New but old iMac

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Hi all,

I am completely new to Mac, I am an IT Support Engineer, but only really deal with Windows.
I've always dismissed Macs, as I've never had cause to use them, and they seem unjustifiably expensive compared to the equivalent PC, but just lately Microsoft seem to break everything they touch and I really dislike where they're heading with Windows 10, so I figured I'd pick up a cheap second hand Mac and have a play around.

Everyone I know who uses Mac seems very happy with them, and it'll certainly come in handy with my work if I don't have to hand over any Mac related jobs to a colleague, so to eBay I went. Full details of the machine are a bit vague, as the listing was not the greatest (which means I think I have landed myself a bit of a bargain). I believe it is a mid 2011 21.5 inch iMac (listing says it was purchased in 2011, and CPU Speed is listed as 2.5 GHz - previous 2010 model didn't come in 2.5GHz), 12GB RAM and the listing says HDD capacity is 512GB, so I'm guessing it's actually a 500GB HDD.

Obvious questions here are what should I be doing upon arrival of this machine? Assuming this comes with no OS discs is it easy enough to do a clean install, can I download OSX and burn a disc/put it on a flash drive? or would I need to buy new discs from Apple? I know iPhones can remain tied to a particular Apple ID, even with a factory reset. Is the same true for Macs?

Any tips for transitioning from Windows user to macOS user? most useful apps to download etc?
 
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M1 Mac Studio, 11" iPad Pro 3rdGen, iPhone 13 ProMax, Watch S7, 2018 15" MBP, AirPods Pro
The iMacs from 2011, will run OS versions up to macOS High Sierra (10.13). Depending on what the seller did it should have the most current version of the OS, they had installed on it. That model, will run all versions of Mac OS beginning with Snow Leopard (10.6) - 10.13. With Mac OS Lion, Apple started creating a Recovery partition, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314, which will allow you to perform maintenance using Disk Utility, or re-install the OS. Again depending on which version is already installed. If the seller followed Apple's procedures, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201065, then you should get the Mac, and it will start up as your brand new Mac, and you can input your information, or you can also use Migration Assistant, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204087, if you so choose.

Here are a couple of sites I frequent a lot;

EveryMac, https://everymac.com, they have the most comprehensive listing of every Apple/Mac model, with full system specs.
ifixit.com, https://www.ifixit.com, they have Repair Guides for all current, and a lot of older Apple products.

Since you're an IT guy, don't waste resources on virus protection. But Malwarebytes for Mac, https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac/, is good to have. Also, browser content blockers, since adware and

I use Onyx, https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/index.html, for maintenance, very occasionally.
Also, EtreCheck, https://etrecheck.com, which will scan your system, and alert you to any hidden issues, as well as make suggestions.

Others will be along and share their recommendations as well.

Thanks for joining our forums.
 
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Good advice from Bob. Just one small addition: For Malwarebytes, use the free version. It will install the always-resident version and nag you to pay for a month, then revert to the free version. The free only runs when you want it to, which is all you need.

And welcome to the Mac world and to this forum. Come back often, we are here to help.
 
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Welcome!

I too converted from Windows to Mac. I still work in IT and most of our computers are Windows - mostly 10 and a few 7's left over. I totally understand your frustrations with Windows 10. I deal with it everyday. And yes, I can see the writing on the wall so to speak with where Microsoft and Windows 10 are going.

There will be a learning curve. Some things are done differently in Macland as compared to Windowsland. Bob has listed excellent advise as has Jake. The hardest thing will be to avoid installing anti-virus - or at least it was for me. I tried them all and finally figured out I did not need one. Malwarebytes -free edition will do the job.

When you get frustrated post back and we will help. The people on this forum are great and got me up to speed when I started. Now I pass on what I have learned to others to pay back what others took the time to teach me.

Lisa
 
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In addition to what Lisa has said, the best advice I got when shifting from Windows to the Mac was not to try to force the Mac to do things the Windows-way, but to learn how to use the Mac as the developers planned it to be. I find macOS to be much more flexible than Windows was/is and there is usually more than one way to accomplish the same thing. Some like to work with a mouse, some with a trackpad and others prefer keyboard solutions. Typically all three should be available to you in macOS, although the system is really designed around the use of a pointing device like a mouse or trackpad. As Lisa said, there will be a learning curve, but if you just give it a try, I think you'll find the Mac way of doing things starts to make sense pretty quickly. I guess the biggest single difference is that on Windows I seemed to be constantly doing things for the system, whereas on the Mac, the system doesn't need constant care and feeding, freeing me to do what I want the system to do for me instead. So I spend more time getting useful (well, sort of useful) stuff done and less time on maintenance.

And I thoroughly second Lisa's admonition about antivirus software. No viruses exist for the Mac, just some relatively innocuous malware that malwarebytes and a bit of smart surfing can take care of. You also don't need a lot of "tools" to do things. Her sig mentions OnyX, which is free and which does all the "cleaning" you will ever need. I have it and run it about once every 3-6 months, if I remember to do so. As I said, macOS doesn't need a lot of tending. You can get OnyX here: https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html Just make sure you get the version for the version of the macOS you are running.
 
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Wow! 5 replies already. Thanks everyone, some great tips/advice there. I should be getting delivery of my Mac on Thursday, so I look forward to having a play. I honestly think the last Apple computer I properly used was an Apple IIe (showing my age a bit there).
 

chscag

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Welcome to our forums.

We have quite a few members from the UK, so feel free to ask questions about your "new" Mac. I've owned a 2011 21.5" iMac some years back and can relate that it's a good machine. My granddaughter is still using it. :)
 
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Helpful advice everyone. Thanks again. Parcel is tracking with the courier now. I'm quite looking forward to receiving it. ;D
 
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Hi all,
I am completely new to Mac, I am an IT Support Engineer, but only really deal with Windows.
I've always dismissed Macs, as I've never had cause to use them, and they seem unjustifiably expensive compared to the equivalent PC, but just lately Microsoft seem to break everything they touch and I really dislike where they're heading with Windows 10, so I figured I'd pick up a cheap second hand Mac and have a play around.
I hope your iMac teaches you to be open with technology and willing to try new things. Tech prejudices are a handicap to employment. In my current environment we support Windows, macOS, and Linux, and whatever else. It's not without benefit. The $1000 device I am typing on, was given to me, for free, because I will happily use anything given to me for free.
 

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