GrassrootsAppleSports: help me revive a dying MacBook

Any DIY Mac geeks here?

My old ('06) MacBook is on the way out. I'm facing the grey screen of death with no response to any key inputs on startup (won't launch the startup manager, PRAM/NVRAM reset has no effect, etc). The fun part is, I bought this computer used with no OS software, so I don't have installation/repair discs, etc. There's a slim chance this is a software issue, but I just don't think so.

I'm getting another firewire Macbook today to try to mount my old one in target disc mode to see if I can salvage the data, because I have a bad feeling my HD is dead.

So, if I do indeed need an HD, the question becomes: is it worthwhile buying a SSD for this old machine? If I do anything to this 'book, I'll probably max out the RAM while I'm in there, too.

Once the thing's back up and running, I may also try to stick my old HD into an external enclosure to see if I can pull any data off it. Any recommendations in that regard?

Here's the thing: the only reason I'd upgrade RAM is so I can run an OS later than 10.4. I feel like I'm throwing good money after bad on a machine that's basically used as a netbook. Should I cut my losses with this old Mac and just get a Dell Mini 10 and run Ubuntu?

1. SSD or HDD for old MacBook?
2. Recommendations for external housings for internal HD?
3. Any experience with Tiger Direct? Other good sources for cheap parts?
4. Should I just give up and get a Dell Mini?

TIA.

Check if it uses SATA - I can't remember when Apple switched to SATA and if it's still using a regular IDE drive, forget about the SSD.

TBH given the prices of SSDs (high) and the likely speed increase if you're using the machine as a surfboard (not so high), I'd just get another helping of regular spinning rust.

If it's one of these, it'll take a SATA disk. I think you're able to run up to Snow Leopard on it and that's a worthwhile update IMHO. Not sure how well that works with 2GB of RAM though.

^^That's the model. And the RAM limitations(and resultant sluggishness) are why I'm reluctant to overload the thing with an OS that's honestly a bit bloated for my needs.

Maybe it's time to bite the bullet and try out an iPad with a peripheral keyboard...

I think it should be OK with 2GB for surfing use unless you run multiple RAM-gobbling browsers. A faster HDD might well make some difference - a colleague of mine stuck that Seagate hybrid disk into his Macbook Pro and it seemed to make a noticeable difference. Thanks to the floods in Thailand they might be a little expensive though.

At work we use OWC SSDs in our workstations for the source code and build directories and they do seem to make a difference. If you're still on a 60GB drive one of those might actually be a useful upgrade: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/

I think I paid $29 for my retail copy of Snow Leopard to upgrade my C2D MacMini. I'd recommend getting a new HDD, putting the old HDD into an external enclosure (I bought a cheap one from Newegg when I upgraded the HDD in the same MacMini and still use it) and installing SL on the new HDD. I have 3GB (well, 4GB but the MacMini will only see 3GB) of memory and it runs just fine, even if it is a bit slow for things like video editing.

Well, a fast HDD, max RAM and Snow Leopard is still my cheapest way to go. Close second is a MIni 10.

Maybe I'll throw a faster drive and some RAM at this brick and see how 10.6 runs. If it's sluggish, I can always run Ubuntu on a partition.

Ooh, interesting - EveryMac says: "third-parties have discovered that "pre-Santa Rosa" MacBook models equipped with a "Core 2 Duo" processor -- those with a Core 2 Duo processor released prior to November 1, 2007 -- will work with 3 GB or 4 GB of RAM. Due to chipset limitations -- the same limitations that apply to the "Late 2006" MacBook Pro systems -- these models can hold 4 GB of RAM but cannot fully utilize the memory beyond 3 GB due to the possibility of memory "overlap"."

So maybe I can stuff more than 2GB in there.

7200 RPM, 500GB HDD. $100. Overkill? I'll probably never need that much storage. Is there such thing as too much?

Would a 60GB SSD for $120 be a better idea?

Are SSDs inherently more reliable (ie: no moving parts) than HDDs?

From my understanding, those SSDs have a limited lifespan as well, due to read/write event limitations. That said, I bought one of those Seagate hybrids when I replaced the HDD in my daughter's Macbook. It seems pretty snappy and has been solid so far.

1.) I'd avoid the SSDs due to mentioned reliability issues.

2.) Unless you already have Ubuntu experience & know you can live with it day-to-day and/or have another "main" computer, I'm not sure that would be a wise choice(due to an even greater lack of programs compared to Mac) - and I'm an Ubuntu fan!

3.) I've had a few Dell netbooks come in my shop & I'm not impressed with their construction vs. the offerings by Acer, Asus, etc. So if you go for a netbook instead, just buy the cheapest one that meets the minimum specs you need.

4.) Around here your MacBook would probably still bring $600 if you fixed it, FYI.

4.) That's what I paid for it a little less than a year ago, so I guess I did OK.

Is it silly to throw too much money at this thing? The $100 7200/500 HDD I linked to above may be overkill when I could do 100GB (still plenty for me) @ 5400RPM and $40.

I suppose 100GB would be fine if this is just a web appliance, though personally I feel 250GB is nice number that the average person is unlikely to outgrow.

Where do you come down on 500/7200 for $100 vs. 250/5400 for $75? Is the speed improvement (the capacity is academic in my case) worth the money for typical performance?

I've got no experience with Snow Leopard on a Mac of that vintage, so maybe BoxheadTim can chime in with some real-world knowledge.

I'd probably just go with one of the two vendors listed here for $80+shipping or $88-total, personally.

My wife has a 2007 MacBook (Santa Rosa), and it was getting super slow. Turns out the HD was getting almost full. Macs use the HD for virtual memory, and a full drive makes them very slow.

So we went through and got rid of some duplicates and files. I then used Carbon Copy Cloner to back up the drive to an external HD. Finally, I did a fresh install of Snow Leopard (she was on Leopard), and migrated the data from the external drive. The computer is running a lot faster now than it was before, and with Snow Leopard's smaller footprint, she has several GB more space on the drive. The improvements were well worth the $29 spent on a Snow Leopard disc. We may spend $150 in the next year to upgrade the RAM and get a bigger drive that spins at 7200rpm. Certainly beats buying a new one.

All right gurus, chew on this.

The MacBook in question in this thread is half dead, but I don't know yet if it's a hardware or software issue. On startup, I get a gray screen and/or the flashing folder/question mark, indicating that the startup disk is not found. Could be a dead HD, could be software corruption. None of the prescribed methods during startup (Option to select startup disk, reset PRAM/NVRAM, etc) have any effect - it always goes to the flashing question mark.

But, it DOES go into target disk mode. I'm on my dad's old 12" PowerBook G4 now, and the MacBook is in TDM, but it's not appearing on the PBook's desktop.

So, two questions:
1. Do you think the fact that it enters TDM indicates that it may be a software issue, not a bad HD? Or does that not necessarily follow?
2. Any ideas as to why the MBook isn't showing up on the PBook's desktop, even though the Mbook is in TDM?

(...and other abbreviations...)

alex wrote: But, it DOES go into target disk mode. I'm on my dad's old 12" PowerBook G4 now, and the MacBook is in TDM, but it's not appearing on the PBook's desktop. So, two questions: 1. Do you think the fact that it enters TDM indicates that it may be a software issue, not a bad HD? Or does that not necessarily follow? 2. Any ideas as to why the MBook isn't showing up on the PBook's desktop, even though the Mbook is in TDM? (...and other abbreviations...)

If the macbook can do TDM, but no disk, it still can be a bad hard disk. Wife brought her macbook to the Apple store and the HD could not be booted either way. Bad disk.

If you have a usb sata controller (around $15), see if the PowerBook can see the drive that way. a laptop hard drive from 06 is like a 10 year old used lead acid car battery.

BTW, did the hard drive make any clicking noises at any time while try to boot up? that's a sure sign of impending doom.

No noise, no indication. That's the frustrating thing. This happened in the span of seconds.

Based on your ID and the 6 month old nature of the thread, you sound like a canoe ala mode.

not cool.

So... how'd you resolve...

I was about to add some useful info, but then I saw that it'd been a zombie for 6 months.