OS X Mountain Lion Drops Support for Many 2006-2008 Macs with Integrated Graphics

[Wyvernspirit]

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I prefer the text, but is there a way to do this without a trackpad, say for those of us who think trackpads suck, one reason I don't have a laptop. Plan to get an iPad, but then your actually touching what your working with.

I didn't think I like them either. Then I saw the demos for Lion and wanted to try one. Then my son got a 15" MacBook Pro, and showed me what the track pad did. I just got a Magic Trackpad this week, and I love it. I don't miss the mouse at all.

I have used laptops before, including performing a lot of tech support for windows and macs. Although the gestures might be nice, I don't like the cursor control of a trackpad and that is the primary use of a phisical pointing device.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

Just be glad Apple didn't drop C2D support altogether lol.

 

[pigoz]

It looks like they are dropping stuff that is not OpenGL 3.x compatible. Maybe they moved Quartz Extreme to OpenGL 3? That would be quite cool

 

[Regbial]

What about the Mid 2007 low end iMac!? Please tell me it'll work on mine!

 

[Val-kyrie]

I saw this day coming for my Early '08 BlackBook... I just did not thing they would announce a new OS so soon.

A good way to decide to get a new computer is when you max out your software upgrade availability. I've run my computer for four years (archaic for technology), and it runs like a charm- a bit slow in some areas. But it's time for an upgrade... a 13' MacBook would do nicely.

Yeah, I was not expecting a new OS for another year yet.

As the guys over on The Verge put it, integrated graphics aren't to blame for the drop of support. It's about having a 64-bit EFI and 64-bit kexts for the GPUs.

Commenter "frumpsnake" mentioned this on The Verge:
"The release notes for Mountain Lion clearly say that Mountain Lion is 64-bit only and does not support 32-bit Kernel Extensions, unlike Lion which is a hybrid 32/64-bit system that can run 64-bit apps on a 32-bit kernel.

That means it requires
a) A 64-bit processor
b) A 64-bit EFI
c) 64-bit Kernel Extensions for all devices

The first one isn’t a problem, since Lion dropped support for all pre-Core 2 CPUs, but b and c will be.

TUAW are 100% correct in blaming the Intel graphics processors. AppleIntelGMAX3100.kext and AppleIntelGMA950.kext are indeed 32-bit only Kernel Extensions, at least as far as Lion goes, whereas most other graphics drivers (including the X1600 and 7300 kexts) are both x86 and x64.

The other products The Verge list like the late 2006 iMacs/Macbook Pros and original Mac Pros aren’t excluded because of their GPUS, but because they don’t have 64-bit EFIs.

Here is every supported product along with its predecessor:

iMac (Late 2006): 32-bit EFI
iMac (Mid 2007): 64-bit EFI

MacBook (Mid 2007): 32-bit kext (GMA950)
Macbook (Aluminum 2008, Plastic 2009): 64-bit kext (GF9400)

Macbook Air (original): 32-bit EFI
Macbook Air (late 2008): 64-bit EFI

Macbook Pro 13" (Original, aka Mid 2009): 64-bit EFI

Macbook Pro (15", 2.16/2.33GHz): 32-bit EFI
Macbook Pro (15", 2.2/2.4GHz): 64-bit EFI

Macbook Pro (17", Late 2006): 32-bit EFI
Macbook Pro (17", Late 2007): 64-bit EFI

Mac Mini (Mid 2007): 32-bit kext (GMA950)
Mac Mini (Early 2009): 64-bit kext (GF9400M)

Mac Pro (Original): 32-bit EFI
Mac Pro (Early 2008): 64-bit EFI

The list of supported Macs sure looks like the list of fully 64-bit machines now doesn’t it?"

Take a look at the full article: http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/16/2803414/os-x-10-8-compatible-macs-developer-build

Thanks for the informative post. I still think I will wait for Haswell. If indeed Apple is now relegating machines into obsolescence based on (graphics) specs, then Ivy Bridge machines will be among the last machines in a similar graphics hardware generation (like the BlackBook X3100 was the last Intel integrated graphics processor with a 32-bit kext). The leap in integrated graphics between IVB and Haswell is significant. Haswell adds graphics support for DX 11.1, Open CL 1.2, and OpenGL 3.2+.

[Edit: I expect Core 2 Duo processors to be dropped for the OS following ML (10.8).]

 

[DeepIn2U]

Late on this thread and reading more after this post.

I'll be a few users that own ...

The original early 2008 MacBook Air (Model Number: MB003LL/A)

will be quite PISSED to find this out I don't recall ANY Mac of any kind that did NOT get to upgrade to 2 more OS major releases since OSX Debuted.

 

[Winni]

When did you last try Lion? It works flawlessly and really fast on my machines…

Nice anecdote. Here is mine:

Since the update to 10.7.3, it runs like crap on my Late 2009 27" iMac i5. It randomly ejects my external USB hard disks and writing to SMB shares on my Mac has become so sluggish - over Ethernet! - that it is no longer usable. Apple did not even deem it necessary to acknowledge my bug reports and when you google for these problems, you will learn that this is a wide-spread problem and that Apple is simply ignoring it.

The last Lion update turned Lion into a useless pile of garbage. The most essential features no longer work flawlessly.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

well, one of the main marketing plots is that " macs last forever ", but what about now? is 3 years the time our macbooks are supposed to last now?

Well, they still last relatively long, assuming you run old software that was current when the unit was new...

 

[Winni]

Late on this thread and reading more after this post.

I'll be a few users that own ...


will be quite PISSED to find this out I don't recall ANY Mac of any kind that did NOT get to upgrade to 2 more OS major releases since OSX Debuted.

Well, since that machine came with Leopard, you actually already DID get two more major OS releases: Snow Leopard and Lion. Mountain Lion will be the third major update since 2008.

Of course, it is very debatable which OS X update could honestly be considered a "major" update and which of them were more like paid Service Packs. Snow Leopard certainly only was a Service Pack, and even Lion was only a minor upgrade. I think the last "major" update that OS X saw was Leopard 10.5.

 

[cpuguy18]

Im not upgrading to Mountain lion. Lion slowed down my 2010 macbook pro theres no rush to upgrade to a new OS. I havent come across any apps that aren't compatible with snow leopard. So im sticking with snow leopard until im forced to upgrade.

 

[Bug-Creator]

Well, I just switched my 2010 iMac over to Lion yesterday (my 1st attempt shortly after release only lasted a week or so) and it seems to have grown up o.k.

When ML comes around I will probraly just wait atleast a month before installing.

Bout those whining bout "dropping" old HW...

- Snow Leo dropped all PPCs, even the super über expensive G5s that were still on sale 3 years earlier

- Lion killed all non "2" CoreDuos, including MacMinis which were just short of 4 years old at that time (if you bought just before the update)

So now ML "kills" some 3-6 year old models ? Big f###ing deal !!

Also remember that even something as old as Leopard (or even Tiger) is still a good and 100% functional OS, aslong as the HW is up to the tasks you throw at it.....

If my 2006 CoreDuo MMin hadn't died a horrible death, it would still be running regardless of all the OS-updates in the world and it would have been for a few years more.

I surely prefer it this way than advertising a minimum spec that can only run the OS in crawl mode with some of it's main features disabled/non-functioning.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I wonder how many people who are distressed over this are the same ones that a few years back were telling ticked off G5 owners to "move on" and "get a modern system."

The biggest problem with Apple is how they force the updates on people. If you do not update all real support for the OS is dropped.

Take for example iTunes. It is supported on Windows XP (an 10-11 year old OS) compared to OSX where it requires 10.5. I want to say that my aging desktop build in 2004 would not be able to support iTunes if it was OSX.

Difference between Apple and MS is MS supports is older OS and does not drop all major support once a new one comes out. MS released SP3 for XP over a year after Vista was released. Something Apple NEVER would of done. SP2 and SP3 both added more functions and API calls to the OS to help keep up the aging OS to work in modern times.

Apple forces people to update and often times does pretty questionable things to force it. That is the bigger issues with Apple and dropping support hardware wise on the OS is it also goes after the software support as well.

On top of all this Windows 7 supports older computers than either SL or lion did. My desktop built in 2004 can run windows 7 and ran the beta of windows 7 64 bit ok on hardware specs that did not quite meet it for the 64 bit version as it only has 1 gig of ram instead of the 2 required. It meets the specs for 32 bit really well and yes ran it really well. The OS is currently XP and linux as it more used for a media storage and linux test bed now days.

 

[Luis Ortega]

Thats ok, Snow Leopard is still superior (faster, less bloated, more stable and has expose).

No thanks, I'll pass on Lion and Mountain Lion.

Me too.
I tried lion on my mbp and was underwhelmed by the pointlessness of the upgrade.
I kept my mac pro on snow leopard and I like it much more.
Everything these days is going the way of ios eye candy it seems.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]]

Just as I thought, these new versions are more about ditching old hardware and trying to force people to buy newer hardware than actual useful upgrades. So now we have constant upgrade cycles (like with Windows) PLUS no support for hardware more than 4 years old... just the kind of STABILITY you want to build a world class operating system on, a 1-3 year old hardware constant upgrade pattern.

I'm still using Snow Leopard on my late 2008 MBP. I see no features reason to "upgrade" to Lion and I certainly see nothing that looks all that great in Mountain Lion. Hell, to be honest, I saw nothing all that great in Snow Leopard over Leopard to get all excited about (Grand Central and OpenCL didn't speed my MBP up...it actually tests slightly slower than in Leopard overall). Ah, for the days when OSX improvements were real and tangible and the OS got faster and faster each version (i.e. right up through Tiger). Now they remove features instead (of adding new ones) like dumping Rosetta support (for older games and software), dumping X11 (so much for the whole play nice with other Unix flavors thing) while adding things like the "Gatekeeper" to make it harder for you to get 3rd party software that hasn't paid their 33% Apple Tax.

Frankly, I don't mind staying with older OS versions, but traditionally, software support gets dropped for those versions all too quickly (particularly when Apple dumps support for the hardware in XCode, making it a royal PITA to support older systems even if the developers want to without jumping through hoops).

 

[localoid]

Thank god the earth's resources are infinite otherwise the concept of planned obsolescence might never have gotten off the ground.

 

[AnonMac50]

I wish you were right, but I checked with Crucial, and my Mac is the model before the one that can be upgraded to 6GB RAM.
I'll double check anyways. My MBP is:

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP31.0070.B07
SMC Version (system): 1.18f5
Hardware UUID: 00000000-0000-1000-8000-001B63921D47
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

UPDATE: I have just ran the Crucial Scanner, and it shows my MBP can take a maximum of 4GB RAM

My computer:


Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 3 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP41.00C1.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.27f3
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled


Crucial says I can have 4 GB maximum, but Mactracker, and other sources say I can have 6. OWC also. This link also says that: http://tidbits.com/article/9839

And this:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/573906/

I am going to purchase a 4 GB card soon, I think, to install (2+4).

Hope this helps.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

QUITE SO!
Why would this be voted down? when i had my Mac Pro refurb with lion on it (which the apple staff said had Snow Leopard installed on it and i should not install SL on it) i ended up with apps that would not work including my Epson scanner 2480 which works perfectly well.
I cloned my macbook pro hard drive with snow leopard on it ran the mac pro fro a while with the Lion disk still in it ,all worked well then took Lion disk out.
The main reason for running SL for me is so i have no printer dialog issues for my Epson R2400

Did you look for updates to your printer drivers? When I went from Snow Leopard to Lion I had to install all new drivers for my Lexmark all-in-one. The old scanning applications didn't work anymore, but now the new drivers use Image Capture. Apple actually had the new drivers available. Obviously if it's an old scanner that's an issue as some of the manufacturers don't write new driver software for old gear.

 

[AnonMac50]

The only issue with a lack of support is the lack of security updates.

Apps are less of a concern than security updates.

Ditto here for my Black MB 4,1. This is nothing more than forced obsolescence. I run with 4GB RAM and a 750GB 7200RPM Hitachi HDD, and this does everything I need for the moment. For financial reasons, I have to get at least another year out of it before I am able to update.

Add security updates to the list.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

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I have used laptops before, including performing a lot of tech support for windows and macs. Although the gestures might be nice, I don't like the cursor control of a trackpad and that is the primary use of a phisical pointing device.

It's much different with the Magic Trackpad. I like it better than my son's MBP trackpad.

 

[AnonMac50]

Just be glad Apple didn't drop C2D support altogether lol.

Just wait for 10.9!

Seriously though, by that time, if they do do that, they'll be defended "as those computers are at least 3 years old already! That's ancient in the tech world!!"

 

[willfurnell]

The biggest problem with Apple is how they force the updates on people. If you do not update all real support for the OS is dropped.

That is what really annoys me. Whenever a new operating system is released, as you say, support is dropped and then I am forced to have to update my computer (which I have not wanted to do) so I can continue doing basic things without worries of backdoors or vulnerabilities that may be in the OS and won't get patched.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

How many computers were actually dropped from support? 10.0-10.2 supported the same thing. You could put System 7.5.5 (released in 1996) on a 1986 Mac Plus. Isn't that 10 years of support? Then you've got several more years just support. 10.3 ran on most of the 10.2 supported computers. 10.4 came almost 2 years later and dropped computers without firewire (even though they could run it perfectly). 10.3 was supported for several years after. How many of those 23 upgrades were paid?

Well let's see. I bought a PowerMac G4 Digital audio in 2000. I had 9.2.2 on that, but I forget what it came with. I upgraded the CPU to 1 GHz a few years later. I ran every version of OS X on that until they dropped support for PPC machines. So that would be Leopard in 2007. That's not a bad lifetime for a Mac.

Before that I had (and still have) a PowerComputing PowerCenter 132, and before that my PowerMac 6100.

Then I had a G4 MDD that a friend gave me, and I used that until last year when I got my iMac. My wife used the G4 until last week, when it died, and she got a new Mac Mini.

I'd say the paid upgrades where the major revisions. So I think 7.6 was paid, 8 was and 9 was. So that was one paid upgrade once a year. Back then they had upgrade pricing on many of the versions.

----------

That is what really annoys me. Whenever a new operating system is released, as you say, support is dropped and then I am forced to have to update my computer (which I have not wanted to do) so I can continue doing basic things without worries of backdoors or vulnerabilities that may be in the OS and won't get patched.

No, you don't have to upgrade the OS or the computer as long as it does what you want it to do.

There haven't been any "backdoors or vulnerabilities" on Macs, and I doubt there will be any time soon. In all the time I have been using them I have had two instances of viruses, both MDEF variants, and both came from removable media. Neither caused any real problems and was able to be removed quickly.

Since then there have been zero threats to Macs. If you are worried just install some anti virus software. You wont need it, but it's not bad to have.

As Macs get more popular hackers will be targeting the newer OS versions anyway.

 

[willfurnell]

No, you don't have to upgrade the OS or the computer as long as it does what you want it to do.

There haven't been any "backdoors or vulnerabilities" on Macs, and I doubt there will be any time soon. In all the time I have been using them I have had two instances of viruses, both MDEF variants, and both came from removable media. Neither caused any real problems and was able to be removed quickly.

Since then there have been zero threats to Macs. If you are worried just install some anti virus software. You wont need it, but it's not bad to have.

As Macs get more popular hackers will be targeting the newer OS versions anyway.

I just don't like how I am forced to update my OS every year or so for new things because my current operating system will no longer have support, and then in this instance update my computer every couple of years to use these new Operating Systems. I have a 10.6 machine sitting next to me with some features happily working, and others I know will not within a short amount of time.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Maybe their is hope. http://osxdaily.com/2012/02/18/install-os-x-mountain-lion-developer-preview-on-old-unsupported-macs

 

[righteye]

Did you look for updates to your printer drivers? When I went from Snow Leopard to Lion I had to install all new drivers for my Lexmark all-in-one. The old scanning applications didn't work anymore, but now the new drivers use Image Capture. Apple actually had the new drivers available. Obviously if it's an old scanner that's an issue as some of the manufacturers don't write new driver software for old gear.

DRM yes i did but but the newer printer dialogue was missing the all important "No colour management" which allows Photoshop to apply printer profiles.
My greatest fear is loosing my printer settings i have a wysiwyg set up at the moment and do not want to jeopardise that for new features, not that i'am anti new features per se.
Image scan seems a bit basic unless i'am missing something no curves or levels for example.
Thanks for suggestion though.