Help with upgrading 2009 MacBook?

[J Fan 5]

Hello,

I have some questions that I'm hoping to find help with. I'm getting a 2009 White MacBook off of eBay for a pretty good price. But it only has 2GB of RAM, and a 5400 RPM HDD. I'd like to upgrade the RAM to 4 GB, which is pretty simple. However, my problem is with the HDD. I'd like to upgrade to a Samsung 850 evo SSD, but I don't know how to go about it. I've seen installation videos, but I don't know how it works. Being that it's a new-to-me computer that I don't have a backup of, when I put the new SSD in, how do I get Mac OS X onto it? It's currently running Snow Leopard. I'm not worried about losing data, because nothing on it is mine anyways. Do I have to make a backup first before changing over to an SSD to be able to boot into Mac OS X once the SSD is installed?

Thanks for any advice, I am completely new to stuff like this.

 

[J Fan 5]

Hello,

I have some questions that I'm hoping to find help with. I'm getting a 2009 White MacBook off of eBay for a pretty good price. But it only has 2GB of RAM, and a 5400 RPM HDD. I'd like to upgrade the RAM to 4 GB, which is pretty simple. However, my problem is with the HDD. I'd like to upgrade to a Samsung 850 evo SSD, but I don't know how to go about it. I've seen installation videos, but I don't know how it works. Being that it's a new-to-me computer that I don't have a backup of, when I put the new SSD in, how do I get Mac OS X onto it? It's currently running Snow Leopard. I'm not worried about losing data, because nothing on it is mine anyways. Do I have to make a backup first before changing over to an SSD to be able to boot into Mac OS X once the SSD is installed?

Thanks for any advice, I am completely new to stuff like this.

Sorry for the double post, but I actually just had an idea. Since the White MacBook has a CD/DVD slot, couldn't I remove that -- since I won't be using it -- and put the SSD in it's place? Then the computer would still have the OS and everything on it, but I could move some apps over to the SSD so they launch faster. Would that work?

 

[ApolloBoy]

It's better to swap out the existing hard drive with the SSD, especially since it's a lot easier compared to removing the optical drive. You didn't say which type of white MacBook you have; if it's the pre-unibody design you have to do a considerable amount of disassembly to remove the optical drive.

The best way to go about it is to connect your new SSD to an enclosure, then clone your existing hard drive using a program like Carbon Copy Cloner onto the SSD. Once that's done, swap out the drives and you should be able to get up and running like nothing happened.

 

[J Fan 5]

It's better to swap out the existing hard drive with the SSD, especially since it's a lot easier compared to removing the optical drive. You didn't say which type of white MacBook you have; if it's the pre-unibody design you have to do a considerable amount of disassembly to remove the optical drive.

The best way to go about it is to connect your new SSD to an enclosure, then clone your existing hard drive using a program like Carbon Copy Cloner onto the SSD. Once that's done, swap out the drives and you should be able to get up and running like nothing happened.

Thanks for the response. It is not unibody. If it's a hassle to remove the optical drive, I'd likely avoid it lol. I will try what you said with Carbon Copy Cloner, I didn't know I could do that. Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.

 

[ApolloBoy]

If it's a hassle to remove the optical drive, I'd likely avoid it lol.

You would have to remove the top part of the bottom case (which is secured with numerous screws), then you'd have to undo even more screws and a few cables to even get at the optical drive. For the hard drive, just undo three screws inside the battery compartment and then you can just pull the hard drive out.

Also for the 2009 model you can go up to 6 GB of RAM.

 

[J Fan 5]

You would have to remove the top part of the bottom case (which is secured with numerous screws), then you'd have to undo even more screws and a few cables to even get at the optical drive. For the hard drive, just undo three screws inside the battery compartment and then you can just pull the hard drive out.

Also for the 2009 model you can go up to 6 GB of RAM.

Oh really? Wow I thought the max was 4 GB. That's great, I'll likely go with a 2 GB module and a 4 GB module then, instead of the two 1 GB Modules it will have when I receive it.