Q: upgrading vs. buying new
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Mar 16, 2016 11:47 AMby OGELTHORPE,HelpfulYes, do take them to Apple and find out exactly what needs to be done and the associated costs. That will be information that will aid in an informed decision. Note the evaluation at the genius bar will be FREE.
Look in the refurbished section of the Apple online store and you might find a MBP that fits your budget.
As far as software goes, the newer OSXs are happier with at least 4 GB RAM and better with 8 GB RAM. That means additional dollars would have to be spent. Do that only if you decide to keep them.
Ciao.
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Mar 16, 2016 11:49 AMby dwb,HelpfulCheck this Apple knowledge base page: Vintage and obsolete products - Apple Support Depending on where you live the two computers may no longer be supported by Apple. This would limit your options in terms of upgrading and repairing. If it were me, I’d not spend any money on them. If the 2010 were undamaged it might be a different story. But neither computer will run El Capitan well without RAM upgrades (to 8GB) at a minimum and/or replacing the hard drive with an SSD. Add in a new battery for the 13” or repairs for the 15” and it just begins to make more sense to buy new.
The MacBook Air is a fantastic computer and within your budget. I don’t recommend the base MBP (the model with the optical drive) because it hasn’t been updated for a long time. Apple is keeping it around for those who can’t do without an internal DVD drive. Consider Apple refurbished to save a little money. They come with the same warranty as a new computer and the several I’ve purchased have looked brand new and lasted just as long as the new ones I’ve purchased.
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Mar 16, 2016 12:42 PMby DedeMiller,Oh nice, thanks! I just looked at the vintage list, all three are on there. I guess they will be on the obsolete list soon. Don't ask me why I purchased three computers so close together. I'm sure after the 13", I wished I had bought the 15" size, so I did. The IMac was my first purchase, so it's early 2009. I still have 562.67 GB free (out of 640) on that one. It's a beauty. Bummer that it will eventually stop running, right?
I need to get all my photos off of all three. What can you tell me about that? All I know is that I need an external hard drive. I have two time capsules from years ago as well. Last time I used them was 2011. I can't even remember the passwords for them at this point.
I really appreciate you and dwb taking time to explain this stuff to me.
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Mar 16, 2016 12:56 PMby OGELTHORPE,I am not familiar with Time Capsule details but if you can get them functioning, that would be very good. dwb might give you some thoughts on them. He is technically more knowledgeable and proficient than I am.
I use only 2,5" HDDs for all my needs because I prefer the flexibility they afford (internal as well as external) and they can be USB powered. 3.5" HDDs would be more cost effective for a given capacity so they should not be dismissed for backup purposes.
Ciao.
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Mar 16, 2016 1:55 PMby dwb,TimeCapsules: obviously you’ll need the passwords and if you are lucky they are stored in the Keychain. Launch the Keychain Access program (in the utilities folder) and search for Airport. That should show you a list of all the Airport stations you’ve connected to and unless the keychain has been started since you last used those TCs they should show up. Oh, you’ll want the TCs plugged in too because you’ll have to see the name of the TC to look for its password. So after the search, look for the name of a TC and when you kind it, double click on it. That will open a dialog which has a checkmark labeled Reveal Password. Click on that. You’ll be asked for a password - that is the password of your computer. You should now know the password of that TC.
After logging on to that TC you should be able to use TimeMachine to look through the last backup in that TC listing and see if there are any files on it you want. If so, select them and they’ll be transferred. If you are told something exists with the same name you’ll be given an option to put them into a different folder.
Photos and external drive: we need to know how you are storing your photos. Using iPhoto? In regard to drives, I prefer to make my own buying an enclosure from IcyDock or OWC and then usually a server class Toshiba or Western Digital drive. With pre-made external drives the enclosure tends to be cheap and you don’t know what kind of drive is inside. Building my own lets me control the quality.
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Mar 16, 2016 2:23 PMby dwb,iPhotos by default keeps photos in a monolithic folder called iPhoto Library which is inside the Photos folder. If your computer don't all have the same photos....ouch. If they do, good. Copy the above mentioned file to the external hard drive. If they don't you have two basic choices. Export the photos from each library to a folder and then transfer them to the external. When you get the new computer import them into the Photos program. (Photos replaced iPhoto.) The other method is to choose one library to keep and transfer it. Then export photos from the other two libraries, and transfer to the external. when you get the new computer import the library first, then import the other photos.
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Mar 16, 2016 2:35 PMby DedeMiller,Basically all the same photos, yes. A few newer ones on the 15". I use to upload from my camera to all three computers for safety reasons, in case anything happened to one.
I feel like I have been in a Mac101 class today, and let me just say, I have enjoyed my afternoon! A thousand thank you's to you all.
