Congratulations, you and your MacBook Air were made for each other. Built-in iSight camera Video chat with up to three friends anywhere in the world at the same time. www.apple.com/macbookair Mac Help isight Finder Browse the contents of your computer using Cover Flow. www.apple.com/macosx Mac Help finder Time Machine Automatically back up your files to an extra hard drive. www.apple.com/macosx Mac Help time machine iMovie Collect all your video in one library. Create and share movies in minutes. www.apple.com/ilife/imovie iMovie Help movie iPhoto Organize all your photos with Events. Publish to a Web Gallery with a click. www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto iPhoto Help photo GarageBand Create music by adding musicians to a virtual stage. Enhance your song to sound like a pro. www.apple.com/ilife/garageband GarageBand Help record iWeb Create beautiful websites with photos, movies, blogs, podcasts, and dynamic web widgets. www.apple.com/ilife/iweb iWeb Help website Contents Chapter 1: Ready, Set Up, Go 8 9 10 15 16 19 22 Welcome What's in the Box Setting Up Your MacBook Air Setting Up DVD or CD Sharing Migrating Information to Your MacBook Air Getting Additional Information onto Your MacBook Air Putting Your MacBook Air to Sleep or Shutting It Down Chapter 2: Life with Your MacBook Air 26 28 30 32 34 35 Basic Features of Your MacBook Air Keyboard Features of Your MacBook Air Ports on Your MacBook Air Using the Trackpad and Keyboard Running Your MacBook Air on Battery Power Getting Answers Chapter 3: Problem, Meet Solution 40 Problems That Prevent You from Using Your MacBook Air 44 Using Apple Hardware Test Contents 5 45 49 51 51 53 53 56 Reinstalling Software Using Remote Install Mac OS X Reinstalling Software Using the MacBook Air SuperDrive Problems with AirPort Extreme Wireless Communication Problems with Your Internet Connection Keeping Your Software Up to Date Learning More, Service, and Support Locating Your Product Serial Number Chapter 4: Last, but Not Least 58 60 62 64 65 Important Safety Information Important Handling Information Understanding Ergonomics Apple and the Environment Regulatory Compliance Information Looking for Something? 70 Index 6 Contents 1 1 Ready, Set Up, Go www.apple.com/macbookair Mac Help Migration Assistant Welcome Congratulations on purchasing a MacBook Air. Your MacBook Air is streamlined for portability and a completely wireless experience. Read this chapter for help getting started setting up and using your MacBook Air.  If you know you will primarily be downloading applications and content from the Internet and not migrating information from another Mac, you can follow the basic instructions to set up your MacBook Air quickly.  If you want to migrate information from another Mac or get content from CDs or DVDs onto your MacBook Air, you can identify one or more Mac or Windows computers to partner with your MacBook Air. Important: Read all the installation instructions (and the safety information starting on page 57) carefully before you first use your computer. Many answers to questions can be found on your computer in Mac Help. For information about getting Mac Help, see "Getting Answers" on page 35. Apple may release new versions and updates to its system software, so the images shown in this book may be slightly different from what you see onscreen. 8 Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go What's in the Box ® Micro-DVI to VGA Adapter AC plug 45W MagSafe Power Adapter AC power cord Micro-DVI to DVI Adapter Important: Remove the protective film covering the 45W MagSafe Power Adapter before setting up your MacBook Air. About Optical Discs Although your MacBook Air doesn't have an optical disc drive, it does include DVD discs with important software. You can easily access this software, as well as install applications and access data from other optical discs, using the optical disc drive on another Mac or Windows computer. You can also use the optional MacBook Air SuperDrive, an external optical disc drive. Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go 9 Setting Up Your MacBook Air Your MacBook Air is designed so that you can set it up quickly and start using it right away. The following pages take you through the setup process, including these tasks:  Plugging in the 45W MagSafe Power Adapter  Turning on your MacBook Air and using the trackpad  Using Setup Assistant to access a network and configure a user account and other settings  Setting up the Mac OS X desktop and preferences Step 1: Plug in the 45W MagSafe Power Adapter to provide power to the MacBook Air and charge the battery. Insert the AC plug of your power adapter into a power outlet and the MagSafe connector into the MagSafe power port, located on the back left side of your MacBook Air. As the MagSafe connector gets close to the port, you'll feel a magnetic pull drawing it in. AC plug MagSafe connector ¯ MagSafe power port ® AC power cord 10 Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go To extend the reach of your power adapter, replace the AC plug with the AC power cord. First pull the AC plug up to remove it from the adapter, and then attach the included AC power cord to the adapter, making sure it is seated firmly. Plug the other end into a power outlet. When disconnecting the power adapter from an outlet or from the computer, pull the plug, not the cord. When you first connect the power adapter to your MacBook Air, an indicator light on the MagSafe connector starts to glow. An amber light indicates that the battery is charging. A green light indicates that the battery is fully charged. If you don't see a light, make sure the connector is seated properly and the power adapter is plugged into a power outlet. Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go 11 Step 2: Press the power (®) button briefly to turn on your MacBook Air. You will hear a tone when you turn on the computer. ® Power button ® Trackpad Trackpad button It takes the computer a few moments to start up. After it starts up, Setup Assistant opens automatically. If your computer doesn't turn on, see "If your MacBook Air doesn't turn on or start up" on page 42. 12 Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go Step 3: Configure your MacBook Air with Setup Assistant The first time you turn on your MacBook Air, Setup Assistant starts. Setup Assistant helps you enter your Internet information and set up a user account on your MacBook Air. You can also migrate information from another Mac during setup. Note: If you don't use Setup Assistant to transfer information when you first start up your MacBook Air, you can do it later using Migration Assistant. Go to the Applications folder, open Utilities, and double-click Migration Assistant. To set up your MacBook Air: 1 In the Setup Assistant, follow the onscreen instructions until you get to the "Do You Already Own a Mac?" screen. 2 Do a basic setup or a setup with migration:  To do a basic setup, select "Do not transfer my information now" and click Continue. Follow the remaining prompts to select your wireless network, set up an account, and exit Setup Assistant.  To do a setup with migration, first set up another Mac that has an optical disc drive to partner with (see "Setting Up DVD or CD Sharing" on page 15). Then go to page 16, "Migrating Information to Your MacBook Air." Note: If you've already started Setup Assistant on your MacBook Air, you can leave it mid-process without quitting, move to the other computer to install the DVD or CD Sharing Setup software, and then return to your MacBook Air to complete the setup. Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go 13 Step 4: Customize the Mac OS X desktop and set preferences. You can quickly make the desktop look the way you want using System Preferences. Choose Apple () > System Preferences from the menu bar or click the System Preferences icon in the Dock. System Preferences is your command center for most settings on your MacBook Air. Menu bar Help menu Spotlight search icon Dock Finder icon System Preferences icon 14 Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go Setting Up DVD or CD Sharing You can partner your MacBook Air with another Mac or Windows computer that has an optical disc drive and is on the same wired or wireless network. Use this other computer to:  Migrate information to your MacBook Air, if the other computer is a Mac (see "Migrating Information to Your MacBook Air" on page 16)  Share the contents of DVDs or CDs (see "Sharing Discs with DVD or CD Sharing" on page 19)  Remotely install Mac OS X (see "Reinstalling Software Using Remote Install Mac OS X" on page 45) or use Disk Utility (see "Using Disk Utility" on page 49) The computer with the optical drive can be a Mac with Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later, or a Windows XP or Windows Vista computer. You can partner with more than one other computer. Mac or Windows computer MacBook Air Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go 15 Insert the Mac OS X Install Disc 1 that came with your MacBook Air to install the DVD or CD Sharing Setup, which includes software for DVD or CD Sharing, Migration Assistant, and Remote Install Mac OS X:  If the other computer is a Mac, double-click the DVD or CD Sharing Setup package on the Mac OS X Install Disc 1.  If the other computer is a Windows computer, choose "DVD or CD Sharing" from the Install Assistant that starts automatically. Migrating Information to Your MacBook Air You can migrate existing user accounts, files, applications, and other information from another Mac computer. To migrate information to your MacBook Air: 1 Configure the other Mac (see page 15), and then make sure that it is turned on and that it is on the same wired or wireless network as your MacBook Air. Check the AirPort (Z) status icon in the menu bar at the top of the other Mac screen to see what wireless network you're connected to. Choose the same network for your MacBook Air during setup. 2 On your MacBook Air, follow the Setup Assistant onscreen instructions until you get to the "Do You Already Own a Mac?" screen. Select "from another Mac" as the source of the information you want to transfer. On the next screen, choose your wireless network, and then click Continue. 16 Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go 3 When you see the Connect To Your Other Mac screen with a passcode displayed, do the remaining steps on the other Mac. You will enter the passcode in Migration Assistant on the other Mac. 4 On the other Mac, open Migration Assistant (located in /Applications/Utilities/), and then click Continue. 5 When you are prompted for a migration method, select "To another Mac" and then , click Continue. 6 On the other Mac, quit any other open applications and then click Continue. Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go 17 7 On the other Mac, enter the six-digit passcode displayed in Setup Assistant on your MacBook Air. 8 Click Continue to start the migration. Important: Don't use the other Mac for anything else until the migration is complete. 18 Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go Getting Additional Information onto Your MacBook Air Your MacBook Air comes with several applications installed, including the iLife '08 suite. Many other applications can be downloaded from the Internet. If you want to install third-party applications from CD or DVD, you can:  Install applications onto your MacBook Air using the optical disc drive on another Mac or Windows computer (if DVD or CD Sharing is set up and enabled). Read the next section for more information.  Attach the MacBook Air SuperDrive (an external USB optical disc drive available separately at www.apple.com/store) to the USB port on your MacBook Air, and insert your installation disc. Sharing Discs with DVD or CD Sharing You can enable DVD or CD Sharing on a Mac or Windows computer so that your MacBook Air can share the discs you insert into the optical disc drive of the other computer. Some discs, such as DVD movies and game discs, may be copy-protected and therefore unusable through DVD or CD Sharing. Make sure you first install the DVD or CD Sharing Setup software on any Mac or Windows computer you want to partner with. See page 15 for more information. To enable DVD or CD Sharing, if your other computer is a Mac: 1 Make sure the other Mac and your MacBook Air are on the same wireless network. Check the AirPort (Z) status icon in the menu bar to see what network you're connected to. Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go 19 2 On the other Mac, choose Apple () > System Preferences and then open Sharing. 3 In the Sharing panel, select "DVD or CD Sharing" in the Service list. If you want other users to request permission to share a DVD or CD, select "Ask me before allowing others to use my DVD drive." To enable DVD or CD Sharing, if your other computer is a Windows computer: 1 Make sure your MacBook Air and the Windows computer are on the same wireless network. 20 Chapter 1 Ready, Set Up, Go 2 On the Windows computer, open the DVD or CD Sharing control panel. 3 Select "Enable DVD or CD Sharing." If you want other users to request permission to ...