What to do with a 2009 MBP

[Mikebike125]

I have a mid 2009 MBP. It has 8GB of RAM 2.26Ghz C2D and is running 10.11.6 El Capitan. The other day I was trying to look at Toyotas on the dealership website and it wouldn't show any pictures of cars but just a little question mark where the photo should be. I believe it is because Safari is out of date. It is running Safari 11.1.2 and Apple won't let it be updated anymore. What am I to do with this laptop? It even has a SSD in it so it isn't too slow. I just want it to be able to display websites.

Cn anyone give me some pointers on things I can do??

Thanks

 

[Mr. Dee]

Mr. Macintosh has tutorial videos on YouTube about how to get the latest macOS installed on older Macs like yours. Its unsupported, but appears to work surprisingly well. I would personally go with Big Sur if you just would like a modern macOS release. That should give you a few more years of support.

 

[Jonsen25]

You can download and use Firefox or Chrome instead of Safari. If you don‘t mind to install an unsupported Mac OS, then I recommend to install Mojave with dosdudes patcher. It should run well on this machine.

 

[Amethyst1]

You can download and use Firefox or Chrome instead of Safari.

El Capitan won't run the latest version of Firefox anymore (I've no idea about Chrome), so the same issue with websites not displaying/working properly is bound to show up again sooner or later.

So, looking into getting a later version of macOS up and running is the course of action I'd eventually recommend.

 

[mikelets456]

You can download and use Firefox or Chrome instead of Safari. If you don‘t mind to install an unsupported Mac OS, then I recommend to install Mojave with dosdudes patcher. It should run well on this machine.

That's exactly what I did on my 2009 (mid year) that was given to me from my SIL. I have Mojave, upgraded the RAM to 8 GB, threw in a spare 750 GB HD and new battery from Amazon---Total of $50-$60 invested and it runs quite fast.
I have 14.1 Safari (?), Imessage, etc. Right now we use it as a spare, but I will eventually start using it as permanent. I want to get away from Windows.

 

[MysticCow]

I have a mid 2009 MBP. It has 8GB of RAM 2.26Ghz C2D and is running 10.11.6 El Capitan. The other day I was trying to look at Toyotas on the dealership website and it wouldn't show any pictures of cars but just a little question mark where the photo should be. I believe it is because Safari is out of date. It is running Safari 11.1.2 and Apple won't let it be updated anymore. What am I to do with this laptop? It even has a SSD in it so it isn't too slow. I just want it to be able to display websites.

Cn anyone give me some pointers on things I can do??

Thanks

Upgrade to 10.13 and run current Firefox.

Or send it to a poor, starving teacher like me!

EDIT: I thought those could run 10.13 natively. Get Lubuntu on there and you'll have a fairly decent OS running on it.

 

[seanmccoye]

(Same machine specs but orig spindle drive) The tools are out there and mature. I used dosdude1's utility to fresh install high sierra. Easy peasy. Since you have an SSD you can push it further. Note: After install, "Spotlight" was mauling my spindle drive. Termination happened.

 

[Mikebike125]

Mr. Macintosh has tutorial videos on YouTube about how to get the latest macOS installed on older Macs like yours. Its unsupported, but appears to work surprisingly well. I would personally go with Big Sur if you just would like a modern macOS release. That should give you a few more years of support.

WOW!! This is fantastic. Thanks to MrMacintosh I have now resurrected my 5,5 MBP. I do have a question. I now have Monterey 12.2.1 on it so when there is an update, say 12.3, do I just go to the Apple (top lefthand corner) and software update, or do I need to update it with all the patches from the Mrcintosh site?

 

[MultiFinder17]

Upgrade to 10.13 and run current Firefox.

Or send it to a poor, starving teacher like me!

EDIT: I thought those could run 10.13 natively. Get Lubuntu on there and you'll have a fairly decent OS running on it.

Given that I use a 2008 iMac, 2008 MacBook Pro, 2009 mini, and other only slightly less ancient Macs in my own classroom, can confirm that donating such machines to teachers is a great use for them!

 

[davigarma]

Google Chrome receives all updates in El Capitan exactly the same as in BigSur or Monterrey

 

[Mr. Dee]

WOW!! This is fantastic. Thanks to MrMacintosh I have now resurrected my 5,5 MBP. I do have a question. I now have Monterey 12.2.1 on it so when there is an update, say 12.3, do I just go to the Apple (top lefthand corner) and software update, or do I need to update it with all the patches from the Mrcintosh site?

No, don’t just update using Software Update, that could break it. Wait until there is a patched version of whatever future point update. Keep an eye from Mr Macintosh website for the latest information.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Or send it to a poor, starving teacher like me!

Even if this written in jest, I'd hate to think of the brilliant teachers (few that they were) who helped bring out the best in me, find themselves in a situation where they're "poor and starving" due to inadequate remuneration. (Certainly not intending to derail the discussion with a political statement, I just appreciate the importance of good teachers receiving good pay.)

Given that I use a 2008 iMac, 2008 MacBook Pro, 2009 mini, and other only slightly less ancient Macs in my own classroom, can confirm that donating such machines to teachers is a great use for them!

So too is donating them to hobbyists and enthusiasts. People regularly unload their seemingly obsolete hardware onto me because they know I'll find some positive use for it.

 

[Mikebike125]

You know, I am starting to consider hiring some poor (but brilliant) teachers to research and help assist with making future updates to my old MBP. There may be a future in this for them.

 

[Mikebike125]

No, don’t just update using Software Update, that could break it. Wait until there is a patched version of whatever future point update. Keep an eye from Mr Macintosh website for the latest information.

Mr. Dee. I am noticing that my keyboard lighting is not working. When I hit the dimmer buttons, row screen just shows a dash. That means the buttons are working but the lighting just isn't on. Not too big a deal but do you know anything I can do to get them working?

 

[MultiFinder17]

Mr. Dee. I am noticing that my keyboard lighting is not working. When I hit the dimmer buttons, row screen just shows a dash. That means the buttons are working but the lighting just isn't on. Not too big a deal but do you know anything I can do to get them working?

Does it do the same in a dark room? If it’s well lit then it’ll refuse to turn on the backlight usually. Try it again when it’s dark or cover up the camera.

 

[eyoungren]

Even if this written in jest, I'd hate to think of the brilliant teachers (few that they were) who helped bring out the best in me, find themselves in a situation where they're "poor and starving" due to inadequate remuneration. (Certainly not intending to derail the discussion with a political statement, I just appreciate the importance of good teachers receiving good pay.)

As the son of a teacher, the brother of a teacher and the husband of a teacher, I can attest to the lack of renumeration. At least here in the US, in general teachers are 'expected' to just provide what their classrooms/students need without compensation.

Now, some school districts do have some small help. My wife will receive a stipend from her district (she just started there in October of last year) which can be spent as she determines necessary. And I have seen where a lot of teachers send flyers home asking for parents to provide 'X' stuff for the classroom.

But yeah, pretty much how it works. My mom was always buying stuff for her classroom that she never got paid back for. Additionally, my mother's two children (me and my sister) were unpaid labor - but that's another story.

 

[Mikebike125]

Does it do the same in a dark room? If it’s well lit then it’ll refuse to turn on the backlight usually. Try it again when it’s dark or cover up the camera.

Yes. Even in the dark room it is completely black, no lights. I did however find a workaround with the program called "Lab Tick". It was written many years ago and you need to "command click" it open because MacOS can't verify it so it thinks it is malware. It isn't, and I installed it, and the lights are back on. Some shortfalls though.

1. It does not use the light sensor so the laptop does not know when to turn the lights on.
2. you need to stick it in the "Log in" items box to get it to turn on, BUT, it only will then turn on AFTER you log in. This means that if you don't have a light on in the room, and the room is dark, you will have trouble seeing your keys to type in your password.
3. Even after they are turned on, you can only adjust their brightness by the new slider that the shows up in the top menu bar.

If you can get by those items, it gets the lights on which is better than them being off permanently. I really can't complain.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Does it do the same in a dark room? If it’s well lit then it’ll refuse to turn on the backlight usually. Try it again when it’s dark or cover up the camera.

I'm afraid I couldn't tell since this is not something I have tried myself. Its part of why I would have recommended Big Sur over Monterrey. Monterrey is such a moving target and lots of code changes that the patches might not fully integrate enough compatibility to work older models. Heck, I personally am staying away from Monterrey on my fully supported M1 MBP until at least summer.

 

[Mikebike125]

I just don't get why Apple, if they won't let you upgrade the OS, why they can't at least let you upgrade Safari so it works.