Used vs new MacBook Pro?

I need to buy a new machine and am considering a two-year-old, 17" MacBook Pro, with the Leopard OS. (I currently work on an iMac G5.) What problems do you foresee in buying a two-year-old machine? What are pros and cons of it vs. a new machine with the newest OS? (My slim pocketbook is an issue.) I mostly use MS Word, Excel, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, Quark XPress and Quicken. I keep my machines for quite awhile. Will I be okay with the Pro for, say, 5 years?

I am using an Early 2008 15" MacBook Pro. It does everything I need. I am running Lion and have no problems. As Allan noted some older software, particularly PPC versions, will not work in Lion, but Snow Leopard will support them. If money is an issue, as it is for most of us, the older computer seems the best bet. My last computer was a PowerBook G3, which still works fine, so longevity is not an issue with a Mac.
Good luck.
cornelius

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I have had a series of Macs. They have been backed up with Time Machine. I am trying to restore TM backup files from the older Macs using my new MacBook Pro. No go. What do I do ?

I have had a series of Macs. They have been backed up with Time Machine. I am trying to restore TM backup files from the older Macs using my new MacBook Pro. No go. What do I do ?

I am trying to restore TM backup files from the older Macs using my new MacBook Pro. No go.
Migration Assistant (Finder > Applications > Utilities > Migration Assistant) is the tool that you would use to restore backups from older Macs to another Mac.
Details are here: http://pondini.org/OSX/MigrateLion.html The same info applies for Mavericks and Yosemite. If you are saying that this is a "no go".....where are you getting stuck? What error messages do you see?

I can no longer shoot directly into phaseone software since i use my new macbook pro with retina display. pictures are not transfered from the camera into captureone. anyone else with this problem? any solutions?

i can no longer shoot directly into phaseone software - neihter version 6 or 7 - since i use my new macbook pro with retina display. pictures are not transfered from the camera into captureone. anyone else with this problem? any solutions?

My eyes just glazed over...Please in the future break down each of your issues with paragraphs separated by two carriage returns. It would be much easier when trying to address your issues.
Go to Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Keyboard and Mouse -> Mouse
And edit your mouse settings to do what you want it to do.
Secondly, this is not the place to vent. If you have a complaint, there is:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/
or http://www.apple.com/contact/
We are just end users here helping other end users.
Third, from my understanding, it would appear you are concerned about the noise the hard drive makes when it falls asleep? Why not put your machine in screen saver mode instead? Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Energy Saver turn off all Energy Saver settings, or set them to run Never.
Fourth, if your machine was purchased just a few days ago, you may still be able to get an exchange from the store, quicker than you can get a repair done. You may want to look into that possibility.
Fifth, it does appear you found the Logic forum. I would persist in asking there how to solve your technical issue with Logic regarding the audio. It may be you don't have to do anything special to the hard drive. Remember audio can be transmitted by wire, avoiding ambient sounds.
Good luck!

Reformating external hard drive for use with new MacBook Pro

I'm trying to figure out how to use an existing external hard drive (formatted for a Powermac G4) with my new MacBook Pro. I understand that the file formats are different and that I need to erase the hard drive and reformat it with a GUID partition, but how does one do that?
I've already erased the drive with disk utility (using the old Powermac) and connected it to my MacBook with the hope that it would be recognized. No dice, alas. It doesn't mount at all.
Any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

My external harddrives all work just fine with the MacBook Pro. You shouldn't have to reformat anything. I think if you did then it would not be backwards compatable with the older systems. Stick it back in your old computer and try to mount it again, repair permissions shutdown your macbook pro and connect the external drive then reboot

Upgrading ipad2 to ios5 using a new macbook pro

Would my ipad2 files be deleted if i connect it to a new macbook pro to upgrade to ios5?

You can restore from Time Machine using Leopard or Snow Leopard only. What I would do if I were you is buy either of the MacBooks, but make sure you get a Snow Leopard install disc--either a retail one if you buy the Tiger MacBook, or the install disc for the pre-loaded software on the SL MacBook.
Use the SL install disc to completely erase and (re)install Snow Leopard on the MacBook. Since your Mac will be second-hand, you should fully erase it and start fresh, just in case there are some nasty little malwares left behind or other problems the original owner didn't want to deal with.
After the install, use Migration Assistant to get your data off the TM drive.

Using my New MacBook Pro in Brazil - Please Help

I recently purchased a new MacBook Pro, and plan to take it with me to Brazil next month. This is a gift for a relative of mine. Is anyone aware whether or not I need to consider addressing configuration changes to accommodate the fact that it will operate in Brazil as opposed to the US? I'm assumimg it will operate as it operates in the US, however specific changes in configuration, I will want to have taken care of prior to my arrival in Brazil. Also, can I have the Mac configured in Portuguese here?
Thinkpad Windows XP

I know that under System Prefs>International, you can set the default language to Portuguese. There are some other changes you can make there. As for power, no problem, the power supply is 100-240v. All you might need is an adaptor for the power brick. I'm not familiar with their plug setup. There are probably service centers in Brazil and if you have the extended AppleCare, you are covered worldwide.
Let us know of any specific concerns you want to have addressed

Using my new MacBook Pro with my old HP 6110 printer

I just purchased a new MacBook Pro and synced it with the settings from my old computer. I'm now trying to print to my old HP 6110 printer. I see HP 6110 printer in my printer settings, but the job gets stuck in the printer queue. I'm wondering if my 10.6 OS is not recognizing my old software. Does anyone have any ideas to solve the problem? Thanks.

To put your mind at rest somewhat, it is supported - I have a brand new iMac (10.6.5) and I simply plugged in my 6110 and it worked without needing to install any drivers. Might I suggest you attempt to remove any existing HP drivers you may have synced from your old system and try with the Apple-provided MacOS native drivers?
David Mc
London, UK

Can I use a new macbook pro as an exclusively windows machine?

I use a Dell XPS M1710 right now for hard core numerical analysis. Finite-element solving and the like. I have had this machine for 4 years and it is showing its age finally. So I am in the market for a new power laptop. I think the 17 inch Macbook Pro with i7 and 8 GB could be what I need. It has an advantage over the newer Dell XPS in that the screen on the new Dell is only 1080 for some reason.
Now, on to my question. I have not used apple in 12 years so my memory is a little fuzzy. I know that there is a command key instead of a ctrl key, but does the command key work like a ctrl key when running windows on a mac? Also, can I completely take off the apple OS and run only windows on the Macbook pro, or will it not work without the apple OS? Is there still no right click on the apple machine's mouse/pad?
Forgive my ignorance, but I want to know these things before I jump in.
Thanks for answering any or all of my questions.

Short answer is yes.
You can easily erase the drive and install windows on the mac, using a windows install disc.
Still has control key, has option instead of alt, and command instead of windows (they are control alt and windows in windows).
And yes, the mbp has right click on the trackpad (clicking on the bottom right hand corner)

Getting "Your Startup disk is almost full" on 1st use of new Macbook Pro

This is a brand new 13" Macbook Pro with a 320 GB drive and 2 GB Ram.
As a test of the new machine, I just captured video from a video camera into iMovie - the uploaded file used 19 GB - I did a couple other tests that created files of just under 2GB each, and went to export the 19GB file, which would have used another 19 GB, when I got the "... almost full" message. Finder reported I had around 50GB free from the original 320 GB drive, which didn't make any sense - considering all my activities today should have taken up around 50 GB of space.
I loaded WhatSize on the machine, and proceeded to find out what's going on, and "WhatSize" reported I have 250 GB free (more like what I'd expect). I checked the Finder, and it now says 250 GB free - I know Apple has been having other issues with the 500 GB and 320 GB drives - has anyone seen the problem I'm having??

Yeah, it's big, but given the size of what you were dealing with, it's not astronomical. It could have been invisible (especially given that it was temporary), so it would not show up in finder... or it could have been erased before you started hunting it down.

Should I run my battery all the way down the first time I use my new Macbook Pro?

I just received a new Pro. Is it better to let the battey run all the way down on the first use? Should I charge it all the way up and then let it run all the way down? Does either make any difference? Thanks.

That is definitely not required.
About Batteries in Modern Apple Laptops
Apple - Batteries - Notebooks
Extending the Life of Your Laptop Battery
Apple - Batteries
Determining Battery Cycle Count
Calibrating your computer's battery for best performance
MacBook and MacBook Pro- Mac reduces processor speed when battery is removed while operating from an A-C adaptor
Battery University

Why does it take so long to edit diagrams I've created on Mac Pages using brand new Macbook pro?

I'm using my macbook pro retina 13 to create diagrams and reports in Mac Pages. I have 8 gigs of RAM and I just bought it, so it can't be out of space on the hard drive already. The diagrams take forever to load or edit or adjust. Any ideas or suggestions?
Thank you!

Pages 5?
Lots of graphics, even simple graphics, tend to bring it to its knees.
Do you have Pages '09 on your Mac? Try that instead.
Peter

Which hard drive option for pro apps use on new Macbook Pro?

I'm trying to decide b/t either a 500 GB 7200 drive or the 1 TB 5200 drive on my new 17" MBP. I mostly use FCP, but am learning the other apps as well. The salesman told me today that:
1- The 1 TB 5200 would probably be about 10% slower than the 500 GB 7200 in rendering if my media is on these drives. This assumes neither drive's capacity is too filled.
2- More importantly, if I use an external hard drive for my media then my boot drive will have nothing to do with performance. He said all it would affect is how quickly FCP et al opens originally and that the rest of its active running is done by the RAM. The rendering would be dependent upon the external drive. So, the boot drive wouldn't really matter with this setup.
Does this, especially #2, sound right? If so, I'd definitely take the 1 TB option. But any info or thoughts on this are greatly appreciated, especially as the MBP will be replacing my G5.
Thanks ahead of time for any help!

Oh sure, I know it's always advisable to use a separate video drive. A SSD and that Caldigit VR mini do sound like a great combo and thanks for the heads up about them, but that would be something down the road for me. SSD boot drives aren't big enough for me and are too pricy at this point for my budget. I do plan on using some external storage as my video when I'm editing something bigger than SD. But right now I'm just trying to figure out what my best option is for the boot drive. Primarily I trying to find out if the boot affects the performance of FCP (and the other Pro Apps) when using external storage. If it doesn't, then I know what I should buy.
Thanks!

Camcorder for use with new MacBook Pro?

HI all
I'm looking for a simple, inexpensive camcorder to use for kids' sporting events, etc. nothing fancy, hopefully plug and play. any suggestions?
Thank you!

Start by having a look at what cameras are officially supported:
iMovie 11 - cameras supported:
http://help.apple.com/imovie/cameras/en/index.html?lang=en_US

Third time using my new MacBook pro.

I turned it on and get a white screen with a grey apple logo and the little circular thinking lines going round and round and that is it. Any clues anyone?

Ok, I just needed to know in case you were cancelling it after, say, one minute. Since it's taking six hours, it's clearly a real issue (you never know, some people just get impatient and think it's a problem). At this point, it seems you will have to reinstall the OS, because the spinning circle means that it's trying to load the OS, and is not able to because it's corrupted.

Has anyone actually used PS CS6 with the new Macbook pro?

There has been an awful lot of discussion about how the new macbook will work with CS6, mostly talk about the UI, but has anyone used it? How does it work with the retina display (other than the UI)? Yes, Adobe is going to make it retina compatible and we don't know if they will charge for the upgrade or not. But I'd like feedback from someone who is using the new Macbook pro with CS6.
Thanks!

Thanks. I have scoured the forums and nobody has used it - or if anyone has, they haven't said squat. Anyway, I took the plunge, downloaded the app and it is absolutely stunning on my rMBP. Even though, as you say, it is at the pixel representation I've always had. I can't wait until the update and full retina representation.
It is fast as blazes, sharp as a tack. A beautiful thing. I'll play with it some more to see how it performs. But so far with some short tests, the rendering is almost instantanious and the colors are brilliant.
So far, so good.

Used vs new MacBook Pro?

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