2008 Macbook backlight problem - Should I care?

Hi, I've seen several other people have a similar problem. When left inactive for even a fairly short while (maybe 10 minutes?), my computer appears to black out. Upon closer inspection, I see a very faint trace of what was last on screen. After some trial and error, I discovered that I can take the brightness all the way down with F1 and then back up with F2 and that revives it (sometimes just for an instant and then it blacks out again but THEN it sticks the second time). It sounds like something that can be fixed by Apple but...do I need to bother? As long as it has this simple remedy, I can live with it as long as it's not just an early symptom of a bigger problem headed my way. Does anyone know if there's danger in letting it go on like this?

Do other optical disks - CDs or DVDs - work correctly? If not you probably have an optical drive that is not functioning correctly. If they do, there may be a problem with that one install disk.
You can download the installer for MS Office 2011 directly from Microsoft over the Internet, but you would have to pay for it.
Best of luck.

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2008 macbook overheating problems. SOS!

I have had macbook 2008 aluminum body since November 2008. It was a dream for two years until it started overheating & slowing down whenever I'd be browsing the internet on safari, firefox or opera with the cooling fans working overtime. It also occurs when I use a MSOffice applications, Preview, etc., leaving me with a very fancy machine with very limited use. Also, extended use of my macbook with the heating problem tends to cause it to go into sleep mode without much warning (imagine suddenly seeing a black screen & irresponsive mac in your lap!) & it has to be left to "cool off" for about 10-15 minutes before it is usable again.
I've been told it's a hardware glitch that needs to be fixed & it is also the reason why the base of the macbook to sink/curve slightly upwards. This problem is said to occur in white 2008 macbooks as well, which I came to know while discussing with a few friends of mine who own that particular model.
Any help on the matter (i.e. solutions) will be welcome. I live in Pakistan.

Hey
Try a laptop cooling stand mate, they are quite effective. Also, never use your Mac on a soft surface like a pillow or your lap. And the most important thing is to make sure there isn't anything blocking the air vents.
Run an OS X update to check for fixes.
You could also try resetting the SMC.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
That may fix your fans incase they aren't cooling properly.
Hope I helped and good luck

2008 MacBook Startup Problem

I have a 2008 MacBook. When I go to start it up the normal grey apple screen with the spinning gear comes up, but then it switches to a blank blue screen with the spinning gear. It just switches between the two screens continuously and will not start up. I tried taking the battery out but it didnt work. Any help?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
This looks like a GPU or display problem.
Reset the SMC > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964 Reset the PRAM > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379 If nothing works, take the Mac to an Apple Store or reseller

MacBook backlight problem

Dropped my MacBook 2007 a1181 and now backlight doesn't work at all but I can still see the screen if I use my phone light. Would I need a new backlight? No the backlight does not come on at any point. Thanks.

Contact Apple using www.apple.com/support/contact if you are in a country that supports it or call the appropriate phone number on this page. Alternatively carry the MacBook in to an Apple retail store or service provider to ask for an estimate.

HT203177 I have a MacBook OSX 10.5.8 and a Time Capsule 500GB since July 2008. My problem is (for the 4th time in 4 yrs) the backup gets stuck in "preparing" indefinitely (hours). In the past, wile still under apple care warranty, tech support had me redo

I have a MacBook OSX 10.5.8 and a Time Capsule 500GB since July 2008. My problem is (for the 4th time in 4 yrs) the backup gets stuck in "preparing" indefinitely (hours). In the past, wile still under apple care warranty, tech support had me redo backup (loosing previous backups). Now I'm out of warranty and still having this problem. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I have a MacBook OSX 10.5.8 and a Time Capsule 500GB since July 2008. My problem is (for the 4th time in 4 yrs) the backup gets stuck in "preparing" indefinitely (hours). In the past, wile still under apple care warranty, tech support had me redo backup (loosing previous backups). Now I'm out of warranty and still having this problem. Any help is greatly appreciated.

2008 Macbook Air Screen Hinge Problem

Hi all, so my 2008 Macbook Air's hinge got a little loose, and I was told Apple would replace it for free, so I took it to them. HUGE MISTAKE. After the hinge was replaced the screen didn't fully line up when the laptop was closed and the screen started going out like once every 2 weeks, but only for like a tenth of a second so I never really thought it was a problem. It never did this before Apple fixed the loose hinge. About 6 months after the hinge was replaced, it started doing it daily, and shortly after that it did it every time I open the laptop, so now it officially is a problem for me. I brought it back to Apple and they told me that I would have to pay for an expensive new repair or buy a new laptop, even after I explained to them that the laptop was perfectly fine before they replaced the hinge. They said I should have come within 3 months, but I was back at school and it was not a problem at all then, nor did I think it would be. I brought it to a 3rd party repair shop and they did not open the laptop but they said it looks like the screen cable is being pinched by the new hinge since it is not lined up perfectly. Is there anything that can be done or do I have to buy a new laptop?

I'm a college student with no car or Apple store nearby and the laptop was shipped back to me because of that. If I had to go another week without a laptop that would have been disasterous, but more importantly I had no way of knowing it would stop working or that the slight misalignment was anything other than cosmetic, I'm no tech genius and I clearly wasn't the one who put the laptop together wrong. It wasn't even my fault the hinge got loose in the first place! Sigh, I suppose if they can't make this right I hope I can learn to use Windows.

1) How to reduce MacBook boot up time? 2) Should I upgrade my 2008 MacBook to Lion? 3) How long will a 2008 MacBook last (after 4 years)? Thanks!

I have three quick questions to ask:
1. My MacBook (bought in late 2008, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 160 GB HD, running Leopard/10.5.8) boots up quite slow. It can take a while to boot up and shut down.
Question: What should I do to reduce the boot up time?
I haven't done a clean up for a while, and am a MacBook newbie (after 4 years, still) for the tools. I think I need to remove some applications but don't know exactly how. Also I am looking for stuff like System Defragment / Compression (tools available for Windows OS) to tune the hard disk performance, if possible.
2. Sort of related to this slow boot-up time - should I bother to upgrade to Snow Leopard (pay $ 29.00) and then upgrade to Lion (another $ 29 ?) for some 250 new features that I am not exactly sure if I will need it (or my 2008 MacBook can handle it well)?
My friend has a 2011 MacPro which he let me use it for a while, so I think I am already using Lion, but frankly I can't tell much difference from the user experience (am just a very average Mac user!).
Question: Should I bother the money and the time (I heard the downloading and installation time for Lion is very long) if all I care is boot-up time?
3. One last question - How long can my MacBook last? Is there a way to find out the battery life? Any indication that my MacBook might be on the edge of its life cycle anytime soon?
I heard that typically the life for a laptop (PC or Mac) is 2 years. I am not a heavy user, and I guess that's why my MacBook is still alive after 4 years. But should I expect that to be failing any time soon?
Thank you!

I'll try to make it short but with your questios, might be impossible.
I own both late 2008 MB Uni with 2Ghz and a brand new late 2011 MBP 13 inch.
I have lion running on both Macbooks with no slow down or issues.
The late 2008 I upgraded to 8GB Crucial DDR3 Memory and 320GB Seagate Hard Drive. Total cost to me? $140 CDN ( i live in Canada ).
My MB Uni's battery has 1047 cycle count and I still get 3-1/2 - 4 hours of battery life depending on what applications I'm using.
As for typical life of a PC or MAC ( I own both ). The PC's life is shorter than a MB. I have a 4 year old Dell Vostro that I had to do a RAM upgrade so Windows 7 would run properly.
My late 08 MB had 4GB of RAM when I upgraded to Lion with no issues. i just decided to go 8GB because it was cheap.
A 2GB MB will boot up and run faster than a 4GB PC with windows 7.
Nothing is obsolete if you can still do your stuff on your MB.
To make it boot up faster, see what's loading on startup and take them off if you don't need them.

Backlight problem on MacBook

Hi,
I have a 2008 MacBook (A1181) and am having one issue that I can't seem to figure out. A few weeks ago, the backlight started giving me problems. Specifically, it would shut off. Apple wanted $300 to fix it and I'd rather just get a new computer at that point, so I thought I'd try and fix it myself. If I break it, oh well.
Anyway, I ordered a new backlight inverter board and an inverter cable, but the problem persists. If I leave the computer alone completely, the backlight turns on after about a minute of sitting at the login screen. However, as soon as I touch a key/move the mouse, it shuts off. If I wait again, it comes back on a minute or two later, but then the same thing happens.
I've tried an external keyboard and have gotten the same results.
Any ideas at all what could be causing this? Or is the hardware just messed up?

Go to Apple Menu / About This Mac. Click on More Info ... next on System Report. In the left hand column, under Hardware, select USB. The right side will show the USB Device Tree. Look through that and check for "Built-in iSight". That is your camera. If it is not listed the camera is not working.
For backlighting, try this: go to System Preferences / Keyboard. Uncheck "Adjust keyboard lighting in low light".

What cable should I use to transfer data from an early 2008 MacBook to a new MacBook Pro?

Just purchased a new MacBook Pro. Need to transfer data from my Early 2008 MacBook. What cable should I use?

Firewire with a Thunderbolt.Firewire adapter.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapte r
Ciao.

My 2008 MacBook Pro screen has now got interference across the whole screen. It looks similar to a pre-cable interference from bad reception. What is the problem here?

My 2008 MacBook Pro has interference across the full screen. It looks similar to a pre-cable TV screen with bad reception. Any idea of what the problem might be?

Took it to the Apple Store, they determined it's my screen that's messed up (they connected to another monitor, and since the lines didn't mirror onto the monitor it couldn't have been my GPU making the lines but rather the screen itself), so not connected to my wifi issue or a potential logic board issue, so I'm going to get my screen, wifi card, and trackpad (it's been failing too but that wasn't urgent at all) replaced for $330 using their flat-rate repair service which is much better than I imagined in terms of price.

Wi-Fi Problems on my Early 2008 MacBook runnning OS X 10.7.5

Hello. I have a Early 2008 MacBook running OS X 10.7.5. When I first got my Macbook for Christmas, it had OS X 10.5.x, and the Wi-Fi connection was running fine, even when I was two rooms away from the router. Then I bought and installed OS X 10.6.3, and then later 10.6.8, and the Wi-Fi was not as god, but it still worked (I could now only be one room away from the router). Then I bought and installed OS X 10.7.5, and the Wi-Fi got a little bit worse, but it still worked one way away from the router. Then one day, after dowloading a lot of stuff from Downloads.com, I check and find out that my Wi-Fi is not working for some reason. I have tried some tricks and tips that people have put out, and have read the major Lion Wi-Fi Issue forum post, but still nothing works. I am wondering if I should downgrade to Snow Leopard (though then I can't download a lot of apps from the App Store, and I won't be able to publish iOS games to the App Store using GameSalad). Can anyone give me advice or help me? Thanks:)

Hello IAmMasterOtenko,
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
For more information, take a look at:
Wi-Fi: How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4628?viewlocale=en_US
Have a nice day,
Mario

What version of LR should I choose to run it on a 2008 macbook pro OS 10.5 (updated with 8GB RAM)

As it says in the title: I want to run LR on my 2008 macbook pro OS 10.5 (updated with 8GB RAM). Adobe support told me that it would not be a problem, yet i'm confronted with a com.apple.installer.pagecontroller error -1. I have no idea what it is or how to solve it.
Can you please help me? Thank you.

You will not be able to use a LR 5 key on an older LR. While an intermediate version of OS X may be easier on your system and may allow a newer version of LR than LR3, if it is not current you still have to get that old version of LR from an alternate channel.
If you have an easy way to clone your system I would try upgrade you Yosemite and putting LR 5 on it since you have a key. If it doesn't perform to your satisfaction you can always clone back to 10.5 and seek an alternate solution.
However, was the LR 5 key owned by your previous job along with that other laptop? If so, it violates the license for you to use it.

Early 2008 Macbook Pro Should I upgrade to 6gb ram and SSD?

In the last few months, I've entered the world of 64-bit computing. I learned that this now means that my Early 2008 Macbook Pro, that has been fantastic and flawless for 6 years, needs an upgrade or replacement. I'm hard-hard stuck on whether I should upgrade it or replace it.
My current configuration is:
Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Storage 200 GB SATA Disk
I need to run OSX Mavericks and Windows 7 in VMWare or Bootcamp (I don't really like bootcamp).
I am eyeing two upgrades
1) Crucial 4GB Single DDR2 667MHz (PC2-5300) CL5 SODIMM 200-Pin Notebook Memory Module CT51264AC667
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RB21JY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1& smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
2) Crucial M500 240GB SATA 2.5-Inch 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT240M500SSD1
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-adapter-Internal-CT240M500SSD1/dp/B00BQ8R M1A/ref=sr_1_10?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1392961391&sr=1-10&keywords=ssd
My question is: Is it worth it for me max out my computer by upgrading again for $250? Will this hold me over for another 2-3 years, or should I look to replace?

Well, I have researched and researched and researched and come to a conclusion. I've compared many brand new replacement computers, and also reviewed my options for upgrading my computer. Upgrading to a new computer altogether, I have come across a few very attractive offers, but they're all in the $800+ price range.
I've decided that OSX Mavericks is my main issue. My early 2008 Macbook Pro was 100% perfectly sufficient for everything I needed it for when using OSX Snow Leopard. After the upgrade, VMWare Fusion runs like a sloth and everything else runs like a slug (maybe a slug that had a 5 hour energy...). Seriously. Just now, I am running Safari and MS Word while copying files to my backup drive. The beachball is all over the place, whereas the CPU is only at 15% use and RAM is at 3.97/4.00. I'm barely using the computer, and it's ridiculously hot and the fans are screaming.
First thing I'm going to do is 'upgrade' back to Snow Leopard to recover my RAM and regain the ability to effectively run my VMWare virtual machine. Then, I'm going to opt for the $100 upgrade to total 6GB of RAM and $150 upgrade to a SSD.

The keyboard and trackpad to my 2008 MacBook suddenly stopped working, what's wrong with it/ what should I do to fix it?

The keyboard and trackpad to my 2008 MacBook suddenly stopped working. I've restarted the computer several times and no help. I had some keyboard maintenance done a few months ago at a repair shop so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. What should I do?

First thing I would try would be to remove the battery from your MacBook, connect the computer to it's power adapter and start up, then see if the keyboard and trackpad work normally. Some older batteries have been known to expand and interfere with keyboard and trackpad. If this works, replace the battery.
Best of luck.

Should I upgrade to Mountain lion with my 2008 MAcbook pro?

I have a 2008 MAcbook pro 17". 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Will my macbook benefit from upgrading to Mountain Lion or should I just keep my Snow Leopard? Thanks for your suggestions. : )

I selected this on price alone - the local Tigert Direct had a 50% off promotion.
Intel ICH8-M AHCI:
Vendor:          Intel
Product:          ICH8-M AHCI
Link Speed:          1.5 Gigabit
Negotiated Link Speed:          1.5 Gigabit
Physical Interconnect:          SATA
Description:          AHCI Version 1.10 Supported
INTEL SSDSA2M160G2GN:
Capacity:          160.04 GB (160,041,885,696 bytes)
Model:          INTEL SSDSA2M160G2GN
Revision:          2CV102M3

2008 Macbook backlight problem - Should I care?

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