MacMini Problems and Questions

First of all I just got my first ever Macintosh computer. I'm a PC guy and it's a huge problem because I've noticed that Mac's are very limited to what is downloadable. It happens that i got a MacMini last Saturday(4/16)
MacMini problems:
I got the $599 one btw so it came with the stock stuff

Freezes quite often for about 2-15 seconds- this is not playing games either

I've also had problems installing things like Starcraft <-- heh i'm cheap like that :black: but mainly i got Macmini cuz i needed a new comp and it was more of a gift

MacMini is actually pretty nice besides the slow stuff but I'm pretty sure a memory upgrade would do well :yinyang:

Also another problem is the disk burning for some reason when i try to re-burn a CD-RW it will not let me

How do I use .exe, .zip, .dll files on a Mac?

How do i get into "classic mode" on my MacMini because I only have OS 10... and the MacMini doesn't support anything lower(I think)?

I hope you guys can help because I'm so confused by this stuff!


Oh btw Macintosh are pretty sweet- is it true that Mac's cannot get virus's and if so what could possibly use to disable the virus/worm?



Also I would like to have a poll:
What system are you using...
G5
G4 ibook
G4 desktop
G4 mini

Window XP
Window pro

Freezes quite often for about 2-15 seconds- this is not playing games either

Click to expand...

Make sure you run a maintenance tool every so often such as Macjanitor or OnyX (search versiontracker.com)

I've also had problems installing things like Starcraft <-- heh i'm cheap like that but mainly i got Macmini cuz i needed a new comp and it was more of a gift

Click to expand...

You need to get the hybrid version of starcraft that was included in the original version by blizzard. Some repackaged cheap versions don't include the mac installer. Check your box.

MacMini is actually pretty nice besides the slow stuff but I'm pretty sure a memory upgrade would do well

Click to expand...

I also agree that more memory is probably the answer...

Also another problem is the disk burning for some reason when i try to re-burn a CD-RW it will not let me

Click to expand...

Where are you trying to burn the disk? In the finder? Try erasing the cd-rw first. Open applications->utilities->disk utility. In disk utility select the cd from the side bar and then select erase from the top bar.

How do I use .exe, .zip, .dll files on a Mac?

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You don't. .exe & .dll files are windows specific file formats, they can't be opened under OS X. Instead, you need to download mac compatible versions of programs and games. If you need a mac equivalent of a windows program just search in google or at versiontracker and you'll be able to find a mac alternative.

How do i get into "classic mode" on my MacMini because I only have OS 10... and the MacMini doesn't support anything lower(I think)?

Click to expand...

If it's installed, go to system preferences, classic and hit start classic environment. It it isn't installed, you might have to install it off the disks that came with your mini.

Oh btw Macintosh are pretty sweet- is it true that Mac's cannot get virus's and if so what could possibly use to disable the virus/worm?

Click to expand...

That's correct, there are no viruses that can affect Mac OS X, so you don't need a virus scanner / cleaner program.



Hope this helps, *cough*user reputation system*cough*

in os x, much of what you download will be in a .dmg format, this is a disk image, like a virtual cd, just copy its contents to your applications folder if its an app, or it may tell you where to put it, then eject the disk image and delete the .dmg file. .zip is mac compatible compression format, though that doesn't mean what's in the .zip file will be.
for apps, you can try versiontracker.com, macupdate.com, download.com, apple.com>mac os x>downloads, and a few others. and there is no need for virus scanning software unless you are networking your mac with wintel machines, in which case the mac would act as a host and could possibly spread a virus. in os x, more ram=more speed, the more ram you have, the better.

just noticed theres a poll in this topic, I'm running a g4 cube as my profile says.:mac:

I'm a Ex-PC guy too--- I've the 1.4GHz mini no freezing that I can see --- but I have the 512MB upgrade

We just bought a mini, and due to the difference in RAM, the g3 500 we just got rid of was faster, more ram is definitely on the agenda

My only real issue with the mini is too few USB ports - I would like to see 3 or 4 ports --- not sure if this is an issue with the Intrepid IO contorller.

Yes you can run hubs - but some devices - noteably audio devices like to be - or are required to be in the primary plug - not a hub

you can run windows only software under virtual PC, I use this for testing website designs to see what they would like on 98% of the world's computers.

When I first got my Mac Mini it had the stock 256meg of RAM and it did indeed 'pause' from time to time with the pinwheel when switching between some apps. This was expected since extensive research had shown that 256meg of RAM is just not a good idea, but I lived with it for a month just fine. An upgrade to 512meg has since turned this into quite the speedy little box.

My experience in the two months I've owned and used this Mac has guaranteed that personal computers not provided by my employer in the future will be some kind of Mac, and that goes for my wife as well. She's currently using a Windows box that I built for her, and still has much life left in it, but when upgrade time comes, she will be upgrading to a Mac of some sort. This from a person who used primarily Linux and secondarily Windows computers.

ok next step:
1GB of RAM
PC2700 (333MHz) DDR SDRAM

So whats reasonable... I checked Best Buy- they charged about 140 dollars... so I just said forget about it. btw I've heard(searched) and have viewed that their are some 2048MB sticks out there- interesting. Possiblely- some one has checked one out or something
oh and since the Macmini can only go up to 1GB- what would happen if we put a 2GB stick in the slot?

btw can some 1 explain how the memory stick means... i.e. whats PC2700 stand for, SD<--???? and does 333megahertz how fast it runs???