11-19-2011, 01:32 PM
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#1
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Oklahoma - Where they call a puck a ball...
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MacBook Help
Hey guys ,
I need some help. I bought a Black Macbook in Sept, 2008. When I view about this mac these are the specs:
Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Lately in addition to seeming to run slower in general I have been getting the pinwheel of death a lot and safari will become unresponsive and close. A few other programs have been doing this too. I am not sure why. I know the computer is getting old and will eventually need to be replaced. However I am trying to find ways of prolonging its life for 6 months or so. I figured maybe I could add more Ram? I searched around and think I have found that I could double the ram on this model by buying 2 x 2GB sticks. I am also going to buy a TB external HD to back up everything and clean out the Harddrive . Will either of these help? Any other suggestions?
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11-19-2011, 01:45 PM
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#2
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#1 Goaltender
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What version of Mac OS X?
__________________
-Scott
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11-19-2011, 02:07 PM
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#3
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The new goggles also do nothing.
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Calgary
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An SSD would probably make a pretty big difference too, depending on how much is on the drive now it might be a not too expensive option.
__________________
Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
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11-19-2011, 02:20 PM
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#4
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Oklahoma - Where they call a puck a ball...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sclitheroe
What version of Mac OS X?
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 I never upgraded to snow leopard.
System Version: Mac OS X 10.5.8
Last edited by nickerjones; 11-19-2011 at 02:34 PM.
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11-19-2011, 04:58 PM
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#5
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Victoria, BC
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I had the same specs on my computer. Loaded it with 2x2 GB of RAM, upgraded to Snow Leopard, then Lion, and it runs fine.
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11-19-2011, 08:45 PM
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#6
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Crash and Bang Winger
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: #### off
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I'd do a time machine backup.
Boot from OS X disc, erase the main partition, reinstall OS X.
Transfer your data back onto your HDD from your time machine backup.
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11-19-2011, 08:51 PM
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#7
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Oklahoma - Where they call a puck a ball...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HotHotHeat
I had the same specs on my computer. Loaded it with 2x2 GB of RAM, upgraded to Snow Leopard, then Lion, and it runs fine.
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dang that sucks... I have to buy a 30 dollar Snow upgrade and then a 30 dollar Lion upgrade.... HAHA man am I cheap!
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11-19-2011, 08:58 PM
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#8
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Franchise Player
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nickerjones
dang that sucks... I have to buy a 30 dollar Snow upgrade and then a 30 dollar Lion upgrade.... HAHA man am I cheap!
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I'd save $30 and skip the Lion upgrade, but your mileage may vary.
Quote:
Originally Posted by simmonjam1
I'd do a time machine backup.
Boot from OS X disc, erase the main partition, reinstall OS X.
Transfer your data back onto your HDD from your time machine backup.
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Wouldn't that just put him back to where he's at now? I've never really done much with time machine. Does a re-install actually do anything if you replace it with the backup? Or does that just replace the files and not programs/settings/etc?
Last edited by DownhillGoat; 11-19-2011 at 09:01 PM.
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11-20-2011, 12:08 AM
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#10
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#1 Goaltender
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SW calgary
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nickerjones
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Yup, that should work.
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11-20-2011, 08:32 AM
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#11
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Crash and Bang Winger
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: #### off
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kunkstyle
I'd save $30 and skip the Lion upgrade, but your mileage may vary.
Wouldn't that just put him back to where he's at now? I've never really done much with time machine. Does a re-install actually do anything if you replace it with the backup? Or does that just replace the files and not programs/settings/etc?
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When you do a time machine backup some system work files, caches and logs are not backed up. Alternatively he could verify / repair permissions and disk from disk utility but this would be done on a clean install.
Is the hard drive full? This article may help. http://macs.about.com/od/faq1/f/How-...-Do-I-Need.htm
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11-20-2011, 09:55 AM
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#12
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GOAT!
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Without spending money
Quick fix (1A): Repair disk permissions and disable Flash in Safari
Long fix (1B): Back up data, wipe drive, fresh install OS X with all updates, put data back on
With spending money
Cheaper (2A): All of 1A, plus bump RAM to 4GB and upgrade to Snow Leopard
More expensive (2B): All of 2A, plus a SATA2 SSD and an upgrade to Lion
If you do 1A, you may or may not notice a difference. If you do 1B, you should get another year out of the MacBook. 2A will get you another two years, while 2B will get you at least four more years.
Approximate costs for 2B:
SATA2 SSD: $100
RAM: $50
Snow Leopard: $30
Lion: $30
Total: $210
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11-20-2011, 10:20 AM
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#13
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Oklahoma - Where they call a puck a ball...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FanIn80
Without spending money
Quick fix (1A): Repair disk permissions and disable Flash in Safari
Long fix (1B): Back up data, wipe drive, fresh install OS X with all updates, put data back on
With spending money
Cheaper (2A): All of 1A, plus bump RAM to 4GB and upgrade to Snow Leopard
More expensive (2B): All of 2A, plus a SATA2 SSD and an upgrade to Lion
If you do 1A, you may or may not notice a difference. If you do 1B, you should get another year out of the MacBook. 2A will get you another two years, while 2B will get you at least four more years.
Approximate costs for 2B:
SATA2 SSD: $100
RAM: $50
Snow Leopard: $30
Lion: $30
Total: $210
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I believe I am going to go with 2A. My buddy bought a family pack of snow leopard and has a couple left. I am going to just order the RAM for 50 bucks. To be honest I would upgrade to a Macbook pro right now but I just started a new job and want to get settled in at the new job before I make a large purchase. I am thinking in 6 or 7 months I will upgrade to the Pro. I'll still upgrade the ram for now and my wife can have the macbook when I get the pro.
Thanks for all your help guys.
-Nick
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11-20-2011, 06:54 PM
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#14
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Oklahoma - Where they call a puck a ball...
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I bought a 1 TB portable hd. Can i just put everything on there and then delete everything on my computer HD?
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11-21-2011, 08:36 AM
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#15
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Supporting Urban Sprawl
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nickerjones
I bought a 1 TB portable hd. Can i just put everything on there and then delete everything on my computer HD?
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If you are talking about while you wipe, then of course.
If you are talking about after your have reinstalled, then no. You shouldn't only ever have one copy of your data.
__________________
"Wake up, Luigi! The only time plumbers sleep on the job is when we're working by the hour."
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11-22-2011, 02:53 AM
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#16
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Crash and Bang Winger
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Victoria, BC
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Could be the internal HD starting to show early signs of failing. Bad time to be looking for replacement drives unfortunately.
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12-18-2011, 06:47 PM
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#17
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Oklahoma - Where they call a puck a ball...
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when i go to burn a disc ( of pictures) it will burn but wont ever finalize my Cd. I installed a trial of a burning software and it burns just fine. Now the software is out of its trial and wants me to pay 50 bucks. Anything I can do to get the mac to finalize my disc burns?
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12-18-2011, 09:46 PM
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#18
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Powerplay Quarterback
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I just bought a 8gb ram kit (2x4gb) from Memory Express for $40 for my macbook pro. Not entirely sure if it would work on the macbook, but definitely check it out.
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