.... :cool:

Welcome in advance!

MacDann
 
Some people reinstall the OS when they first get a mac, I never have and haven't had any problems that im aware of.
 
Very Simple

jamin. said:
I am going to be a 1st time MBP/Mac Owner, I'm wondering if people could tell me the essential things to do when you first get a MBP. Do I reinstall the OS, do I install anything?

If you can't be bothered explaining, is their perhaps any good online guides and stuff for new Mac Owners?
Click to expand...

Open the box and once you get to the computer, turn it on and follow instructions. Personally I do not reinstall the software to eliminate the extra languages and print drivers. On my wife's MacAir I did because the HH is so small but normally this should not be an issue! :apple:
 
I always reinstall the OS to remove the printer drivers and uneeded languages: this saves a few gigs. There are programs that can do this but they have been reported to cause problems and reinstalling only takes about ~30 mins so why not? You may want to calibrate your battery.
 
MacDann said:
I have to ask - why? I'm not sure I understand what that would accomplish, unless it's used and you want to be absolutely sure it's a clean install.

MacDann
Click to expand...

I've never heard of it done with macs, but if you buy a sony or a dell, many people will to eliminate all of the bloatware.


No bloatware in macs...
 
WHM said:
Open the box and once you get to the computer, turn it on and follow instructions. Personally I do not reinstall the software to eliminate the extra languages and print drivers. On my wife's MacAir I did because the HH is so small but normally this should not be an issue! :apple:
Click to expand...

Ah-hah! That never occurred to me. I've looked at the extra files and in all honesty, if you're that desperate for space, you had better get a bigger drive or use an external....

MacDann
 
MacDann said:
Ah-hah! That never occurred to me. I've looked at the extra files and in all honesty, if you're that desperate for space, you had better get a bigger drive or use an external....

MacDann
Click to expand...

Conversely, why would you willingly waste space? It costs you 30 minutes for gigs on your hard drive over the life of the machine? Considering the $ cost of getting a bigger hard drive, I imagine the time cost/benefit ratio would make sense to just put in a bit of effort/time. :p
 
The only suggestion I have is to calibrate the battery once it arrives and you have set it up.

For this, simply run the battery out all the way until it shuts down (goes to sleep) and then recharge

Enjoy!
 
Hey I think you should reinstall the OS and save yourself that 1 gig of space...why not, it's your first Mac. It will give you a chance to play around with it and doesn't take too long - also install X11.

After you're done start installing software - get a game to play on it. Install VLC, perian, and Handbrake. Install neo office or ms office. Then install GIMP or GIMPShop and play around with that. Get your music files on it too.
 
I reinstalled the OS when i first got the MBP because I didn't want all the extra software that it came with (ilife, office). I don't mind waiting for the OS to reinstall because I knew that I was getting rid of software that I will never use.

-JoE
 
My new MBP will be arriving in the next couple days and I'd like to save that extra GB or two... what exactly is the procedure for doing a "clean install" using the Leopard DVD? Is there an option in the Installer to wipe everything currently on the machine?
 
markrivers said:
installing something from out of the box completely destroy the idea of plug and play.
i use both windows and mac.. even with windows, i don't start installing/reinstalling the OS:D
Click to expand...

I'm with PC too for a long time now and the first thing I always did was installing the OS (well I never bought a PC that was ready built ;) ) so I had to install the OS after I assembled all the parts :D

I wait for my first Mac and will enjoy the moment of unboxing and simply starting it without having to assemble it in some ways :apple: too sad I have to wait until march 10th for delivery.
 
adamschneider said:
My new MBP will be arriving in the next couple days and I'd like to save that extra GB or two... what exactly is the procedure for doing a "clean install" using the Leopard DVD? Is there an option in the Installer to wipe everything currently on the machine?
Click to expand...

Just pop in the restore discs and boot to it, holding 'c' key when you start up your MBP. Go through the screen until you see a 'customize' button in the lower right hand corner. You can manually select what you want and don't want on your MBP. I just only installed OS and nothing else. It only took up roughly 7 GB of space after the reinstall.

-JoE
 
MacBookJoePro said:
Just pop in the restore discs and boot to it, holding 'c' key when you start up your MBP. Go through the screen until you see a 'customize' button in the lower right hand corner. You can manually select what you want and don't want on your MBP. I just only installed OS and nothing else. It only took up roughly 7 GB of space after the reinstall.
Click to expand...

Should I do it before I even turn it on for the first time?
 
check out www.myfirstmac.com As a first time mac user, that site is giving me some great ideas on being a first mac user.

Right now I am planning on doing"
1. start up the mac an make sure it is ok. No visible flaws.
2. install additional memory
3. get appzapper, 1 passowrd, and handbrake
3a. move my itunes library
4. install bootcamp
5. install quicken and move my quicken files.
6. Migrate the rest of my data.
7. Done.

EDIT: Take my windoze laptop and put ubuntu on it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back