Disclaimer: This post is about a first gen Intel MacBook from 2006, not a PowerPC. However, given our forum here appreciates the value of the older Mac hardware, I decided to write this post here.
I recently enjoyed seeing the delight this old Mac has brought to my youngest son and decided the story was worth sharing...
In 2006, my mother bought the first gen Intel MacBook from an Apple reseller I was working for. I was able to provide her with a staff discount and was thrilled she could enjoy using the first generation of the new Intel line as a replacement for her aging, clunky old clamshell iBook.
Everything went smooth with the MacBook for the first couple of months and then it began a process of overheating and freezing on a regular basis. Apple went on to issue a firmware update for this model to address the issue, however this particular MacBook just didn't want to resolve itself. I took it back in and pushed it through the warranty channel for a replacement logic board. Within another 6 months, the issue re-emerged and the process was repeated.
The MacBook then appeared to be happy for the next 4 years or so until it was past the extended warranty period and it just crapped out again. My mother then went on to buy a MacBook Pro 13" in about 2012 and has been very happy with that model ever since.
So this poor old lemon of a first gen MacBook sat in her garage for the past 7 years and we all forgot about it. In that time, I started a family of my own and my youngest son, who started at school this year, began to show an interest in computers and wanted to learn more. Grandma had planned to travel to see us, so I asked if she still had the old MacBook and if she could bring it along for me to look at.
Surprisingly, the MacBook booted up straight away and was running (Tiger) fine for the first 5 minutes, until it froze and then refused to reboot. I dismantled the unit and began the process of oven baking the logic board to attempt to reflow the CPU and GPU. Unfortunately, this resulted in killing it completely. I started hunting for a replacement logic board and mentioned the circumstances here on the forum. One very generous regular PowerPC contributor offered to ship a replacement bottom assy with logic board (and speakers) to me from all the way around the world completely out of the kindness of his heart.
Once the package arrived, I took some time to prepare everything. I then organized a day during the school holidays, a few days before his 5th Birthday, to sit down with my boy to spend some time doing the logic board swap out together.
The installation went great. My son sat with me throughout all 38 steps of the iFixit Logic Board replacement process. He unscrewed most of the external screws with me, then just watched with interest as the machine came apart and the logic board swap went over. Of course, being a kid, he had to reach over and stick his fingers straight onto the silver thermal paste, which ended up getting everywhere! That was an easy enough clean up, and I then used the Grizzly Kryonaut paste on the replacement board.
He enjoyed "grounding" himself each time he came into my office as I explained that our bodies carry static electricity which can damage the tiny components inside the computer. (He still grounds himself by touching on my Mac Pro each time he comes into my office now...)
He took a lunch break mid-way through the repair and told his mum, "Ok, I've got to get back to work with Daddy now!".
Everything went back together fine. He used a coin to lock in the battery and we flipped it over. I asked him to "Do the honours" by pressing the power button and "ta da"! The Mac chimed and up came the old Tiger desktop.
We then went through the process of installing Snow Leopard, running all of the updates and loading up a few games together. He absolutely loved going through Machinarium (by Amanita Design) and solving the (often pretty tricky) puzzles together.
The old MacBook's speakers were crackling and distorted, so I pulled it down again that night and installed the replacements. Another issue was the Airport card had the transmission capability of a lead apron, so $15 was spent on a replacement, which arrived within a few days and it's now online.
The battery was shot, so I replaced it with a cheap (and hopefully not nasty this time) eBay special (AU$26). The Superdrive is also dead, so I've ordered in a replacement from Estonia for £8.99. He's excited about watching his DVDs on the MacBook, so that will be another positive repair once the replacement drive arrives.
Firefox 48.0.2 works perfectly fine. YouTube (non-Flash) plays back all the Batman and Lego videos he can search for. We've put a few more puzzle type games on there. He's currently going through Botanicula, which is another Amanita title.
All in all, this little MacBook, which was once his Grandmother's research laptop, is now my son's "School computer" as he likes to call it. I plan on teaching him how to use Pages ('11) to write up school work next. I also have an old PowerPC copy of "World Book v6.0.2" which should load up with Rosetta just fine.
I wanted to share this story as a reminder that any old Mac can be re-purposed for cheap, if not for free. There is no need to buy a 5 year old child a brand new computer (or iPad, iPhone, etc), when there is a ton of old tech just waiting for someone to put to good use.
Yes, I know I could have provided one of my PowerPC Macs to do the job, but I feel they require a bit more patience, especially when it comes to YouTube. Fortunately, the 32-bit Core Duo handles this perfectly (even with its GMA 950 graphics).
Thank you again to @swamprock for your generosity. You've helped kick off my boy's Mac life!
-AphoticD
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