New to Mac - A few questions.

[Pavia]

Hey.

I recently put down an order on a 15" i7 MacBook Pro, which is due to be delivered on Tuesday, if not sooner.

I have researched abit, however I've failed to find any sort of information, whether I should start the MacBook Pro up with battery, or plug in the MagSafe? (I am only talking about the first-ever boot up, and the first full cycle thing)

And, if I use the MacBook Pro for school 5 times a week, can I simply charge it over night, unplug it and bring it to school, when I get home plug in the MagSafe and leave it charging till the next morning ? (Ofcourse it will be used while plugged in.)
Or do I have to plug out the MagSafe everytime the battery is fully charged?

If there is any good beginners guide to MBP batteries, do link me I have read a few websites about it, but ^ is unclear to me.

Thank you.

 

[robbieduncan]

Generally they ship with a decent amount of charge, certainly enough to setup and see how much charge is there!

In terms of how much to charge etc I'd read the Apple guide.

 

[seong]

I would agree with robbieduncan, except reading the Apple Guide.

Here is the summary:

You don't have to keep the MagSafe plugged in when it's fully recharged. You don't have to worry about charging it over night. If you bring it to school every school-days, then you should do what you posted -> use it at school, then recharge it overnight (and of course you can use it while it's charging).

Since you are new to Mac, you will worry about other things, and just let it go away. Macs are human-friendly (compared to PCs). I would say it's good to read the Apple Guide, but it's waste of time unless you really want to dig into the battery.

 

[cluthz]

...
I have researched abit, however I've failed to find any sort of information, whether I should start the MacBook Pro up with battery, or plug in the MagSafe? (I am only talking about the first-ever boot up, and the first full cycle thing)

Don't worry, just make sure you charge it to full and drain it at least once the first few days.

And, if I use the MacBook Pro for school 5 times a week, can I simply charge it over night, unplug it and bring it to school, when I get home plug in the MagSafe and leave it charging till the next morning ? (Ofcourse it will be used while plugged in.)
Or do I have to plug out the MagSafe everytime the battery is fully charged?

No, just make it stay plugged in. The MBPs do automatically stop charging when battery is full.

If there is any good beginners guide to MBP batteries, do link me I have read a few websites about it, but ^ is unclear to me.

Thank you.

Probably, but you don't need it.

Just make sure you use the battery, preferably at least once a week, which shouldn't be an issue for you.

 

[cubeeggs]

Apple has a guide here:

http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html


It says “Be sure to fully charge your portable when you plug it in for the first time.”

It also says

“Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing.”

So you would be ok.

 

[Pavia]

Thank you all, very helpful !