MB 1,1-7,1 MacBook best OS option

[Drebs17]

Hey guys, here are the details of my Mac the hard drive crashed and it won’t let me get off of this utility. The CD rrader doesn’t work you can buy USB preloaded different Mac operating systems on Amazon for 20 bucks. What do you guys recommend for this model?

No gaming or high intensity usage just like to browse the Internet use some computer programs I have to have also, I will be trying to attempt to run some window pc programs on this Mac, and I know there is parallel and a few other programs to let you do that, I don’t know if those are specific to operating systems with Mac as well.

I’ll be running upgraded 4gb ram and a Samsung 1tb ssd ..

 

[rampancy]

The highest you can officially go is El Capitan (10.11.6) but IMO it depends on what your expectations and usage case. If you want a no-nonsense "just works" machine for medium-light internet tasks with no frills, 10.7 with Chromium Legacy is a good option. If you want something newer you could use dosdude1's patcher for macOS Catalina, or OCLP for macOS Big Sur.

I like El Capitan, but I wouldn't recommend it for older hardware now, as it runs slower than 10.7 or 10.6, and recent versions of important apps Google Chrome or Firefox have long dropped support for it.

 

[TheShortTimer]

The highest you can officially go is El Capitan (10.11.6) but IMO it depends on what your expectations and usage case. If you want a no-nonsense "just works" machine for medium-light internet tasks with no frills, 10.7 with Chromium Legacy is a good option. If you want something newer you could use dosdude1's patcher for macOS Catalina, or OCLP for macOS Big Sur.

Catalina particularly is a good choice. It's probably my 2nd most frequently used macOS version (with High Sierra #1.)

I like El Capitan, but I wouldn't recommend it for older hardware now, as it runs slower than 10.7 or 10.6, and recent versions of important apps Google Chrome or Firefox have long dropped support for it.

I also like El Capitan (notwithstanding the USB 3.0 PCIe bug) but I agree with you. Furthermore, the OP has 4GB RAM, which I've seen first hand is insufficient for El Capitan - I needed 6GB for decent performance on my MacBook 5,2.

 

[Drebs17]

The highest you can officially go is El Capitan (10.11.6) but IMO it depends on what your expectations and usage case. If you want a no-nonsense "just works" machine for medium-light internet tasks with no frills, 10.7 with Chromium Legacy is a good option. If you want something newer you could use dosdude1's patcher for macOS Catalina, or OCLP for macOS Big Sur.

I like El Capitan, but I wouldn't recommend it for older hardware now, as it runs slower than 10.7 or 10.6, and recent versions of important apps Google Chrome or Firefox have long dropped support for it.

I do want a no frills machine, basic browsing… what will I gain from going from 10.7 chromium legacy to macOS Catalina and what is the DOSDude1’s patcher?

 

[Drebs17]

Catalina particularly is a good choice. It's probably my 2nd most frequently used macOS version (with High Sierra #1.)



I also like El Capitan (notwithstanding the USB 3.0 PCIe bug) but I agree with you. Furthermore, the OP has 4GB RAM, which I've seen first hand is insufficient for El Capitan - I needed 6GB for decent performance on my MacBook 5,2.

Thanks for the info … I’m sure I can download it from the Internet through Wi-Fi but I’ve heard the issues with that everything I’m seeing on Amazon is $20 for a USB stick that will upload it. I’m thinking that might be the easiest way to go that being said, these are my options.

10.13.6 high Serria
10.12 Serria
10.7 mac Lion
10.15.7 Catalina
10.13 Serria
11 big sir
10.11 El Capitan
10.6 snow leopard
10.14.6 mojave
10.10 Yosemite

Is 10.7 chromium legacy the same at 10.7 max Lion ?


Also on a side not I also have one of these that is pretty beat up had water spilled on it battery won’t hold screen is busted ect but it works… I’ll call this me beater back up what do you recommend for this one early 11’ beater

 

[TheShortTimer]

Thanks for the info … I’m sure I can download it from the Internet through Wi-Fi but I’ve heard the issues with that everything I’m seeing on Amazon is $20 for a USB stick that will upload it.

I can assure that you absolutely do not need to pay anyone for a USB installer. This is something that you can accomplish yourself very easily.

What are the issues that you've heard about doing this?

I’m thinking that might be the easiest way to go that being said, these are my options.

10.13.6 high Serria
10.12 Serria
10.7 mac Lion
10.15.7 Catalina
10.13 Serria
11 big sir
10.11 El Capitan
10.6 snow leopard
10.14.6 mojave
10.10 Yosemite

You can have a dual or even triple boot so that you can choose from different macOS versions. From what you've described regarding your needs, you're probably best off focussing on High Sierra onwards and forgetting anything below that unless you have PPC software which you want to run under Snow Leopard with Rosetta.

 

[Drebs17]

I can assure that you absolutely do not need to pay anyone for a USB installer. This is something that you can accomplish yourself very easily.

What are the issues that you've heard about doing this?



You can have a dual or even triple boot so that you can choose from different macOS versions. From what you've described regarding your needs, you're probably best off focussing on High Sierra onwards and forgetting anything below that unless you have PPC software which you want to run under Snow Leopard with Rosetta.

Ok good to know all my research indicated that you need a cd ROM to load the new software.. being with my cd ROM doesn’t work, and I also would have to order that software. I was thinking that preloaded USB stick with the software would be the best way to go. What do you recommend when I am installing new operating system after installing new hard drive? Can I connect a computer to an Internet source and download a reputable source for the software? If so who / where do you recommend ?

 

[TheShortTimer]

Ok good to know all my research indicated that you need a cd ROM to load the new software..

Apple haven't distributed the operating system via optical discs in years, especially as they phased out internal DVD drives quite some time ago. From Mavericks onwards, all macOS versions have been made available through Internet downloads.

being with my cd ROM doesn’t work, and I also would have to order that software. I was thinking that preloaded USB stick with the software would be the best way to go. What do you recommend when I am installing new operating system after installing new hard drive? Can I connect a computer to an Internet source and download a reputable source for the software? If so who / where do you recommend ?

There's no more a reputable source than Apple themselves.

How to download and install macOS – Apple Support (UK)

From that site, download the El Capitan installer and follow the instructions to create a USB stick that will install it onto your computer. Do you have another Mac or know someone with a Mac that you can use to do this? It can also be achieved with a PC and Windows but people have reported hit and miss outcomes with this method.

Once you've installed El Capitan you can decide if you want to upgrade to High Sierra via the App Store or opt for Catalina or Big Sur using the patching software that @rampancy linked to in his reply.

 

[ojfd]

I do want a no frills machine, basic browsing… what will I gain from going from 10.7 chromium legacy to macOS Catalina ..

Nothing good, really. Bloated OS, bleached out fugly user interface, broken Finder navigation (10.9 and up), less things you can do on your machine because of SIP, not even repair permissions.
dosdude's patcher? It's good, but something for geeks.

If you only need browsing, stay with the lightest OS you can. I still do a lot of browsing on my 10.6 machine, but for many online services + YT, I'm forced to use Yosemite now. I have it trimmed down, but I am not happy.

 

[Drebs17]

Cool good info on this particular computer a early 11” my main goal is to be able to run parraell or something similar there are several windows programs I want to run and want to be able to switch back and forth bewteen pc emulation and Mac ..

That being said I might just buy a refurbished $70 Dell as I’m buying it for 1 specific program to run ..

What kind of is would you recommend on this ? It’s 2 years newer than the previous

 

[ojfd]

MBP 2011 is twice as fast as MBP 2009. It also has faster SATA bus and can take 16GB of RAM. It will work with anything you throw at it, Parallels including.

 

[TheShortTimer]

dosdude's patcher? It's good, but something for geeks.

This really is not accurate at all and only serves to misinform the OP regarding options that are beneficial to them. The DosDode patcher is not "something for geeks" - it's just as easy to use as the official Apple installer. I ran it twice and installed Mojave and Catalina on my 2010 C2D MBA and I haven't experienced any problems.

 

[ojfd]

Yes, it is easy to use, but still, I wouldn't recommend it to novice user. Maybe I should have used different wording.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Yes, it is easy to use, but still, I wouldn't recommend it to novice user. Maybe I should have used different wording.

Fair enough. I disagree and in any case, we can offer help to any novice that might find themselves in any difficulties using it.

 

[ojfd]

Regarding newer systems on older Macs.. I'm not a fan of this guy at all, but, have you seen this?

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Ken was on fire there 🔥

 

[ToniCH]

Regarding newer systems on older Macs.. I'm not a fan of this guy at all, but, have you seen this?

5 year old video from the early days of High Sierra, not really relevant today. I used HS from maybe the second bugfix update as my main OS (iMac 2009 and 2011, MBP 2012) until this year and I don't remember ever having any OS related problems. I don't do video editing so no Final Cut for me. But otherwise - no problems whatsoever. IMO one of the better OS-versions.

Would still be using it but the browser support and possibilities presented by Dosdude and OCLP made me start experimenting with newer stuff. No going back now.

I cannot recommend any OS to the OP but one thing I've learned after playing with computers since early 80's: install as much RAM as possible. And SSD is always a good upgrade. Those two cheap upgrades make the machine feel much younger and faster than originally.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

I like El Cap (8gb ram+SSD) myself and still use it on some of my 08/09 Macbook/mbps but I also use Ubuntu 22.04 (8gb ram+SSD) on those as well which is a very nice, polished user experience and what I daily on those machines anymore. I think a c2d mini would drive Ubuntu just fine if op wanted to try that or did not need macOS. I've used the patcher up to Catalina on those machines as well and it was absolutely usable (I liked it fine) except I had wifi issues upon returning from a sleep state which I was unable to fix/remedy, so I returned back to El Cap/Ubuntu.Anyways, that video is hella funny even if it is 5 years old. Ken cracks me up busting Apple's chops like that. If that mini was mine, I'd probably run El Cap or Ubuntu on it, connect a fat external drive to it and run it headless as a media server/NAS or via hdmi to my TV as a media center/game emu system. These old minis IMO work really well in that media/movie/retro gaming realm (small, low power consumption, no noise etc). I ran a 2010 mini + HiSi on my TV this way for years with a wireless combo m/kb + xbox controllers and it was awesome.

Nowadays, I use my minis as book ends. I will very occasionally break em out for TDM use but really 99% of the time they sit there holding my books & PowerPC/universal software up looking cool.

 

[rampancy]

I do want a no frills machine, basic browsing… what will I gain from going from 10.7 chromium legacy to macOS Catalina and what is the DOSDude1’s patcher?

IMO, the only reason why you'd want to run Catalina or Big Sur is if you have a need for specific software that requires macOS Catalina or anything newer. But if all you need is no-frills for basic web tasks, 10.7 with Chromium Legacy should work just fine.

And if you're not afraid of Linux, I'd even recommend something like Zorin OS Lite, or Lubuntu, dervatives of Ubuntu intended to provide a lightweight Linux experience for older hardware while also giving access to up-to-date versions of Chrome and Firefox.

 

[Drebs17]

I’ve gotten amazing info off here but I did pick up a pristine new for me used computer for $80 here’s the specs.. it came with 8 GB of ram and I’ll be adding a 1tb Samsung SSD. What system do you recommend ?

I will still be doing the 09’ I know what to do there based on your recommendations I’ve been having health trying to get it to find a bootable Mac OS keep getting a circle with a line through it but I think I’ve figured out I’m trying to get too new of a system on there

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Well, being that it will run up to HiSi without any shenanigans, I'd start there. Granted, security updates stopped in 2020 but there are still supported browsers and other apps making HiSi a usable os option.

From there you can leverage dosdudes patcher to install a newer macOS up to Catalina with DosDudes patcher or beyond with OCLP if you want it.

Linux, like Ubuntu 22.04 would be another option as well if macOS is not necessary and is supported through 2027.

Best of luck to you.

 

[seanmccoye]

Same 2009 13in machine as OP. Dosdudes High Sierra install is rather painless but the OS is getting less and less friendly for up to date applications. Note: I had to try three different usb sticks i had in my parts bin before the install worked.

If you are a MacPorts type of person, max the ram, replace spindle drive and this machine will treat you well.

I may try the OCLP patcher for grins someday .

 

[Jack Neill]

The best thing I ever did for my MB 7,1 was put 2 SSDs in a Raid 0.

I would go HS as anything above that made mine slower than I preferred.

 

[bobesch]

I’ve gotten amazing info off here but I did pick up a pristine new for me used computer for $80 here’s the specs.. it came with 8 GB of ram and I’ll be adding a 1tb Samsung SSD. What system do you recommend ?

I'd go for OCLP/Monterey (or OCLP/Ventura).
OCLP/Monterey is more bullet-proof and slicker than OCLP/Ventura.
Ventura might give You one more year (in future).

 

[Drebs17]

After installing open core with Big Sur on my MacBook i5 2.3 I’m going really slow … here’s my cpu usage when using 4K video downloader .. is this too much of a system for my hardware ? Thinking about going down a notch .. I did do the dual install outlined here..

. so I can boot Big Sur or high Serria .. here’s my usage when downloading videos in 480 p from 4K downloader.. I don’t know what this kernel fast that constantly take 50% is ?