Upgrade or kill?

[ssk2]

First post, be gentle!

I have a 2006 Macbook that has two problems:

1) It had/s the infamous wireless dropping problem, meaning it will not pick up any wireless signal unless it is sitting right ON my router

2) My long suffering battery is now dead - it will no longer power on, even when plugged in and charging.

3) I'm beginning to worry my HD is going...

Sooo.... do I try and restore my baby to its former glory? What are my options? Is any of the following viable?

1) Replace the battery with a new one. (Obviously this is easy...)

2) Get Apple to stick a new wireless card inside?

3) Replace the HD. (Again this is fairly straightforward, but can I stick anything OTHER than a 2.5" SATA in there? eg. SSD possible?)

What would your rough estimate of costs be? Would it be worth waiting to upgrade when the next round of upgrades occurs? Any other tips and advice?!

Many thanks!

 

[ssk2]

Sorry to bump, but anyone at all?

 

[Bending Pixels]

You could replace the battery, HD, etc., but....keep in mind that it's now a 5 year old laptop (not bad considering the usual lifespan of a laptop).

I'd seriously recommend lookng at just replacing it with a new MacBook or MacBook Pro.

 

[iExpensive]

I think its time to kill it.

 

[ssk2]

You could replace the battery, HD, etc., but....keep in mind that it's now a 5 year old laptop (not bad considering the usual lifespan of a laptop).

I'd seriously recommend lookng at just replacing it with a new MacBook or MacBook Pro.

I think its time to kill it.

Thanks so much guys! Great help!

Any news of when either the new MBs, MBPs or even a new Mac Mini (wishful thinking), might be out?

 

[iExpensive]

Thanks so much guys! Great help!

Any news of when either the new MBs, MBPs or even a new Mac Mini (wishful thinking), might be out?

March-April is what we are expecting at the moment.

 

[mr.steevo]

I wouldn't "kill it" if you are considering a mini. There is no reason why you can't still use it in the same way I am using an old iBook; it's now a desktop.

If you turn your macbook into a desktop you won't need a battery (as it will stay plugged in) and you won't need to fix the wireless problem (plug directly into the ethernet port). All you need is a monitor to plug into and, if you want to run the macbook in closed clamshell mode, a keyboard and mouse.

You can get all of that equipment for less than the price of a battery.

Buy an inexpensive SSD drive to handle applications and the OS, and connect an external 1-2TB drive for everything else.