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tsialex

Contributor
Original poster
Jun 13, 2016
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Today Apple reformulated the support and documentation pages for all Macs and started to consolidate all the documentation and downloads for each one of the Macs to it's own page, making it easier to find all the pertinent info like tech specs, firmware updates, user guides, service manuals and other downloads for a specific Mac.

For still supported Macs the info/downloads are pretty comprehensive and some previous missing info for historic/obsolete Mac Pros are now accessible, like the SMC firmware update for late-2013 Mac Pros that was not easily available for a decade in the public Apple support site or even inside the Apple own SUCatalog - btw, is still missing from the SUCatalog.

For the obsolete Mac Pros, the biggest omissions are the Apple Service Diagnostics and Apple Hardware Testing diagnostic tools and the internal Apple Technician Guides, but with Apple being pushed by the right of repair initiative, let's hope Apple will also make it available over time.

These are links for all Mac Pros:

Year Model:
Model Identifier:
Link:
2023 Mac ProMP14,8Mac Pro (2023) Manuals and Downloads
2019 Mac ProMacPro7,1Mac Pro (2019) Manuals and Downloads
Late-2013 Mac ProMacPro6,1Mac Pro (Late 2013) Manuals and Downloads
Mid-2012 Mac ProMacPro5,1Mac Pro (Mid 2012) Manuals and Downloads
Mid-2010 Mac ProMacPro5,1Mac Pro (Mid 2010) Manuals and Downloads
Early-2009 Mac ProMacPro4,1Mac Pro (Early 2009) Manuals and Downloads
Early-2008 Mac ProMacPro3,1Mac Pro (Early 2008) Manuals and Downloads
2006 Mac Pro / 2007 Mac Pro (8-core)MacPro1,1 & MacPro2,1Mac Pro Manuals and Downloads

Disclaimer:

Most of Apple Technician Guides and all ASD are internal documentation and diagnostic tools, currently made available only for internal usage of Apple Authorized Service Providers.

Apple Technician Guides and ASD available from third parties, filesharing/torrents and etc are essentially stolen from Apple, while Apple seems to not care so much and maybe is even allowed as fair use in some countries, we should ask Apple via site feedback for official distribution of these instead of posting links to stolen technical documentation and software diagnostics tools.

Please do not add the restricted Apple Technician Guides and ASD to the first post, I've asked moderation and this is not allowed, since MR have a rule about Warez/Serials/Keys and is a ban-able offense:


For AHT, since Apple provide easily discoverable links, the files are public accessible and available from Apple servers, I think that is fair use to link it and I'll add these to the table later.
 
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m4v3r1ck

macrumors 68030
Nov 2, 2011
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Great post, thanks for sharing. Do you have access to the Apple Technician Guides (PDF) for the Macs here listed. They are the most comprehensive guides available.

edit: link to an ATG deleted.
 
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tsialex

Contributor
Original poster
Jun 13, 2016
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For Macs that Apple is not sharing the Apple Technician Guide, there are copyright restrictions that I don't want to mess with. Anyone can easily find it with a web search.

Please do not add the restricted Apple Technician Guides to the first post, feel free to add to your own post if you think that is allowed by your country copyright laws.

Edit:

Not allowed per MR rules and confirmed it with moderation:

 
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m4v3r1ck

macrumors 68030
Nov 2, 2011
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The Netherlands
For Macs that Apple is not sharing the Apple Technician Guide, there are copyright restrictions that I don't want to mess with. Anyone can easily find it with a web search.

Please do not add the restricted Apple Techinicians Guide to the first post, feel free to add to your own post if you think that is allowed by your own copyright laws.

Would never just post these guides without doing a check by you. Thanks for the reminder about copyrights. :cool:
 

tsialex

Contributor
Original poster
Jun 13, 2016
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13,237
Would never just post these guides without doing a check by you. Thanks for the reminder about copyrights. :cool:

Apple Technician Guides and ASD are essentially stolen from Apple. While Apple seems to not care so much, we should ask for Apple official distribution and not to continue to post stolen technical documentation and software.

For AHT, since Apple provide easily discoverable links and the files are public accessible in Apple servers, I think that is fair use to link it and I'll add these to the table later.
 
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  • Wow
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m4v3r1ck

macrumors 68030
Nov 2, 2011
2,579
518
The Netherlands
Apple Technician Guides and ASD are essentially stolen from Apple. While Apple seems to not care so much, we should ask for Apple official distribution and not to continue to post stolen technical documentation and software.

For AHT, since Apple provide easily discoverable and public accessible links on the Apple servers, I think that is fair use to link it and I'll add these to the table later.

Wow, have never known about the theft of the ASD & ATG documents. I'll be more reluctant posting links, now.
 

tsialex

Contributor
Original poster
Jun 13, 2016
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Wow, have never known about the theft of the ASD & ATG documents. I'll be more reluctant posting links, now.

These are internal documentation and diagnostic tools, made available only for internal usage of Apple Authorized Service Providers.
 
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startergo

macrumors 601
Sep 20, 2018
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Apple user guides are of little practical use. When you visit those pages there is a survey link. I invite everyone visiting those pages to take the survey and express their opinions about the documentation. That may bring more attention to Apple. I see no reason hiding technical or service guides for obsolete products. As Apple does not provide services for obsolete products that maybe the only way for Apple product users to fix their equipment.
 

nathansz

macrumors 65816
Jul 24, 2017
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I made a post the other day offering all of the old apple technician guides or whatever they are called from the 2008-2011 iMacs from when I had a zillion of them and was putting new gpus in them but no one seemed interested
 

tsialex

Contributor
Original poster
Jun 13, 2016
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Why?

Once they refuse to repair the machines the documentation is basically abandonware

This statement have no bounds with copyright law. Apple ATG/ASD are not public accessible, not made for general public consumption and no one is allowed to copy or distribute it, see this excerpt from the second page of mid-2010 ATG:

 Apple Inc.
© 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.
Under the copyright laws, this document may not be copied, in whole or in part, without the
written consent of Apple.

Why would you delete a useful link?

Perhaps because MR have rules about Warez/Serials/Keys and is a ban-able offense?


Anyway, yesterday I've asked moderation if this is allowed or not.
 
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m4v3r1ck

macrumors 68030
Nov 2, 2011
2,579
518
The Netherlands
I made a post the other day offering all of the old apple technician guides or whatever they are called from the 2008-2011 iMacs from when I had a zillion of them and was putting new gpus in them but no one seemed interested

These documents are obvious from an era when DIY videos on e.g. YouTube were not as common as nowadays. But for many, they still will have great value to DIY repairs on old(er) Macs.
 

nathansz

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Jul 24, 2017
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Perhaps because MR have rules about Warez/Serials/Keys and is a ban-able offense

Well this is not any of those

This statement have no bounds with copyright law. Apple ATG/ASD are not public accessible, not made for general public consumption and no one is allowed to copy or distribute it, see this excerpt from the second page of mid-2010 ATG:

I suppose I’ll give you this one since this is an american website
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,148
15,633
California
Moderator Note:

Just to follow up on what @tsialex mentioned, the public Apple URLs in the OP are fine, but posting links to non-publicly released Apple tech docs would violate the forum rules.

If anybody has more questions about this, please use the contact us link.

Thanks
 
Last edited:

m4v3r1ck

macrumors 68030
Nov 2, 2011
2,579
518
The Netherlands
Moderator Note:

Just to follow up on what @tsialex mentioned, the public Apple URLs in the OP are fine, but posting links to non-publicly released Apple tech docs would violate the forum rules.

If anybody has more questions about this, please use the contact us link.

Thanks

Thanks for chiming in, nice to know you're always just around the corner. ;)
 

nathansz

macrumors 65816
Jul 24, 2017
1,256
1,445
Moderator Note:

Just to follow up on what @tsialex mentioned, the public Apple URLs in the OP are fine, but posting links to non-publicly released Apple tech docs would violate the forum rules.

If anybody has more questions about this, please use the contact us link.

Thanks

Just to be clear,

I’m always happy to informed of and follow the rules here :)
 
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