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How To Set Up New Mac Mini

Hands holding an Apple MacBook Pro box.
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Macs have a pretty elementary setup process, and Apple tree'southward macOS will walk you through what you need to do. Just that'southward just one role of the setup process. Hither'due south a checklist of things you should do to ready your Mac after clicking through the basics.

The Initial Setup

Apple'south initial setup procedure is almost foolproof, and then we won't spend as well long walking yous through it. The showtime matter y'all'll need to do is unbox your car and connect it to a power outlet. If you have an iMac, then you'll also demand to connect a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.

With everything connected and plugged in, it's time to hit the ability push button on your Mac. On nigh machines, this is located in the superlative-right corner of the keyboard. If your Mac has a Affect ID sensor, press that instead.

First of all, you'll need to select a land, language, and wireless network. If you would rather use an Ethernet connection, you can connect your Mac to a wired network instead. Finally, choose whether or not y'all want to movement information to your new Mac using Migration Banana.

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Bold you're setting your Mac up as a new computer, y'all'll next be asked to enable Location Services (GPS) and log in with your Apple tree ID. If you lot don't nonetheless have an Apple ID, y'all'll be invited to create one. One time you're signed in, at that place's 1 concluding Terms and Conditions document to accept.

Next, macOS will prompt y'all to set up iCloud, FaceTime, and iMessage. Add any additional email addresses y'all would like to employ with FaceTime and iMessage, so move on to the next stage of the setup and enable Find My Mac as a security provision. This feature lets you detect and remotely wipe your Mac in case information technology goes missing.

Side by side, yous'll exist asked to fix upwardly your user account, but only if you're setting up a new Mac rather than restoring from an old i. Add your proper name, password, and select an epitome that yous would like to see next to your login icon. You tin change this later. Enable "Allow My Apple tree ID to Reset This User's Password" to allow for countersign resets over the net in case you forget your login details.

Finally, you can set a Time Zone (your Mac volition automatically observe it if you enable Location Services) and choose to register your Mac with Apple. And then you tin click Continue and beginning using your new Mac.

RELATED: How to Support Your Stuff and Switch to a New Mac

Install the Latest Updates to macOS

In that location are likely updates or even a major operating organisation upgrades bachelor to install on your new machine. Offset, bank check to encounter which version of macOS you are running by clicking on the Apple logo in the top-left corner, so choosing Well-nigh This Mac. You can check the latest version on Apple'south website.

If your Mac isn't running the latest and greatest version of macOS, yous will probable want to upgrade information technology before y'all take the process whatsoever further. To practice this, caput to System Preferences > Software Update and wait for the tool to refresh.

Your Mac will check with Apple whether or not any updates are available, and you'll exist invited to install them. Click the "Advanced" button to reveal options for automatically keeping your Mac and its apps up to date.

If a new release of macOS is available, it will exist listed at the height of this window. Click "Upgrade Now" and await for the download to consummate. Once information technology has finished, the installation process will begin, or you can launch the "Install macOS <name>" app in your Applications folder (replacing <proper noun> with the current iteration's title).

Installing a new version of macOS tin can have a little while, and so brand sure you set aside xxx-60 minutes for the procedure to complete. Your Mac will restart several times during this process.

RELATED: How to Update Your Mac and Go on Apps Up to Engagement

Finalize Your Setup

Now that you're running the most upwardly-to-date version of macOS, it's time to finish setting upward your Mac.

Ready Fourth dimension Car Backups

Set Up Time Machine in macOS

To use Fourth dimension Machine, you lot'll demand a bulldoze with at least as much free space equally the full size of your Mac. Having a larger drive will allow you to store older versions of files, merely isn't necessary if all you want is a working fill-in. The easiest fashion to gear up Time Motorcar is with an inexpensive external difficult drive.

Connect the drive you lot want to apply to your Mac and navigate to System Preferences > Time Machine. Click on Select Disk to nominate the drive yous just added and confirm your selection. Time Auto volition now brainstorm its initial backup, and will automatically back up your Mac whenever that drive is continued.

You don't have to use an external bulldoze for this purpose. You tin can use another Mac for Fourth dimension Auto backups, or fifty-fifty a networked Raspberry Pi. It's also possible to sectionalisation your Time Machine drive and use it to store files too.

RELATED: How to Use a Time Auto Drive for Both File Storage and Backups

Enable FileVault Encryption

Enable Filevault on macOS

FileVault is the deejay encryption software that Apple tree bundles with macOS. It's free and offers the blank minimum of security, so if yous're concerned most your data, y'all may want to enable it. Enabling FileVault volition hateful that you always need to login to your Mac with a countersign. While information technology'south mostly enabled by default, it'southward a good idea to double-check.

Head to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault and click "Turn On FileVault…" to enable the characteristic (click on the padlock and enter your admin countersign starting time). You'll be invited to create and store a recovery key in iCloud behind three recovery questions, or to create a local recovery key consisting of random letters and numbers which yous store by yourself.

You'll need a recovery central in case y'all e'er forget your FileVault password. Make certain yous are comfortable with the recovery key method yous are choosing, and if you lot opt to make a local recovery key, then make certain you keep it somewhere you tin can access it (not on your chief startup deejay, which is what you are encrypting).

Connect Email, Calendar, and Other Services

Set Up Internet Accounts in macOS

If you lot want to fix up Mail for use with your email accounts or integrate your Google or Outlook calendars into Apple tree's Agenda app, you lot'll need to prepare your various accounts. Caput to System Preferences > Internet Accounts and click on the account blazon y'all would like to add together.

While adding an account, y'all'll exist asked to enable features similar mail, agenda, contacts, and notes. If you have a CalDAV, CardDAV, LDAP, or regular old POP3 or IMAP email accost, click "Add Other Account" and choose the appropriate option.

Set Other Accounts & Parental Controls

Create User Accounts in macOS

Are there any other members of your family, household, or function that will be using this Mac? Head to Arrangement Preferences > Users & Groups to add new accounts. You'll need to click on the padlock icon and enter your admin countersign to make changes. You tin can and then click on the plus "+" icon to create new accounts.

Add together details like full name, account name, password, and the business relationship type then click on "Create User" to finalize. If you want to impose parental controls on the account, visit System Preferences > Screen Time to apply app limits and content or privacy restrictions on the type of content the account can admission.

Tweak macOS to Your Liking

Now that you've prepare all of the of import stuff, it's time to tweak macOS until you're happy with the way that it looks and feels.

Ready Pointing Devices

Customize Trackpad Behavior in macOS

If y'all have a laptop or a Mac with a Magic Trackpad, yous'll likely want to customize the way your pointing device behaves. Head to Organisation Preferences > Trackpad to see the diverse gestures available to you. You can customize these gestures or simply hover over them to encounter a video example.

This is your opportunity to change the way macOS scrolls. If you lot aren't addicted of the touchscreen-inspired "Natural" scrolling, and then click on "Scroll & Zoom" and disable "Scroll direction: Natural" to reverse it. If you take a Magic Mouse instead, head to System Preferences > Mouse to fix double click and tracking speed.

Customize the Dock

Customize Dock Behavior in macOS

Click and drag on an icon out of the dock then release it to remove it entirely. You won't exist deleting the app or folder, just the shortcut. Drag an app from your Applications folder to the dock to pivot information technology, or launch the app so right-click (two-finger click with a trackpad) on the icon and select Options > Keep in Dock.

Head to Organisation Preferences > Dock to see even more options. You can choose to position information technology on the left, right, and bottom edges of your screen, enable auto-hide, tweak the dock size, enable the magnification animation, and more.

Enable Night Mode

Enable Dark Mode in macOS

macOS at present has Nighttime Way, and it looks great whether or not you lot primarily utilize your Mac in dim conditions. Head to System Preferences > General and toggle Appearance between Lite, Night, and Auto. If you choose, Auto macOS will automatically enable dark style based on the time of day.

Disable Autocorrect

Disable Autocorrenct in macOS

For some reason, macOS still enables autocorrect by default on every new Mac. While autocorrect is a lifesaver when typing with a bear on-based keyboard, it'due south by and large unnecessary on a total-size hardware keyboard. It's piece of cake to feel like autocorrect is "fighting" what you're trying to blazon.

If you lot don't like this, you can disable the feature under System Preferences > Keyboard > Text. Disable "Correct spelling automatically" and "Capitalize words automatically" to disable autocorrect entirely. You tin as well turn off "Add together period with double-space" if you don't use the feature.

Accommodate Resolution Scaling

Set Display Scaling in macOS

Yous tin scale the brandish resolution of your Mac to fit more or less on-screen at once. If y'all choose to accept more than on-screen, things will announced smaller. The text will be harder to read, and everything will experience somewhat "zoomed out" compared to the default setting. Or, if you want elements on the screen to be larger, you lot can become the other way and "zoom in."

Head to Organisation Preferences > Displays, and select "Scaled" then cull a new resolution. Y'all can ever drop back to "Default" if you don't similar what you lot see.

Configure Secondary Displays

If yous intend to connect a secondary or tertiary display for use with your Mac, now's the time. Plug the monitor in and power it upward, and then launch System Preferences > Displays. You'll demand to configure your display according to where it is positioned on your desk, and pick a resolution and refresh rate you're happy with.

Tweak the Keyboard

Set Keyboard Preferences in macOS

Head to System Preferences > Keyboard to view keyboard preferences. Most of these options will be best left at their default settings unless you feel the demand to modify them based on usage.

You tin add text expansion shortcuts under the Text tab, for case, y'all might desire to replace ":shrug:" with "¯\_(ツ)_/¯" or ":myaddress:" with your home address for quicker typing.

Under "Input Sources," you can install different keyboard layouts if you want. For case, if you utilize the "British" layout, you can type the "£" symbol by property Shift + 3.

Are y'all using a third party hardware keyboard intended for Windows? A complimentary app called Karabiner-Elements will let you to reconfigure each cardinal, including the Windows keys and unsupported media keys, for a much better macOS feel.

Tweak the Bear upon Bar

Customize MacBook Pro with TouchBar
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If you have a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, you can configure what is displayed by launching an app and then selecting View > Customize Affect Bar. Yous can drag and drop controls into the Touch Bar panel based on what yous most usually utilise.

You can likewise head to System Preferences > Keyboard to encounter other Touch Bar options. Click on Customize Control Strip to change which system-wide control buttons are displayed (including book and media controls).

Customize Siri

Customize Siri Preferences in macOS

You tin can change everything well-nigh Siri, including the keyboard shortcut, language, voice profile, and whether or not to receive voice feedback under System Preferences > Siri.

If you disable "Enable Ask Siri," then you will turn the feature off entirely. Siri tin can exist used to do some useful things on macOS, like finding files for you and pinning dynamic data to your Today screen.

Ready Touch ID

If your Mac has a fingerprint reader, you lot may accept already ready Affect ID. If non, you tin do and then now under Organisation Preferences > Touch ID. You lot can enable Touch ID for the following:

  • Unlocking your Mac
  • Paying for items with Apple tree Pay
  • Paying for and downloading items from the App Store, iTunes, Apple Books
  • Filling in Passwords and other Saved Credentials

All of these are useful and worth enabling. You can besides add together a secondary fingerprint here if y'all want.

Enable Battery Percent View

Enable Battery Percentage Indicator

If your new Mac is a laptop, there's a good take a chance you'll appreciate a battery percentage counter in the top-correct corner, rather than the vague battery symbol that'south displayed by default.

To do this, click on the battery indicator in the top-right and select Show Percentage. Don't forget; you tin too click on the battery indicator at any point to see whatever apps that are using a significant amount of free energy, which is useful when trying to conserve battery ability.

Enable Dark Shift

Enable Night Shift in macOS

Nighttime Shift is a feature that emulates the setting sun'southward orangish glow to promote meliorate slumber. It does this by removing every bit much blue lite as possible. You can enable the feature nether Arrangement Preferences > Displays > Dark Shift.

You lot can set a "Sunset to Sunrise" schedule, which will employ atmospheric condition information to make up one's mind when to enable or disable the feature, or set your ain custom schedule. Drag the "Color Temperature" slider to your desired level of blueish lite reduction.

You tin can instantly disable or enable Night Shift past bringing up the Today screen (click on the icon in the top-right corner of your screen), so scrolling up to reveal the Night Shift option.

Customize Your Wallpaper

Set Desktop Image and Screen Saver in macOS

Apple tree includes some amazing desktop wallpapers with macOS. Head to System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver to browse what's already available. Choose "Dynamic" wallpapers to see your wallpaper change depending on the fourth dimension of twenty-four hour period.

Install the Essential Apps

The last stage of setting up your Mac is to install whatever additional apps you want to use. We recommend using Safari equally your master browser since it's well-optimized for both functioning and energy efficiency in macOS. A 2d browser is handy to have around, then we'd recommend grabbing Chrome or Firefox too.

Firefox for Mac

Adjacent, grab whatever big software suites that you regularly use like Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Cloud. Alternatives you lot might want to look at include LibreOffice or Apple tree's own iWork suite.

You should be using a password manager, so download LastPass, 1Password, Dashlane, or whatever it is you are using. If you lot're already using Apple's iCloud keychain, then yous only need to brand certain you're signed in to your Apple ID under System Preferences.

MPV for Mac

You may need a media actor too for the many unsupported filetypes that QuickTime Histrion doesn't support. Download VLC or MPV and install them. If you're a keen user of deject storage, so yous'll desire to grab Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or whichever solution you lot adopt.

It's also worth checking your Mac App Store purchase history for any apps you may have forgotten. Launch the Mac App Store so click on your name in the lesser-left corner to see a list of by purchases. Click the deject icon side by side to each ane to download them.

Vanilla for Mac

Later all that, you might want to download Vanilla to cutting down on carte du jour bar icons and keep everything nicely organized. For even more suggestions, check these must-have apps for new Mac owners.

RELATED: How to Install Applications On a Mac: Everything You Demand to Know

Finishing Touches

You're now set to use your Mac. There are a few other tasks that y'all might desire to perform in the background while you kick the tires on your new machine:

  • Launch Mail service (if y'all're using it, or another email app) and let it download your mail history. Depending on the size of your inbox, this can take a long time.
  • Open up Photos and set upwards iCloud Photo Library if y'all're using it. Requite it a bit of time to download your library. You tin choose betwixt "optimized" copies and full-sized originals.
  • Launch the Music, Podcasts, and TV apps and sign in to each, then permit iCloud sync your library so that your entertainment is gear up-to-get when you lot want it.

Just what if you lot're non setting up your new Mac from scratch? Learn how to support and motion to a new Mac without setting everything upward again.

How To Set Up New Mac Mini,

Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/449715/how-to-set-up-your-new-mac/

Posted by: olmsteadshowelve.blogspot.com

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