Getting a hand-me-down MacBook Pro

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Hello all. My Uncle is upgrading to a new MacBook Pro this year and has offered me his current Macbook Pro. I don't think he knows how to wipe it out, nor do I. What do I want to do or need with this MacBook Pro when I get it?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Depends on the model, but most of the recent ones have a built in internet based factory restore.

These directions should work:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4390401

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT4718

 

[Eug]

Nice uncle.

Wiping is better, but one simpler thing you could do is just to create a new admin account for yourself, log into that new account, and then delete your uncle's old account. That will delete all his private stuff in his account.

Which model? If no SSD, put one in.

How much memory?

Which version of OS X? The latest is 10.10 Yosemite. It's a nice OS, but the only problem is if you install a 3rd party SSD, you won't get TRIM support. Not a deal killer, but not ideal either. TRIM support works fine on 10.9 Mavericks though.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Thank you for the replies so far everyone.

I think it's last years model, or the previous. I think it does have an SSD. I don't think he went with the fastest processor. He might have updated the OS the the latest version.

All I want to do is just wipe it like I would on a Windows machine and start over fresh.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Thank you for the replies so far everyone.

I think it's last years model, or the previous. I think it does have an SSD. I don't think he went with the fastest processor. He might have updated the OS the the latest version.

All I want to do is just wipe it like I would on a Windows machine and start over fresh.

It all of that's true, it's definitely new enough. Just follow the directions in the apple support link I posted before.

 

[Childs]

Thank you for the replies so far everyone.

I think it's last years model, or the previous. I think it does have an SSD. I don't think he went with the fastest processor. He might have updated the OS the the latest version.

All I want to do is just wipe it like I would on a Windows machine and start over fresh.

Click on the Apple logo in the upper left, then select About...
Underneath the Version, it should tell you the general model name. Something like MacBook Pro (Mid 2010).

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I wish someone would do that for me! I am happily running a mid-2009 MBP. I find that just remarkable - I have never had a laptop last more than two years, and this thing gets used every day. Mine still works fine but it would be nice to have last year's model . . .

 

[Eug]

I wish someone would do that for me! I am happily running a mid-2009 MBP. I find that just remarkable - I have never had a laptop last more than two years, and this thing gets used every day. Mine still works fine but it would be nice to have last year's model . . .

Same here, mid-2009 MBP. The main reason I want a new laptop though is for Retina and to drop a couple of pounds. Performance could be faster, but honestly, it's not a major concern. The Core 2 Duo is OK for what I need it to do.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I currently have a very old Inspiron 6000 laptop. Single core. PATA port - i ditched the HDD and installed an SSD in it. It's still painfully slow though.

Calling my uncle to see what model it is... no answer, i'll find out later and get back on it.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

2011 MacBook Pro, 15", not sure if it has an SSD now. I'm getting a hand me down hand me down. I just hope it has an SATA port. I'll install an SSD. Anyone know which SSD's are certified by Apple? Oh, btw it has the latest OS? 10.something.

 

[manly]

I wish someone would do that for me! I am happily running a mid-2009 MBP. I find that just remarkable - I have never had a laptop last more than two years, and this thing gets used every day. Mine still works fine but it would be nice to have last year's model . . .

I'm limping along with a late 2006 MBP. The original Core 2 Duo performs decently enough, and an SSD upgrade last year helped significantly, but the 3 GB RAM limit is very confining.

I'm patiently holding out for Broadwell-based Macs, but the latest CPU rumors are that Skylake will be out by this time next year so I might keep waiting and waiting... I'm also not sure if I can downgrade to a 13" screen, so I'm (foolishly) hopeful Apple can fix the exhorbitant pricing of the 15" models within the same timeframe.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

2011 MacBook Pro, 15", not sure if it has an SSD now. I'm getting a hand me down hand me down. I just hope it has an SATA port.

It does. Only the Retina models don't.

I'll install an SSD. Anyone know which SSD's are certified by Apple?

None of them. There's no hardware compatability list, only what Apple has chosen to grant us. A Crucial MX100 or Samsung 850 EVO will work fine.

Oh, btw it has the latest OS? 10.something.

10.10 is the latest. You should be able to do an internet restore to current version. (A 2011 model would have shipped with 10.7 or 10.8 and is probably eligible for the free upgrades.)

 

[Eug]

10.something is all of Apple's Mac OS X versions since 14 years ago.

If you want to swap in an SSD, see my previous post about 10.9 vs 10.10.

 

[Childs]

A 2011 MBP is pretty good, especially if you have the i7 version. In fact, if mine died, I buy another one of those versus the new ones since you can't upgrade the new ones. The only downside really is the lack of USB3, but you have a thunderbolt port, and you can use a thunderbolt to USB3 adapter. I put 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD in mine, and its perfectly fine. Only issue was replacing the HD, which required unscrewing like 10+ tiny screws on the back.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Got it and it's a very nice and elegant laptop!

I think it has an Ivy Bridge Quad core. It is an i7. I asked the fellow at the Genius Bar exactly what chip it was and he said it was a special order one and that he'd have to take a closer look. We were getting a few other things fixed and I didn't initially know there was a 15 minute limit for the tech work so I told him don't worry about it. It's a 15" display - (early 2011). Has a 500G HDD *boo* but that's still nice. Just wish it had an SSD drive. Has 10.10.1 4Gb 1333. An Intel HD 3000. A DVD player burner.

Also I just ordered a cover and keyboard cover off Amazon for 26 bucks. Some 4 in 1 thing.. my cousin helped me out

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Oh! If I want to install an SSD, after I physically install it how do I get the latest OSX?

 

[Eug]

Nice machine. Nice uncle.

Dunno if you can download the 10.10 installer from 10.10.

 

[TheStu]

Oh! If I want to install an SSD, after I physically install it how do I get the latest OSX?

If you have a USB>SATA enclosure, the easiest thing will be to clone your HDD to the SSD, then boot from USB to make sure it works. Swap the drives and continue on your merry way.

If it's a 2011 it should have internet restore, so if you're not already doing a clean install to the HDD, then you can do that. Drop in the SSD, CMD+R at boot to launch the internet restore, and proceed to install OS X.

 

[Childs]

Oh! If I want to install an SSD, after I physically install it how do I get the latest OSX?

You should just make a USB installer right now before you install the SSD. Its nice to have in general.

How to make your own bootable OS X 10.10 Yosemite USB install drive

Towards the bottom is a command line way to do it, so you don't need to download anything other than the Yosemite installer.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Seen the 512GB Samsung 850 Pro is 345$ I might even go with a 1Tb SSD but either way can these significantly increase the battery life?

I have a few more questions but I gotta run out real quick

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Seen the 512GB Samsung 850 Pro is 345$ I might even go with a 1Tb SSD but either way can these significantly increase the battery life?

No. While you might find certain models that are outliers (enterprise SSDs don't do much power optimizations) the average SATA SSD uses about as much power as the average 2.5" SATA HDD. (1-3w).

You'll see much bigger battery life increases if you turn down the screen brightness and disable turbo boost on the CPU.

 

[TheStu]

Seen the 512GB Samsung 850 Pro is 345$ I might even go with a 1Tb SSD but either way can these significantly increase the battery life?

I have a few more questions but I gotta run out real quick

Earlier today there was a hot deal on the Crucial M550 512GB for $170 @ amazon.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

No. While you might find certain models that are outliers (enterprise SSDs don't do much power optimizations) the average SATA SSD uses about as much power as the average 2.5" SATA HDD. (1-3w).

You'll see much bigger battery life increases if you turn down the screen brightness and disable turbo boost on the CPU.

How do I turn off Turbo? How do I get to the "Bios"?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Earlier today there was a hot deal on the Crucial M550 512GB for $170 @ amazon.

Thanks I'm going to keep looking. I haven't decided yet but 170$ is encouraging to keep looking instead of 345$

 

[TheStu]

How do I turn off Turbo? How do I get to the "Bios"?

There is no BIOS, only Zuul!, intel Macs use EFI, and it's not user exposed. There's no point in disabling Turbo, it's there to improve battery life. By spinning up just 1 core, it can complete tasks faster and thereby return to a MUCH lower power state sooner. That's its whole job.

Adjusting the brightness though, sure, that'll affect battery life a little bit.

I think you might be able to disable Turbo in Windows, but I doubt it will make up for the battery hit you'll take just from running Windows (Macs just don't get great battery life in Windows, poorly optimized drivers most likely).