The IT Nerd

I traded e-mails with this person who sent me this question to get a handle on what hardware they had. I got this back:

• 17″ MacBook Pro with a 2.33 Ghz Core2Duo Processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 160GB hard drive
• Mac OS X 10.5.8

The first thing that jumps out at me is the OS. Mac OS X 10.5.8 is an operating system that is on the tail end of Apple’s support window. Thus updates to improve performance and enhance security will stop appearing for this operating system. Application vendors are also not applications for this operating system. iTunes, Firefox and Chrome are examples of applications that no longer support this operating system. So upgrading the operating system is the first thing to do. This computer can support any Mac operating system up to OS X 10.7 Lion. Mountain Lion won’t run on this computer, but that’s okay as Lion will get the user onto the iCloud and run the latest applications. The upgrade path goes like this:

• Upgrade Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. This requires physical media (DVD) that can be purchased from Apple.
• Update to 10.6.8 via Software Update
• Use the App Store to download and install Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. The download code required to get this from the App Store can be purchased from Apple.
• Update to all the latest security packages via Software Update

In case you’re wondering, you cannot go straight to 10.7.

If you phone the Apple Store, they’ll be able to sell you the physical media that you need to install Snow Leopard as well as the download code to download Lion.

Because I’ve recommended running OS X 10.7 Lion, I also recommend upgrading the RAM. This particular model of MacBook Pro uses two PC2 5300 667MHZ SODIMMS and it maxes out at 4GB of RAM. Thus the only option is to go to 4GB in the form of 2 x 2GB SODIMMS. Macs are very particular about the RAM that they use, so I recommend using RAM from a vendor such as Kingston or Crucial. Alternately, there are Mac only vendors such as OtherWorld Computing that sell RAM for Macs. Whomever you choose, make sure that they specialize in Mac memory. Upgrading the  RAM only requires a Phillips screwdriver and takes 10 minutes to do. If you need instructions to help you to do this, iFixit is a good resource.

For bonus points, I’d replace the battery as well. The battery in this Mac is likely close to the end of its lifespan, if it’s not already dead. Apple still sells batteries for this model but you can get aftermarket batteries from retailers like OtherWorld Computing.

All of this should allow the user to get another year or two out of this five year old Mac easily.

This entry was posted on December 17, 2012 at 8:47 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Apple. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.