11-23-2011, 11:47 AM

i just purchased my first mbp and i have a few basic questions that i think will help me understand the mac os and how it works.

1. when i download a program, the default save location is the download folder. no problem there, however, once i install the program, i have the option to drag the icon to the applications folder, desktop, etc...and i see the message "copying 'insert program name' to 'insert whatever location name'..." which makes sense. however, if i delete the file in the downloads folder and empty the trash, the next time i run the program it tells me it cant find it. this seems a little off, to me. i have a few hundred MBs of programs that i downloaded and i dont want that taking up space, assuming that it is installed in another location, as well. if not, then i have no problem letting the files sit in there, i just want to make sure that a 50mb program isnt taking up 100mb of space, if that makes sense.

2. i didnt get any disks with the system. if my drive crashes, how do i recover? or if i wanted to do a clean install, how do i start from scratch? it is nice that i can buy the OS disk online for 30 dollars, but there is a better way, right? does osx have activation code like MS windows? if so, where do i find that?

sorry for the newb questions, this should be a quick discussion if a mac guru steps in here.

thanks!

11-23-2011, 12:21 PM

Welcome to our Forums.

Let's see if we can answer some of your questions....

When you download a program and double click on it, it should either offer you a choice of dragging it to your Applications folder or it will create a package installer. A package installer is usually used for a more complex installation. In which case you may see an disk like image appear on your desktop.

After the program is installed properly and you have ascertained that it will run, you can drag the downloaded file to the trash and the disk image to the trash. All programs should by default be installed in your applications folder not the desktop.

You have Mac OS X Lion on your new machine. It consists of a main partition where you do all your work and a recovery partition that can be used to recover from or perform maintenance. You can boot to the recovery partition by holding down the OPTION key when booting and choosing Recovery. From Recovery you can reinstall, install clean, perform disk maintenance and so forth.

There are methods where you can create your own install DVD or flash drive. Here's one: LINK (From MacWorld Magazine)

Apple is not MS... no activation required. Apple trusts you.

11-23-2011, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by chscag

Welcome to our Forums.

Let's see if we can answer some of your questions....

When you download a program and double click on it, it should either offer you a choice of dragging it to your Applications folder or it will create a package installer. A package installer is usually used for a more complex installation. In which case you may see an disk like image appear on your desktop.

After the program is installed properly and you have ascertained that it will run, you can drag the downloaded file to the trash and the disk image to the trash. All programs should by default be installed in your applications folder not the desktop.

You have Mac OS X Lion on your new machine. It consists of a main partition where you do all your work and a recovery partition that can be used to recover from or perform maintenance. You can boot to the recovery partition by holding down the OPTION key when booting and choosing Recovery. From Recovery you can reinstall, install clean, perform disk maintenance and so forth.

There are methods where you can create your own install DVD or flash drive. Here's one: LINK (From MacWorld Magazine)

Apple is not MS... no activation required. Apple trusts you.

thanks. still not clear for me, sorry i am a noob.

1. did i say desktop above? sorry if i did, i meant that all the files i have downloaded have saved to the download folder (i saw nothing on the actual desktop). i dont recall the extension off hand, but i do recall dragging the icon it created to the "Applications folder" after i did that, i went to the download folder and deleted the file i downloaded. then i went to the trash and emptied the trash. from there, i went to the applications folder and tried to click on the icon and saw the message that it cant find/run the program. i will test it out again when i get home. thanks.

2. well, that is good to know, i will check this out when i get home. i am going to take a look at the link, but i guess what i should have said was...what if the drive is damaged and the recovery isnt able to load. although, i am sure i can read the link you sent and have that question answered, as well.

thanks.