Upgrading a Core Duo iMac to a Core 2 Duo iMac

[Fried Chicken]

Howdy MacRumors!
I've been lurking all over this forum for a while, so I thought I would give something in return.

With Lion coming out, owners of 32-bit processors seem to be SOL..
However, because the core duo processor is a socketed processor, it can be replaced relatively easily with a newer (and 64-bit) core 2 duo processor for ~$50... Which is exactly what I've done.

I haven't tested it yet with Lion (it's not released yet), however I see no reason why it shouldn't work with my upgraded system...

So for those of you interested, I have posted a detailed how to here:
http://macstack.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10746&p=240340#p240340

I apologize in advance for my poor writing style, I've never done this sort of thing before... however the whole thing went smoothly, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me or post in this thread.

-FC

 

[Hellhammer]

Lion runs fine on Core Duo Macs with a very small hack (you just need to delete one file).

 

[Fried Chicken]

Lion runs fine on Core Duo Macs with a very small hack (you just need to delete one file).

Would you mind sharing which file? Wow.... I honestly thought it was because Lion was only 64-bit.

 

[Hellhammer]

Would you mind sharing which file? Wow.... I honestly thought it was because Lion was only 64-bit.

http://www.cultofmac.com/reader-tip...er-preview-on-unsupported-core-duo-macs/84960

If Lion was really 64-bit (only 64-bit kernel), then it wouldn't run on many of the first gen Core 2 Duo Macs either due to 32-bit EFI.

 

[MacHamster68]

DO not upgrade Apple wants you to buy a new iMac and dump your old computer there http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkpBcFDjk7Y&feature=related thats what apple is encouraging with not supporting 5 year old hardware

sure you can install Lion on a usb drive connected to a core2 duo or i series iMac , delete that file and it will run on a core duo ...pah i stick with my Tiger and my old PPC Mac's at least they just work

 

[Fried Chicken]

DO not upgrade Apple wants you to buy a new iMac and dump your old computer there http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkpBcFDjk7Y&feature=related

Looks like where best buy takes recycling.

 

[MacHamster68]

Looks like where best buy takes recycling.

not only best buy , all electrical products end there one day ,apart from my PPC Mac's, i am hording spare parts for all of them to keep them alive forever, and my broken parts go to a recycling company who is really recycling and not just burning them in ghana or china

 

[coolspot18]

my broken parts go to a recycling company who is really recycling and not just burning them in ghana or china

Or so you think!

 

[cooky560]

Will Lion run on my Intel Core i3 3.06ghz mac?

 

[Fried Chicken]

Will Lion run on my Intel Core i3 3.06ghz mac?

No, you should try to replace it with a core 2 duo.

 

[Fried Chicken]

No, you should try to replace it with a core 2 duo.

Haha, I'm just kidding, of course Lion will run on your iMac.

 

[MacHamster68]

Or so you think!

no, just insider knowledge

 

[asdf542]

Lion runs fine on Core Duo Macs with a very small hack (you just need to delete one file).

Sure it'll 'run' but it won't be useable.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12735261/

 

[Intell]

Lion runs fine on Core Duo Macs with a very small hack (you just need to delete one file).

That hack only works with DP1. Apple has changed somethings with the boot.efi to further block that.

Lion will still not work on CD Macs, even if their CPUs are upgraded to C2D's. Why? Their logic board identifiers are in the list of supported computers and cannot be added.

 

[Fried Chicken]

That hack only works with DP1. Apple has changed somethings with the boot.efi to further block that.

Lion will still not work on CD Macs, even if their CPUs are upgraded to C2D's. Why? Their logic board identifiers are in the list of supported computers and cannot be added.

This is something which I fear. We'll see, maybe there's a way around it, that will allow the computer to be usable.

 

[MacHamster68]

even there are ways around , wait a couple days after release then you will find the right hack
if not then the great thing about that is actually you could soon buy the core duo based iMac's for peanuts as all those Lion fans will try to get rid of them quickly , and if you dont mind running tiger,leopard or snow leopard..windows xp, windows vista , windows7 and soon after Lions release windows8
Microsoft a few days ago mentioned that Windows 8 would run on the same hardware as Windows 7
not to mention all those various Linux Distros that run on the iMac core duo's anyway , so really plenty of choice

 

[Fried Chicken]

Aagggghhhh, now I've finally gotten stuck... I'm trying to extract the wonders of 64-bit, and it's just not letting me... I managed to get Windows 7 x64 installed, however, I'm having trouble getting the display adapters installed (This is ATI's fault AFAIK).

I'm toying with the idea of changing the Model Identifier number to that of a late 2006 iMac, and then installing the EFI update for that corresponding model, but I'm not too sure if this is the best idea.... More research is in order!

 

[Fried Chicken]

Ok, stuck again (the ATI drivers I just needed to do a windows update),
Right now my mac refuses to have more than 2GB of RAM installed,
also I can't get Lion installed even with the upgraded processor. I'm going to try the unofficial workarounds and see what I can do.

If anyone has any better ideas, all help is welcome!

 

[philipma1957]

Ok, stuck again (the ATI drivers I just needed to do a windows update),
Right now my mac refuses to have more than 2GB of RAM installed,
also I can't get Lion installed even with the upgraded processor. I'm going to try the unofficial workarounds and see what I can do.

If anyone has any better ideas, all help is welcome!

If you can get you machine to go past the 2gb ram limit and document it you will be the first one I have ever seen to do it.

 

[SideStepSociety]

Sure it'll 'run' but it won't be useable.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/12735261/

I wouldn't say so.

I installed DP1 on my mini and it runs as good as Snow Leopard does, albeit with a few bugs due to the fact that it is a beta.

 

[Bear]

I wouldn't say so.

I installed DP1 on my mini and it runs as good as Snow Leopard does, albeit with a few bugs due to the fact that it is a beta.

So it ran with DP1. That's great for you. However, there are reported issues with DP4 and Core Duo systems. So how can you say it will work when it's released as there are issues on the latest DP?

 

[SideStepSociety]

Can you say it won't work because DP4 doesn't?

 

[Fried Chicken]

Can you say it won't work because DP4 doesn't?

I installed DP4 on a USB flash drive, and it booted up no problem. Unfortunately it was disastrously slow, but I think that's b/c my flash drive has a habit of being disastrously slow.

I could in theory install it through firewire target disc mode (firewire should never die), from an MBP onto my iMac, and then import from a Time Machine backup... It just seems to be getting more and more exotic.