Practically Classics Forum

I have inherited my daughter’s Apple Mac note book lap top thingy that she has been using during her time in secondary school. We have just brought her a new one to see her into sixth form so I thought I would use her old one.
Firstly as its white you can only imagine the state it’s in after being used by a teenager, so does anyone know the best thing to clean it with? I remember a couple of years back it went back to Apple to be repaired under contract and it came back like new.
Second does anyone know how to put windows on an apple (Not the fruit). I know it’s possible because the apple desk tops at school in the media department have windows on them but no one seems to know how it’s done. I asked IT support at school but they are so typically IT geeky that I was gradually loosing the will to live the more I talked to them and came away in a more confused state than when I started.

Hi Minxy

Without trying to be too geeky a computer is well.....a computer. Whether a Mac or a Windows based PC you can install any operating system onto any computer (and there are several others besides Windows and Mac OS). You'll need to completely wipe the hard-drive (by reformatting) and then you can install whatever operating system you want. I'm not sure how to wipe the hard-drive on a Mac but a quick search on t'interweb should get you there.

Once that's done just pop in the Windows install CD and away you go. The only potential issue that might come up is device drivers for the hardware in the Mac. Drivers are those extra bits of software that allow the Mac or PC to talk to things like the sound and graphics cards. Windows should be clever enough to sort all that out though, particularly if it's Vista or 7 that you're installing.

Hope that helps

Dave

I would suggest throwing it in a bin and buying a PC but if you are talking about it's physical apperance if you want to disinfect it i use flash wipes on the work ones (other than on the screen as i have seen people taking the coating off them using kitchen cleaners before). It's amazing how much dirt they get on them!
The reason you get a laptop back from repair looking as good as new is they replace the shell and return it to factory settings with a restore pack. (or dell do as i have at least one a month back from them and they always come back with new plastic surrounds which is nice as the person that it gets given to next thinks they have been given a new laptop)
For the record you CAN'T install any operating system on to any computer, there is much more to it than bunging in an install disc and expecting it to work.
You can install Windows 7 on a macbook but it is nothing like as simple as installing it on the equipment it was designed for:
http://www.reviewmylife.co.uk/blog/2010 ... cbook-pro/

With respect to Dave, As Terry says you can't just install Windows on a Mac. While it's likely that the machine in question has an intel processor, it HAS to have BootCamp installed, which is part of OSX 10.5 and above. This will allow you to make another disc with the appropriate drivers, as Windows does not and is unlikely to ever come with them. BootCamp for 10.5 & 10.6 is intended to allow you to use XP; 10.7 was only released yesterday, so as yet I'm not sure if it'll allow you to use Windows 7 with more ease than other methods. Of course, regardless of which method you use to install it, you'll need to buy a new copy of Windows for this machine if it's never been installed on it before.

If you can't get your daughter to help you install Windows, and you either can't or don't want to use OSX, you'd do best to just sell the Mac & buy a cheap PC; it'll be easier in the long run & you may even profit off it.

i know nothing but will putting it in the dishwasher clean it?

rich said:

i know nothing but will putting it in the dishwasher clean it?

I'm not sure about a Mac, but a teacher once tried it with a Dell notebook and it didn't work afterwards. Another tried Jif (now Cif) - that's not a good idea either!

In the good old days, a Mac with an emulator and Windows ran a heck of a lot slower - I would guess that Intel-based ones won't have that hit. Like most of the population, I know little about them (though used SE30s and Classics many years ago). I gather that viruses aren't such a problem, but the amount of cheap Windows software etc always keeps me stuck with the Microsoft brigade.

Thanks for the replies chaps very much appreciated.

Terry I would agree with the ‘throw it in the bin’ part – it has never been a terribly reliable machine. Luckily we purchased it through my daughters school (The school I now work in) and part of the deal was a four year contract during which it had two screens, three mains leads, screen hinges replaced a battery and two ‘hardware’ issues, I certainly would not buy one through choice.
I do have a desk top PC with windows 7 (As well as my wife, daughter and son having lap tops with windows 7) so I guess if its a major task it possibly isn’t worth doing as I’m only using it as a portable machine as its going spare so-to-speak. Perhaps I would be better trying to embrace the Apple model and learn to love it.
In the meantime I’ll take a brillo pad to it and put it in the washing machine as Rich recommended

Baby wipes! They clean ANYTHING!

mach1rob wrote:Baby wipes! They clean ANYTHING!

except they wont come out of the packet when your halfway through changing a nappy....dishwashers work really well on engine parts just dont do it while the wifes around.

Dishwashers are also really good for cooking fish! Just be sure to remove the Dolomite differential that's in there before adding the fish......

I'm guessing, based on the name of the things, that dishwashers can also wash dishes? Perhaps someone can advise on this one as the one time I've used mine for that purpose, I had to do everything by hand afterwards to get it properly clean. What a big waste of money that gadget turned out to be. Until, that is, I started using it as a parts washer-cum-fish cooking device.