What have you done with an early Intel recently?

[dosdude1]

What have I almost done with an Early Intel recently?

I thought I’d give a nifty firmware hack covered by @dosdude1 on his YT page, called, “How to Change the Startup Chime on an Intel Mac,” a go with my A1261 MBP4,1. But why would I do that?

Because for one, why not? For another, with that era of Intel Macs, it doesn’t require any special equipment to dump the ROM, and also because the Quadra 840AV start-up chime always makes me smile (it’s more cheerful to my brain). Moreover, the start-up chime all of us know on pretty much every Mac made in the New World and in the Intel and Silicon realm is descended directly from the creation of the Quadra 840AV’s chime.

I say almost done because I got hamstrung by the step to dump my system’s EEPROM contents into a bin file using ROMtool, as I was met with the following error:

View attachment 2145317


The only reason why I think my particular MBP could be having trouble is I have a green-dot board which I bought direct from Thailand. That board has not yet been assigned with a serial, and it’s also possible the EEPROM contents may not have the details it would need for ROMtool to parse and dump the EEPROM’s contents:

View attachment 2145318

In other words, I have kind of an oddball.

I do have the Apple utility for writing the serial permanently to the board (which, for those unaware, is a one-time deal to write that info to ROM and it cannot be changed — something which I did a few years ago with my A1138 PowerBook with its quirky af logic board, also not original to that machine), but that likely would not tell the EEPROM dumper anything new or useful to go beyond this error.

So I won’t be getting to change the startup chime on my MBP4,1, but I almost got there!

Try running it under an OS such as 10.9 Mavericks or later... It is probably just not working properly under Snow Leopard. Also, on an unrelated note, I patched the Blank Board Serializer to work on non-blank boards... So you can rewrite the serial number as many times as you want.

 

[VirtuallyInsane]

As I made mention in a related thread for the A1139 PowerBook 17-inch (on which I did the same thermal pad intervention), the basic contours of the MBP’s heat sink assembly design seems to have originated with the PowerBook 17, then carried over with minor tweaks for the aluminium MacBook Pro 17s. The original engineering-designer desire for saving weight (maybe Jobs pushed for it, idk) was probably, I’m guessing, valued as a way to make the PowerBook 17 feel less heavy in any way possible. [Indeed, the original marketing materials for the first Powerbook 17 boasted being “thin and weighing a mere 6.8 pounds.”]

Yeah, that makes sense; portability over actual components. Didn't something similar happen to the MacBook 2015? Like, they made that really skinny and it overheats, iirc. And loads slow. Not talking about the heatsink itself being wrong but just in general.

 

[theMarble]

Yeah, that makes sense; portability over actual components. Didn't something similar happen to the MacBook 2015? Like, they made that really skinny and it overheats, iirc. And loads slow. Not talking about the heatsink itself being wrong but just in general.

There was a huge case with the 2018 15" Pro equipped with the i9 and Vega. Overheated so much due to "a missing tool/utility in macOS", but even after a firmware update was issued it didn't get any cooler since the whole problem was the chassis wasn't designed for components that ran so hot.

Would not be surprised if there was something similar for the 12" MB, but probably not as major since the Core M only had a TDP of 4.5W compared to the 45W + 75 to 100W (apparently) of the i9 and Vega.

 

[GMShadow]

The first model Core M was just kinda half baked. The second gen (in the 2016 model) was a lot better, and the 2017 is at least competent - I’ve got the i7 in a somewhat comparable Dell and it’s quite workable.

None of that matters since all the 12” MB have the butterfly keyboard, of course.

 

[VirtuallyInsane]

There was a huge case with the 2018 15" Pro equipped with the i9 and Vega. Overheated so much due to "a missing tool/utility in macOS", but even after a firmware update was issued it didn't get any cooler since the whole problem was the chassis wasn't designed for components that ran so hot.

Would not be surprised if there was something similar for the 12" MB, but probably not as major since the Core M only had a TDP of 4.5W compared to the 45W + 75 to 100W (apparently) of the i9 and Vega.

Yeah, maybe that happened with the chassis in it to a degree because those Macbooks from 2015 are really skinny. Wouldn't be shocked if those chassis weren't designed for those components tbh.

 

[Amethyst1]

Didn't something similar happen to the MacBook 2015? Like, they made that really skinny and it overheats, iirc. And loads slow.

I've never noticed my 2015 overheating, but yeah, it's a bit slow especially running later versions of macOS. 2015s have a ticking timebomb (don't we just love these? ) in that some component on the logicboard may fail so that charging the battery no longer works.

Would not be surprised if there was something similar for the 12" MB, but probably not as major since the Core M only had a TDP of 4.5W [...]

The CPUs in the 2015 are running at a higher base clock speed so TDP is probably slightly higher than 4.5W.

The first model Core M was just kinda half baked.

Never ever buy first-generation products Many first-gen Core M systems were half-baked. Some were outright disappointing.

None of that matters since all the 12” MB have the butterfly keyboard, of course.

Maybe I'm crazy, but the MB is enough of an ultraportable (i.e. very small and lightweight before anything else) for me that I'm willing to put up with some compromises.

Yeah, maybe that happened with the chassis in it to a degree because those Macbooks from 2015 are really skinny.

All 12" MBs are skinny, that's the whole point.

Wouldn't be shocked if those chassis weren't designed for those components tbh.

At least they have proper Core CPUs, not that worthless slow-as-f*ck stuff known as Atom.

 

[B S Magnet]

Never ever buy first-generation products Many first-gen Core M systems were half-baked. Some were outright disappointing.

Woe to all those early keeners who shouted to Apple, “Shut up and take my money,” dove in, and bought a bunch of M1 Macs…

On second thought, no woe. Maybe some schadenfreude instead.

Maybe I'm crazy, but the MB is enough of an ultraportable (i.e. very small and lightweight before anything else) for me that I'm willing to put up with some compromises.

It had nothing to do with the prior MacBooks in any way but name. It was an object lesson in Apple cutting costs in ways unknown to prior MacBooks (including that one time they dropped FireWire for a cycle). The 2015–17 MacBook should have been called the MacBrochure, MacPamphlet, or maybe MacChapBook.

 

[B S Magnet]

Try running it under an OS such as 10.9 Mavericks or later... It is probably just not working properly under Snow Leopard.

Aw heck, this means having to install Mavericks on it first. (For the time I’ve had/used it, it’s been a SL-only setup, mostly cos it’d need a larger SSD to make throwing on other OSes I’d plan to use on them worthwhile. At some point, after a bump in SSD capacity and bumping the RAM to the 6GB cap, I was planning to throw an OCLP’d Mojave on there.)

Also, on an unrelated note, I patched the Blank Board Serializer to work on non-blank boards... So you can rewrite the serial number as many times as you want.

Cheers! That’s kind of a nifty thing to learn! But stupid person (that’s me, hi!) question here: why would one want to re-write the board serial multiple times?

 

[Amethyst1]

It had nothing to do with the prior MacBooks in any way but name.

Yeah, but at the end of the day, what’s in a name? It was a more extreme version of the MBA. “MacBook Air Ultra”?

It was an object lesson in Apple cutting costs in ways unknown to prior MacBooks (including that one time they dropped FireWire for a cycle).

For me, it was the ultraportable Apple laptop I’d been waiting for for ages.
IMO the MBA doesn’t cut it as an ultraportable. The 13” is way too big and heavy. The 11” is much closer to nailing it but still a bit too big and heavy. It also has kept a crappy low-res TN LCD despite other manufacturers shipping 11” laptops with 1080p IPS LCDs as early as 2012.
The MB is even smaller and lighter than the 11” and, more importantly, has a vastly better screen. For me, this sealed the deal on the MB despite its numerous compromises. All of the ultraportables I have or have had come/came with compromises.

On second thought, no woe. Maybe some schadenfreude instead.

Exactly. Caveat emptor

 

[B S Magnet]

Yeah, but at the end of the day, what’s in a name? It was a more extreme version of the MBA. “MacBook Air Ultra”?

MacBook AirBiscuit.

For me, it was the ultraportable Apple laptop I’d been waiting for for ages.

Sign me up for the 11-inch MBA!

IMO the MBA doesn’t cut it as an ultraportable. The 13” is way too big and heavy. The 11” is much closer to nailing it but still a bit too big and heavy.

The 11-inch MBA is “too heavy”? Me doth thinks he protest too much!

It also has kept a crappy low-res TN LCD despite other manufacturers shipping 11” laptops with 1080p IPS LCDs as early as 2012.

I have no arguments here, though it did at least still have a 720p camera and could run external displays (ok ok, so could the MacBook, through its, idk, “cloaca” port). The 2015 MacBook with a 480p camera was just, like, “what?”

I wrote this earlier, but 2014–2017 Apple products were an object lesson on the company’s bean counters cutting costs by cutting quality and by cutting (or reducing) fundamental features and marketing it as a masterpiece.

The MacBook of 2015–2017 stands alone as a singular testament to that period: butterfly keys; one single port for, literally, everything (well, you at least get an audio jack, as this was just before Apple removed these from iPhones); a camera on par with a 2003 iSight FireWire; and the 2015 models being saddled with a Core M (basically a mobile version of a sort of “Core i1” processor, if such a name existed).

You do get, yah, the Retina display, and I know that one’s right up your alley, but still: if it ever goes faulty/breaks, getting a replacement for it is nigh impossible (without gutting a donor).

The MB is even smaller and lighter than the 11” and, more importantly, has a vastly better screen.

Yah yah yah…

For me, this sealed the deal on the MB despite its numerous compromises. All of the ultraportables I have or have had come/came with compromises.

The PowerBook Duo: compromises need not apply!

 

[B S Magnet]

There was a huge case with the 2018 15" Pro equipped with the i9 and Vega. Overheated so much due to "a missing tool/utility in macOS", but even after a firmware update was issued it didn't get any cooler since the whole problem was the chassis wasn't designed for components that ran so hot.

Would not be surprised if there was something similar for the 12" MB, but probably not as major since the Core M only had a TDP of 4.5W compared to the 45W + 75 to 100W (apparently) of the i9 and Vega.

I feel like someone donating one of those (for me to work on, not to keep, as I don’t have much love for T2 Macs), to let me figure out novel approaches to further dissipate the tremendous heat bound within its many constraints, would be the kind of tinkering project right up my alley. I rather enjoyed figuring out a passive cooling fix for my (much older) Macs and would be up to the task of doing the same with other models notorious for cooking themselves.

 

[rampancy]

So I did a little more dumpster diving, and found an almost intact ThinkPad R61 in the trash, with original battery, intact (from what I could see) screen and power adapter.

Much to my surprise I discovered it was totally trashed on the inside. It looked like someone had looted it for parts, but there were severed wires all over the place, including the wires for the connectors for the WiFi card antenna, and what looked the fan connectors too. Why would someone do this? I noticed that this machine had once belonged to a large institution - maybe it was purposefully done as part of a decomissioning/tax write-off?

Also much to my surprise, I discovered it had its original 160 GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive (wiped), as well as a 4 GB DDR2 module! The latter now lives in my MacBook 3,1 while the former is awaiting a new home in another Mac...

 

[Amethyst1]

MacBook AirBiscuit.

"MacBook Vegan" as in no meat (read: no punch)

The 11-inch MBA is “too heavy”? Me doth thinks he protest too much!

I have a Sony Vaio Pro 11, which, besides having a 11" 1080p IPS screen, weighs even less than the 12" MacBook. If I first pick up the MBA and then the Vaio, there's quite a difference. The Vaio really feels like it weighs nothing.

I have no arguments here, though it did at least still have a 720p camera and could run external displays (ok ok, so could the MacBook, through its, idk, “cloaca” port). The 2015 MacBook with a 480p camera was just, like, “what?”

Good point. I wish it had no camera at all. That strange eye-thingy be watching me!

[...] and the 2015 models being saddled with a Core M (basically a mobile version of a sort of “Core i1” processor, if such a name existed).

The Core M was the Core iX-xxxxY range. That range was introduced with Ivy Bridge but branded as i3/i5/i7 back then. For Broadwell, it was renamed Core M. Skylake replaced that with m3/m5/m7. Kaby Lake changed it yet again to m3/i5/i7. So, all 12" MacBooks had wimpy dual-cores, they just got (slightly) faster from year to year and renamed to make them harder to spot.

The PowerBook Duo: compromises need not apply!

Touché

 

[B S Magnet]

Much to my surprise I discovered it was totally trashed on the inside. It looked like someone had looted it for parts, but there were severed wires all over the place, including the wires for the connectors for the WiFi card antenna, and what looked the fan connectors too. Why would someone do this? I noticed that this machine had once belonged to a large institution - maybe it was purposefully done as part of a decomissioning/tax write-off?

If so (and it wouldn’t come as a surprise), then it’s a practice descended from activities like book stores and news agents/stands tearing the covers off paperbacks and magazines, respectively, to dispose of the product and assure they can’t be re-saleable, whilst sending in the cover for partial credit back from the publisher on future product and/or a losses write-off. This may have been what happened with your find, though I think your hunch — that it was done for tax deduction/write-off purposes — is a good candidate.

It always befuddled me, whilst working for a book store and a music store at the same time, how the former would have a giant, Rubbermaid bin in the back for the disposal of paperbacks and magazines, sans cover, whilst the music store would send unsold product to a rackjobber, which would cut a corner or drill a tiny hole in the case, but still return them, unsorted, to stores in bulk to sell the products as “cut-outs” — which were still, of course, completely usable product inside.

With wholly wasteful, greed-oriented practices as disposing a serviceable product no longer classified as “saleable” by the vendor, it’s little wonder our species are doing such a fine job wiping out the planet and exploiting its resources as fast as we’ve been doing for the last 200 years.

 

[rampancy]

I still love the 11" MacBook Air and I was genuinely sad when Apple killed it off. It's a pity used prices have only gone up for the 11" (at least last I checked), though my (someone diminished) affection for the 13" has tempted me to snap up a used unit on my city's local buy/sell website.

I really wish Apple would bring back the 11" Air as a budget machine with Apple Silicon in it. But I guess that's why they want you to buy an iPad with a Magic Keyboard. I'm not biting though. Sorry Apple, but an iPad simply isn't a replacement for an full-featured laptop computer.

The PowerBook Duo: compromises need not apply!

Ah, the Duo. What a brilliant idea. Especially the beautiful DuoDock. I've seen so many concepts like this come and go, like Lenovo's (IMO) kludgy (if not functional) ThinkPad docks, but nothing matches the elegance of the original PB Duo and Duo dock. I'm still surprised it never took off.

If so (and it wouldn’t come as a surprise), then it’s a practice descended from activities like book stores and news agents/stands tearing the covers off paperbacks and magazines, respectively, to dispose of the product and assure they can’t be re-saleable, whilst sending in the cover for partial credit back from the publisher on future product and/or a losses write-off. This may have been what happened with your find, though I think your hunch — that it was done for tax deduction/write-off purposes — is a good candidate.

It always befuddled me, whilst working for a book store and a music store at the same time, how the former would have a giant, Rubbermaid bin in the back for the disposal of paperbacks and magazines, sans cover, whilst the music store would send unsold product to a rackjobber, which would cut a corner or drill a tiny hole in the case, but still return them, unsorted, to stores in bulk to sell the products as “cut-outs” — which were still, of course, completely usable product inside.

With wholly wasteful, greed-oriented practices as disposing a serviceable product no longer classified as “saleable” by the vendor, it’s little wonder our species are doing such a fine job wiping out the planet and exploiting its resources as fast as we’ve been doing for the last 200 years.

And it's not like selling off fleet machines like these is unheard of in my experience -- again, on my local buy/sell website, I've seen ads from medium-sized businesses selling off old ThinkPad T500s (sometimes even with their docks) for great prices. These ads always seem to sell out, and sell out quickly.

I realize it's nothing personal, and from a capitalist perspective it makes total sense, but it feels like an awfully petty thing to do to ensure that used electronics (especially a machine as good as an R-series ThinkPad) go straight to the bin.

In any case, I put it back in the eRecycling bin, where someone also tossed a Best Buy house-brand stereo reciever. Maybe I should give that unit a go and see what happens.

 

[Amethyst1]

I still love the 11" MacBook Air and I was genuinely sad when Apple killed it off.

There's two things to love the 11" MBA for, even though it's not the best 11" laptop around (and for the record, I'll never sell my 2010): its great keyboard and its sub-$1,000 (at least in the US...) price.

I really wish Apple would bring back the 11" Air as a budget machine with Apple Silicon in it.

The M1 Air started at $799 for the edu market model. But a, say, $599 11" would be nice.

 

[B S Magnet]

I really wish Apple would bring back the 11" Air as a budget machine with Apple Silicon in it. But I guess that's why they want you to buy an iPad with a Magic Keyboard. I'm not biting though. Sorry Apple, but an iPad simply isn't a replacement for an full-featured laptop computer.

Every Apple product with the word “Magic” in it I refer to as “Tragic” (Tragic Trackpad, Tragic Mouse, Tragic Keyboard, etc).

Some of us, still, prefer corded peripheral solutions which require no having to halt what one’s doing to let some essential human interface peripheral spend hours recharging or, worse, having to toss it because the battery is non-user-serviceable.

Ah, the Duo. What a brilliant idea. Especially the beautiful DuoDock. I've seen so many concepts like this come and go, like Lenovo's (IMO) kludgy (if not functional) ThinkPad docks, but nothing matches the elegance of the original PB Duo and Duo dock. I'm still surprised it never took off.

The Duo and the Newton were product series both well ahead of their time. So was the Macintosh, and several times, it almost met a premature demise, only for it to be saved.

And it's not like selling off fleet machines like these is unheard of in my experience -- again, on my local buy/sell website, I've seen ads from medium-sized businesses selling off old ThinkPad T500s (sometimes even with their docks) for great prices. These ads always seem to sell out, and sell out quickly.

For good reason!

I realize it's nothing personal, and from a capitalist perspective it makes total sense, but it feels like an awfully petty thing to do to ensure that used electronics (especially a machine as good as an R-series ThinkPad) go straight to the bin.

It most certainly does, but it’s not a novel manoeuvre by any measure.

In any case, I put it back in the eRecycling bin, where someone also tossed a Best Buy house-brand stereo reciever. Maybe I should give that unit a go and see what happens.

Oh mercy, Best Buy-branded gear. :headdesk:

 

[Amethyst1]

So, all 12" MacBooks had wimpy dual-cores, they just got (slightly) faster from year to year and renamed to make them harder to spot.

Addendum: The 2018/2019 13” MBA is also puttering along on one of these.

 

[B S Magnet]

Addendum: The 2018/2019 13” MBA is also puttering along on one of these.

The Apple bean counters had to look elsewhere after the MacBook was canned.

 

[Amethyst1]

The Apple bean counters had to look elsewhere after the MacBook was canned.

Yanno, some local discounter offered a 15.6” laptop with a Core M. Talk about underpowered!

 

[Amethyst1]

Some of us, still, prefer corded peripheral solutions which require no having to halt what one’s doing to let some essential human interface peripheral spend hours recharging or, worse, having to toss it because the battery is non-user-serviceable.

The original Magic Keyboard can be used as a wired (USB) peripheral. No idea about the newer ones.

 

[theMarble]

The original Magic Keyboard can be used as a wired (USB) peripheral. No idea about the newer ones.

I believe the latest one can still be used wired with the Lightning-to-USB cable provided. Trackpad is the same.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

I recompiled the latest version of Dolphin with compatibility for Mavericks.

Thanks to the Dolphin team's recent performance improvements, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is running at full speed at 1440p! Dolphin doesn't even run on Windows 7 anymore, but Mavericks is doing just fine!

Oh, and just for kicks, I'm playing with a real Wii Remote. You can't do that on modern macOS, due to some sort of bug in the Apple bluetooth stack. Take that!

 

[VirtuallyInsane]

I've never noticed my 2015 overheating, but yeah, it's a bit slow especially running later versions of macOS. 2015s have a ticking timebomb (don't we just love these? ) in that some component on the logicboard may fail so that charging the battery no longer works.

Aw, dang. That sucks so much, tbh. Replacing the poor logic board. Ie that expensive?

All 12" MBs are skinny, that's the whole point.

Yes, I know that but maybe they're a bit too skinny for their own good? They seem so fragile, to me anyway. My MBP 13" is skinny and light for a MBP, but still, it's not super skinny. I know they're meant to be small, portable, iPad-like devices but they really seem super fragile. Almost too fragile, IMO. Like my MBA is pretty small and light. I put a case on that thing, just to be double certain that it wouldn't break. It kept it pretty good tbh.

Maybe I am just used to older, thicker laptops from growing up. My first one was a massive, gray square hand me down from my Dad in the mid-00s. It ran Windows XP like a champ until it just decided to give up on me. The old 12-inch PowerBook models remind me of it.

It is amazing how far we came in terms of portable laptops, but we still have a lot further to go in terms of making the ultimate portable device without actually wearing it in some shape or form. Or having an implant linked to a keyboard and a screen. Or maybe even the screen and keyboard pop up.

At least they have proper Core CPUs, not that worthless slow-as-f*ck stuff known as Atom.

Atom seems like a real pain in the ass. Imagining an Atom on Windows Vista seems like a living nightmare, let alone on Mac OS. I think it would just give up, lol and I would give up waiting on Windows bloatware to load myself.

__________​

On another topic, I am also trying to get a plastic Macbook from Early 2009 that's in one bid, and a Black MacBook from 2007, which is in the midst of a bidding war. If I get 2009, I am keeping it at Mountain Lion/Mavericks to get some use out of it, and to keep the old design in the OS. Just looking to have them, and then I am gonna keep these for a while along with the Pros.

I need to stop buying them, lol.

 

[sam_dean]

Wish I sold all my Intel Macs during the 1st 3 months of COVID lockdown. Best return ever