MACBOOK 2009 - Command R wont work

[jj778]

Hi everyone,

Bought a macbook pro 2009 from a buddy and im trying to wipe it to factory reset. He said it hasnt worked for awhile. Every time i try and command R the laptop is unresponsive even with pram resets. When it finally opens up i can move the mouse around but cant click on anything. Has anyone ever experienced this before. Its currently running snow leopard. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[TonyK]

What OS is on it? Do you have any more specs, like memory size, drive size and type, etc?

 

[jj778]

running snow leopard....im not sure how much info you need but its the 2.53 ghz model. https://support.apple.com/kb/sp544?locale=en_US

 

[CoastalOR]

Bought a macbook pro 2009 from a buddy and im trying to wipe it to factory reset. He said it hasnt worked for awhile. Every time i try and command R the laptop is unresponsive even with pram resets. When it finally opens up i can move the mouse around but cant click on anything. Has anyone ever experienced this before. Its currently running snow leopard. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Snow Leopard is OS 10.6, which does not support Command+R for recovery. The Recovery partition was not introduced until Lion, 10.7. You will need the gray install DVD that shipped with the 2009 MBP to boot from them for restoring to do a factory reset (the OS that shipped with the MBP).

 

[jj778]

Snow Leopard is OS 10.6, which does not support Command+R for recovery. The Recovery partition was not introduced until Lion, 10.7. You will need the gray install DVD that shipped with the 2009 MBP to boot from them for restoring to do a factory reset (the OS that shipped with the MBP).

is there anyway to factory reset it without the disc?.....i dont care if the entire thing is wiped

 

[CoastalOR]

is there anyway to factory reset it without the disc?.....i dont care if the entire thing is wiped

Not a factory reset. If your intent is to install a OS that will operate your Mac then you could buy a Snow Leopard DVD from Apple for $19.99.

 

[jj778]

Not a factory reset. If your intent is to install a OS that will operate your Mac then you could buy a Snow Leopard DVD from Apple for $19.99.

Thanks man so that brings me to my next question, if i replaced the hard drive is it possible to have newer OS's on an old laptop like this? Or will it always have to be snow leopard.

 

[DeltaMac]

is there anyway to factory reset it without the disc?.....i dont care if the entire thing is wiped

Yes. Download the OS X system that you like. Use the downloaded system to create a bootable OS X installer. There are several sites that list the simple terminal commands to do that task.
Your 2009 Macbook (pro?) will probably be limited to El Capitan (OS X 10.11.6), but that allows you then to use most any more modern software that may not still be supported with Snow Leopard.
Or, you CAN go to eBay to purchase flash drives with the Mac system of your choice already installed, such as here

 

[jj778]

Yes. Download the OS X system that you like. Use the downloaded system to create a bootable OS X installer. There are several sites that list the simple terminal commands to do that task.
Your 2009 Macbook (pro?) will probably be limited to El Capitan (OS X 10.11.6), but that allows you then to use most any more modern software that may not still be supported with Snow Leopard.
Or, you CAN go to eBay to purchase flash drives with the Mac system of your choice already installed, such as here

Oh so you mean if i replaced the hard drive id only be able to have as far as el capitan?

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, the newest supported Mac OS system on your 2009 MBPro is El Capitan.
Replacing the hard drive (with an SSD, for example) would not change that situation.

 

[jj778]

Yes, the newest supported Mac OS system on your 2009 MBPro is El Capitan.
Replacing the hard drive (with an SSD, for example) would not change that situation.

Just for the sake of a little bit of EDUMACATION lol...would it be mainly the processor as the deciding factor on running newer OS's? im kind of new to hardware. If its cool i ask? Thanks again for all the info.

 

[DeltaMac]

I think that for OS X (now known as macOS), as time goes forward, that the newer hardware gets all that --- well, new hardware. And, the operating system needs to support that, with the various drivers and other support libraries that are needed for that support.
Time goes on, the new hardware gets the attention, the older hardware often continues to work, because the new drivers still support the older hardware, or the older support remains in the system.
At some point, the decision is made to not test, and therefore not support some older generations of the hardware.
The new system is near release, and engineers can determine that either the old hardware won't work at all, or may work with certain limitations. There has to be, at some point, a decision made to prevent installing on certain older systems, because the proper support just isn't there. That hardware frequently is the video/graphics chips in the system.
Some folks try to modify the system installer to boot and install on older systems, regardless of the issues. Sometimes those issues will be not noticeable, or simply makes the system a little slower, or might even be less stable. Apple, I think, tries to avoid those issues, where possible. The result is that older systems get dropped. Sometimes for an entire processor generation, other times, just because of video support.
And, as most Macs do NOT have upgradeable graphics chips, there's simply that point where you get to decide if you want to continue to use an old system, and perhaps miss out on security updates, or your own requirements mean that you have to upgrade to a newer Mac, because of the OTHER software (and hardware) that you use needs the new operating system.
Your nearly-9-year-old system is pretty ancient tech, believe it or not. And continues to work well enough, subject to the limitations that might exist in software that is not quite state-of-the-art.

I have a 2004 eMac that is in daily use. I use it for burning copies of CDs, used for a variety of music projects that are part of my hobby and my life. An internal tray-type DVD burner is much more efficient at that, than using something newer with an external USB optical drive.

I like to say that a computer only becomes obsolete when it will no longer do the job that you need it to do.

 

[jj778]

I think that for OS X (now known as macOS), as time goes forward, that the newer hardware gets all that --- well, new hardware. And, the operating system needs to support that, with the various drivers and other support libraries that are needed for that support.
Time goes on, the new hardware gets the attention, the older hardware often continues to work, because the new drivers still support the older hardware, or the older support remains in the system.
At some point, the decision is made to not test, and therefore not support some older generations of the hardware.
The new system is near release, and engineers can determine that either the old hardware won't work at all, or may work with certain limitations. There has to be, at some point, a decision made to prevent installing on certain older systems, because the proper support just isn't there. That hardware frequently is the video/graphics chips in the system.
Some folks try to modify the system installer to boot and install on older systems, regardless of the issues. Sometimes those issues will be not noticeable, or simply makes the system a little slower, or might even be less stable. Apple, I think, tries to avoid those issues, where possible. The result is that older systems get dropped. Sometimes for an entire processor generation, other times, just because of video support.
And, as most Macs do NOT have upgradeable graphics chips, there's simply that point where you get to decide if you want to continue to use an old system, and perhaps miss out on security updates, or your own requirements mean that you have to upgrade to a newer Mac, because of the OTHER software (and hardware) that you use needs the new operating system.
Your nearly-9-year-old system is pretty ancient tech, believe it or not. And continues to work well enough, subject to the limitations that might exist in software that is not quite state-of-the-art.

I have a 2004 eMac that is in daily use. I use it for burning copies of CDs, used for a variety of music projects that are part of my hobby and my life. An internal tray-type DVD burner is much more efficient at that, than using something newer with an external USB optical drive.

I like to say that a computer only becomes obsolete when it will no longer do the job that you need it to do.

Thats interesting and i would like to thank you for your response, It doesnt seem that long ago that this thing came out. It sill looks so crisp. With your older model can you still surf the web?

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, it is usable, but many sites can be quite slow. A few won't work at all. I do have to pick and choose what I do. But, web access is not my primary use on that old eMac, just very part-time. If something important comes up, I will usually move pretty quickly to a newer system.
I also have a 2008 MacBook that I use in TV room for a variety of things. It is really limited to Lion but it has a hacked version of Yosemite, and consequently, the audio does not work. It gets used a lot for web access. It also has an SSD, which made a big improvement in how it works. Older than yours, and (I have a small stock of old parts) looks nearly brand new. Battery is dead, and I removed that a couple of years ago. Not a portable now

 

[jj778]

Yes, it is usable, but many sites can be quite slow. A few won't work at all. I do have to pick and choose what I do. But, web access is not my primary use on that old eMac, just very part-time. If something important comes up, I will usually move pretty quickly to a newer system.
I also have a 2008 MacBook that I use in TV room for a variety of things. It is really limited to Lion but it has a hacked version of Yosemite, and consequently, the audio does not work. It gets used a lot for web access. It also has an SSD, which made a big improvement in how it works. Older than yours, and (I have a small stock of old parts) looks nearly brand new. Battery is dead, and I removed that a couple of years ago. Not a portable now

See now im in the same situation, i have an old imac 2008 that i use to watch movies on but thats about it. im wondering if i made a few upgrades to it if i could use it for web access. because its turned to complete garbage.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

I'd second the recommendation above to buy a USB flash drive (from ebay) with the El Cap installer on it.

See if you can get the MacBook "revived" that way.
It might also work on the 2008 iMac.

 

[TonyK]

Okay, some real experience with a 2009 MBP 17".

Maxed the memory to 6GB and installed a 500GB SSD. This unit was my wife's until we got her a much newer one. Then it became mine and I did the 2 upgrades.

It was reasonably fast and responsive, especially considering the age and the fact it was a Dual Core 2.

Now a co-worker's son has it and he LOVES it. He does a lot of things on it and it is still working.

YouTube a video for installing the drive. Not hard, just time consuming and need to pay very careful attention to cables and screws.

Memory was a breeze.

As mentioned, this unit maxes out with 10.11 (El Capiton) and that is not a bad thing.

Hope this helps.