This guide explains how to set up your Mac, from the first startup to creating and setting up your account.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Difficulty Level: Member
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated time to complete: [1]hour [0]minutes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why This is Needed
Sometimes setting up a new Mac can be confusing: you never know what items to check, and what the best way to optimize your Mac to work the way you want it to run.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prerequisites
- Mac Device
- Apple ID setup
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information to Gather (Questions)
- Would you like to set up your Mac using a backup of a previous device, or would you like to set it up as a new device?
- Would you like to enable location services? This is important for web search, apple maps, spotlight search, and more.
- Do you have an Apple ID?
- If so, what is your Apple ID?
- If not, what information can we use to set it up for you? We will need:
- First Name, Last Name
- Your Birthday
- Desired Username (Please provide 3 options in case they are not available.)
- Desired Password
- The name of your best friend in high school (Security Question)
- The model of your first car (Security Question)
- The name of the street you grew up on (Security Question)
- Would you like to enable Hard Drive Encryption? (FileVault)
- Do you have a subscription to iCloud Drive?
- If so, would you like to offload Mac storage into iCloud Drive?
- If not, would you like to start a subscription to iCloud Drive?
- Do you currently have a backup solution?
- Will more than one account need to be set up?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tools Required
- Mac Device
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steps to take
- Press the power button on your Mac to turn it on
- Select a language. It will be used throughout the whole system.
- Click Continue
- Select a Keyboard Layout. In most cases, this layout will be U.S.
- Click Continue
- Select your Wi-Fi network. Enter your Wi-Fi password.
- Click Continue
- This may take a few minutes, but this is normal.
- If you would like to set up your Mac as a new Mac, select "Don't transfer any information now."
- If you would like to set up your Mac using data from an old Mac, follow this guide.
- If you would like to set up your Mac using data from an old PC, follow this guide.
- Click Continue
- Tick the box, "Enable Location Services on this Mac."
- This is important for Siri, Web Browsing, Search, FindMyMac and more.
- If you do not want Apple to have access to your location and these features do not matter to you, you do not have to check this box, though it is not recommended.
- Click Continue
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- If you don't already have an Apple ID, you can always create one at a later time.
- If you have two-step authentication turned on, you will be asked to verify your identity by inputting a 6-Digit code that will be sent to your other iCloud devices.
- Click Continue
- Click "Agree" to agree to the terms and conditions. This is necessary for you to use your Mac.
- Click "Agree" again to Confirm.
- Enter your full name for your computer.
- If you have already signed in to your Apple ID, this should already be filled out.
- Enter an account name for your computer.
- If you have already signed in to your Apple ID, this should already be filled out.
- Enter a password to secure your Mac.
- Enter a hint as well. This will help you remember your password in case you forget!
- Tick the box, "Allow my Apple ID to reset this password." This will help you regain access to your computer in the event that you forget your password.
- Tick the box to Set time zone based on current location.
- This will only work if you have enabled location services, but it will automatically change if you enter another time zone.
- Click continue.
- If you would like to secure your data with encryption, Tick the box for FileVault disk encryption.
- Also tick the box for "Allow my iCloud account to unlock my disk." This will allow you to access your Mac in the event that you forget your Mac password.
- Click Continue.
- If you would like to offload your data into iCloud to free up space on your Mac, tick the box, "Store files from Documents and Desktop in iCloud.
- This will store files in iCloud to optimize your mac's storage and is recommended, as it is also seen as a backup option.
- This is only viable if you have enough iCloud storage to allow this.
- Click continue.
- Tick the box to Enable Siri on this Mac. Siri is a virtual assistant that can help you complete small tasks.
- Click continue.
- Mac will finalize all of the settings you have selected and set up your desktop environment.
- You may see popups that ask if you want to sign into certain accounts. If you would like to access these accounts easily on your Mac, click Allow, Continue, and Turn on for each notification.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Expected Outcomes
The Mac will be set up per member specification. There will be an account with the Member's name, and will be ready to be configured by a Nerd to allow Nerd access and proper security and remote access software to be installed.
Please share your feedback for this Gizmo Guide with us here.
Source: imore.com