What is the best way to "Ghost" my MacBook HD?

When I took my previous Powerbook G4 in for service, I bought a LaCie external HD and the Genius made a bootable copy of the entire hard drive on the LaCie for me. I have no idea how he did it, but it seems apparent he didn't use Backup.
I'm about to take my current MacBook Pro in for service and I want to make a bootable copy on the LaCie before I do so. Symantec doesn't offer a Norton Ghost for the Mac that I know of, so how can I do this with what I have now?

CCC is great. But if you want to use Apple's "official" app, use Disk Utility. You'll need to start up from your Mac OS X Installation Disk, because you can't be started from the disk you want to "ghost" for this method. The Apple guy may have done it this way.
So start up from the installation disk, and run Disk Utility from the Installer menu. Go to the Restore tab. Drag the icon of the startup disk (not the drive but the disk below it) to the field called Source. Drag the icon of the disk of the external drive to Destination. If you want to erase the external drive first to make it an exact duplicate, you can check Erase Destination. Double check to make sure you have the Source and Destination correct (not reversed). Click the Restore button.
When you get the Mac back, reverse the procedure.
If you don't need the backup to be bootable, instead of using the Restore tab in Disk Utility, you can make a disk image using Disk Utility, and save the disk image file to the external. The advantage is that disk images takes up less space, and you don't need to erase what is currently on the external drive to make an exact duplicate.

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What is the best way to connect a MacBook Pro to my HiFi system ?

Hi,
I'm new to Apple support communities having just bought my first Macbook Pro (a 17" 2.5GHz i7 model) and this is my very first community post.
Im a bit of a Hi-Fi enthusiast, so, with my new MacBook Pro I've taken the opportunity of completely reloading my iTunes library in high quality Apple Lossless format. Took a while but now I've completed the task Im pleased I've done it.
My question is, what is the best way to connect a Macbook Pro to a high quality Hi-Fi preamp - my Hi-fi system is musical Fidelity, and the pre amp (an A5 CR Pre amp) and this pre amp, which has superb audio quality, only has analogue phono inputs ?
I'm interested to understand what both the wired and wireless connection options are. I'm guessing one option must be to use the headphone output, but I have no idea if the output from the headphone socket on my new macbook (which is presumably designed to drive headphones) would be at a suitable level for a phono line level input ?
Ive also read a few comments about using digital connection - and my second question would be - what is the audio digital connection on my macbook ?
Aplogies if this question has been asked lots of times before but I've looked through some previous posts and can't find any answers in simple and straightforward language concentrating on the issue of connecting a MacBook Pro to an analogue phono pre amp input ?
Thanks in anticipation of some advice.

What is the best way to connect a MacBook Pro to my HiFi system?
Look at the back of the reciever and see what your connection options are, the front headphone jack is output usually.
The Mac's analog audio in/out ports doubles as a optical in/out ports.
The analog won't over power your amp, it's just a headphonejack, like a powered mic, just enough power to get the signal to the destination in one piece.
Since you have a analog amp, your stuck with inferior analog connections, however you mentioned you wish to listen to the best sound quality of your lossless music.
To do that your going to need a decent surround sound system with Toslink optical import jacks, a Toslink stereo jack to regular Toslink adapter, Toslink cable and enable the optical output in your System Preferences >Sound
Another method is to use a Airport Express, it also has duo analog/opical out port. Then set up the Airport Express for iTunes streaming using the Airport Utility, then in iTunes setup the lower right corner one can set the connection.
I recommned a Harmon Kardon surround sound system, with their 100 watt satelight speakers and the 200 watt subwoofer. Enable the "concert hall" and other neat effects which will turn your 2.0 (stereo) iTunes music into 4 channel speaker sound filling the room with music and sending the lower channels to the subwoofer.
It will likely bring tears to your eyes that you can actually hear the full quality of your music as intended, I almost quarranty you will never want listen to music on a crappy iPhone or iPod again.
If a surround sound system is out of your budget, you can get by using the Harmon Kardon "Go Play" portable stereo and a analog stereo cable.
If your going to use your analog amp to power reference speakers, then there are various analog adapters of all sorts to make the appropriate connections once you know what they are, check out Radio Shack online for them.

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MacKeeper is malware that charges a fee. Do not install it under any circumstances.
Keep your software up-to-date with Software Update.
Don't click on links in emails, retype the URLs to be sure you know where it is sending you.
Don't download a "codec" or program to view content on a website from the same site -- standard viewers should come from the codec developer's site, not the content site.
Don't fall for requests from your bank or PayPal to verify your information -- they don't do it that way.
Download Flash only from:
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
You did NOT win any contests you did not enter, and you are not the 10,000th vistitor to any site.

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I have used WINDEX ELECTRONICS for about the past 6+ months:
http://www.windex.com/en-US/Products/Pages/electronic-cleaner-and-wipes.aspx
I apply it with a small damp microfiber cloth and wipe the excess off with a large microfiber cloth. The display looks the same when it came out of the box.
THIS IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH ORDINARY WINDEX GLASS CLEANER.
Ciao.

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What is the best way to keep a MacBook Pro backed up?

I'm about to buy a MacBook Pro for my daughter who is about to start University. She will need to back up her work of course, so I'm wondering what is the best way to back up a MacBook?
At home I have my iMac which is backed up to a WD Studio II 2TB external HDD configured as a 1TB RAID 1 device. Time Machine handles the backing up for me. I don't backup the Applications folder.
The MacBook Pro will, most likely, be carted between University and DIGs most days. I wonder what the best options are for backing up. I think that, at the very least, she will be wanting to recharge each evening back at the Halls. So I imagine it would be in order for her to have an HDD there to back up to. I wonder though if it would be possible to get hold of some sort of 'docking station' for her to use. This would act partly as a reminder for her to plug her back up device in the first place rather than relying on her remembering to plug in the Firewire each time.
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I agree with the previous poster.... a dock may sound like a good idea, but then if she wants to backup anything up it will have to be back in the rooom with the dock. If you just got an external HDD with firewire support, she would plug the thing in and Time machine can be set for automatic backup and she could always bring the backup drive with her if she wanted to backup anything say at home.... A dock is more expensive and I think it's a waste.... Get a nice portable external drive or if you want to set her up with a network in her dorm room you could get a time machine capsule or use the same setup that you have.
There is a "dock" well actually it's more of a stand that they sell in the apple store. It's called the arc or something....

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What is the best way to keep the performance of a macbook pro in tip top shape. Over the years my computer seems to act like a pc with all of its hicups and lockups.
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How to maintain a Mac
1. Make redundant backups, keeping at least one off site at all times. One backup is not enough. Don’t back up your backups; all should be made directly from the original data. Don’t rely completely on any single backup method, such as Time Machine. If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it.
2. Keep your software up to date. In the App Store or Software Update preference pane (depending on the OS version), you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home. Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis.
Keeping up to date is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all such modifications that you use are compatible. Incompatibility with third-party software is by far the most common cause of trouble with system updates.
3. Don't install crapware, such as “themes,” "haxies," “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers," “optimizers,” “accelerators,” "boosters," “extenders,” “cleaners,” "doctors," "tune-ups," “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” "barriers," “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial "virus scanners,” "disk tools," or "utilities." With very few exceptions, such stuff is useless or worse than useless. Above all, avoid any software that purports to change the look and feel of the user interface.
It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the whole "utility" software industry for the Mac is a fraud on consumers. The most extreme examples are the "CleanMyMac" and “MacKeeper” scams, but there are many others.
As a rule, the only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for, and doesn't change the way other software works.
Safari extensions, and perhaps the equivalent for other web browsers, are a partial exception to the above rule. Most are safe, and they're easy to get rid of if they don't work. Some may cause the browser to crash or otherwise malfunction. Some are malicious. Use with caution, and install only well-known extensions from relatively trustworthy sources, such as the Safari Extensions Gallery.
Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve. Do not rely on "utilities" such as "AppCleaner" and the like that purport to remove software.
4. Don't install bad, conflicting, or unnecessary fonts. Whenever you install new fonts, use the validation feature of the built-in Font Book application to make sure the fonts aren't defective and don't conflict with each other or with others that you already have. See the built-in help and this support article for instructions. Deactivate or remove fonts that you don't really need to speed up application launching.
5. Avoid malware. Malware is malicious software that circulates on the Internet. This kind of attack on OS X was once so rare that it was hardly a concern, but malware is now increasingly common, and increasingly dangerous.
There is some built-in protection against downloading malware, but you can’t rely on it — the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense. You can’t rely on third-party protection either. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness — not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable.
Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. If in doubt, do some research. Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy. Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must come directly from the developer's website. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from the web, without your having requested it, should go straight into the Trash. A web page that tells you that your computer has a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with it, is a scam.
In OS X 10.7.5 or later, downloaded applications and Installer packages that have not been digitally signed by a developer registered with Apple are blocked from loading by default. The block can be overridden, but think carefully before you do so.
Because of recurring security issues in Java, it’s best to disable it in your web browsers, if it’s installed. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This action is mandatory if you’re running any version of OS X older than 10.6.8 with the latest Java update. Note: Java has nothing to do with JavaScript, despite the similar names. Don't install Java unless you're sure you need it. Most people don't.
6. Don't fill up your boot volume. A common mistake is adding more and more large files to your home folder until you start to get warnings that you're out of space, which may be followed in short order by a boot failure. This is more prone to happen on the newer Macs that come with an internal SSD instead of the traditional hard drive. The drive can be very nearly full before you become aware of the problem.
While it's not true that you should or must keep any particular percentage of space free, you should monitor your storage use and make sure you're not in immediate danger of using it up. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of free space on the startup volume for normal operation.
If storage space is running low, use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the most space. Move seldom-used large files to secondary storage.
7. Relax, don’t do it. Besides the above, no routine maintenance is necessary or beneficial for the vast majority of users; specifically not “cleaning caches,” “zapping the PRAM,” "resetting the SMC," “rebuilding the directory,” "defragmenting the drive," “running periodic scripts,” “dumping logs,” "deleting temp files," “scanning for viruses,” "purging memory," "checking for bad blocks," "testing the hardware," or “repairing permissions.” Such measures are either completely pointless or are useful only for solving problems, not for prevention.
To use a Mac effectively, you have to free yourself from the Windows mindset that every computer needs regular downtime maintenance such as "defragging" and "registry cleaning." Those concepts do not apply to the Mac platform. A computing device is not something you should have to think about very much. It should be an almost transparent medium through which you communicate, work, and play. If you want a machine that is always whining for your attention like a neurotic dog, use a PC.
The very height of futility is running an expensive third-party application called “Disk Warrior” when nothing is wrong, or even when something is wrong and you have backups, which you must have. Disk Warrior is a data-salvage tool, not a maintenance tool, and you will never need it if your backups are adequate. Don’t waste money on it or anything like it.

What are the best ways to protect your macbook?

I have ordered my 1st ever Apple product, the White Macbook.
I would like to know what are the best ways to keep it save and in top condition?
Apple have given me this case as a good will gesture, so I won't be needing a case for it: http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukstore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=94689A4C&nplm=T J702
But any solutions for stopping the discolouration (i hope this never occures on with my macbook) but any invisible stickers which I can put on the palm areas?
Any tips?

The new plastics really don't have the discoloration problem, so you don't actually need palm rest protection. Any dirt can be taken care of with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I use only a silicone keyboard cover by Carapace to protect my macbook. I type so much that the letters often wear off my keys, and this will prevent that, as well as dust entering through the keyboard or, God forbid, any spilled liquid. The macbook heat vents are in the back, so my macbook does not overheat with the keyboard cover in place.

What is the best way to recycle 2010 MacBook? Also, it is completely dead and cannot erase hard drive.

What is the best way to recycle old 2010 MacBook? Also, it is completely dead and I cannot erase hard drive.

Depending on where you are located, country, region, etc, you may have options should
you wish to have it professionally restored or repaired to function properly again...
Even an Apple Store with Genius bar could, in several locations, give the product a look
and perhaps be able to diagnose the underlying issues. However that varies with the
degree of failed components and what is really wrong with it. A battery and a new HDD
could be all that's wrong with it. A diagnostic is often free, even on out-of-warranty Mac
at the Apple Store genius bar; an appointment is advised.
However if you only wanted someone to extract the hard disk drive and attach it to
a 'universal USB drive adapter kit' so at to try and access any readable files on it,
that is something that could be done at an Apple Authorized service provider; as
some of them may even have a section of resale products such as this adapter kit.
An example of this kind of kit includes wires, adapter parts, & a separate power supply
so it can be used to run the hard drive's electronics. This is not intended for permanent
use, but works like a set of patch cables to access the bare drive without an enclosure.
https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/Universal-Drive-Adapter/IF107-108-1
Another kit example says it'd work with almost any HDD or SSD of several build types:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/U3NVSPATA/
Companies that specialize in restoring Apple portable computers can give you an estimate
on a repair and the good ones can do that without a fee; they will not start a repair after they
see the computer until you get the estimate, and approve of the repair. If other items are
found to be of interest requiring other work or parts, they will also contact you, again before
continuing. One of these kinds of companies I know about (half a hemisphere away) is in
the eastern US, and worth inquiring of even if you are overseas. wegenermedia.com.
While I have no connection with any of these products or service suggestions, they do have
some variety of good reputation (ifixit.com has DIY repair guides; macsales has parts, etc.)
in standing, among many Mac users across a section of the planet...
Any concerns about the data on the hard disk drive should be able to be answered by a
local Apple independent; they also should have the universal USB drive adapter locally.
Not sure if I answered your inquiry, but there are different ways of approaching this matter.
Good luck & happy computing!
edited

What is the best way to look after Macbook Pro Retina Display battery?

Hello,
I am a little confused on how to look after the battery in my new Macbook Pro with Retina Display. I have read lots of different things and I do not seem to get a clear answer.
I feel by charging my laptop all the way, then using till 0% and doing it all over again uses the cycles faster and therefore meaning it will not last as long. I also read that having that laptop plugged in a lot of the time will also damage the battery. I have read the document Apple have posted online but it doesn't give me a time frame of what is or is not a good length of time for it to be fully charged and plugged in for. Should I charge then unplug or is it safe to have it plugged in for a few days when being used? I always unplug regardless when I am not in the room with the laptop.
Could someone please advice me on what they feel is the best way to keep the battery healthy. Thanks Benjamin

I think this is a great topic to get advice from the community, I have often wondered about this topic too.
My thoughts/experience are:
Cycle count seems to be the factor that ages the battery - although it is not exactly clear when your cycle count will click up by 1. I suspect it must be significant use or period off charge - but no idea how to quantify that.
I mostly have my unibody 15" MBP (early 2011) plugged, so after 14 months my cycle count is 28 and the battery charges to around 93-96% of initial capacity.
I use Watts and coconutbattery to keep an eye on battery condition and Watts is set to remind me to do a complete discharge/recharge (calibration) every month or so.
However I was away for 10 days recently and left MBP plugged in but shutdown. Before going I'd been keeping MBP extra busy and had skipped a calibration. On return I was using normally and then got a clue that all was not well with my battery although it said fully charged in menu bar.
I pulled the magsafe, instant off just like pulling lead on a desktop. No charge.
Magsafe LED showing green but no charge and not charging. Battery status said to replace battery.
Feeling upset at the suddendeath of a good friend I tried to reset SMC but the instructions seemed not to help.
Finally LUCK with an idea: I shutdown, unplugged, waited a bit, plugged while holding power button down and LED went orange, my battery started charging and went up to 96%.
I had been about to go pay for a new battery!
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Maybe not everywhere but....

What is the best way to restore my macbook pro?

Here is what happened - I purchased a macbook pro with Snow Leopard, and subsequently upgraded to Lion when it was released. Likewise, I first downloaded Xcode 3, and installed Xcode 4 when it came out. But Xcode 4 crashes all the time. Now days it won't even let me restore snapshots without crashing.
I imagine that if I restore my Mac to a clean state, and install only Xcode 4, that everything will work fine.
But I have so much other software installed too! I don't wan't to use Time Machine or Migration assistant as that would migrate everything. And I don't want Xcode 3, or anything left over from snow leopard.
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I also want to transfer all my bookmarks, documents, and cookies (as I don't remember some passwords).

Sorry, but that's kind of a contradiction in terms.
Some "simple" apps (that were just dropped in Applications) can be restored individually, but "complex" apps (the ones that come with their own installers) can't. Those apps put other files in other places and/or install "helper" apps -- if you don't find and restore all of them, too, the app won't work properly, if at all. That's why Setup Assistant and Migration Assistant don't allow selection of individual apps -- it's all or none.
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If you do that with a backup from before you installed Xcode3, you can then restore any individual files or folders you need from more recent backups, per #15 in the FAQ.
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What is the best way to "Ghost" my MacBook HD?

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