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[Futureman]

so my friend's MacBook needs to be sent to Apple for repair. He wants to try and back up the HD before he sends it. The machine won't boot at all (it turns on, but then does nothing).

what should he do?

-open up the MacBook, remove the HD, throw it in one of those docks, and back it up?

or

-just send it into Apple and back it up when it comes back?

It's a 2006 MacBook, so the warranty is long since expired.

 

[Macho Madness]

After the positive experiences with OS X on my 2008 MacBook and now 2009 MacBook Pro I've decided to get a 2010 iMac. Two things are currently holding up my purchase though..

Should I get the 21.5" or 27" model?
The 27" model seems like it would be excessive, like sitting right in front of a 55" HDTV to play video games or something. Maybe it's something you get used to though? I just don't want to buy one or the other and regret it later.

Should I buy new or refurbished?
I've been browsing the refurbished section of the Apple Store and I should be able to save $200 - $250 on current iMac models if I go with refurbished. Does anyone have any experience with ordering refurbished products from Apple? If so, what is the condition and quality they come in? Can you tell that it has been used before by someone else?

Should I get the 21.5" or 27" model?
I have a late 2009 21.5" model. While I am mostly satisfied with the screen, I would have bought the 27" if I could have afforded it. Go with the 27" if you can.

Should I buy new or refurbished?
Back when I bought my iMac a year ago, I had heard nothing but great things about the refurbished models so I went with that. Had nothing but problems. First time, the CPU fan on my Mac was broken from the start. Second time, it had odd boot problems (would often kernel panic on boot, and would take around 5 minutes to boot). After that, I asked for a full refund and bought one new at Best Buy (it's been perfect, no problems at all).

I know I'm likely an isolated case, but I can't recommend refurbished Macs at all. Apple's customer service was great the whole time, but the problems were not worth the hassle.

 

[Jasoco]

It said calculating time remaining I think. Oh and those icons are for (from left ro right) Anxiety, Caffeine, [volume, battery], and my Binary clock app.

Is it still red? If something's wrong, it's supposed to say "Service Battery". Never saw a solid red full battery before.

This is what I find in Google:
http://discussions.info.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2655467&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=12203699#12203699
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1041693 (Says it's a glitch)

Should I get the 21.5" or 27" model?
The 27" model seems like it would be excessive, like sitting right in front of a 55" HDTV to play video games or something. Maybe it's something you get used to though? I just don't want to buy one or the other and regret it later.

I would suggest looking at both in person and deciding which would be more comfortable. 27" might be too big, so look first and make sure you don't make the wrong choice. The bigger it is, the more head turning you have to do.

Should I buy new or refurbished?
I've been browsing the refurbished section of the Apple Store and I should be able to save $200 - $250 on current iMac models if I go with refurbished. Does anyone have any experience with ordering refurbished products from Apple? If so, what is the condition and quality they come in? Can you tell that it has been used before by someone else?

Refurbished comes in a plain cardboard box but is exactly the same for the most part. Same warranty. There is no drawback unless you are a box collector.

 

[Particle Physicist]

This may be a noob question but, is it possible to do an Upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard, or can I only do an Archive and Install? If so, does the Archive and Install preserve all installed programs? I've never actually done it.

 

[bionic77]

This may be a noob question but, is it possible to do an Upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard, or can I only do an Archive and Install? If so, does the Archive and Install preserve all installed programs? I've never actually done it.

Archive and install preserves all your programs and setting unless the program is Rosetta only then you are SOL.

 

[Chris R]

Is there a way to tell download size/speed/time to completion ect when buying from the App Store?

 

[CRS]

I was able to get a Tron Xbox 360 controller and was surprised to see it was a wired controller. I decide to use it on my Mac but it doesn't want to work.

I have both Tattiebogle's drivers and Gamepad Companion installed and have had no luck getting my controller to work. I have HardwareGrowler installed and it recognizes the controller when I plug it in so I don't understand why it doesn't want to work.

 

[guise]

Should I get the 21.5" or 27" model?

Let this be the final nail in the coffin. Get a 27". 2560 x 1440 makes 1080p look like standard def.

If you use any kind of design or photo editing applications the additional real estate is something you soon won't be able to live without.

 

[Futureman]

Hey. Anyone have a latest generation iMac? Either size.

I have a MacBook Pro bought in June 2010 and I'm interested in doing a trade. PM me if you are too!

My machine is the 2.66 GHz Core i7, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB HD, high-res anti-glare screen.

EDIT: NEVERMIND I love this thing, don't PM me

a little slow rendering video, which I've been doing a lot of lately, but otherwise it's a dream machine

 

[Splash Wave]

I have an 500GB external HD that I'd like to make a FAT32 partition for in order to use it with my Windows 7 Netbook and PS3. This doesn't seem to work when using Disk Utility. I get this error message:

"Partition failed with the error:

Could not modify partition map because filestystem verification failed."

And yes, I have the partition set to be less than 32GB. What could be the problem?

 

[lunarworks]

HFS+ is the native Mac file system.

though macs will read/write from fat32 OK. it can't boot from fat32, though.

10.6.5 and up will read/write exFAT. Much. much better than FAT32. It can handle drives up to ungodly amounts we can't even imagine.

Not as good as having a native HFS+ formatted drive, but Windows Vista and 7 have exFAT support.

 

[Garou]

10.6.5 and up will read/write exFAT. Much. much better than FAT32. It can handle drives up to ungodly amounts we can't even imagine.

Not as good as having a native HFS+ formatted drive, but Windows Vista and 7 have exFAT support.

WinXP and Win2k3 support it too:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955704/en-us

 

[Ashhong]

It said calculating time remaining I think. Oh and those icons are for (from left ro right) Anxiety, Caffeine, [volume, battery], and my Binary clock app.

I'm guessing that mug is Caffeine? How did you change it to that mug? I have a round coffee cup..

 

[X-Frame]

I have a question about iTunes ..

I'd say 75% of the time when I click on Download All Free Updates via the button on the top right of the Apps screen, it gives me an error that the page is out of date. I can click it again, and then all the apps start downloading.

Why is that?

This has been happening I feel like .. forever.

 

[Particle Physicist]

Do albums have to be ripped through iTunes in order for them to work with Genius? I bought Arcade Fire - The Suburbs through Amazon a while ago, and for some reason any song in that album never finds any other songs to mix with. All my other Arcade Fire albums work fine except this one. I've updated Genius multiple times, and this is annoying the shit out of me.

 

[tsigo]

I've never bought (or ripped) anything through iTunes and didn't have any issues with Genius, though I disabled it a while ago.

 

[mrkgoo]

I'm getting a strange warning when I change accounts in iTunes:

"iTunes can't very the identity of the server". Something about certificates, and possible iTunes.store.com spoofing or some such.

What gives?

 

[golem]

so my friend's MacBook needs to be sent to Apple for repair. He wants to try and back up the HD before he sends it. The machine won't boot at all (it turns on, but then does nothing).

what should he do?

-open up the MacBook, remove the HD, throw it in one of those docks, and back it up?

or

-just send it into Apple and back it up when it comes back?

It's a 2006 MacBook, so the warranty is long since expired.

I would back it up just in case

 

[golem]

I'm getting a strange warning when I change accounts in iTunes:

"iTunes can't very the identity of the server". Something about certificates, and possible iTunes.store.com spoofing or some such.

What gives?

Usually SSL certificate errors are the result of your date/time being wrong ? Might want to check that.

 

[mrkgoo]

Usually SSL certificate errors are the result of your date/time being wrong ? Might want to check that.

Good point. I don't think so, but ill check.

 

[mrkgoo]

I checked my clock.

No issues here.

Then I noticed this after some googling around:

http://www.razorianfly.com/2011/01/18/did-apple-just-switch-itunes-servers-screenshot/

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Brought my Mac to the service: Super Drive is broken. Exaclty 115 days after I bought it. :/

 

[mrkgoo]

Brought my Mac to the service: Super Drive is broken. Exaclty 115 days after I bought it. :/

Is there any significance to 115 days?

 

[Jasoco]

Brought my Mac to the service: Super Drive is broken. Exaclty 115 days after I bought it. :/

Pretty sure my SuperDrive is screwed up in some way too. But I am waiting to have it checked until I get a mini so I don't have to live without a computer for a day just in case it has to be kept for a few.

It won't boot from the installer disk for Snow Leopard. Leopard's disk pretty much screws up my internal HDD/SSD. And sometimes it doesn't even mount the disk at all until I try to eject it which kind of forces it to re-recognize it. I'm hoping these are all just due to a bad drive. Not that I use it that much, I still need the drive whether it's inside the machine or not.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Is there any significance to 115 days?

Only because I was out of the Care Protection Plan for 15 days..

 

[mrkgoo]

Only because I was out of the Care Protection Plan for 15 days..

Care protection plan? 100 days?

Sorry, not sure what you're referring to. I was just wondering, because you said exactly 115 days as if it were significant over say 114 or 116 or 123 or something.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Err 25 days. The plan counts 90 days, right?

 

[LCfiner]

Err 25 days. The plan counts 90 days, right?

I thought the 90 days was for the free phone support.

the warranty for broken parts is one year. (I had a dead hard drive replaced on an old iMac on day 360 of my warranty. phew!)

 

[jts]

Err 25 days. The plan counts 90 days, right?

Nah.

When you buy a Mac, you get 90 days of free technical support over the phone and a 1-year warranty.

With AppleCare both of those periods get extended to 3 years.

You're out of the complimentary telephone technical support, but still under warranty.

edit: LCfiner :'(

 

[mrkgoo]

Err 25 days. The plan counts 90 days, right?

As mentioned, 90 days is phone support. You get 1 full year of warranty, so your SuperDrive should be covered. Within the first year, you can buy AppleCare, which extends that coverage to by 2 years to 3.

They will replace your superdriive for no charge if your computer is brand new and less than a year old.

 

[Valkyr Junkie]

This is why I purchase all my big-ticket electronics with my Amex card. They double your warranty up to an additional year for free. I have no idea what the process is like if you have to use it, but 2 years for free versus paying for 3 years has always felt like a fairly safe bet. I have a good track record with electronics *knocks on wood*

 

[Ken Masters]

I know the new OSX (Lion) comes out this summer, does a new version come out every year?

 

[Macho Madness]

I know the new OSX (Lion) comes out this summer, does a new version come out every year?

Uh. No. Snow Leopard came out in 2009.

 

[mrkgoo]

I know the new OSX (Lion) comes out this summer, does a new version come out every year?

 

[Patrick Bateman]

As mentioned, 90 days is phone support. You get 1 full year of warranty, so your SuperDrive should be covered. Within the first year, you can buy AppleCare, which extends that coverage to by 2 years to 3.

They will replace your superdriive for no charge if your computer is brand new and less than a year old.

Why the fuck did that lady on the Apple hotline then tell me that she can't help me and I gotta go to that service point? I have warranty and everything and she tells me I might have to pay for the repair. At least they should get their shit right...

 

[mrkgoo]

Why the fuck did that lady on the Apple hotline then tell me that she can't help me and I gotta go to that service point? I have warranty and everything and she tells me I might have to pay for the repair. At least they should get their shit right...

Service point? Are they an authorised apple repair centre? They should be able to check your eligibility on the computer.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Yes, they are. They're exchanging the drive.

 

[centracore]

After the positive experiences with OS X on my 2008 MacBook and now 2009 MacBook Pro I've decided to get a 2010 iMac. Two things are currently holding up my purchase though..

Should I get the 21.5" or 27" model?
The 27" model seems like it would be excessive, like sitting right in front of a 55" HDTV to play video games or something. Maybe it's something you get used to though? I just don't want to buy one or the other and regret it later.

Should I buy new or refurbished?
I've been browsing the refurbished section of the Apple Store and I should be able to save $200 - $250 on current iMac models if I go with refurbished. Does anyone have any experience with ordering refurbished products from Apple? If so, what is the condition and quality they come in? Can you tell that it has been used before by someone else?

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I saved myself $250 and ordered a refurbished 27" iMac Monday night which arrived yesterday. Besides the box it came in, you couldn't tell that this is a refurbished product, it's just like what I would expect if I had bought it brand new - very impressed thus far. As for the screen size, after I first set it up on my desk I was thinking I had made a mistake because it was HUGE, but I'm already getting used to it and quite enjoying the extra real estate.

Let this be the final nail in the coffin. Get a 27". 2560 x 1440 makes 1080p look like standard def.

Truer words have never been spoken - I have my 55" LED 1080p HDTV connected as the secondary monitor for watching movies on and what not.. just the display options dialog box looked gross and jaggy on there compared to the iMac.

 

[hEist]

jesus... got a problem... delete by mistake the mac app store... so i restarted the mac and hoped that i can get it back with the software update... but not working...

so, any one got suggestions, how i can get it back? with terminal somehow?

 

[lunarworks]

jesus... got a problem... delete by mistake the mac app store... so i restarted the mac and hoped that i can get it back with the software update... but not working...

so, any one got suggestions, how i can get it back? with terminal somehow?

Did you actually delete it, or did you just pull it out of the dock?

If you actually deleted it, you'd think this would be a protected system file that required an admin password to delete.

 

[Ridli]

Does anyone have recomendations for video streaming apps, outgoing specifically. I have a particular issue where I would like to stream World of Warcraft to a service like Justin.tv or uStream, but my google-fu is incredibly weak on this subject, and I can't find anything concrete for Mac.

I can find certain services like Live Stream/XFire that are ready out of the box to capture OGL or D3D output in windows, but nothing similar for OSX. They seem to be focused on desktop capture instead of game output. Any way I can stay out of bootcamp?

 

[hEist]

Did you actually delete it, or did you just pull it out of the dock?

If you actually deleted it, you'd think this would be a protected system file that required an admin password to delete.

i deleted it, because it didn't update twitter and other updates... So i though i could reinstall again with software update...but this isn't working... hate.

 

[centracore]

i deleted it, because it didn't update twitter and other updates... So i though i could reinstall again with software update...but this isn't working... hate.

Here's the actual update installer from Apple.. http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1343

Dunno if that will help or not, my guess is that Software Update already has it flagged as installed so won't grab it again. If you try to download and install it manually it might work..

 

[mollipen]

Why the fuck did that lady on the Apple hotline then tell me that she can't help me and I gotta go to that service point? I have warranty and everything and she tells me I might have to pay for the repair. At least they should get their shit right...

Because when they say phone support is only 90 days, I think that means ANY support over the phone.

 

[Ulairi]

I'm sure this has been answered but this thread is too long for me to go thorugh. I have a 15" MBP and a tower that I built myself. I'm thinking about buying the 27" cinema display from Apple and I was wondering if I'd be able to use it for both machines. My tower uses an Ati Raedon 5870.

 

[LCfiner]

I'm sure this has been answered but this thread is too long for me to go thorugh. I have a 15" MBP and a tower that I built myself. I'm thinking about buying the 27" cinema display from Apple and I was wondering if I'd be able to use it for both machines. My tower uses an Ati Raedon 5870.

if the ATI Radeon happens to have a displayport outlet, it will work with the ACD with a cheap DP to Mini DP connector.

If the Radeon only has DVI or HDMI, then a 150 dollar adapter would be required to connect it to the ACD.

 

[Ulairi]

if the ATI Radeon happens to have a displayport outlet, it will work with the ACD with a cheap DP to Mini DP connector.

If the Radeon only has DVI or HDMI, then a 150 dollar adapter would be required to connect it to the ACD.

It does have a display port. Awesome. Thanks!

 

[mrkgoo]

i deleted it, because it didn't update twitter and other updates... So i though i could reinstall again with software update...but this isn't working... hate.

Weird. It sounds like you still have the App Store app, or is it actually deleted? Check your application files. It's not about being able to update Twitter - can you see the App Store application at all?

At any rate, the link that was posted to the 10.6.6 combo updater SHOULD reinstate it.

That said, you should use Time Machine. Any recent change you don't want you just go back in time and retrieve it.

 

[Ken Masters]

Do I need an anti virus software for macs?

 

[Macho Madness]

Do I need an anti virus software for macs?

No, but you do need snake oil or blinker fluid for your car.