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Initial steps once you set up new MBP?

WhySoSerious

WhySoSerious

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 30, 2007
1,460
97
Dallas, TX
HI!

Just purchased my first Mac...and it's a MBP! *applause*....thank you!

Ok, quick question, what do all you forum members recommend I initially do once I get the laptop?

I've heard I need hook it up to the net and immediately run system updates. Aside from that, will i need to do any screen/color calibrations or battery calibrations?

Just interested in what tips you all have to get me up and started in a fresh, healthy, smooth way! Or perhaps some "must have" widgest I should immediately get?

thanks! talk to you all soon! :)
 
Yeah, do a monitor calibration. The MBP ships with a slightly yellow'ish color profile that you'll want to get rid of. There are threads here with info on that.

You should also give your battery a good workout. It's healthy for it with a little exercise.

Then there's the whole "install a million applications" thing. Every Mac-blog worth its weight has a million 10-best-apps entries that you should look at. Lifehacker.com is nice for that.

I'll start you off with [url="http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/]Quicksilver[/url]. I personally can't use my Mac without it.
 
A few essentials:

Make sure you received everything you paid for.
Create two user accounts 1 admin (you'll use this to add software/change system settings) and 1 regular that you always use. Nothing can get changed/installed accidentally/intentionally that way
Run updates.
Register everything online ASAP through Apple.com

I'm sure others will add to the list but other than those mess around with everything and get to know what it does (including screen calibration). The more you know about it the more fun it will be to use. Enjoy your new mac.
 
not sure about the MacBookPro's, but I believe Cinema Displays come pre-calibrated from the factory.

This thread is a good place to start for suggestions of great Mac Apps.

Personally, i'd say Adium, Transmission, Transmit, LiquidCD, Speed Download and The Unarchiver. most of these are free (Transmit and Speed Download are commercial).

for widgets i just have iStat Pro and the iceTV widget.
 
Reinstall the OS and eliminate printer drivers and languages that you don't need. You'll save several GB of HD space in the process.
 
dacreativeguy said:
Reinstall the OS and eliminate printer drivers and languages that you don't need. You'll save several GB of HD space in the process.
Click to expand...
Removing languages can potentially hose your system if you aren't careful about what you remove. With external HD prices being what they are, I frankly don't see any reason to risk your system's stability to try to save a few measly gigs.

What good would reinstalling the OS do him (beyond allowing him to cripple his system if he chooses a case-sensitive FS)? It's not like Macs ship with ten expired McAfee shovelware trials.
 
I Immediatly format the hard drive and reinstall the OS without needed things such as Trials and Apps I wont use. Get rid of all printer drivers and languages i wont use either.

After the OS is installed, I immediatly update everything with Apple software update... And then configure it how I like.
 
ProFont said:
Removing languages can potentially hose your system if you aren't careful about what you remove. With external HD prices being what they are, I frankly don't see any reason to risk your system's stability to try to save a few measly gigs.

What good would reinstalling the OS do him (beyond allowing him to cripple his system if he chooses a case-sensitive FS)? It's not like Macs ship with ten expired McAfee shovelware trials.
Click to expand...

ok um. what the hell are you talking about? how can removing a dozen languages I DONT SPEAK damage the OS? and more importantly. how come it's been fine EVERY TIME I'VE DONE IT.

and as for formatting the drive. the default in the installer is apple's recommended format. if a person is unsure of something and they have BASIC COMMON SENSE they DO NOT CHANGE IT.
 
did a search on these forums and google......yet i'm not finding adequate information on how to calibrate my MBP screen.

any help with this on doing it?

thanks!! :)
 
box33 said:
did a search on these forums and google......yet i'm not finding adequate information on how to calibrate my MBP screen.

any help with this on doing it?

thanks!! :)
Click to expand...

i'm in the same boat as you box33 ;) Would also love to know. Now if only the forum members would quit arguing and rather help ;)
 
pengu said:
ok um. what the hell are you talking about? how can removing a dozen languages I DONT SPEAK damage the OS? and more importantly. how come it's been fine EVERY TIME I'VE DONE IT.
Click to expand...
Settle down, cowboy. No need to go all capital letters on me.

Read the Monolingual FAQ for an explanation:
http://monolingual.sourceforge.net/faq.php

pengu said:
if a person is unsure of something and they have BASIC COMMON SENSE they DO NOT CHANGE IT.
Click to expand...
People who are unsure of what they are doing shouldn't be formating a brand new Mac "just because".

Plenty people get tripped up by the formating issue. I'm not sure how common sense would warn you against this actually. Case sensitive file systems work great on, say, Linux.

box33 said:
did a search on these forums and google......yet i'm not finding adequate information on how to calibrate my MBP screen.
Click to expand...
Open the settings from the Apple menu. Go to Display, select the Color tab and hit the Calibrate button. Everything should be self explanatory from there.

Here are a few forum threads to get you started.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/335037/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/311587/
 
box33 said:
did a search on these forums and google......yet i'm not finding adequate information on how to calibrate my MBP screen.

any help with this on doing it?

thanks!! :)
Click to expand...

1: Open System Preferences and click Displays.
2: Click Color.
3: Click Calibrate.

The Display Calibrator Assistant walks you through calibrating your display.

EDIT: Good thing I didn't scroll all the way to the bottom of this thread before I posted. I could've looked like a real idiot.
 
ProFont said:
Removing languages can potentially hose your system if you aren't careful about what you remove. With external HD prices being what they are, I frankly don't see any reason to risk your system's stability to try to save a few measly gigs.

What good would reinstalling the OS do him (beyond allowing him to cripple his system if he chooses a case-sensitive FS)? It's not like Macs ship with ten expired McAfee shovelware trials.
Click to expand...

You can't "hose" anything if you simply uncheck the checkboxes on the custom install screen during the install assistant. When I buy a XEROX printer or learn Dutch I'll worry about putting all that garbage back. But for now I have some extra space for the useless garbage that I care about and use.
 
pengu said:
ok um. what the hell are you talking about? how can removing a dozen languages I DONT SPEAK damage the OS? and more importantly. how come it's been fine EVERY TIME I'VE DONE IT.

and as for formatting the drive. the default in the installer is apple's recommended format. if a person is unsure of something and they have BASIC COMMON SENSE they DO NOT CHANGE IT.
Click to expand...

lighten up, francis.



for the record, the first thing i do, like bunny mentioned above, is to wipe the machine and install everything from scratch, including not installing extra printer drivers, languages, X11, etc. i also take this time to set up my folder system the way i like it in terms of projects, actionable work, archived projects, etc. i also get all my system preferences just the way i like them in terms of toolbars, finder preferences, and so on. i install whatever small OS apps i use, which at the moment is only FinderPop and MenuMeters. I then install all my software including Font Explorer, Adobe CS2 and CS3, After Effects, FCP, Transmit and some other stuff.

i use a Spyder Pro to calibrate my external monitor and my laptop screen.
 
dacreativeguy said:
You can't "hose" anything if you simply uncheck the checkboxes on the custom install screen during the install assistant. When I buy a XEROX printer or learn Dutch I'll worry about putting all that garbage back. But for now I have some extra space for the useless garbage that I care about and use.
Click to expand...
I wasn't aware that the custom installer allowed you to customize that much. That's good to know, I guess. I was referring to after-the-fact removal of languages using something like Monolingual.

If I was hurting for space I'd probably look into all the loops and themes iLife places under /Library. GarageBand and iDVD comes with a lot of bundled stuff and if you don't use either program, it just sits there.

Edit:
Spelling
 
1. Set up your Airport adapter and make sure it holds a connection, surf around for a while.

2. If it holds a connection, run Software Update.

3. Install all updates, except any Airport updates. I repeat, do not install any Airport updates if your Airport is already functioning. Airport updates, often, for lack of a better term, break your Airport.

If, by chance, your Airport doesn't work from the start, install the Airport updates one by one, testing in between updates. When you get one that works, stick with it. Don't get cocky and talk yourself into trying "just one more". The only solution to a bad update, when you get to the most current one, is to reinstall OSX. A good Airport driver is as good as gold, and you need to protect it.

4. Enjoy your MBP.
 
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