Purchased iMac...first time user needs some assistance.

[mholtz2323]

Hi
I own both and iPhone 3GS and an iPad 2. To make it complete, I decided to look for an iMac on ebay or craigslist.
I ended up finding someone who was selling an intel core i3 iMac (21.5 inch) and I purchased it for $750.
It's still under warranty till October 25th and he gave me the receipt.

I took it home and it works great! I love it.
However, I do have a few questions and concerns.

1) He preloaded some applications on there and some are very useful. If I ever have to reinstall Mac os, will I lose those applications? For example, Microsoft word, parallels, etc. He gave me iLife DVD, so I know I can get that back.
Can I back up some of these programs myself?

2) Mac os was already installed. So, I didn't get to enter my info or anything in the setup process. Does this effect anything in regards to registering the product or warranty? I think he kept everything at default or didn't even enter any info.

3) When I go to finder, my main folder is labeled "default." I thought I could easily change this, but it's proving more difficult. Is there a way I can change this folder name? It's not too big of a deal, but if it can easily be done and I can learn something at the same time, then great. I believe this is the folder in the beginning of Mac os install where it tells you it can't be changed.

4) Since it's still under warranty and no apple care has been purchased just yet, I'm assuming I can easily transfer the warranty over to me. So I went to apple.com and registered the product. It didn't ask me if this was new or used, so I just entered it as though it was new. It said it would send me an email, but I haven't received anything back yet. Do I have to do anything else?

5) The warranty is up October 25th. I plan on purchasing apple care just before it ends. How many years of apple care can I purchase? If I purchase 2 years and it runs fine after that, can I purchase another year?

Thanks for reading this. I'm pretty excited to have gotten such a good deal. I gave him $600 + $150 apple gift card (he went to get iPad 2). Then I gave him an extra $20 for the embarrassment of taking a desktop into panera bread to set it up. People did laugh.

Thanks again

Mike

 

[Hellhammer]

1. You can backup all your files including apps with Time Machine. However, if he didn't provide you the licenses of the installed apps (assuming they are full versions, not trials), you are technically violating a law. If those are just trials, then you can download them again so there is no need to back them up.

2&4. You could call Apple and make sure that everything is on your name now. If something is not, contact the seller and ask him to call Apple and change the info.

3. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1428

5. You can only activate AppleCare once so the maximum length of warranty is 3 years.

Personally, I would perform a clean install so you can set everything up the way you like.

 

[mholtz2323]

1. You can backup all your files including apps with Time Machine. However, if he didn't provide you the licenses of the installed apps (assuming they are full versions, not trials), you are technically violating a law. If those are just trials, then you can download them again so there is no need to back them up.

2&4. You could call Apple and make sure that everything is on your name now. If something is not, contact the seller and ask him to call Apple and change the info.

3. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1428

5. You can only activate AppleCare once so the maximum length of warranty is 3 years.

Personally, I would perform a clean install so you can set everything up the way you like.

Thanks for the help. i called Apple and transferred the warranty. I also purchased apple care.