New user of Macbook Pro...

Question

I am new user of Macbook Pro... It was inherited by a cousin who is now away in another country. I am having a tough time here...
1. How to determine the model & OS?
2. No sound - when i click 'system preferences' and go to sound, it shows 'selected device has no output control'
3. How can i maximize the screen?
4. Is there any commands for 'cut & paste'?
5. I don't see any CD drive....how does this work?
6. Any commands to drag, without a mouse?
7. Is there any website where i can get a free tutorial?
Can some1 help me?
Thanks.

Answer 1

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
1. How to determine the model & OS?
Go to Apple menu -> About This Mac -> More Info and look at the System info.
It will tell you the model ID#, and serial number.
The serial number has only three important characters, labelled A,B,C below:
xxABCxxxx
These are the last digit of the year, and the week of the year it was built.
Model ID# guide is here:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/by_capability/mac-specs-by-machine-model-machine -id.html
2. No sound - when i click 'system preferences' and go to sound, it shows 'selected device has no output control'
Sometimes this can be fixed one of three methods:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300832
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
If none of the above works, you may have a hardware malfunction in your sound port. Note, if you have something connected to your audio port, it only play out through one output at a time. It does support stereo and 5.1 audio with the appropriate cables.
3. How can i maximize the screen?
This can mean two things:
- You want to maximize the real estate where all the windows belong. This is done by increasing the resolution on Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Displays.
- If you mean just enlarge windows, use the green button in the upper left to resize the window so it fits on the screen. Then the bottom right hand corner is used to resize the widnow in question.
4. Is there any commands for 'cut & paste'?
Edit menu has those commands. To the right of any command where a cloverleaf icon is represented, the Command key or Apple logo key is used in conjunction with the said key to issue the command.
5. I don't see any CD drive....how does this work?
The CD drive is normally below the wristpad on the right side. It is slot loading like that found in some automobile CD players. It supports DVD and CD burning and playback, be careful about the media used:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2446?viewlocale=en_US
6. Any commands to drag, without a mouse?
Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Trackpad let you control how you tap two fingers on the trackpad simultaneously to drag.
7. Is there any website where i can get a free tutorial?
Select the Happy face on the translucent toolbar. You now will have a menu called Finder at the top of the screen. Use the Help menu to search topics.
Or post to the relevant OS page, and someone will gladly help you on this board.