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Need Suggestions on MBP MID-09

J

Jesteves23

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 23, 2014
2
0
For the past 10 months I've been having minor problems with my mid-2009 Mac Book Pro. Most of which consist of Apps (Mostly iWork, Pages, iPhoto) not responding upon request to be opened. My laptop has 2 GB Ram (2 1x1), a newly upgraded terabyte hard-drive, runs OS X Yosemite as of late November 2014, and the battery says it is in need of a replacement soon. I was wondering if it would be worth upgrading the ram to 8 GB (2 4x4) and replacing the battery (200 dollars) would be worth it or if I'm better of getting a new MacBook. I want this laptop to last me at least another two years and am considering getting a new iPad (either the mini 3 or air 2) to help ease the amount I use it. Any suggestions as I am only home for three weeks until I go back to college would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you from a first time poster,
John
 
Jesteves23 said:
For the past 10 months I've been having minor problems with my mid-2009 Mac Book Pro. Most of which consist of Apps (Mostly iWork, Pages, iPhoto) not responding upon request to be opened. My laptop has 2 GB Ram (2 1x1), a newly upgraded terabyte hard-drive, runs OS X Yosemite as of late November 2014, and the battery says it is in need of a replacement soon. I was wondering if it would be worth upgrading the ram to 8 GB (2 4x4) and replacing the battery (200 dollars) would be worth it or if I'm better of getting a new MacBook. I want this laptop to last me at least another two years and am considering getting a new iPad (either the mini 3 or air 2) to help ease the amount I use it. Any suggestions as I am only home for three weeks until I go back to college would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you from a first time poster,
John
Click to expand...

More RAM will certainly improve things a bit. I have the same setup on my 09 except for having a 500gb HDD. You can consider getting an SSD instead, but it will be limited by the SATA II cable. And definitely replace the battery. It was night and day after I replaced mine. Several recurring issues disappeared. Of course I also keep it at home now and use my late-2013 rMBP as my daily driver for schoolwork.

Two years may be wishful thinking though. The 09 is already over five years old and is likely on it's last supported version of OS X with Yosemite. I would definitely be sure to backup to an external hard drive regularly in case of hardware failure (not likely the HDD if it's new, but maybe the logic board).
 
KUguardgrl13 said:
More RAM will certainly improve things a bit. I have the same setup on my 09 except for having a 500gb HDD. You can consider getting an SSD instead, but it will be limited by the SATA II cable. And definitely replace the battery. It was night and day after I replaced mine. Several recurring issues disappeared. Of course I also keep it at home now and use my late-2013 rMBP as my daily driver for schoolwork.

Two years may be wishful thinking though. The 09 is already over five years old and is likely on it's last supported version of OS X with Yosemite. I would definitely be sure to backup to an external hard drive regularly in case of hardware failure (not likely the HDD if it's new, but maybe the logic board).
Click to expand...


Thanks I recently put a terabyte hard drive in thinking the reason was that my memory was almost full, but it seems the same. How much RAM do you have for yours?
 
Jesteves23 said:
Thanks I recently put a terabyte hard drive in thinking the reason was that my memory was almost full, but it seems the same. How much RAM do you have for yours?
Click to expand...

I put in 8gb (2x4gb) since that's the max amount these Macs support. It's plenty for me. My late-2013 rMBP also has 8gb.
 
While you could do 8 GB, even 4 would be a significant improvement.

If the cost difference from 4 to 8 isn't material, go for 8.

And you should be ok for a couple more years once RAM and battery are upgraded.
 
Put a new ssd in there. I have the same machine and put in a crucial m550. Boots in 15 seconds and basically everything launches within one bounce of the dock. Feels like a new machine. I highly recommend it.
 
dumaz said:
Put a new ssd in there. I have the same machine and put in a crucial m550. Boots in 15 seconds and basically everything launches within one bounce of the dock. Feels like a new machine. I highly recommend it.
Click to expand...

I concur… couldn't have said it better myself.
 
Last edited:
up to a new sad, more ram and new battery...

This will make that machine run like new, however it is over 5 years old the tech is getting old it has no hdmi, thunderbolt, usb 3, AC wifi, bluetooth 4, retina screen, the graphics are pretty poor and running like new isn't that great.

Sure you'll get another year or so out of it and that is fine for the $2-300 ish that will cost you. but a refurb 13 inch rMBP is around the $1000 mark and will give you a better experience and all the modern tech, speed and connectivity for 4 years seems a better deal to me if you can afford the outlay.
 
HI i have a mid 2009 mbp and now its not working at all. takes ages to load and when it does rainbow ball keeps loading. i have upgrades the hd with a fresh one and boosted my ram to 8 gb and still no luck. i have reformatted the thing which took 3 days. Not kidding. is there any one that would have a clue ??? when to apple, reponse was it that it is an antique and they don't even touch these models no more
 
cedric1387 said:
HI i have a mid 2009 mbp and now its not working at all. takes ages to load and when it does rainbow ball keeps loading. i have upgrades the hd with a fresh one and boosted my ram to 8 gb and still no luck. i have reformatted the thing which took 3 days. Not kidding. is there any one that would have a clue ??? when to apple, reponse was it that it is an antique and they don't even touch these models no more
Click to expand...

Sounds like the new HDD is faulty to be honest, it can happen. I would reccomend sending it back and getting an SSD instead. It could also be the SATA cable.
 
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