Help for a Newbie?

[svm]

I am an freelance IT Consultant who just acquired his second MAC. Unfortunately, this one does not run an OS from ClarisWorks (yes, my last MAC was a PowerPC with a PC board).

While setting up and playing around with the iMAC, I thought I could repair it. So, this is a nice time to learn. The media for MAC OS X Mavericks is not included with the machine. It is also not available to purchase or download from Apple. Am I missing something?

Is the OS X based on Linux? Where is the File Manager/Explorer? How do I uninstall Applications?

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

The file manager is called Finder … it's what you see when the desktop is active & when you press Shift Command () H a Finder window opens. You can navigate around your Home Directory (H is for Home, with the same Shift Command switch out the H for A for Apps & U for Utilities)

Also look at Finder Preferences, found under Finder in the Menubar.

Drag an app to the Trash to uninstall it. Any files left behind are usually miniscule. However some App Installers also come with a dedicated Uninstaller which is needed to do the job properly. Adobe is one that springs to mind.

I believe the OS is based on Linux but I don't know anything about Linux so can't comment further.

Regarding Mac OS X Mavericks, yep it's been removed from the App Store now Yosemite is out but it's available for download if you previously downloaded it. So if that's not the case I can't say where you can source it. If you have previously purchased it just log in to the App Store with your AppleID & look for past purchases & redownload it.

Sorry if this is confusing.

 

[svm]

Spawn,

Thanks. I am trying to download Yosimite now. I don't see a download link for the ISO images. I, typically use the Add/Remove programs in Windows which removes the application. Any left-over folders (Program Files|Program Files (x86) can be removed following the uninstall. How would I clean up in OS X?

I don't see any folders on the hard drive. Is there a file explorer utility?

 

[honestone]

When your Mac boots up to the desktop, there should be an icon of your hard drive, or if it is partitioned, each of its' visible partitions. If you double click on the icon, it will show you all the folders on it. For your "main" drive (the one the machine boots "with"), you should at least an Applications folder (there are at least 5 to 7 other folders you should see). If you double click on the Applications folder, you will see all the programs within that folder.

As for installing Yosemite, if you just do an "upgrade" from Mavericks to Yosemite (probably the safest and easiest thing to do), most of Mavericks' files will remain after the upgrade. Also, after you download Yosemite, it will wind up in your Applications folder, and it says "Install OS X Yosemite". You would then double click that "image", and the process will walk you through step by step to upgrade your OS from Mavericks to Yosemite.

Before you run the update, though, you need to make a copy of that Install OS X Yosemite file to another location. If you are doing it on your internal hard disk, hold down the Option key, and drag that file to the location you want. For example, on my internal hard drive, within the Documents folder, I have another folder called Upgrades, and within that folder, I have one called "OS 10.10.x Upgrades". That is where I places a copy of that file. The reason it's good to do this is that after you do the upgrade, that Install OS X Yosemite file in the Applications folder will be deleted. If you needed that file again, and did not have it saved anywhere, you'd have to download it again.

Also, Apple has already came out with its' first Yosemite update, OS 10.10.1. You can get that from the Apple store also.