Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with macbookpro

Is it a bad idea to keep a MacBook Pro plugged in while charged?

carter — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:06:59 -0800

I recently acquired a new MacBook Pro, with a retina display. It's a sealed unit, with no user-replaceable battery, so I'm obviously interested in maintaining the battery life. I noticed that the new T-shape mag safe connector is not very grippy, and falls out all the time. So I called Apple to see whether the constant unplugging/plugging was a bad idea, and the rep actually said at one point that it was a bad idea to keep the laptop plugged in when it was charged (with the green LED showing in the adapter). I confirmed that this was what he was saying. So does anyone know if this is true? Because I've always kept my laptops plugged in, all the time. I always find battery issues to be very hard to get any clear information about. Thanks for any input.

Isn't there an App for That?

bearwife — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:53:08 -0800

I can print fine using a app from my Ipad 2 -- I just installed the printer app on my work PC, which is linked to my printer, and on my Ipad 2. Voila! But I can't figure out how to print to my work printer from my beautiful Macbook Pro. Let me explain that my work printer doesn't have a wireless option, and that I really don't want to reconnect its USB cord to my MacBook. And remote accessing my (Windows 7) work PC with my MacBook Pro has been a big flop.

So, is there any app I can install on my MacBook and my Windows PC that'll make this happen?

My MacBook is dying, do I replace or go desktop?

FuckingAwesome — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 13:50:33 -0800

Hi there, I have a mid-2009 MacBook Pro, which is getting noticeably slower, the battery needs replacing and the fan is extremely noisy. All this has lead me to believe that this laptop is coming to the end of its "natural" lifespan and I will soon be due an upgrade (however I accept I may be wrong here). Coupled with this, I am about to move into a new place, meaning I will have a lot less need for a portable laptop, since I will be working from home most days. With this in mind, I was thinking about getting a desktop iMac as my "main" computer and using my old MacBook as and when I needed to. So my question is, should I... A) Attempt to prolong my MacBooks life by having it serviced / refurbished, and buy a desktop monitor to plug it into when I work from home. B) Buy a new MacBook Pro, and a desktop monitor (because this would be cheaper than the third option, which is to...) C) Buy a desktop iMac, and continue to use my old MacBook as a spare / portable option. Thanks.

What is the deal with my Macbook Pro display?

4ster — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:49:56 -0800

Today, at work, my 2012 Macbook Pro (non-retina) started flickering while plugged into an external monitor. Unplugging and replugging the external monitor fixed it. However, when I got home, the Macbook started flickering again. I forced a reboot, which resulted in the screen flickering and going black. I have a Genius Bar appointment tomorrow, but I am curious what the Hive Mind thinks the problem might be.

SSD for a mid 2010 MacBook Pro

sbutler — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 23:16:11 -0800

Just did my taxes, and I'm getting a refund! Help me pick out the right SSD for my aging laptop... I have a mid 2010 MacBook Pro, 17" (MacBookPro6,1). I'm not going to upgrade the laptop because I really love the 17" and Apple isn't offering any 17" laptops at the moment. It's working fine, 8GB RAM, and I figure I can easily squeeze another couple years out of it with an SSD upgrade.

I want at least 500GB, reliability is the top priority, then speed. Normally I'd just go out and by the best one rated, but I realized I have SATA II, not III. A lot of reviews seem to be assuming SATA III.

I'd rather not waste my money by putting in a much faster drive than my interface can support (3Gb/sec). So what do you guys recommend for someone with this limitation?

OS X 10.8.3 if it matters. I run Windows 8, but always in VMware and not through Bootcamp. So that shouldn't matter.

Should I upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion in March 2013?

michaelh — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:27:33 -0800

I have a late 2008 MBP, 8GB RAM, with an SSD, running Lion without problems. Should I upgrade to Mountain Lion right now? Have the battery life and other issues been resolved? I'd like to upgrade because I've finally encountered a program that requires Mountain Lion and I'd like to use it. The $20 is not a factor; it's purely about the quality of the OS.

Apologies if this has been asked before and I missed it, but due to the way Apple fixes new OSes I think even asking a few months later can result in a different answer.

Also, is there a software equivalent of MacRumor's Buyer's Guide that would be a go-to for questions like this? I haven't found one yet.

Skype when my laptop is closed & connected to an (old) external monitor?

tzikeh — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 16:08:34 -0800

If I buy an external computer cam and mic, can I make video calls on Skype on a MacBook Pro when it's closed and connected to an old Cinema Display monitor that has no built-in camera? I have a Macbook Pro 5,5, running OS X 10.6.8, with the 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. I find I am using Skype more and more often in my tutoring business, and recently purchased a Wacom tablet in order to do math problems on the screen and share them over Skype with my students while we work. Unfortunately, it's become increasingly uncomfortable to juggle the laptop, Wacom, textbooks, etc., plus craning my neck to get in the camera sight and not having nearly enough desktop to write out extended problems with any comfort. (Plus my eyes aren't what they were.)

I do much of my non-Skype work with my laptop hooked up to my old Cinema Display, which gives me lots and lots of computer desktop space, as well as hard desktop space for textbooks, notebooks, and the like. It's much more comfortable to use for longer periods of time, but the Cinema Display is old enough that it has no built-in camera. When the laptop is hooked up to the monitor, the laptop is closed, and so the camera (and mic) are inaccessible to me.

Is it possible to buy an external camera/microphone and hook it up to the computer so that I can video Skype while the laptop is closed? It only has two USB ports, and both of them would be taken up (one for the Cinema Display USB connection and one for the Wacom tablet). I assume I'd have to buy a USB hub as well, which is fine.

Has anyone done this? Any advice?

Plastic protective covering for 17" Macbook Pro (not unibody)

raspberry jam and clothes iron — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:26:01 -0800

Where can I find a plastic protective cover for this model of Macbook Pro 17"? Nearly all of what I can find still for sale, are for the 17" unibody versions; it's hard to find a vendor that still stocks covers for this model. Thanks!

What's wrong with my Macbook Pro?

ohmy — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:55:09 -0800

I have a 13" Macbook Pro that I bought in late 2010. Lately, it's been doing some odd things. Occasionally it makes a sound that I can only describe as an "electronic fart". Like a short buzz that lasts less than a second. The second thing is that sometimes parts of the screen go black. These things only happen once every few days. I googled "weird noise", "weird buzzing noise" and all sorts of variations along that theme, and none of the results match my issue. Most of them are about people who have constant buzzing, or weird fan sounds. My sound is a short, loud buzz, which doesn't happen super often. I haven't noticed any specific program or situation that causes this sound. It just happens randomly.

The issue with the black screen is that occasionally, parts of my screen go black. It seems to happen only when I'm browsing the net using Chrome, but I don't know if it's specific to Chrome because... well I don't use my computer for much else other than surfing the web. Usually, it's panels of my browser window that go black, but not parts outside of the window. It obscures parts of text, and scrolls slightly, but not completely when I scroll the rest of the page. Then it goes away, as suddenly as it came.

Is my laptop dying?

Can I swap MacBook Pro hard drives?

4ster — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:50:13 -0800

Today, I purchased a new 13" MacBook Pro, model MD101LL/A, which I believe is a June 2012 model. I have an existing, working 13" MacBook Pro from early 2011. Can I just pull the hard drive out of the old one and stick it in the new one, or should I restore from a backup? Also, what are the odds the memory in the old one will work in the new one? Both are Core i5. Thank you for your help.

My laptop eats USB flash drives

tim_in_oz — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:22:28 -0800

Macbook Pro, running 10.6.8 seems to render any USB flash drive unreadable, be it new or used. Brand new, out of the packet or used with data on it, the results are the same. I put the drive in the USB port, it boots and I can see the device name. I try and either read from it or write to it and the operation stalls, and I then get an error message saying that the device is unreadable. It disappears from the Finder menu. If I launch disk utility I can sometimes see the device again, but if I attempt to reformat it, the operation stalls again.

The USB drive is unusable in other computers after this process.

Any ideas as to why this might be happening or what I might do to fix it?

How much will this repair be?

4ster — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:21:56 -0800

I have a 13-inch, early 2011 Macbook Pro (unibody) that fell out of my backpack and onto a sidewalk. It was in a neoprene sleeve, which helped, but the aluminum screen cover (the part with the white Apple logo on it) is rather dented. The laptop works fine, and there are no cracks on the screen at all. However, I am interested in getting this part replaced, and I have some questions about cost. I called my closest Apple Store and asked them for a rough idea how much this would cost, and they wouldn't even guess, instead insisting that come in person and get the estimate there. However, this store is a 160 mile round trip, and I'd like to somehow get an idea how much I am looking at cost-wise before I drive that far.

Does anyone have any idea how much Apple would charge for this repair? I know about other Macbook Pro repair sites (like myservice.com), but I am just curious what Apple charges, so I have a basis for comparison.

Thanks, as always, for any insight you can offer.

HDD replacement macbook walk-thru

Brian Lux — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:39:36 -0800

SSD Filter: Macbook Pro running 10.5.8 WLTM Solid State Drive, NSA Apologies for a very similar thread to those posted before but I haven't been able to find an answer on askmefi or elsewhere.

I have a 2009 MBP (5.5) running OS 10.5.8 (Leopard?). I'm also semi-permanently plugged into an external 1TB disc where I keep my itunes library and Time Machine back up.

I have a Samsung 830 256 SSD and an 8gb RAM Upgrade sitting on my desk which I am about to install but I'm a bit nervous about what to do first. I want to do this properly, I don't mind doing it the long way if it means it will all happen without problems. I could do with a numbered step-by-step walk-through but only up to the physical replacement of the drive, which I'm fairly confident about.

my questions:
- Before I start cloning drives should I upgrade my OS? What is a "clean install"? I probably have the original DVD that came with my MBP - why would I want to reinstall that? Doesn't reinstalling the OS wipe all your docs and files?
- To clone the drive should I use the bundled Norton ghost or superduper, or carbon copy or just the apple OS native drive cloning utility? Why use one rather than the other?
- Are Samsung 830's safe to use with Macs now. Did they have some sort of firmware problem?

Best practices for upgrading MBP RAM and HDD?

Fuzzy Dog — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:01:34 -0800

[MACFILTER] Best way to upgrade my Mid-2009 MBP? I have a 17-Inch mid-2009 MacBook Pro that has been a true workhorse and champ over the past 3 years. I use it all day for work and in the evenings for entertainment. It's on ALL the time and gets 7-15 hours of use 5-6 days a week--editing video, photoshopping, coding, NetFlix marathons--you know the deal.

It's starting to get the random-spinning-beach ball a little to often and cleaning up the permissions is having less and less effect. The local Mac Guru say I should reinstall the OS on a clean slate and reload all the stuff I am using.

All the work of reinstalling and such on a clean install of the OS got me thinking, why not add an SSD and max out the RAM?

So my questions are:
Is this a good idea? Or a total pain in the ass?

Can I bring my apps and data back from my time machine backup? How?

Can you recommend online dealers and brands for SSD and RAM that you've had positive experiences with?

Can you point me to a complete walk through for swapping the drive and reinstalling 10.6.8?

If you're one of those master-tinker types, what suggestions and advice do you have for this endeavor?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Help my MIL move her bookmarks!

hms71 — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 08:38:06 -0800

Help! I went with my MIL to buy a new MacBook yesterday, and she's freaking out about everything being so DIFFERENT from her PC - especially the bookmarks. Help me help her... I've been switching back and forth between macs and PCs my entire life, so I didn't think much of it when my MIL wanted to buy a Mac. We've just spent the morning setting it up, though, and she's freaking out that it's so different. In particular she's upset that her massive, carefully-organized collection of bookmarks doesn't translate to the new computer. She's got them organized into folders in IE9, and I can't find a setting in Safari (or Chrome or Firefox) that replicates the layout in IE9. (She's got a MacBook Pro with OS X Lion)

Bonus points for tips on how to fully integrate her iPad and iPhone, too - she made the move to Apple in large part because all her other favorite devices are Apple.

Can you help me upgrade my MacBook Pro (late-2008) hard drive?

barnone — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 13:23:15 -0800

Need advice on how to update an older MacBook Pro with a new hard drive. I have a late-2008 MacBook Pro: 2.53 GHz, 320GB hard drive, 8GM RAM (4GB in two slots). My drive is getting full and I don't have the cash at the moment for a brand new laptop. Should I replace the optical drive with a SSD? Or just upgrade the regular hard drive with a new one with 750GB or 1TB? If I swap my optical drive for a SSD:
- Looking at a 120GB ($120) or 240GB ($225) replacement
- Do I move my applications onto that drive?
- Would my documents and files be kept on the new SSD drive or would they remain on the older one?
- Given the higher cost, what's the benefit to this solution?
- Anything else to consider with this scenario?

If my current SATA 320GB hard drive is swapped for one with a larger capacity:
- Looking at a 750GB option ($59) + DIY kit to use the old one as an external drive
- Will the weight be about the same?
- Should I make sure to get a 7200RPM rather than 5400, or does it matter much?

In terms of use:
- Rarely, if ever, use my optical drive
- I'm on my laptop about 12-14 hours a day, every day, and always have many windows and applications running, including Photoshop, Illustrator, multiple browsers, music, image management apps, random other apps throughout the day
- At the moment, yes, I do need the additional storage on the actual laptop. I've already deleted a ton of unnecessary files, and do enough travel without access to the internet that the files need to be on my actual computer and not just the cloud
- I'm also too lazy to have half of my regularly-accessed files on an external drive, which then has to be connected each and everyday, and which must be remembered when leaving the house for work or travel

Looks like my options are about $100-$250 - I'll probably get another laptop next year so I'd prefer to spend the $100 unless you think the SSD gives much better performance.

If you could do one of these options, which would you suggest? Anything I'm not considering here? Thanks in advance for your advice!

Spilled water on my MacBook Pro and it's still making noise. What's happening?

serialcomma — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 20:25:44 -0800

Spilled water all over MacBook Pro. I turned it off to dry it out, but it's making horrible crackling sounds. What's going on? Earlier this evening I spilled several ounces of water directly onto the keyboard of my MacBook Pro (2010 model year). I tried to turn it off but it took several attempts--and many scary moments of a flickering screen and what sounded like crackling speakers--before it finally shut down.

Now it's upside down, drying, but the crackling noises continue. What's going on? Is it not actually off? The screen hasn't shown any signs of life since I ostensibly shut it down, and I just closed it briefly to make sure the sleep light didn't come on. (It didn't.)

So now what? Is this noise normal? Is my computer already destroyed? Bonus question: assuming it's not destroyed, how long should I let it dry before attempting to switch it on again?

Help me buy a MacBook Pro.

griphus — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 14:42:39 -0800

Help a lifelong PC user who Knows Computers and considers himself a Savvy Consumer buy himself a non-retina MacBook Pro. Technical and budgeting questions inside. For reference, my current laptop PC is an i7 1.6 Ghz quad-core with 4 GB of RAM. I don't need to get into backstory, but I'd like to purchase a non-retina MacBook Pro, and I'd like to buy it before Apple starts soldering them shut, which seems to be inevitable at this point. MacRumors' buying guide has it as a yellow, which is good enough for me. I've been on the periphery of the Apple scene for a while (less peripheral now that I have an iPhone and an iPad) so I'm not totally up on the tech and I want to be as well-researched before making this purchase as I can. I'm the sort of guy that puts up with all sorts of crap to get the best tech for the best price. Give me the gory details, and please don't be afraid to get technical. Anything I don't understand, I can look up.

Processor
The non-retina 15' MBPs seem to come in 2.3 ghz quad-core or 2.6 ghz quad-core. I can't imagine that 0.3 ghz/core is going to make a difference in anything I'm doing (I don't use any Heavy Duty software and I don't game too much) but maybe I'm missing something? I've really very rarely done things with my current PC and thought this could stand to be more powerful."

RAM
The base model comes with 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM and is upgradable to 8 GB for $100. Will I save any money by purchasing and upgrading the RAM myself? Should I get better RAM because the base MacBook RAM isn't great? I haven't bought RAM in ages and I'm not sure what to even look for anymore, double-especially for a Mac. I know that MBPs are unofficially upgradable to 16GB, but I think I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Storage
If I want an SSD, I assume the smart thing to do is get it with the cheapest HD it comes with an purchase and install the SSD myself. Is that right? Upgrading to a 128 GB SSD at purchase costs $200, which seems absurd even for Apple's markup. Which SSDs are best compatible with MBPs and won't cost too much money? What's the biggest SSD size that isn't bleeding-edge priced because it is the New Hotness?

Screen
Should I get the glossy or anti-glare screen? I'm thinking the latter, but maybe it sucks? Am I going to miss 1920x1080?

Logistics
New or refurbished? Drag my ass down to the Apple store and have it now now now or order online and wait? I know Apple sales are rare when they happen, and not particularly exciting when they do, but should I be waiting for some sort of recurring deal? I'm not a student, if that matters.

Misc.
Anything else I should know (including questions I should be considering/asking) would be great.

Firefox is possessed!

PeppahCat — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:15:06 -0800

Firefox keeps going back to previous page, but I'm not hitting the back button! Using Firefox 16.0.1 on Macbook Pro with Mountain Lion (both with latest updates installed). I'll be randomly browsing and for no apparent reason, Firefox will go back a page, but I haven't clicked or swiped anything to have it go back.
FWIW I have had this issue since the previous FF update. I've checked my track pad settings and they are all normal/nothing set to where it should go back a page. This happens when I'm scrolling, when I'm NOT scrolling, when I'm typing, basically just at random.
Basically the only solution I've come up with is to have each page open in a new tab of it's own so I don't have any pages to go back to on that particular tab. But that's getting to be a real hassle...

New Mac, meet Old Mac

litnerd — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 07:48:20 -0800

I'm upgrading my late-2008 Macbook Pro. How can I take advantage of Migration Assistant AND get a "fresh start" with my new machine? I've had my machine for four years, and while it's running fairly decently, it isn't meeting my needs anymore. I have a new, non-retina MBP on its way.

This is my first time upgrading from a Mac to a Mac, and I'm not really sure how best to take advantage of Migration Assistant. I have an iPhoto library and iTunes library that I'd like to preserve, and a few third-party apps that I use fairly regularly. I have many other third-party apps that don't get very much, if any love (MacHeist wins/buys), but the packrat in me wants to keep them.

Basically, I want to copy my current data over to my new machine, but I don't want to transfer junk to my machine either (and I'm not sure what "junk" on my machine is--I just figure it has some of it?). Maybe Migration Assistant isn't the right way to go? I have an external HD as well.

Suddenly erratic touchpad on MacBook Pro

Navelgazer — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 12:00:32 -0800

My MacBook's touchpad went wrong this morning. Everything I do is suddenly like fighting with a ghost. Mac forums are useless. No problems (of this nature) with the machine before, had it since January of 2012. Running Lion. As of this morning, the touchpad acts extraordinarily erratic. moving my cursor, the pad seemingly cannot tell whether I am using one, two or three fingers, leading to unintentional swiping and pulling up the dashboard, etc. But it does this when nothing is touching it or nearby as well.

This problem comes and goes, so for a few minutes at a time things seem fine, and then become completely unusable. I have cleaned the touchpad, reset the PRAN, done everything the forums say to do, and while some of it might seem to solve the problem for, like, literally one minute, it keeps coming back.

Time and finances are tight, so unless I absolutely have to take it to the store I'm not going to. FWIW, I'm in DC, and it's pretty damn hot and humid here, but this has never happened before.

Thanks!

Why isn't my MacBook waking up?

carmel — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:58:31 -0800

Upgraded MacBook Pro RAM, now having trouble getting it to boot up. It will not turn back on after being in sleep mode overnight, otherwise it has no issues turning back on after sleep mode. I upgraded to 8GB of RAM a few weeks ago. It runs fine on the new RAM, it'll go to sleep and wake up without any issues, unless it's in sleep mode overnight. When I go to bed, I just close the MacBook and it'll go into sleep mode. This is where I'm having trouble: in the mornings it refuses to turn on. It'll just have a black screen and the little light indicating sleep mode doesn't work. I'll then have to turn it off manually by pressing the power button for a while, I'll turn it on, and it'll beep three times (indicating that there's something wrong with my RAM). I open it up (what a pain! At this point I just don't screw the cover back on), take the top RAM module out (the bottom one is fine, as it turns out), put it back in, turn the MacBook back on, works like a charm. It'll also be in sleep mode while I'm at work (which is around 10 hours, longer than how long it's in sleep mode overnight) and when I come back home it never has trouble waking up from sleep mode. It only happens overnight. What's the deal?

The other thing is, I can't get the top RAM module to "click". The bottom RAM module definitely clicks when I put it in, but the top one doesn't. Could this be a part of the problem?

This is a mid 2009 MacBook Pro with an expired warranty, still running Snow Leopard.

Why is there a new user account on my laptop?

iamkimiam — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 01:36:36 -0800

I shut down my Macbook Pro last night and stored it in my locker at uni. When I booted it up this morning there was a new Guest Account option (which is now not an option) and my user icon changed from my personal picture to a baseball. What's going on here?

Help me decided between Macbook Air + Hackintosh or one tricked-out MBP?

nímwunnan — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:03:41 -0800

I am considering three different approaches to a new setup involving the new line of Apple laptops. I'm looking for the best compromise between portability, longevity, and performance. Help me decide please. Criteria:
Want the setup to last 5 years
I will be doing image and video editing regularly, but typically from a home office.
I plan to travel a good deal in this time, with possible extended stays in non-US locations
Compactness and simplicity is important.
I can spend $2000 - $2500

Approaches I'm considering:
Macbook Air + a hackintosh in the smallest possible case
MBP 15 inch with a small SSD for the main drive and an Optibay with a larger conventional HD or a Seagate Hybrid
MPB 13 inch with similar modifications

My questions:
Anyone have any experience making a compact hackintosh?
Good / bad experiences with Optibays?
Good / bad experiences with hybrid drives?
How capable is the new 13 inch MBP? If I trick it out, will it go the distance?
Any other modifications that I haven't listed that you'd do?

USB3 for MacBook

arniec — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 07:05:03 -0800

Does anyone have a recommendation for a USB 3.0 ExpressCard 34 adapter for a late-2011 17" Macbook pro? I love my 17" Macbook Pro and now that they don't make them in 17" any more I want to keep mine for as long as possible. The only thing that would make it better is USB 3.0

I have an ExpressCard 34 slot (as well as a thunderbolt port) and I understand both offer capacity for USB 3.0. I thought the ExpressCard 34 would be ideal as I could leave the USB 3.0 installed and mounted.

But to do this I would like a card that is flush with the laptop; many seem to protrude out. More, it seems like many require their own AC power adapter, which makes portability zero.

I figure there must be a solution to this but I haven't seen any clear answers, and wondered if anyone here had success with this.