Just Got a MacBook Pro. Can Anyone Help?

Question

Hi;
I was recently bequeathed a 15-inch MacBook Pro from my dad, which I believe was originally purchased sometime in 2006 (it's a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, with 2 GB RAM). I've got a few questions about how to get the Mac up to speed:
1 - I'm currently running Snow Leopard, OS 10.6.8. Which OS can I upgrade to and what's the best way to do it? I just downloaded the OS 10.6.8 combo update and am ready to take the next step.
2 - The battery is dead. In  researching the problem I discovered that this was a known issue with Apple. What can be done about getting a replacement battery?
3 - I would like to transfer my iTunes library from the PC, where it currently resides, to this MacBook. However my dad already has his own iTunes library on it. What would be the best way to deal with bringing my library onto this MacBook?
Thank you all, as always.
Warren T.

Answer 1

Warren T. wrote:
I was recently bequeathed a 15-inch MacBook Pro from my dad, which I believe was originally purchased sometime in 2006 (it's a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, with 2 GB RAM). I've got a few questions about how to get the Mac up to speed:
1 - I'm currently running Snow Leopard, OS 10.6.8. Which OS can I upgrade to and what's the best way to do it? I just downloaded the OS 10.6.8 combo update and am ready to take the next step.
Stay there on 10.6.8, your machine is too dated for the newer OS X versions and will only slow it down and you'll have to dump all the free PPC software currently installed and the Intel ones will require a paid upgrade to work with 10.7+.
It's a 2006 machine, it's 2013 now, that means it's a whopping 7 years old and about to die at any time (they don't last forever and 7 years is GREAT for a laptop) so it makes absolutely no sense to spend any more money on it, just run 10.6.8 until the wheels fall off.
OS X 10.4/10.5 need to upgrade, 10.6.8 ok still
2 - The battery is dead. In  researching the problem I discovered that this was a known issue with Apple. What can be done about getting a replacement battery?
Plug it into a strong power source and do a #1 SMC Reset, see after a couple of days if it will hold a charge, if not contact Apple and see if you can get a replacement battery. Else look at Other World Computing or MacMall.
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's
If you take the Mac in for a battery, also take the charger as it might be the problem and they like to have it all there to eval.
3 - I would like to transfer my iTunes library from the PC, where it currently resides, to this MacBook. However my dad already has his own iTunes library on it. What would be the best way to deal with bringing my library onto this MacBook?
Make sure to have your music backed up on a external drive, then you can simply transfer it to the new Mac.
If you want to use the drive back and forth between the PC, then right click and format it (no data you want to keep) exFAT (not NTFS). Format exFAT on the PC (Windows XP can install it free from Microsoft) this way the drive can be read/write by either Mac or Windows. DO not format exFAT on the Mac, it messes it up.
Under Apple Menu > System Preferences > Accounts you can create a new account for yourself, leave your Dad's alone (so you can update the software etc) and just use your account and put your music there for setting it up how you like. If you need more drive space, move (copy, then delete the originals) of your Dads data to the external drive and reboot.
Use the Apple menu to log in/out and switch user accounts.
Replace the new blank iTunes Library with the one from the PC into the Music folder and iTunes will take care of the rest.
I know your excited to have a Mac, but quite frankly that's a really old box, and Apple upgrades their OS X versions annually now and kind of forces a faster hardware turnover rate than Windows with it's 10 years of support per OS version, so it's not important to always think you need to stay with the latest OS X version, because sometimes Apple won't allow newer ones to install on some older Macs, despite them still working fine. (like the machines that can't upgrade to 10.8, despite being able to run 10.7)
Some older Mac's Apple allows newer OS X versions to be installed, but it causes some much hardship, slowdowns and shaky behavior that it's best for the computer to be on a earlier OS X version, that's your case with those older processors and graphics.
If you really get hooked on a Mac, then save for a new machine that you can upgrade the OS X version a few times, then stop and just be happy there. Because each time a upgrade occurs, it's a major shock and problems galore, plus having to pay to upgrade all new versions of software.
It's anything but peace and stability on Mac's, unless you tread carefully and slowly.