Mid 2009 Macbook (A1342) - OS Advice

[bobcat3000]

Hi,

I have a 2009 Macbook with 8GB Ram and a Sata II SSD. The unit has been ticking along nicely on Mountain Lion (10.8.5) and I have been very apprehensive of updating to a newer OS. However I am now starting to receive notifications advising me that Firefox & Google Chrome are no longer supported.

Is it worth me considering an OS upgrade at this point? Anyone know what sort of performance hit I'm likely to take with Mavericks or El Captain? I know Mavericks introduces a whole new dynamic in terms of memory management, however would this actually introduce a performance increase for me (as I'm not exactly hurting for memory), or would I be more likely to experience an all-round slower system?

Thanks in advance!

 

[HalloweenMisfits]

Hey there,

Awesome that you have an 09 MB still going. I loved their design.

At this point you should absolutely upgrade this to the latest OS that it will take. Mavericks would not make much of a difference in terms of fixing your problem because Mavericks has already been phased out as of last year.

The biggest problem you have is security. These operating systems have not been updated in years and have security holes that could cause malware or virus attacks on your system.

I believe that El Capitan is the latest OS that your macbook will run. I would upgrade to this OS. I believe you can go straight from ML to El Capitan, or you might have to install ML, then Mavericks, then Yosemetie, then El Capitan.

Back up everything you want to keep on an external hard drive before you do this.

Once you make it to El Capitan, do a clean install:

http://mashable.com/2015/10/01/clean-install-os-x-el-capitan/#guvgGyClcOqY

This will ensure the best performance of your macbook on the new OS.

Good luck!

 

[elf69]

I just upgraded my A1342 to sierra from el capitan.

I prefer sierra.
I get 6.5 hours battery at work on sierra and 4-5 on el capitan.

Sierra runs well if you have an ssd and min 4GB ram.
I had 8GB in my last a3142 but only 4GB in this one and can notice the difference.
I have the 2010 2.4GHz model and can install 16GB but I will not as pointless. 8GB is more than enough.

I love the a1342 design and old but does the job quite well.
I have replaced the DVD with a 2nd HDD as then have a small SSD as main and a HDD for data.

Plenty life in these old machines yet.
sold my last one to a friend and well had to get another as awesome machines.

Can pick then up for £150-200 in UK now.

Just watch as some programs not compatible with el capitan/sierra if making such a leap forward.
Check first to save tears.

 

[bobcat3000]

Thanks for the replies.

I surprisingly managed to do a simple upgrade from Mountain Lion to Sierra with no obvious issues.