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Help my 07 MBP limp along another ~8 months

L

lowercaseperson

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 5, 2006
294
87
My wife has a 2007 Core 2 Duo MBP (15") running 10.10. She does all her work on her computer and it is embarrassingly slow, I finish grad school in May and have a job lined up...but don't anticipate being able to afford a new computer until August or so. It isn't running the original HD, but the one that is in there is at least 4 years old. I've been doing some research on what I can do to make it a little faster and less frustrating to use and basically came up with replacing the HD and *maybe* being able to upgrade the RAM.

1. Looking at this drive - my wife is actually pretty good about keeping her drive relatively clean and we have a NAS - so 1TB is plenty. This is a temporary fix remember, and we are on a SUPER tight budget right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178340

2. The RAM is at 4GB (2x2GB) - I feel like I've seen somewhere that this computer will recognize some conformation of RAM allowing 6 GB total...can anyone confirm that is true or false? If by some miracle it is true...where can I get the right chips?

3. Assuming I can make this computer last a little longer, is waiting on Skylake my best best for longevity? I mean Aug/Sept. seems like about the time it should be showing up in rMBPs - even if I have to wait until Oct. it seems like the logical thing to do.

Thanks in advance.
 
Overall, upgrading to a SSD drive will breath new life into your computer like nothing else.

I did the same with a 08 MBP while waiting to pick up my mid-2012 MBP.

Prices are low, payback is very high. There are easy to follow procedures all over the net, and here too.
 
smithrh said:
Overall, upgrading to a SSD drive will breath new life into your computer like nothing else.

I did the same with a 08 MBP while waiting to pick up my mid-2012 MBP.

Prices are low, payback is very high. There are easy to follow procedures all over the net, and here too.
Click to expand...

Will the difference be that noticeable between a true SSD and this Hybrid drive? I mean I found some pretty cheap SSD's but pushing the space low end of my limits and still much more expensive that the hybrid options.
 
Yes it will,

The Hybrid will only store the most commonly used files onto the Solid State part, so you could still see apps taking longer to load

If you have a NAS then internal storage shouldn't be an issue

I went from a 500gb normal HDD to a 256gb SSD and using a 1TB Nas. Has made a huge difference to my MBP
 
That machine can take 6GB of memory, but a 4GB stick for it is costly. You can get a low end SSD for the amount you'd pay for a 4GB stick. I advise, not upgrading the memory but instead upgrading to a SSD.
 
What Mik3f said.

Use your NAS for bulk file storage (that's what it's there for), and you'll be able to get along with a much smaller drive.

I tend to hoard things and I'm more than happy with a 256G SSD.

SSD will also help with swap due to low RAM, since it will be swapping to a (relatively) fast device it will be less noticeable.
 
Mik3F said:
Yes it will,

The Hybrid will only store the most commonly used files onto the Solid State part, so you could still see apps taking longer to load

If you have a NAS then internal storage shouldn't be an issue

I went from a 500gb normal HDD to a 256gb SSD and using a 1TB Nas. Has made a huge difference to my MBP
Click to expand...

Any suggestions on SSDs? Crucial stuff is super easy to match to your machine, but I know you also pay a premium...
 
Intell said:
You can use nearly any SSD. Your model is not picky as to what it has in it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, seems the best I can find is a 256GB Crucial for $99.99 - not too bad. This maybe a dumb question but, is the procedure the same as replacing a normal drive? I mean is it plug and play? I've swapped out plenty of regular drives, but never for a SSD.

Also what is everyone's recommendations for getting information from the old drive to the new one? I use time machine backup on the NAS, but I think I would rather just buy an external enclosure and clone the old drive to the new. Thoughts?
 
SSDs are plug and play. No different than a standard hard drive. You can do it via a Time Machine backup, but cloning from the original drive may be best. You can get a 120GB Samsung 850 EVO from NewEgg for about $80. They're one of the best SSDs on the market. You won't gain any speed over the Crucial as your machine can't use it, but it is cheaper.
 
I would put the SSD in and then do a fresh install, use migration assistant afterwards to bring over any data from a Time Machine backup
 
Mik3F said:
I would put the SSD in and then do a fresh install, use migration assistant afterwards to bring over any data from a Time Machine backup
Click to expand...

To do a fresh install wouldn't I have to make a copy of OS X on an external drive of some sort? Seems like a bit of a hassle...I mean I don't even know how I would have to find a guide. What are the benefits of the clean restore?

----------
Intell said:
SSDs are plug and play. No different than a standard hard drive. You can do it via a Time Machine backup, but cloning from the original drive may be best. You can get a 120GB Samsung 850 EVO from NewEgg for about $80. They're one of the best SSDs on the market. You won't gain any speed over the Crucial as your machine can't use it, but it is cheaper.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I've got to go with the at least 240GB.
 
lowercaseperson said:
To do a fresh install wouldn't I have to make a copy of OS X on an external drive of some sort? Seems like a bit of a hassle...I mean I don't even know how I would have to find a guide. What are the benefits of the clean restore?

----------



Unfortunately I've got to go with the at least 240GB.
Click to expand...

Do you presently have a backup? You should be able to just use that to copy the data back.
 
lowercaseperson said:
To do a fresh install wouldn't I have to make a copy of OS X on an external drive of some sort? Seems like a bit of a hassle...I mean I don't even know how I would have to find a guide. What are the benefits of the clean restore?
Click to expand...


A fresh install will mean you are not bringing any potential issues over to the new HDD

It doesn't hurt to install the OS from fresh every now and again
 
Mik3F said:
A fresh install will mean you are not bringing any potential issues over to the new HDD

It doesn't hurt to install the OS from fresh every now and again
Click to expand...

Well it hasn't had a clean install since I bought it - so I guess it might be time considering it has seen every update since then. Can you point me to a guide on how to do that? Since I don't have a physical copy of OS X I would need some instruction.
 
Hang on - this isn't Windows.

Windows has had (still might) tremendous issues with the registry getting corrupted. To fix that, normally one would do a clean install.

Hence, the idea that a clean install is a good practice has come into being. I've not seen any clear proof that this is a good practice on the Mac. Anecdotal evidence here and there, but nothing like what's clear on the Windows side.

I have several very-long-term Macs that I've never clean installed, they're doing just fine.
 
smithrh said:
Hang on - this isn't Windows.

Windows has had (still might) tremendous issues with the registry getting corrupted. To fix that, normally one would do a clean install.

Hence, the idea that a clean install is a good practice has come into being. I've not seen any clear proof that this is a good practice on the Mac. Anecdotal evidence here and there, but nothing like what's clear on the Windows side.

I have several very-long-term Macs that I've never clean installed, they're doing just fine.
Click to expand...

So I'm assuming you would suggest I just use something like Carbon Copy?
 
smithrh said:
Yep, or similar. If I have time I'll see if I can't find the procedure I followed, it's on MacRumors somewhere.
Click to expand...

I've ordered a MX100 Crucial 256GB SSD. Unfortunately I am going out of town tomorrow, so I won't get a chance to fix this until Friday. But if you could post that procedure that would be fantastic.

I'll report back how much this helped! Thanks everyone for the input, fingers are crossed.
 
Same one I have.

I still recommend a clean install to get the best performance out of the SSD

All you need to do is to download Yosemite from the Mac Store and then create a USB installer with this guide

http://osxdaily.com/2014/10/16/make-os-x-yosemite-boot-install-drive/

After you have freshly installed you can use Migration assistant to bring over your user data, or just manually copy it from a Time Machine backup (as I did)

Then install the Apps you use, you will be amazed at what you actually install as when I did it I hardly installed any additional apps as I never used them
 
smithrh said:
I've not seen any clear proof that this is a good practice on the Mac...
Click to expand...
What would constitute clear proof for you? I've worked on plenty of macs that were slow, lagging, pinwheels, etc and were completely revived with a clean install.

If the OP has been doing nothing but running updates for the past 8 years the thing absolutely would benefit from a fresh OS.
__________________________________________

Fot that matter, I 'd bet just doing a backup, reformat, and reinstall on the current HD would help things a lot. A Core2Duo shouldn't be "embarrassingly slow" for typical use if it is running properly. And hardware doesn't slow down over time unless the HD is physically dying (which granted, is certainly possible.) A clean install could very well make it feel new again, and it's free to try.
 
Last edited:
Short version: if you only have $100 to spend, sure you can go to 6gb of RAM. But if you have $150 to spend you can get an SSD and benefit WAY more.

I also own a MacBook Pro "Santa Rosa" that is my secondary machine. Still a great machine for taking on the road and puttering around. I have 4GB of RAM installed and it runs Mavericks just fine. The cost for a 4GB stick of RAM to bump it to 6GB total is over $100 last I checked, and for that kind of money you could almost have a SSD. I doubt I would notice the difference the extra 2gb RAM would make in Mavericks.

I recommend staying with Mavericks and upgrading to a 3rd-party SSD of sufficient size to meet your needs. The 500gb SSD I put into my Santa Rosa saved its life to where it feels years newer again, and as long as you stay with Mavericks you can enable TRIM without having to nuke all kext signing like you do in Yosemite.

I also second the recommendation for a clean install when migrating to SSD. The clean install I did on the SSD on my Santa Rosa, after moving over my music and projects, ended up being about 20gb smaller than my existing install. God knows what kind of crap had been accumulating over the last 7 years because I just kept cloning my install over and over. This is especially welcome when going to an SSD since many people are moving to a smaller drive (I downsized from a 750GB to a 500GB).
 
Mik3F said:
Same one I have.

I still recommend a clean install to get the best performance out of the SSD

All you need to do is to download Yosemite from the Mac Store and then create a USB installer with this guide

http://osxdaily.com/2014/10/16/make-os-x-yosemite-boot-install-drive/

After you have freshly installed you can use Migration assistant to bring over your user data, or just manually copy it from a Time Machine backup (as I did)

Then install the Apps you use, you will be amazed at what you actually install as when I did it I hardly installed any additional apps as I never used them
Click to expand...

Just finished the swap - night and day difference.

I *think* I did a clean install. I just connected the SSD via USB and installed 10.10, dropped it in the MBP and then used migration assistant to retrieve all the data/settings from the old HDD via USB.

Anyways, the computer is insanely fast now, honestly not much difference for general use between it and my 2013 rMBP...best $100 I think I've ever spent on a new computer.

So thanks everyone for the input!
 
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