Oh wow... What a cluster.

[Hitori]

Alright, here's the sitch...

My employer is switching out systems and has decided to give the employees at the facility first dibs at the old hardware at a much reduced price. Being a sucker for a good bargain, I picked up 2 MacBook Pros for (undisclosed price).

Let me preface this by saying I'm not a Mac fanboy, nor am I a PC fanboy. I'm a fan of what works for my space and time. I have had 2 Macs in my lifetime, one being the Apple ][ e and the other being a Mac Classic (yes, I'm that old).

That said, the 2 MacBooks I got, when I fired them up, I an understand how a couple of people from IT were "let go". The installations are a clusterf*ck.

It appears that someone tried to install Win XP and Win Vista without Boot Camp. This has resulted in 2 MacBooks that, if put together, would be a great system. However, One (the XP one) will talk to the internet and recognize it's software but without admin access to install new stuff, the other one won't connect to the net (but allow new installs).

I was given the new disks (those for XP and Vista) but none of the original Mac OS disks. I was told "If you buy these, it's your problem, you deal with/fix it". Ok, I get that.... but the question is... What now? How can I get these units to full functionality? If I put them both together, they'd be awesome, but it seems one is screaming; "I'M WINDOWS!" and the other "I'M MAC!", yet neiter one ca understand the sofware or arhitecture on it 100%

I'm especially having a problem with one unit recognizing/installing the drivers for hardware, yet the other one works pecy keen... OMG, any tips guise?

 

[highscheme]

List of things for you to do:

1.) Buy Snow Leopard from Apple.com

2.) Install it using the complete fresh install

 

[xlii]

This is what I would do...
Find out how old the macbookpro's are. Then I would buy the latest OSX version that will run on them. I would then do a clean install.

Now you should have 2 machines running OSX quite well.

If you want to add windows to the machine there is a bootcamp manual on the apple website that will tell you what you need and walk you through the steps.

 

[Wehrwolf]

$29 for Snow Leopard? If you got a good price on the hardware, what's $29 more? Or find a friend/co-worker who has it, or Leopard. It installs on a clean HD, despite what the product description suggests. And it doesn't call home like some operating systems.

 

[Consultant]

Buy Snow leopard.

Boot from it.
Erase harddrive.
Install.
Should be done in 30 minutes to an hour depending on how fast is your optical drive.

Btw those macs are so old they don't count. It's like saying, I owned metal ore, so I know how cars work.

 

[Hitori]

OK, gang... so from what I understand, there's no escape from purchasing a Mac OS (Snow Leopard). That's fine.

In the meantime, I have an additional question.. Since I've been a PC user for so long, is there any way to migrate the device drivers from one unit (that works awesome) to the other (which looks at some devices and says "WTF??"), just so I can at least get some connectivity?

I think if I bug one of the IT guys who are left, I can get the original Mac OS, but now sure right now.... Just sayin'

 

[Hitori]

This is what I would do...
Find out how old the macbookpro's are. Then I would buy the latest OSX version that will run on them. I would then do a clean install.

Now you should have 2 machines running OSX quite well.

If you want to add windows to the machine there is a bootcamp manual on the apple website that will tell you what you need and walk you through the steps.

This is likely what I'm looking at. The rest of the fam were weaned and raised on Win, so I don't want to leave them out. Thus I'm looking at a dual system, ones that run Mac OS and Vista/XP

I was also wondering... is there a way to get the device drivers from one machine (on which theywork) to the one that doesn't (but does everything else just fine) in the meantime?

 

[Hmac]

OSX includes all the Mac drivers necessary, and likewise all the drivers necessary for Windows are included on the SL disk. So, after installing Windows via BootCamp, you pop the SL disk back in when directed and the appropriate drivers are installed.

 

[Mindinversion]

I would definitely see if you can get at least one original OS X disc from your IT person. If you can come up with the disc it legally frees you to install Snow leopard upgrade ($29.99) as a clean install on your [intel based] macbooks. if these are not intel macbooks, this will not work. Snow Leopard is Intel processors only.

That said, you don't even need the original discs FOR THE INSTALL. you can do a full format/OS install straight from the $30 snow leopard disc. The only reason you specifically need the original discs is to satisfy the EULA from Apple which states you need them in order to install an upgrade copy.



Then simply use bootcamp to install windows with your other OS discs.

I prefer fresh O/S installs, so i can confirm first hand that this works. Unlike windows, there is no registration process, no keys. . . . like the brochure says "it just works".

There is the information. What you do with it is your choice.

 

[akm3]

This is likely what I'm looking at. The rest of the fam were weaned and raised on Win, so I don't want to leave them out. Thus I'm looking at a dual system, ones that run Mac OS and Vista/XP

I was also wondering... is there a way to get the device drivers from one machine (on which theywork) to the one that doesn't (but does everything else just fine) in the meantime?

I don't have a way to get the drivers from one machine to the other, BUT if you buy Snow Leopard, pop it in one of the macs and then update the drivers off of the snow leopard disc. You'll have the 'right' drivers to run Windows on a Mac. That should put you ahead.

 

[Hitori]

LOL... Ok, folks, so Snow Leopard is a "must do"... As I said, that's great. Thanks for the tips. Really defined what's needed. I'll work on gettin that done. In the meantime, if anyone has any other tips, tricks or advice, I'm gonna keep my eye on the thread. Many thanks.

 

[Moocher]

I suggest you spend $49 for the home/family pack of Snow Leopard. That'll make you legal for multiple machines.

This is from the Apple Store description of the family pack:

"About the Family Pack

"The Family Pack Software License Agreement allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple software on up to a maximum of five (5) Apple-labeled computers at a time as long as those computers are located in the same household and used by persons who occupy that household. By “household” we mean a person or persons who share the same housing unit such as a home, apartment, mobile home, or condominium, including students who are primary residents of that household but reside at a separate on-campus location. This license does not extend to business or commercial users."



Mooch

 

[Hitori]

Thanks for your response, Moocher. I think at this point, I'm just going to resurrect one of the machines with a full blown reinstall of OS X. The other one is just functional enough for "in house" use, so it's not a big deal as far as the EULA is concerned. Although, I'm going to take a gander at the EULA myself to see if it'd be legal to cover the second machine if necessary. Reason is this:

After going back to the IT folk and prodding them and in a roundabout, diplomatic way calling them a bunch of bumbling goofballs, they "magically" produced a copy of OS X. So the problem of actually having the OS to install is over. Now I just have to see if it'll do the job of installing without giving me a headache.

For all intents and purposes, it *should* be OK, but I'm not closing the book quite yet (no pun intended). Although few and far between, I *have* heard tale of sometimes folders being unable to be created, but I'll burn that bridge when I come to it. Wish me luck.

 

[Hitori]

Update: Issues resolved

Ok, everyone can ignore this thread now.. The OS X is installed and works like a charm.. Yeah, yeah... "it just works"

Thanks to all for the help, suggestions and tips, and I'll go back to lurking and trying to learn a thing or two from the old dogs in the neighbourhood.