Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Should I buy new macbook macbook pro or fix mine

marshallbedsaul

marshallbedsaul

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 14, 2007
893
74
Utah
Hello,
I have a late 2006-7 macbook pro 15 inch 2.16 ghz and recently when upgraded the os the Hard drive failed giving me the flashing folder icon. Before I did a new os install the computer was lagging very bad and having issues, so i tried a new os install and results are need a new hard drive. So should i guy a new 500gb hard drive and new ram and upgrade the computer. Or should I not dump another dollar into the system and be happy i had 4 years worth of service out of the system.

And if that is your answer what macbook or macbook pro should I buy I do a lot of photo editing so I would need something fast enough to keep me happy. I was maybe thinking refurbished macbook pro ect... Also I am a student so I can get apple student discount.

And if your answer is to keep the computer should i worry about other issues like lcd problems or logic board failing ect..?

thank you for your thoughts cheers :apple:
 
marshallbedsaul said:
Hello,
I have a late 2006-7 macbook pro 15 inch 2.16 ghz and recently when upgraded the os the Hard drive failed giving me the flashing folder icon. Before I did a new os install the computer was lagging very bad and having issues, so i tried a new os install and results are need a new hard drive. So should i guy a new 500gb hard drive and new ram and upgrade the computer. Or should I not dump another dollar into the system and be happy i had 4 years worth of service out of the system.

And if that is your answer what macbook or macbook pro should I buy I do a lot of photo editing so I would need something fast enough to keep me happy. I was maybe thinking refurbished macbook pro ect... Also I am a student so I can get apple student discount.

And if your answer is to keep the computer should i worry about other issues like lcd problems or logic board failing ect..?

thank you for your thoughts cheers :apple:
Click to expand...

Never a good idea to dump money into a 4 year old machine. I have a 13" MBP and it does fine in Aperture and Photoshop CS3 for photo editing. I'd go with the base model 13" MBP for portability and affordability....but that's just me.
 
thank you for your advice will consider it !
also if i order online from apple will i get a free itouch? I currently am a student but am not sure if they have promotions now.
 
hmm I would hate to upgrade and have something very costly crash or die on me than i would be screwed over, but its worth thinking about also another question.

I have a imac from 2002
the specs

700mhz power pc


768mb ram


40gb HD

I am wondering what is the newest os i can install on the thing and have it run smooth, I just want to be able to use illustrator and edit photos and of course some web surfing
 
marshallbedsaul said:
Hello,
I have a late 2006-7 macbook pro 15 inch 2.16 ghz and recently when upgraded the os the Hard drive failed giving me the flashing folder icon. Before I did a new os install the computer was lagging very bad and having issues, so i tried a new os install and results are need a new hard drive. So should i guy a new 500gb hard drive and new ram and upgrade the computer. Or should I not dump another dollar into the system and be happy i had 4 years worth of service out of the system.

And if that is your answer what macbook or macbook pro should I buy I do a lot of photo editing so I would need something fast enough to keep me happy. I was maybe thinking refurbished macbook pro ect... Also I am a student so I can get apple student discount.

And if your answer is to keep the computer should i worry about other issues like lcd problems or logic board failing ect..?

thank you for your thoughts cheers :apple:
Click to expand...

What you said about your computer lagging before it failed, that is quite typical for a hard drive that is on its last leg, so that problem would go away with a new hard drive, and a 500 GB hard drive is likely a lot faster than what you had. I think on the 2007 MBP, changing the hard drive was let's say challenging. If you had a MacBook of the same age, I'd say replace the hard drive because it's cheap and easy. With your MBP, have a look around for instructions how to replace the hard drive and decide whether you are up to the challenge. Once you have to pay a professional to do it, it is much less worth it.

Also a laptop with a broken hard drive, an external drive and a monitor makes a fine desktop computer, so you should always be able to sell it on eBay for some money. Or use it yourself with external hard drive and a monitor for photo editing and get a 13" to carry around.

Just read your second post: Yes, the broken MBP + external hard drive + monitor would be ten times better than your 2002 iMac.
 
fix it! if all thats wrong is the HDD failed.

I might consider an SSD though at this point.

If you could handle only having 80GB, an Intel G2 is around $200, and would make you system feel like a new computer again.

If thats too much grab a HDD. Even if your MBP has other issues, you can always use the HDD as an external in the future.

A new HDD is a cheap fix, and about $1700 ($1600 with student discount) cheaper than the entry level 15".:D
 
ok
so what I may do is just buy a new HD and see how things run, but what about the logic board do they usually fail as well?
I would hate to spend 80 bucks on a 500gb HD and have the logic board fail. And if i want to run the mbp off a ex Hd how do i do that ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back