Wiping an old Mac? What OS will be there?

31rhcp · Jun 26, 2012

Hey forum!

I just bought an Ivy Bridge MBA (love it!!!) and I want to make my old mid 2007 MB (Intel Core 2 Duo) my secondary comp for PPC apps (it is running SL) and Windows XP via Boot Camp (I plan on putting Windows 8 on my MBA when it's released).

My MB's performance is terrible. Would wiping the computer have any benefit? If so, what OS will be left there. It's running 10.6.8 but it came with Tiger. Also, is there anything else I can do to help it out?

Sorry if any of those questions are dumb, everyone learns sometime

.

dXTC · Jun 26, 2012

Wiping it via a clean restore might help a little. If it doesn't, then there is probably a hardware problem. Don't try to judge its performance against your new MBA, though; the difference between the two technologies (PPC and hard disk vs. Intel Core i series and SSD) are simply too great for any meaningful comparison.

If your older MacBook is PPC, you're going to have to run XP through Parallels, VMWare or some other emulation package. Boot Camp runs only on Intel Macs.

31rhcp · Jun 26, 2012

dXTC said:
Don't try to judge its performance against your new MBA, though; the difference between the two technologies (PPC and hard disk vs. Intel Core i series and SSD) are simply too great for any meaningful comparison.

If your older MacBook is PPC, you're going to have to run XP through Parallels, VMWare or some other emulation package. Boot Camp runs only on Intel Macs.

I wasn't so much comparing it to the air, I was just saying that it's performance is awful. Routine tasks (think switching between columns in Finder's column view) take a noticeable amount of time.

I just edited my first post to give a bit more info. It's an Intel Mac (Core 2 Duo). I am running XP through Boot Camp. The only reason I mentioned PPC was since it is running SL, which was the last OS to support PPC apps.

Mexikaner · Jun 26, 2012

dXTC said:
If your older MacBook is PPC...

I don't ever recall Apple making a PPC MacBook.

Drew017 · Jun 26, 2012

All models of MacBooks made have Intel processors. The MacBook originally replaced the PowerPC G4 iBook in 2006. You will be able to boot XP without problem via Apple's Bootcamp.

When you wipe a hard drive there will be no OS left. Also, when you upgrade a computer (for instance, Tiger to SL) the new operating system replaces the old version. This will help you do a wipe and install. Doing this will definitely help with the performance of your MacBook.

TheGenerous · Jun 26, 2012

My MacBook has 2.5 GB of RAM and 10.6.7.

It didn't run fast on 10.6.8 or Lion. Once I downgraded to 10.6.7 everything started running smooth.

I use Lightroom CS6, Phosotshop CS6, and isn't lighting fast but I can work just fine.

For 1080p video it lags sometimes, youtube HD or stuff using Flash sucks.

Drew017 · Jun 27, 2012

TheGenerous said:
My MacBook has 2.5 GB of RAM and 10.6.7.

It didn't run fast on 10.6.8 or Lion. Once I downgraded to 10.6.7 everything started running smooth.

I use Lightroom CS6, Phosotshop CS6, and isn't lighting fast but I can work just fine.

For 1080p video it lags sometimes, youtube HD or stuff using Flash sucks.

weird... my white MacBook (2009) ran awesome on Snow leopard, and runs just about the same on Lion- and I have 2GB of RAM. Even HD videos look fine (although the fans do kick in) Also, why would updating to 10.6.8 make yours slower? The whole point of updates are to make the performance better...

31rhcp · Jun 27, 2012

Drew017 said:
All models of MacBooks made have Intel processors. The MacBook originally replaced the PowerPC G4 iBook in 2006. You will be able to boot XP without problem via Apple's Bootcamp.

When you wipe a hard drive there will be no OS left. Also, when you upgrade a computer (for instance, Tiger to SL) the new operating system replaces the old version. This will help you do a wipe and install. Doing this will definitely help with the performance of your MacBook.

Awesome! This was EXACTLY what I was looking for.

I plan to restore my data with Time Machine. Do you have any idea what would happen in Migration Assistant if I have two different computers backed up with Time Machine?

TheGenerous · Jun 27, 2012

Drew017 said:
weird... my white MacBook (2009) ran awesome on Snow leopard, and runs just about the same on Lion- and I have 2GB of RAM. Even HD videos look fine (although the fans do kick in) Also, why would updating to 10.6.8 make yours slower? The whole point of updates are to make the performance better...

Mine is first generation MacBook (2006), right when Intel came into play.

Drew017 · Jun 27, 2012

31rhcp said:
Awesome! This was EXACTLY what I was looking for.

I plan to restore my data with Time Machine. Do you have any idea what would happen in Migration Assistant if I have two different computers backed up with Time Machine?

Doing a complete restore from TM actually may degrade the performance of the MacBook a little, because all of the old caches and system files will be backed up. What I've done in the past is to skip migration assistant and go to the desktop. Open TM and only restore the items that you really need (such as document and apps). Then you will have a nice and clean OS to use

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TheGenerous said:
Mine is first generation MacBook (2006), right when Intel came into play.

I used to have the last version of the iBook g4 before I got my MacBook

dXTC · Jun 28, 2012

Mexikaner said:
I don't ever recall Apple making a PPC MacBook.

Now that I think about it, neither do I. Mea culpa.

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Wiping an old Mac? What OS will be there?

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