Restoring Macbook 6.1 from the thrash

[Joelburman]

I found a white MacBook 6,1 in the thrash room in my house. The previous owner haven't erased the drive before throwing it away. The only malfunction I find is that the keyboard is defunct. So have two questions
1. Anyone know of a keyboard fix for this model?
2. The OSX on it is 10.6.8, is there a way that I can erase the old user and do a clean install?

 

[redheeler]

1. Anyone know of a keyboard fix for this model?

Open the MacBook and check if the keyboard cable is seated correctly. If it is, then you may have to do a full top case replacement to get it working.

iFixit is a good resource when you need to repair or replace Mac hardware. The keyboard cable can be seen in step 14 of this guide.

2. The OSX on it is 10.6.8, is there a way that I can erase the old user and do a clean install?

If you have a newer Mac, you can download the installer for a more recent version of MacOS (including High Sierra) from the App Store and make a USB installer using createinstallmedia. Simply boot the MacBook off the USB drive, erase the internal hard drive in Disk Utility, and install MacOS.

If you want to keep 10.6 however, you need either an original restore disk or the later Snow Leopard 10.6.3 retail DVD.

 

[DeltaMac]

What does "defunct" mean to you? Are there missing keycaps, or is there other obvious physical damage?
Or does the keyboard simply not respond to your typing?
You COULD check the keyboard connection inside. Reseating that can sometimes be all you need (assuming there's not that visible physical damage )
To create a new admin user - use this link - https://apple.stackexchange.com/que...to-a-mac-without-knowing-the-current-password
scroll to "Create a New Admin Account"
When you create that new admin account, log out, then log in to your new account. You can delete the existing account in the System Preferences/Accounts pref pane.

BETTER plan would be to get a bootable installer. Your MacBook has a DVD drive, and Apple still sells the Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6.3) installer - https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard.
Boot to that (or to some later version of OS X up to the current High Sierra (macOS 10.13)
The MacBook6,1 supports all from 10.6.1 to current 10.13.4

 

[Joelburman]

Thanks guys. As for the Keyboard nothing happens at all when pushing the keys. Thanks for very informative help so far. I'll keep you updated how it goes.

 

[EugW]

Do you mean trash?

That machine can run High Sierra 10.13 natively. It's fully supported. However, how much RAM do you have? 10.6.8 runs well on 2 GB RAM, but 10.6.8 is obsolete. Current browsers don't run on 10.6.8. However, while High Sierra can run on 2 GB RAM, it doesn't run very well. An SSD would also help a great deal, but I wouldn't invest in an SSD for a machine that isn't working properly.

First try using an external USB keyboard for troubleshooting.

 

[Joelburman]

Yeah I have an external keyboard for testing. As for ram I thought it could handle 4gb? Which I thought I'd put in when having it fixed. I actually have a 320gb SSD laying around that I thought I'd install as well.

 

[DeltaMac]

FYI - your MacBook6,1 will support 8 GB of RAM.

 

[EugW]

I mentioned 2 GB because that was the default amount of RAM for that model. But yeah, it can actually support up to 8 GB RAM (although Apple officially says only 4 GB).

 

[Joelburman]

Nice if I manage to get the keyboard fixed I'll max out the ram.
[doublepost=1527650030][/doublepost]

What does "defunct" mean to you? Are there missing keycaps, or is there other obvious physical damage?
Or does the keyboard simply not respond to your typing?
You COULD check the keyboard connection inside. Reseating that can sometimes be all you need (assuming there's not that visible physical damage )
To create a new admin user - use this link - https://apple.stackexchange.com/que...to-a-mac-without-knowing-the-current-password
scroll to "Create a New Admin Account"
When you create that new admin account, log out, then log in to your new account. You can delete the existing account in the System Preferences/Accounts pref pane.

BETTER plan would be to get a bootable installer. Your MacBook has a DVD drive, and Apple still sells the Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6.3) installer - https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard.
Boot to that (or to some later version of OS X up to the current High Sierra (macOS 10.13)
The MacBook6,1 supports all from 10.6.1 to current 10.13.4

Update: I actually managed to create a new user now. As for the keyboard the weird thing is that the numerical keys above the letters work but not the alphabet keys.

 

[DeltaMac]

...
Have not had the time to check the keyboard cable connection yet. As for creating a new admin user the commands in that link you sent me don't work unfortunately. As for bootable installer I have to look around for that (I live in Sweden).

hmm... there's only two commands, and should work very nicely, particularly with a 10.6 system.

What about those commands does not work for you? Try them again.
Are you not able to boot to single user mode? That's the restart, holding command + s

mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
reboot

Spaces are important, so the commands would be mount[space]-uw[space]/
also rm[space]/var/db/.AppleSetupDone

 

[Joelburman]

See my update above, I managed to be able to add a new user. The issue I have now is that I can't get on to App Store to do updates. I actually manage to surf on some sites on Safari but the app store is completely dead and when clicking searching for updates "program update" I'm alternatively get message that I'm not connected to the internet or that no updates are available.

 

[EugW]

Not sure if this matters, but Apple considers obsolete any product over 7 years old. 10.6.8 is now 6 years and 10 months old.

In any case, I'd just recommend installing Sierra or High Sierra on that machine, if you have access to a copy.

 

[oldmacs]

See my update above, I managed to be able to add a new user. The issue I have now is that I can't get on to App Store to do updates. I actually manage to surf on some sites on Safari but the app store is completely dead and when clicking searching for updates "program update" I'm alternatively get message that I'm not connected to the internet or that no updates are available.

Is the system time setting right?

 

[Joelburman]

But isn't that only for hardware?

 

[EugW]

But isn't that only for hardware?

For obsolete stuff? Maybe. Not sure.

 

[DeltaMac]

Apple's download servers have some pretty old stuff, you can likely auto-update back to OS X 10.2.8, if you have a need for that. A 10.6.8 system has two methods for updates -- the App Store, but better would be Software Update, under the Apple Menu.
I think more likely that you simply don't have any updates available, and your Snow Leopard system is fully updated. The only likely "update" that you would have is to upgrade the OS. And, the only update that would be offered would be High Sierra. The banner for that is probably visible on your App Store Updates tab.
I would NOT do that upgrade without 4 GB RAM or more, and an SSD installed, and I think the upgrade won't work anyway, unless you upgrade to something in between first, like OS X 10.9 (Mavericks). Those systems installers between 10.6 and 10.13 are all available, already on USB thumb drives, often on eBay somewhere.
Easier (and cheaper) is to download the macOS installer app of your choice, and use that to create a bootable installer. There's lots of places that offer tips on how to do that.
One other tip that I would have for you: Go to Apple support downloads page, and search for 10.6.8 Combined.
You should get this page. Download that combo updater, and run it on your MacBook.
That is a tip that is long known to help with some kinds of system problems, as it will clean up caches, and assure that all components in the system are both installed, and installed in the correct locations. That may help enough so that your system will then work as you would hope.
(and you should make sure that time and date are set correctly, as that simple thing can also be a fix for certain problems, like connecting to remote servers (such as Apple's )
If you want a web browser that is a bit more modern than Safari in Snow Leopard, and one that may work more reliably for you, download Roccat web browser.

 

[redheeler]

See my update above, I managed to be able to add a new user. The issue I have now is that I can't get on to App Store to do updates. I actually manage to surf on some sites on Safari but the app store is completely dead and when clicking searching for updates "program update" I'm alternatively get message that I'm not connected to the internet or that no updates are available.

Go into > Software Update and have it check for updates there. This is the primary way to install minor updates in Mac OS X 10.6.

Apple did release an update for Snow Leopard's App Store installable through Software Update, and you likely need that for the App Store to work.

 

[Joelburman]

Here's an update. Managed to install El Capitan 10.11.6 (current version) and delete the old admin user.

As for the keyboard the following is my issue. The numerical key row is working fine (except +? key) as for the other keys they register a push but it becomes a blank space. When I use an external USB keyboard I can type all keys on it.