MacBook Pro....things you need to know before you buy!!!

Helpful hints before you buy your MacBook Pro 15 or 17 inch:
1. New MacBook Pro...does not have a firewire 400 port!!. If you have to transfer data from an old (2 years old) MacBook Pro to new one...need a 800 firewire cable or a 400 to 800 cable!!
2. New MacBook Pro with HD Cinema 30 inch. The two items are not compatible unless you purchase the $99 Dual (not single), I repeat Dual..."Mini Display Port to Dual-Link adapter:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB571Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDA3Ng&mco=MTA4NDU1NDM
The reason I am posting this is that I bought a MacBook Pro 15 inch on Monday and I specifically told the Apple people at the store what I had: 2 year old MacBook Pro and Cinema HD and what I would need and they sold me the mini single adapter. Nothing worked. Went to the store 3 times and no one could help me. Finally a guy from Australia, on this forum, was able to answer my call for help!!! I actually had to take his email into the store and show it to the Apple folk and they finally got me the correct adapter. Today is Friday, 4 days later and I am finally able to work on a project that has been on hold while I figured out something fairly simple...so much for these "Apple genius people." Just think the problems I would have had if I had an older Mac laptop or a PC laptop?!?@!

Hi kleeks,
Glad you got it sorted in the end!
To be fair, most of the Genius bar people are very good and your experience was probably not typical, but it is also worth remembering that some of us here have been using Macs since before some of the Geniuses were even born, so we often know a thing or two that they may not have cottoned on to yet! When in doubt, a second opinion here can often be well worth obtaining.
Really glad you have it running as it should now.
Cheers
Rod (the "guy from Australia")

Similar Messages

Macbook Pro error and need to know about back up. Urgent!

Hi guys
I hope you can help. I'm a mac newbie but have a problem here. I have a macbook pro 15.4, the latest unibody one. I have only had it for a couple of months and now it will not restart... It crashed downloading emails and then now never gets past the apple logo with the spinning thing below. It keeps restarting by itself but no joy...;(
Anyway, I read around and tried everything I could find. Safe mode doesn't even start and then in the hardware test mode (hold 't' down) I ran the simple test no problems then the extended test and I ws given this error: 4HDD/11/40000004: SATA(0,0)
I'm guessing hard disk issue. DO I will go tomorrow to the local service centre here in Bangkok (that will be an experience I am sure ;)) but my issue is I don't have any back-ups. The reason is I back up to my time machine from my other mac, an iMac so I didn't worry about the MacBook Pro.
The question is how I back up now or even batter would be if I can back up the iMac saved back up to my Macbook Pro later after it's fixed as they are both running identical data and programs etc...
Is that possible or is the iMac back up not compatible with my MacBook Pro?
If yes, how will I restore the MacBook Pro later and what will I have lost if anything?
If no, what do I do now before I go to the service centre?
Sorry for the longwinded expose but I guess you get my drift now.
I am assuming that this is a repair job in any case or is their a way of fixing a 4HDD/11/40000004: SATA(0,0) error???
Thanks in advance for any help on this...
By the way, both my macs were fine until they downloaded the latest safari version and then both went haywire. I went back to the older version and the iMac is fine but the MacBook Pro has never been happy since. Not sure if this is the rot of the problem or I am just unlucky as this is a brand new machine...
Cheers
Paul

See http://www.apple.com/support/leopard/install/ for more info.
As for data if you dont have a backup of the data before your Macbook Pro crashed you may not be able to recover it. If you do have a recent backup of your Macbook Pro on your time capsule you should be ok.
I always push for both onsite backup and offsite backup to prevent issues just like this. But it all depends on the value of the data you are backing up.

I want to find out how much memory is left on my macbook pro. I need to know steps to find this out.

I had a problem today as my computer would not save a file for me. A box stated macintosh HD was full and I would need to clear some files to make room. I realized that although I had deleted emails from mac mail, gmail had not deleted these and all still remained on my macbook pro. I went to gmail and finally deleted all the emails, and there were thousands. I have been able to save a file as of now but want to know how much memory exists on my macbook pro. It is confusing when I go to the Apple icon in the upper left corner of my laptop as that states my computer has 4gb of memory, two in each slot. It does not tell me how much as been used. Any help with this issue is greatly appreciated. M.

The bottom of a Finder window will show you how much HD space you have left.

Some basic things I need to know before install

Hii I am new to ARCH and need to know some things
1)Can I have rasier 4 with thie distro? I heard it's fast and want to use it.
2)I have DHCP network, and I need to provide my DNS and host and not to get it from the modem, How do it right?
3)I have nvidia and generic screen , how to set it up right?
4) What more Should I know about ARCH? I have read most of the FAQ and WIKI and so on, but more info will be good
Hope to get a lot of answers and info

Welcome to Arch!
1. I think you mean reiserfs4: Reiserfs is no problem with the stock Arch Linux Kernel and the archck-kernel available in the extra repository. If you intend to compile your own kernel make sure you enable reiserfs if your config. But I personaly think it would bring you less problems if you start by using ext3 – you wouldn't see a huge difference in speed.
2. simply done by configuring your /etc/rc.conf file in the network section this way:
eth0="dhcp"
and your /etc/resolv.conf like this, substituting your nameservers' IPs and your domain name:
nameserver 61.23.173.5
nameserver 61.95.849.8
search example.com
More info here
3. RTFM
4. What do you want to know? I could talk for hours about Arch so feel free to ask…
Cheers Sigi

Migrating from Powerbook G4 to Macbook Pro - Anything I need to know?

I'm about the begin the process of migrating from one computer to the other. I have cleaned/tidied up my powerbook, tossing old files and making sure all is in order.
Is there anything special I need to know?
Here are my specific questions before I get started:
1. Email/Calendar: currently on powerbook, I'm using entourage for email and calendar. Basically I like the calendar system because back a few years ago when I was needing a calendar, the entourage calendar made more sense to me. I've heard that "Mail" is much better these days. Is it? Can I import my current email settings in powerbook/entourage into MBP/mail and be good to go? Will my calendar import or will I need to start over? Do you recommend the calendar system in MBP or should I keep entourage. Let it be known: I HATE ENTOURAGE. ABout twice a day, it crunches and "freezes" while it does something behind the scenes and during that time, I can do nothing with EMAIL. Bleh on MS.
2. I know I will use the migrate wizard in utility folder. Will it move my applications or will I need to reinstall photoshop, etc? Will it move my keychain (embarassingly enough, I require this tool as I can't remember the gazillion passwords I have)? Will it move my settings?
3. Anything else I need to be aware of in the process?
Thanks for your help!
Sign me, Thrilled with a new MBP with Leopard!

If you could copy you mail and ical data over and not use the migration software. You would have possibly a more stable machine.
If you was going intel to intel then migration would be OK, but you going PPC to intel and you dont want it moving over any odd PPC app. You really want it to run all intel versions.
You can copy the folder and pref files that are on your old Mac over to the same locations on the new one and it will all work OK, keychains you would need to just make a not of the passwords and add them again.
We tend to only use the migration as a last resort to ensure the best possible migration we copy only required data and files manually and re install any third party apps as most put to many files all over the place that makes copying them tricky. Then try and make sure you have all intel version of any of your old third party apps to stop ressetta kicking in and eating up your free RAM.
If you can do this then your not moving any redundant files across, a clean system is a better system.

New to InDesign: things I need to know before starting my 200-page book?

Hi there (second time attempting to post this; sorry if both somehow end up on the discussion page—this version is my most recent)—
I'd practically completed a 180-page cookbook—lots of photos and recipes, instructions and comments—in Apple Pages ('cause I'm on a Mac and Pages seemed pretty straightforward) when I realized that not being able to see the book in a facing-pages view was completely ridiculous. So I'm trying InDesign, and already I can see that this is THE app for what I'm doing. I purchased a hard copy of the InDesign Classroom in a Book 2014 book, which I'm slowly going through... but I'm so incredibly eager and going page by page is so slow. I will keep going through the book, but in the meantime, would people on this forum mind making sure I'm starting off on the right foot? (I don’t want to get too far along and then discover that I should have been doing things completely differently).
Question One: Many of my pages will be for recipes, of course—name of the dish at the top (white text on a black background), photo below, and below that the list of ingredients and the instructions. So should I create a Master Page just for recipes? That would seem to make sense, as all of the recipes will be organized on the page in the same way. But what about all the other parts of the book (Preface, Table of Contents, various pages of commentary, pages of photos, etc.) that are different from one another?
Should I create other Master Pages for other parts of the book?
Question Two: given that I’m planning to have all the pages printed at a printing house, and then bound into book form… should all my ‘left-hand’ Master Pages leave an extra wide margin on the right (to account for the part of the page that’s bound/glued) and, similarly, should all my right-hand Master Pages leave extra room on the left? How much extra room do I need for this?
Question Three: I really don't know enough about InDesign to even know what other question to ask, so maybe I'm safest to ask this: are there settings I should 'build in' now, so I don't find myself trying to do it later, when it's much more difficult? As I say, I'm going to keep struggling with the book (so many lessons seem to have nothing to do with my particular project, but I know I have to keep plugging away). I do want to get my cookbook off on the right foot though.
Thanks so much for any advice,
Malcolm

Presumable the book will be divided into sections (chapters) to make it more accessible. (1) front matter – title page, imprint/copyright, TOC etc. these tend not to have pages numbers (2) Individual chapters – e.g. Starters, Main courses, Puddings, Drinks (3) back matter e.g Index.
The simplest approach is to have page numbers on your master page with running headers – that is the name of the book at the top of the left hand page and the name of each chapter on the right hand page, and guides for the repeating elements.
Produce and print out a couple of specimen pages of the recipe pages to see how your design looks and how easy it is read/use and how you will allow in the design for short and long menu headings and recipes etc. Use paragraph, character and object styles in your design. You wouldn't need extra space for perfect binding, look at similar books of the same trimmed pages size to see what kind of margins they have.
The cover artwork should be produced as a separate document as it will be printed separately on heavier stock.
Check you have an economical page size for printing (talk to your printer) discuss the paper you might choose and how many pages in a printed section. Also what kind of PDF s/he wants.

What are some things i need to know before buying Aperture 3? because i know a little about digital photography

Help please

Your Mac seems to be compatible with Aperture (http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1657), but is your camera? Here is a list of cameras, that are supported by Aperture, see: Apple - Aperture - Technical Specifications - RAW Support
If your camera is not on the list, you can work in Aperture with jpegs, tiffs, psd images, but not with raw images.
because i know a little about digital photography
That is a bit ambigious - do you want to say that you have some experience with digital photography, or nearly none at all? Have you tried iPhoto and do you like it? iPhoto comes on every newer mac included for free, so you could give it a try. Aperture and iPhoto are related, they are both supporting a lossless workflow - you can always undo all edits and your original images are preserved, and both are compatible. Each application can open the photl library of the other app.
Only Aperture has advanced editing tools and more possibilites to organize and search your images.
To elaborate on Kirby's question: To help you decide, it would help to know, if you have used any software for organizing a photo library previously, and and what you are looking for. If not, give iPhoto a trial run - it should be on your Mac. If you see, that you need more advanced features than the basic set in iPhoto, check, if Aperture will give you those and then buy Aperture. You can continue right where you left off in iPhoto.
-- Léonie

Trying to download game to macbook pro via mifi, need to know if there is faster way of doing this?

have verizon mifi modem, and downloading a big size game is taking way to long, is there a fast!!!! Way! to download?

hey! thanks! soonermock!
i thought that was a possibility but was'nt sure how that would work through a pc,
i have 2 options and one easier than the other, one would be through a DELL microsoft/windows the other a APPLE desk top,
iill give it a try, thanks again

Top things I need to know about my MacBook Pro

I am a proud owner of a new Macbook Pro and would like to know if there is anything that I MUST know about my new computer. Thank you for all and any advice.

Mac buying and maintenance advice
Most commonly used backup methods
How to install Flash, fix problems
Drives, partitions, formatting w/Mac's + PC's
Do not install MacKeeper
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents#/?p er_page=50

I have an iMac with Microsoft Office and an HD - Time Machine. I'm buying a MacBook Pro and I want to know that if I use the Time Machine to transfer all my stuff the Microsof Office will work or if I need to reinstall it with another licence ?

I have an iMac with Microsoft Office (and several other licenced softs) and an HD - Time Machine that backup all the stuff. I'm buying a MacBook Pro and I would to know that if I use the Time Machine to transfer all my stuff, the Microsof Office will work normally or if I need to reinstall it with another licence?

You do not need a new license. The license file will be found in /Library/Preferences/ and is named, com.microsoft.office.licensing.plist. Be sure it gets transferred and you will be fine. I see no reason why the file would not be in your Time Machine backup nor any reason why it would be restored.
Please visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine. You may need help figuring out how to restore your current backup to a new machine.

I just ordered a macbook air today and need to know if the 128gb SSD is enough space. I presently have a macbook pro and am using only 30gb hard drive space so, the apple rep said 128 is enough as I do not load much pictures or gaming etc. Also is i5 ok.

I just ordered a macbook air today and need to know if the 128gb SSD is enough space. I presently have a macbook pro and am using only 30gb hard drive space so, the apple rep said 128 is enough as I do not load much pictures or gaming etc. Also is i5 ok.

Id choose the I5 yes, depends on what your usage is going to be,
....your question about "128 gig being enough" begs the question for IDEALIZED USE of your macbook AIr
In the case of a Macbook Air with ‘limited’ storage on the SSD, this distinction becomes more important in that in an ever rapidly increasing file-size world, you keep vital large media files, pics, video, PDF collections, music off your SSD and archived on external storage, for sake of the necessary room for your system to have free space to operate, store future applications and general workspace. You should never be put in the position of considering “deleting things” on your macbook SSD in order to ‘make space’.
*Generally, unless you NEED the data at least once every few weeks or once a month,...it really does'nt NEED to be on the SSD of your Macbook Air.
Professionals who create and import very large amounts of data have almost no change in the available space on their computers internal HD because they are constantly archiving data to arrays of external or networked HD.
Or in the case of the consumer this means you keep folders for large imported or created data and you ritually offload and archive this data for safekeeping, not only to safeguard the data in case your macbook has a HD crash, or gets stolen, but importantly in keeping the ‘breathing room’ open for your computer to operate, expand, create files, add applications, for your APPS to create temp files, and for general operation.
Ive got more APPS than any human should have on my 128gig AIR,..(50 or so),....and 10gig of working data, important files etc etc.
Still have 82gig available....... the entire point is that someone shouldnt consider the Air a "storage device" for tons of pics, music, vids, etc.
*Never consider any computer a data storage device at any time under any circumstance, rather a data creation, sending, and manipulation device. Anyone who thinks data is safe on any computer, even copied upon multiple partitions is making a mistake that will, without fail, strike.
For needs of packing around a LOT of "big data" with your Air in its case..., get a nice 1TB HD for $70, or even a 2TB drive not much bigger.
Perfect 2TB HD, very slim, the "little giant" made by Toshiba (have several of these) $119
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba
*This one is the BEST external HD available that money can buy:
$75
HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive
http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Touro-Mobile-External-HTOLMX3NA10001ABB/dp/B0062FZ2WS /ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379185002&sr=1-1&keywords=hitachi+extern a l+hard+drive

I have a macbook pro and i need to update it to the newest software 10.10.2 but i am afraid of loosing my adope applications and my microsoft office application. i wanted to know if i do update my computer will i loose my adope apps? i have the adobe CS6

I have a macbook pro and i need to update it to the newest software 10.10.2 but i am afraid of loosing my adope applications and my microsoft office application. i wanted to know if i do update my computer will i loose my adope apps? i have the adobe CS6 installed

You will more than likely need to re-install CS6 after the upgrade, so you might as well uninstall first. Be sure you have your serial number(s) before upgrading or uninstalling CS6..
As for Microsoft Office, I'm not sure.
Benjamin

I lost every single thing on my macbook pro and i do not know how to recover the 77 gb of software how do i restore all of my data back on my macbook pro

i lost every single thing on my macbook pro and i do not know how to recover my 77 gb of software data back to my computer how do i get this back?
thank you

Welcome to the Apple Community.
Which software do you use to keep your back up.

What you need to know before buying an antenna

Isn’t it time you upgraded to an antenna? Wait… what? Upgrade to an antenna? Whether or not you’re a cord cutter (meaning you’ve cancelled your monthly television service) you might find that adding an antenna to your entertainment viewing space can be a great upgrade for a variety of reasons. Whatever those reasons are, here’s what you need to know before buying an antenna.

I don't set out to sell anything, I'm an independent writer tasked with writing stuff about things to inform people. We link stuff to help people find things if they want to buy them, but the above isn't a sales pitch, it's info to help people figure out if they want or need something.
I didn't know that there was a cabal of antenna dealers who have been promulgating a myth (as a writer: nicely done there) about the nature of NTSC and ATSC; I hadn't ever considered that the antenna market was that large. When I received the request to write an article about antennas I was actually surprised; antennas don't have the support of major telecommunications companies and I sincerely doubt that there's going to be a run on them because of this article. I saw this as a bit of a public service opportunity to talk about a technology that a small segment would be interested in.
Anyway, I'm not sure we're going to get much farther on this; yes Best Buy sells antennas, but no, they didn't ask for an ad. They asked for an article that focused on how these antennas work and what to look for. Thank you for adding your insight about ATSC - I think that was actually covered in paragraphy three, but it's nice to see it spelled out more directly.
Have a nice day - and if you'd like to discuss this directly, please send me a DM on twitter @thetechnogram

I get the following error message when I connect a usb ethernet adapter to my new MacBook Pro: Unsupported - You cannot use an Apple USB Modem with this computer. I live were we only have dial-up and the Apple Store said this is what I need.

I get the following error message when I connect a usb ethernet adapter to my new MacBook Pro: Unsupported - You cannot use an Apple USB Modem with this computer. I live where we only have dial-up and the Apple Store said this is what I need. In addition, when I connect the phone to the connecter it falls out, it will not click in.

Why are you using a usb ethernet adaptor? Just plug the modem into the usb port.

What is the exact name of the cable I need to connect my old hard drive from my macbook pro (it has been taken out of the computer) to my new macbook pro? I need to transfer files from the old hard drive to the new computer.

What is the exact name of the cable I need to connect my old hard drive from my macbook pro, which has been removed from the computer, to my new macbook pro? I need to transfere files from the old hard drive to the new computer.

No eSATA to USB. Just a SATA/IDE to USB adapter. Google SATA/IDE to USB adapter and you will get tons of links to buy them. Most likely your local computer electronics store has them, although they might be more expensive buying locally than online.
I have several. You can get either USB 2, which what I recommend, or USB 3. USB is backward compatible so a USB 3 adapter will work on a USB 2 port and a USB 2 adapter will work on a USB 3 port. Backward compatible in both directions.
I suggest a USB 2 type because there have been some problems with certain USB 3 devices, the USB 3 interface used isn't all that good in those certain devices. USB 3 is still fairly new where as USB 2 has been around for over 10 years.
synghem wrote:
Thank you LowLuster,
At the apple store they said I needed an esata to usb wire. But looking at wires on line has been confusing. Is sata the same as esata? How do I know if I need a usb 3 or usb 2?

MacBook Pro....things you need to know before you buy!!!

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