Just bought a Mac Book Pro Feb 2011 from Cowboom - What to expect?

[KCETech1]

Originally Posted by vodkawow

The thumbdrive has OS Lion on it already? is there anyway to copy the entire HDD to SSD?

doing a disk image from hdd to ssd in my experience is not advisable, you want to load the OS, you also realky want the bootcamp drivers etc off the install media.

[masterchef341]

what's on the HDD right now? an OS X install or windows or what? If you just bought it, it's probably blank. It certainly won't have any of your personal data on it, so there's no point copying the image over.

Here's what you do.

1. Buy an 8 GB USB stick, here, for $8. (You're going to buy from newegg via eBay): Transcend JetFlash 500 8GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive (Blue) Model TS8GJF500 | eBay

2. When the computer arrives, open it up.
3. Launch the app store application.
4. Log in with your Apple ID (or make an apple account if you don't have one), and buy and download OS X Lion ($29) using your Apple ID.
5. Make a cup of coffee or take a walk, while Lion downloads. Several GB.
6. Search google to find out how to get OS X Lion from the app store onto a flash drive.
7. Follow those instructions, and put OS X Lion on your flash drive.
8. Turn off the computer and replace the HDD with the SSD.
9. Plug in the flash drive and turn on the computer, hold the option key.
10. Boot from the USB and install Lion (may require your credentials to install)
11. Change your Apple ID password, it's no longer secure. (This is the password to sign into the app store, unrelated to the password used to sign into your computer).
12. Write down your windows license key and specific version (home premium, ultimate, professional).
13. Using Mac OS X, download the windows installation disc. Select the version that goes with your key. Perfectly legal and safe from this link (but not from just any link): Download Windows 7 ISO (Official 32-bit and 64-bit Direct Download Links) My Digital Life
14. Insert the flash drive into your computer. OS X will correctly see this as a Mac OS X installation drive.
15a. Launch the boot camp application. Follow the instructions. Along the way, it may ask you for a windows ISO (point it to the one you downloaded) and for a usb flash drive (point it to your flash drive which currently has OS X).
15b. If step 15 worked, Mac OS X will automatically put the windows installer on the USB drive. This is very helpful. It works with the core i macbook airs. If this functionality isn't included, quit the boot camp application for now, and get a blank writable DVD. Open the disk utility application and burn your windows disc image file onto that DVD.
16. Once that is complete, go back to the boot camp application, and make sure you have followed the provided steps, then reboot. You may need to hold the option key and select the windows install DVD (which you just made), but it probably knows to select this based on your interaction with the boot camp application from a few moments ago.
17. Install windows. Be careful with the partitions, you should have made one specifically for windows.
18. Hold option during boot to switch operating systems.
19. Marvel.

[KCETech1]

masterchief, all I would change is #13 and use this link
Legal Download from DigitalRiver: Windows 7 SP1, 13 languages

it has service pack 1 on the image and prevents alot of additional downloads and installs to update windows 7

[SemiExpert]

I have the impression that Cowboom is selling Best Buy store returns. Some are probably nearly new, some are probably badly beaten up. Either way, Best Buy can afford to offer a discount through Cowboom due to the fact they've already kept the restocking fee from the original owner.

I've heard the real Cowboom fans buy 5 Macbooks, keep the best one and return the other 4?

[jamezr]

Originally Posted by SemiExpert

I have the impression that Cowboom is selling Best Buy store returns. Some are probably nearly new, some are probably badly beaten up. Either way, Best Buy can afford to offer a discount through Cowboom due to the fact they've already kept the restocking fee from the original owner.

I've heard the real Cowboom fans buy 5 Macbooks, keep the best one and return the other 4?

Yikes...spend 5 to 6 grand just to get one good Macbook? I would rather pay retail or buy refurbished from Apple....

[jamezr]

Originally Posted by vodkawow

Just bought a Mac Book Pro Feb 2011 from Cowboom - What to expect?

Apple MacBook Pro 13.3 Laptop i5 2.3GHz 4GB 320GB DVDRW
Condition: Like New
Included: 13.3'' Macbook Pro Laptop, Battery, Ac Adapter, Ac Power Cord, O/s Installed
Not Included: Os Media, Manual
Product Grade: 8 - Almost new, minor signs of use


Subtotal:
Shipping:
Tax: $799.99
$0.00
$50.80
Total: $850.79

Pretty good price. Also bought SSDs from Newegg as well. This MBP does not come with the OS disk so how can I install windows onto my SSD? Thanks.

So did you receive it yet? What was the condition? Would you buy from Cowboom again?

[kornchild2002]

Is it just me or does that price seem a little high? Microcenter is selling the updated version with a 500GB hard drive for $999 in their stores brand new (no open box, no "slightly" used, nothing like that). I know it is an extra $200 but that is for a completely new system that comes with absolutely everything including working hardware. I guess I just don't see why they aren't charging less for that especially since it was an early 2011 MBP (came out about a year ago).

[SemiExpert]

Originally Posted by kornchild2002

Is it just me or does that price seem a little high? Microcenter is selling the updated version with a 500GB hard drive for $999 in their stores brand new (no open box, no "slightly" used, nothing like that). I know it is an extra $200 but that is for a completely new system that comes with absolutely everything including working hardware. I guess I just don't see why they aren't charging less for that especially since it was an early 2011 MBP (came out about a year ago).

Hey, this is Best Buy we're talking about. Microcenter takes gives a $100 discount for an openbox notebook, while Best Buy charges you an extra $100 to turn your new notebook into and openbox notebook.

Microcenter is awesome, Best Buy is awful and their subsidiary Cowboom resells store returns, while Best Buy keeps the restocking fees.

Cowboom is nothing like Amazon Warehouse, which frequently sells brand new, zero hour Macbooks as "used - like new." Yup, Amazon has been known to misrepresent brand spanking new unopened Macbooks as "used." Now that's the type of false representation that I can buy into.

[SemiExpert]

Originally Posted by jamezr

Yikes...spend 5 to 6 grand just to get one good Macbook? I would rather pay retail or buy refurbished from Apple....

Well, yeah, this is Cowboom we're talking about. I'd think that buying refurbished from Apple would be a safer bet, but some people probably think it's fun to order 5, keep 1 and send back 4.

Think of a Cowboom Macbook Pro like a Woot "bag of crap." You never know what you'll get and that's half the fun of it. Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose, and that's why the real pros buy so many just to get a good one. There are a lot of otherwise normal people who think that buying a few dozen "bags of crap" during a Woot-off is a better investment than playing the lottery.