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New Macbook air owner, some questions

J

jaimbot

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 9, 2012
7
0
Bought my first ever macbook, switching from windows was huge because everything is different and i don't know how to do anything on this machine! I bought a Macbook air 13" that was made in late 2008, this one here:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...core-2-duo-1.6-13-nvidia-late-2008-specs.html.
The owner left everything on the macbook and i would like to reboot the system to factory settings but it did not come with a usb/ or cd. My first question is how would i reboot the system to factory settings?

2nd: Also he said it has windows 7 on it, how would i switch over to that from the mac os? i looked at options but didnt find it?

3rd: how do i uninstall programs, i do not see a control panel like i do on my windows.

4th: the fan on the macbook is noisy when I put my ear to it, even when im about 30cm away i can hear it but not as loud, is this normal?

sorry if the questions seem to be stupid im just new to the scene.

answer to these questions would be great!
 
Those fans are going to be a bit active on that machine. It was a core 2 duo machine, so it puts out a bit more heat than a modern air does.

As for restoring the OS, those had flash drives with them back then. You will probably have to take it to an apple store genius bar since you are basically starting from scratch and I really doubt that machine supports internet recovery.

EDIT: This is assuming it isn't a dual boot machine. If OSX is still installed on there, you should be able to use the boot camp tool. It will be a grey diamond in the system tray. Tell it to reboot into OSX. Once you are into X, you can use the boot camp assistant to remove windows from your machine.
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of Macs!

The owner left everything on the macbook and i would like to reboot the system to factory settings but it did not come with a usb/ or cd. My first question is how would i reboot the system to factory settings?
Your best bet here is finding a copy of Snow Leopard, or have a Mac friend lend you a copy of Lion...

2nd: Also he said it has windows 7 on it, how would i switch over to that from the mac os? i looked at options but didnt find it?
When you first boot up your Mac, before the Apple logo shows up, press the option key. It should show you a boot menu, with one being your Mac OS drive and the other your windows drive. If you only see one then Windows is not installed. You can also go into System Preferences --> Boot Disk and select the Windows drive from there, but keep in mind it will continue to boot into Windows until you switch it back.

3rd: how do i uninstall programs, i do not see a control panel like i do on my windows.
Generally, all you have to do is drag the app to the trash! Some apps will leave traces behind, but they won't harm your system, so I'd ignore them until you become more advanced.

4th: the fan on the macbook is noisy when I put my ear to it, even when im about 30cm away i can hear it but not as loud, is this normal?
For the Mac you have, that should be normal. The 2008 MacBook air is notorious for running hot, and for the fans kicking on.

Hope this helps!

----------
mentaluproar said:
As for restoring the OS, those had flash drives with them back then. You will probably have to take it to an apple store genius bar since you are basically starting from scratch and I really doubt that machine supports internet recovery.
Click to expand...

That machine actually did not come with a USB restore, and no, it doesn't have Internet Recovery.
 
stiligFox said:
Welcome to the wonderful world of Macs!

The owner left everything on the macbook and i would like to reboot the system to factory settings but it did not come with a usb/ or cd. My first question is how would i reboot the system to factory settings?
Your best bet here is finding a copy of Snow Leopard, or have a Mac friend lend you a copy of Lion...

2nd: Also he said it has windows 7 on it, how would i switch over to that from the mac os? i looked at options but didnt find it?
When you first boot up your Mac, before the Apple logo shows up, press the option key. It should show you a boot menu, with one being your Mac OS drive and the other your windows drive. If you only see one then Windows is not installed. You can also go into System Preferences --> Boot Disk and select the Windows drive from there, but keep in mind it will continue to boot into Windows until you switch it back.

3rd: how do i uninstall programs, i do not see a control panel like i do on my windows.
Generally, all you have to do is drag the app to the trash! Some apps will leave traces behind, but they won't harm your system, so I'd ignore them until you become more advanced.

4th: the fan on the macbook is noisy when I put my ear to it, even when im about 30cm away i can hear it but not as loud, is this normal?
For the Mac you have, that should be normal. The 2008 MacBook air is notorious for running hot, and for the fans kicking on.

Hope this helps!

----------





That machine actually did not come with a USB restore, and no, it doesn't have Internet Recovery.
Click to expand...



i will be able to get a reboot cd from a friend that came with his macbook pro unibody 13" will it be compatible with my mba?

also the mba does not have a drive, how would i get it to work?
 
jaimbot said:
i will be able to get a reboot cd from a friend that came with his macbook pro unibody 13" will it be compatible with my mba?

also the mba does not have a drive, how would i get it to work?
Click to expand...

As for the first question, I am not sure, but for the second, Apple makes an external cd drive for the air that you can get.

You may be able to go into an Apple Store and borrow one of theirs...
 
stiligFox said:
As for the first question, I am not sure, but for the second, Apple makes an external cd drive for the air that you can get.

You may be able to go into an Apple Store and borrow one of theirs...
Click to expand...



thanks, any other ways to reboot the mba?
 
Hold down the Option key when you reboot to bring up Win Boot Camp option. Assuming that is where Windows it is.

Alternately, System Preferences then Start Up Disk. You can choose Win as the default boot option.
 
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