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General discussion

what/how to use new MBP ?

Nov 22, 2010 2:08PM PST

hi all !
thanks to the very useful suggestions given so patiently on this forum i not only bought the MBP 13 inch basic, but also managed to get a very nice deal on it !
since this is my first time with mac OS, you can guess that the queries are now going to shift.
so quickly -
-should i format the HDD into 2 or 3 partitions like i used to with windows? as you know well we normally make these partitions to make sure that data is protected in case there is a HDD crash.
-should i go for openoffice.org or does neo-office work better?
-any special caution that i need to exercise with macs?

thanks!

Discussion is locked

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That MBP
Nov 22, 2010 9:03PM PST

Formatting the HD.
NO. You may have felt it necessary to do that in Windows but the reasons you give for doing it are not good.
In the even of a HDD crash, ALL the partitions will be gone. Crashed HD = No Partitions.

Use whichever version of the free Office products you feel comfortable with. They are both free and can be uninstalled if you do not like them.

No special cautions when using that MBP, just remember that it is not Windows and that things are different.

Enjoy the MBP

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windows vs. mac
Nov 22, 2010 11:55PM PST

thanks,
see the basic idea in the windows systems is to sort of follow the "dont put all your eggs in one basket" maxim. since its the C drive that crashes in the event of a virus induced or other problem, the idea is simply to have important data on the D or E drive where the OS is not installed.
so i was wondering if something similar happnes with macs ...
of course not the viruses, but generally is it a good idea to partition the HDD ? without formatting it since of course its brand new now ...
thanks!

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Partitioning a Drive
Nov 23, 2010 8:58AM PST

Your reasoning is flawed.

You are not talking about a HD crash but an OS crash.

If that is the case, you simply reinstall the OS, run Time Machine and you are back in business with no loss of data.
An archive and install covers that without the need to replace any of your data.

I can think of no good reason for formatting a Hard Drive.

I'm sure others think differently though

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It doesn't work that way
Nov 23, 2010 9:32AM PST

It doesn't work that way. The major flaw is, as pointed out, if the drive itself fails, it doesn't matter how you split up the partitions. The other issue, is that with Windows, outside of saving documents, there's really no benefit to be had due to the way Windows is structured. Also, it's pretty easy for a virus/worm/trojan/whatever to simply jump partitions. Trivially easy. That's how viruses spread in the pre-Internet days. They'd lodge themselves onto floppy disks, and then copy themselves onto any computer when you accessed that floppy disk. If your user account can access those files, any program running on your computer, including a virus/worm/whathaveyou, can as well.

Mac OS X, being based on Unix, could potentially benefit to a larger degree, but you'd have to do this manually. There's no way, that I'm aware of, using the Mac OS X installer, to say that you want your /User directory on one partition, all the Unix level /bin and /sbin stuff on another, /usr on a third, etc. With a lot of work, you could probably do this manually, but why? It's generally a whole lot easier to just back up the things you don't want to lose and restore them if things turn pear shaped.

And just a quick aside, Archive and Install went away with 10.6. I believe that 10.6 is designed such that it can be installed over an existing OS, in place, so you don't need to do the whole archive bit. Though, to be honest, this is just based on what I remember from when I ran through my recertification material. I remember it was removed, I'm pretty sure that was the reason given, but trust my memory alone at your own peril.

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Archive and install
Nov 23, 2010 9:02PM PST

is now the default install is there is already a valid system on the drive.
You no longer have to specifically ask for it, as you used to have to.

It's still there


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