Old good white MacBook revival - dusting, upgrades.

[ellevy12]

Nice Post - mine macbook white a1181 2,1 late 2006

very nice upgrade post

i have late 2006, macbook white which still use me today as Kodi machine. it's amazing how this 8 years old machine is capable of in spit of old gma 950 video card.

mine was bought with 120gb hdd and 1gb ram at 2006 , but over the years was upgraded and today is with 120gb SSD and going to upgrade to 4gb ram.
SSD really make this machine fly with 150 mb read/write (my new mid 2012 macbook pro has about 60-70 mb read/write with regular hdd) and it also makes it run cooler then ever.

only cons of this machine is the lack of support of anything above mac os x lion :-( which makes me think of running ubuntu on it


Long live the white macbook !

 

[joe4444]

SSD and HDD in White MacBook

[originally posted here, then I found this WhiteBook thread!]

Okay, this one is probably a little more straight forward for my White MacBook3,1 (2007) compared to my girlfriend's Aluminum MacBook5,1 because I do not have the luxury of a SATA optical drive. However, my optical drive has also been dead for a long time. I barely used it until I wanted to do a fresh install of Snow Leopard a few years ago and realized the drive couldn't read the DVD!

Anyway, for myself I ordered a 128GB SSD. I will move my 320GB HDD from the standard hard drive spot to the optical bay and make it my Time Machine backup. I think I don't have a choice in locations because the White MacBook optical drive is PATA, so I'm assuming it would be stupid to put the SSD in the optical bay where it would be throttled down to PATA speed. That would negate most or all of the benefit of upgrading to the SSD, correct? I realize that even in the standard drive spot my SATA 3 SSD will be throttled to SATA 1 (all the White MacBooks with optical drives have SATA 1 for the HDD).

If that is right, and I install the Time Machine HDD in optical bay and the SSD in the standard drive spot, then is there anything I should consider with this configuration in terms of protecting the drives? Or anything else? I have always been extra careful with this machine and want it to last at least a few more years, so I'm not too concerned about losing the sudden motion sensor feature with the HDD in the optical bay. In 7 years I've never dropped it.

Will I still see a significant performance boost even though the SSD will run at SATA 1 speed? Would it be enough to justify finally upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion (last OS X compatible with my White MacBook)? I held off because of so many bad reviews about Lion's performance on my generation MacBook, but I'm pretty sure all of those reviews were from people with their original HDD.

I already upgraded to 4GB RAM before I got Snow Leopard, and that was a good investment. I may go to 6GB in the near future if the SSD isn't a big improvement.

 

[Weaselboy]

Will I still see a significant performance boost even though the SSD will run at SATA 1 speed? Would it be enough to justify finally upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion (last OS X compatible with my White MacBook)? I held off because of so many bad reviews about Lion's performance on my generation MacBook, but I'm pretty sure all of those reviews were from people with their original HDD.

Yes, you still will notice a big difference due to the much much faster seek times of the SSD. Just this week I installed a Crucial MX100 256GB SSD in my niece's 2008 white Macbook just like yours and there was a very noticeable difference in performance. You will be happy with the upgrade.

As far as Lion, if it has features you want, I would go ahead with it. Snow Leopard is no longer getting security updates from Apple, so there is that to consider.

 

[GlastoEls]

Some superb stories here.

I am confused how BrettApple has Yosemite working - I thought Intel 2 Core Duo models could go as far as Lion (which wasn't a good idea, really struggled, I went back down to Snow Leopard within six months).

Only today I put in a new SuperDrive as my DVD player / burner wasn't working.

Really is in amazing condition.

Only upcoming problem I can see is if iPhone 7, say, isn't supported by 10.6.8 - then not sure how to get all my music on there?

 

[bunnspecial]

Some superb stories here.

I am confused how BrettApple has Yosemite working - I thought Intel 2 Core Duo models could go as far as Lion (which wasn't a good idea, really struggled, I went back down to Snow Leopard within six months).

The 2009 models run Yosemite without any special tricks or otherwise-they are officially supported.

I have it running on my mid-2009 White Macbook. With 4gb of RAM and an SSD, it's fairly useable.

 

[joe4444]

Yes, you still will notice a big difference due to the much much faster seek times of the SSD. Just this week I installed a Crucial MX100 256GB SSD in my niece's 2008 white Macbook just like yours and there was a very noticeable difference in performance. You will be happy with the upgrade.

As far as Lion, if it has features you want, I would go ahead with it. Snow Leopard is no longer getting security updates from Apple, so there is that to consider.

Thanks, Weaselboy. That's the exact SSD that I ordered for my girlfriend's 2008 Aluminum MacBook I got myself the 128GB version. After reading some reviews about the 128GB version, I'm glad I did not spring for the extra space (that I don't really need) because it was only after I ordered the SDDs that I realized my MacBook's controller is SATA-1, which will limit speeds to 150 MB/s. The 128GB MX100 uses different NAND that is slower than the NAND in the 256GB MX100. The difference between the two drives might be noticeable on a SATA-2 controller, but not on SATA-1, so I would have paid extra for space I probably would not use and speed I definitely could not use

What I'm wondering now is if it would be preferable to install the SSD in the optical bay. If the PATA interface is ATA/133, then the SATA-1 spot intended for the HDD would theoretically only provide 12% improved speeds (150 MB/s vs. 133 MB/s), and only for BIG reads/writes, so I might not even notice the difference. However, I cannot find detailed specs about the MacBook3,1 motherboard. Aside from that, there may be other factors that could actually slow down the PATA connection if the cable is inferior or the SATA-to-PATA optical bay adapter I ordered is not that fast.

Mostly I'm asking because I read that the Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS) to help protect the HDD is positioned where the SATA-1 spot is, so if I move the HDD to the optical bay, it won't benefit from the SMS. Also, because SSDs are supposed to run cooler than HDDs, I thought it might be better to have the warmer HDD farther away from other warm components on the motherboard.

Maybe I'm just splitting hairs, but I really don't want to test this myself by taking apart my MacBook 2-3 times. Just getting to the optical bay is not going to be very fun. I'd like to do it once and be done with it.

Any ideas about this?

----------

Some superb stories here.

I am confused how BrettApple has Yosemite working - I thought Intel 2 Core Duo models could go as far as Lion (which wasn't a good idea, really struggled, I went back down to Snow Leopard within six months).

Only today I put in a new SuperDrive as my DVD player / burner wasn't working.

Really is in amazing condition.

Only upcoming problem I can see is if iPhone 7, say, isn't supported by 10.6.8 - then not sure how to get all my music on there?

I'm pretty sure any "regular" MacBook model older than the Aluminum (like my Late 2007 White MacBook3,1) cannot go beyond Lion. I read on everymac.com that the (most significant) limiting factor is the graphics chipset. Starting with the Aluminum in 2008 (and other White MacBooks from 2008 or later) the graphics chipsets are sufficient for Mountain Lion, Mavericks, and Yosemite.

I am working on my girlfriend's Aluminum, and it has Yosemite running "okay" at the moment. I'm still waiting for an SSD to replace the HDD, and I may end up bumping her RAM to 8GB. Right now with the HDD and only 2GB RAM it's a bit slow sometimes in Yosemite because it starts paging the HDD. I'm hoping the paging isn't very noticeable with the SSD, but I'd bet bumping it up to 8GB RAM would make everything pretty smooth.

 

[Jkj12]

Upgraded my 2008 Blackbook to 4gb ram and a 128gb SSD, and placed the old 250gb hdd in the drive bay. Snow Leopard is super fast on it.
Use it every day at the university. Only issue is the fan going crazy when i'm using youtube.

Got a Mid 2009 for ~$115 which i upgraded to 5gb ram. Yosemite i acceptable on it but nothing compared to the other one running SL (obviously).

I'm considering swapping logic boards in them, and end up with a Black mid 2009 with the SSD and upgrade it to 6gb (or 8gb) ram. It's a big mod but it would be awesome.

 

[Weaselboy]

What I'm wondering now is if it would be preferable to install the SSD in the optical bay.

I'm not really an opti-bay expert since I have never done it, but just from reading here on the forums it seems like most people put the HDD in the optical bay. I don't think the lack of the SMS is a big issue unless you drop the computer.

 

[bubsdaddy]

I just installed a 128GB Crucial M4 SSD to replace the 120GB hard drive. Does anyone know any benchmarking software that will run on Snow Leopard?

 

[theLimit]

I bought a late 2009 MacBook from the marketplace here a few years ago. It's the first of the white unibody MacBooks. The screen was broken on one side and it had a few other small problems. It's got a sizable dent on the corner by the power button and the casing behind the screen has a crack by the hinge. The battery is about half capacity so I have to be plugged in about half the day.

I fixed it up and put in a new screen, new HDD, and 4GB RAM and was running Mountain Lion on it until recently. I took the plunge to Yosemite last month and am quite pleased. Yosemite fixed my wifi issue of not connecting after waking up. On ML I'd always have to turn wifi off and back on to find any networks, now it connects the instant I open the lid.

Last weekend I got a 120GB SSD and replaced the superdrive with it. I set up the HDD and SSD as a Fusion drive and this thing flies! It now boots in half the time and iTunes and iPhoto open in under five seconds. Everything is just so fast and the machine is super responsive. I could upgrade the RAM to 8GB and get a new battery, but I'm putting that off for now.

I've got about $400 invested in it and does everything I need it to. This little machine is 5 years old and I expect that it'll last me a good 5 more.

 

[oreez]

Hello again my mac friends. It was nice to see all the responses that this thread has attracted over the past three years since I've shared with you my macbook upgrade project. I am glad that it inspired others to try something similar with their own macbooks.

Now, the good news is that my macbook is still running and has not had any major problems since my update 3 years ago, which now makes this laptop 7 years old. Wow time goes fast... The even better news is that I have just spent around £150 on Ebay which means I'm gonna have some new bits and bobs being delivered this week which I will use to breathe some more life into my macbook.

So brace yourselves and stay tuned for a new update coming this week as I will try to document it the best I can and hopefully show some performance improvements.

Until then, Thank you again for the enthusiasm displayed so far and hopefully you will enjoy my upcoming update.

 

[Angelo95210]

I also have a white macbook but the thing I hate is the case cracking everywhere. Plus it's getting really warm, I don't know about yours...

 

[bubsdaddy]

While Snow Leopard is OK, I'm finding it harder and harder to install any software. Is there a workaround to install anything newer? I know I can install Lion but that wouldn't help all that much.

 

[Angelo95210]

I am still running Snow Leopard but with pretty old software though... And I don't see the need for newer.

 

[oreez]

I also have a white macbook but the thing I hate is the case cracking everywhere. Plus it's getting really warm, I don't know about yours...

I have the same problem with my case too. Unfortunately it is common in the older white macs, but luckily they are only cosmetic defects and don't really cause any issues as far as using the laptop.

As for the heat, I find that my macbook gets a bit hot too and sometimes I have to take it of my lap or put something inbetween to continue using it, however there are things you can do to help with this. When I get all the components delivered as part of the hardware upgrade I plan to give my laptop a good clean up internally by removing all the dust and also reapply the thermal paste between the processor and the heat sink. That combined with a fresh OS should hopefully reduce peak temperatures. If you go to my first post on this thread you will see how much dust I had in my laptop after 3 years since new.

 

[oreez]

While Snow Leopard is OK, I'm finding it harder and harder to install any software. Is there a workaround to install anything newer? I know I can install Lion but that wouldn't help all that much.

It's a bit of topic, but I have Lion on my mac and have no problem installing latest software.

 

[ApolloBoy]

I also have a white macbook but the thing I hate is the case cracking everywhere. Plus it's getting really warm, I don't know about yours...

Both of those are very common with the pre-unibody models, I had the top case on mine replaced twice and it still has that issue. It also runs pretty hot no matter what you do, even if you replace the thermal compound.

 

[Angelo95210]

I just bought a stand with a fan below to cool my macbook down, it was getting too hot. The fan of the macbook is making too much noise at 6200rpm, a bigger one on the stand should decrease the overall noice. This is my last investment before buying the new macbook

 

[oreez]

Apologies for taking so long, but as promised, here is an update to what I have done with my MacBook since original post in 2012.

The main thing is the replacement of an HHD with an SSD. Now I know that in the original post I argued against SSD since I wouldn't get the full speed due to older connection limitations, however the price of SSD has dropped quite a bit since then which means that it's not so much of an issue any more as long as I get some improvement in overall speed. So here we go, the old vs the new:

Just as I did 3 years ago, I have also done some cleaning of internal components, except this time I went a little bit further and actually dissembled the entire assembly that sits on top of the CPU, also removed the old thermal paste, cleaned out all the dust, re-applied the thermal paste and put it all back together:


Before pic:

Fan assembly before:

Fan assembly after:

Removed old thermal paste from the cpu and removed the dust of the board:

Finally put it all back together:

And finish it off, I have also bought a new aftermarket battery which now holds a lot more charge than the original 7 year old battery, so I get some of that portability functionality back:

Of course, a completely fresh install of the OS was a final step, and now it's all working like a charm again!

However, I have to admit that I have since bought a new windows laptop and my MacBook is now a secondary laptop, but it still gets used quietly frequently by my girlfriend or myself whenever someone is using the new windows pc. And if it weren't for this update I am not sure if it'd be as usable as it is now.

So after all, an upgrade which was well worth the effort and helps my old friend to keep on going. I hope you have enjoyed this post and feel free to ask me any questions if you want to try something similar, but aren't sure about something as I'd be glad to help

 

[Primejimbo]

It's a bit of topic, but I have Lion on my mac and have no problem installing latest software.

Is Lion still supported? (get security updates)

 

[comda]

Is Lion still supported? (get security updates)

Oddly enough Lion did recieve the latest itunes update as well as a few minor updates. But i hated Lion on my Macbook. Anything visually ran like crap. I installed Mountain Lion (unofficially) using Macpostfactor. It created the installer on the recovery partition then i installed ML, updated it, booted from the recovery repatched it and everything runs as smooth as butter. Even Imessage works properly video wise even smoother then Lion ever was. Love it.

 

[oreez]

Just a quick update on this.

It is now 6 years since I originally started this threat and almost 10 years since I bought this laptop - AND IT IS ALIVE AND GOING!!!

Not sure how long I will keep it now. Seems like 50% of new apps don't work on it anymore.

 

[zackkmac]

Good to hear! I also just did a very similar task - started with a 2009 2.26GHz C2D MacBook (white unibody) with no working speaker output and a dead battery...and ended up getting a 2010 2.4GHz motherboard ($25 for a CPU and graphics upgrade AND it fixed the audio!), the bigger OEM 63.5Wh battery (2009 models used a 60Wh), 10GB RAM and a 128GB SSD.

Hopefully you can still squeeze quite a bit more time/life out of yours, there's just something about bringing these machines to the best of their ability that is very rewarding.