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Mid-2009 MBP maintenance

Tyler23

Tyler23

macrumors 603
Original poster
Dec 2, 2010
5,664
159
Atlanta, GA
Hey everyone,

My mid-2009 MBP is around 3 and a half years old now. Just wondering, what kind of maintenance can/should I be doing? I've been cleaning up files recently and I did a clean install of ML when it came out, but my computer feels so sluggish. Apps take a long time to open, get the beach ball often, scrolling lags, etc..
 
I installed 2 x 4GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD over the summer and now my mid 2009 MBP feels brand new.
 
T5BRICK said:
I installed 2 x 4GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD over the summer and now my mid 2009 MBP feels brand new.
Click to expand...

I would love to get an SSD, it would be great and I'm very worried about my HD crashing. Also, my battery is around 73% health and I'm being told to replace it soon.

Wish I could afford an SSD and more RAM. :(
 
You can find RAM for around $30 if you shop around. I bought some Corsair 1333MHz stuff for mine and it works fine. As for SSDs, yeah they're a little expensive, but $160 is way cheaper than a new computer.

I think my battery is around 85%. It doesn't last as long as it used to, but I'll replace it when it starts dying too fast for my liking.
 
I'm running even older than you… the first generation of Unibody MBP's purchased back in December of 2008. Not really interested in purchasing a new laptop for awhile, as I'll be getting a Mac Pro in a few months. I added 2x4gb of RAM, as well as took out my superdrive and put in a 128gb SSD (OS + applications) in its place, and replaced my 320gb stock HDD with a 1tb HDD. Super fast now. It's a bit of a steep investment, but it's worth it.
 
So I've been looking into RAM upgrade and also potentially an SSD.

RAM would come first as it's less expensive. Currently have my eyes on Crucial CT2CP51264BC1067 8GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 (4GBx2) for RAM, and perhaps Crucial 128 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT128M4SSD2 for an SSD.

Do these seem like good options? I checked and their both compatible and have great reviews. Any other suggestions? From Amazon, the RAM would be $36 and the SSD would be $101.
 
Those sound like good choices. It sounds like you can handle a 128GB SSD. I couldn't make those kinds of cuts in the data I wanted on my computer so I had to go with a 256GB model.
 
To add a bit of physical cleaning. Especially if you're going to open the MBP up anyway check around the air intakes and fans if these have collected a significant amount of dust. If so get a can of compressed air and blow it out.
(Tempting to use a vacuum cleaner but resist that.)
 
The RAM update may not be totally worthwhile. It depends on how you use it.
You could open activity monitor for a normal working day and check whether you ever come close to filling up the memory. If not, an expansion is mainly unnecessary.

The SSD will definitely give you a boost. Start saving. :)
 
I have the money, but until I graduate college in just over a month I can only work my accounting job part time, and I have to make sure I have the funds to give my girlfriend a good Hanukkah :)

Yep, as someone noticed my MBP has 4GB of RAM. I would say I don't usually max that out, but when I have 5 tabs open on Safari, iTunes, Messages, Mail, and iPhoto (plus a few other applications possibly) open I get beachballs when trying to do ANYTHING. Even with just safari and Mail open, new tabs give me a beachball, getting an e-mail gives me the beach ball, trying to play a new song on iTunes gives me a beachball.

I did a clean install with Mountain Lion and cleaned up my hard drive, everything was smooth for about 3 days and then back came my computer struggling..

And yes, I have about 108GB used on my HD right now, so I figure a 128GB SSD will be just fine.
 
Do you think upgrading from 4GB to 8GB of RAM will make a noticeable difference in how smooth my computer runs? Aka less beach balling? Would it speed up app loading times?
 
Tyler23 said:
Hey everyone,

My mid-2009 MBP is around 3 and a half years old now. Just wondering, what kind of maintenance can/should I be doing? I've been cleaning up files recently and I did a clean install of ML when it came out, but my computer feels so sluggish. Apps take a long time to open, get the beach ball often, scrolling lags, etc..
Click to expand...
If you're having performance issues, this may help:

Mac OS X does a good job of taking care of itself, without the need for 3rd party software. Among other things, it has its own maintenance scripts that run silently in the background on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, without user intervention.

 
GGJstudios said:
If you're having performance issues, this may help:

Mac OS X does a good job of taking care of itself, without the need for 3rd party software. Among other things, it has its own maintenance scripts that run silently in the background on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, without user intervention.

Click to expand...

Thanks but I've already done all this, recently and through the years. I think it comes down to my older hardware needing some upgrades.
 
I have a 2009 mbp as well.

Are you sure you did a real clean install. No restoring from time machine? Because doing this after each is upgrade (SL, lion, and ML) + 6gb or ram has made my computer stay as zippy as the day I bought it and I use this computer as my main and only home and work laptop.

You could also upgrade to a solid state drive which I did but honestly my system was running well before and is now running better but not a huge difference.
 
Tyler23 said:
Do you think upgrading from 4GB to 8GB of RAM will make a noticeable difference in how smooth my computer runs? Aka less beach balling? Would it speed up app loading times?
Click to expand...

It would help with some of the beach balls, but not all. It won't really help loading applications faster, that is pretty dependent on your HDD/SSD speed.
 
Saturn1217 said:
I have a 2009 mbp as well.

Are you sure you did a real clean install. No restoring from time machine? Because doing this after each is upgrade (SL, lion, and ML) + 6gb or ram has made my computer stay as zippy as the day I bought it and I use this computer as my main and only home and work laptop.

You could also upgrade to a solid state drive which I did but honestly my system was running well before and is now running better but not a huge difference.
Click to expand...

Yep, clean install and only added my Documents and music back from my External HD. It ran better for three days, but not lag free. And now the lags are back and all over the place.
 
Battery issues

I'm getting this "Service Battery" message, but sometimes it goes away and then reappears. Should I be worried? What do I need to do?
 
waltervt said:
I'm getting this "Service Battery" message, but sometimes it goes away and then reappears. Should I be worried? What do I need to do?
Click to expand...
Your battery may need replacement. However, the "Service Battery" indicator can also appear when the battery health drops to around 75% or below. As battery health fluctuates up and down over time, it's possible it's bouncing above and below that threshold, causing the intermittent message. Use iStat Pro (free) or iStat Menus ($16) to get accurate readings of your battery health, among other things.
 
waltervt said:
Hi and thanks for your reply. I already had iStat Nano, and my battery has 432 cycles and 78% health. Should I replace it now or it's better to wait until it can't hold enough for me? Either way, where can I get one?
Click to expand...
If it's still under warranty or AppleCare, have Apple check to see if it's defective. If it is, they will replace it free. If it's no longer covered by warranty/AppleCare or it's not defective, you can replace it when it no longer holds enough charge to meet your needs. Just because it's below 80% health doesn't mean it's not still usable.

I recommend you only use Apple batteries as replacements, due to the number of problems reported with "knockoff" batteries.

Battery Replacement
Replacing the built-in battery in your MacBook Pro
Intel-based Apple Portables: How to replace or service a built-in battery
 
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