Best OS for mid 2009 MacBook Pro?

Hi everyone,
I have a MacBook Pro from mid 2009 with the following specs:
2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
I had OSX Lion on it with no problems, but recently decided to upgrade to Mountain Lion to be able to use the Messages app on the computer. For the first few days, upgrading had seemed to speed everything up! The Messages app is super buggy, but I was very happy to have upgraded. At this time I also created a new user and copied over about 400 GB of data from my desktop. Everything worked fine after this for a while... but a month later, things have gotten BAD. Applications take forever to open, everything is sluggish. I've tried repairing disk permissions, but it hasn't helped.
I'm wondering if maybe Mountain Lion is too much for the computer? Does anyone have any experiences to report about performance? I think I'm going to do a complete wipe and reinstall of the OS, and am wondering if I should go back to Lion, stick with Mountain Lion, or maybe even upgrade to Mavericks or Yosemite (though I suppose those would be too much for the computer).
Any insights or experience welcome!
Thanks.

My personal opinion is that Snow Leopard is the best OSX for your MBP. It still is the most efficient from Apple.
If you need applications that will only run on newer OSXs, then that is not an option for you.
Have you gone into the recovery partition and opened Disk Utility>First Aid?
Also consider installing the maximum RAM (8 GB) that you MBP will accept, especially of you have thoughts about Yosemite. An SSD would speed things up, but the cost is still rather high.
Ciao

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HT1661 My mid-2009 MacBook Pro has just died via a painful (for me) hard drive failure. I backed up a good percentage of files recently but not enough to keep me happy. I need to access the dead drive on the MBP via a 2008 iMac. Best options?

My mid-2009 MacBook Pro has just died via a painful (for me) hard drive failure. I backed up a good percentage of files recently but not enough to keep me happy. I need to access the dead drive on the MBP via a 2008 iMac. Best options?
I have ordered a 800 firewire to 800 firewire cable and am hoping to use the target mode option to copy files from the MBP.
Is this possible?
Hope so!
Any advice and or help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Neil

Thanks Ogelthorpe.
Just bought an enclosure to try that also.
Hoping the MBP isn't really dead but just feigning death
Fingers crossed.

Windows 8.1 64-bit driver for Coprocessor on Mid 2009 Macbook Pro 5,4

I have successfully installed Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit onto my Mid 2009 Macbook Pro 5,4. The installer from BootCamp 5.0.533.5033 would not run, but I installed one-by-one the files under Apple and then ran the 64-bit nVidia installlers. I have everything present and accounted for except for the 'Coprocessor.'
I have looked through the forums and everything seems to indicated that if you install the nVidia drivers it will install the driver for this but it doesn't. Any thoughts/suggestions/solutions?

For anyone who will find this post in the future, the Device Manager indicates that the 'Device Instance Path' is
pci co-processor pci\ven_10de&dev_0aa3&subsys_cb7910de&rev_b1\3&21436425&0&1d
Searching for that online, it appears that this is the nVidia MCP79 Co processor System.
This driver did not install with version 306.37 that came with the BootCamp drivers. I downloaded the current version from nVidia of 334.89 and that didn't work either. I searched online and found a driver for an Alienware 17x that uses the same co processor and ran the installer which extracted the files for the nVidia chipset v. 15.57 for 64-bit Windows 7 and Vista to c:\dell\drivers\R273039 and pointed the Device Manager to this folder and it was able to successfully install the driver software for the Management Controller (drivers are listed under the SMU folder for the "PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0AA3" device).
NVIDIA nForce System Management Controller
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I have destroyed the motherboard of a Mid 2009 MacBook Pro. How do I find out the technical specifications so I can give accurate information to someone who buys it for parts?

I recently had an unfortunate incident with a glass of water and a mid 2009-MacBook Pro. 13 inch screen.
According to the techs at the genius bar, the screen, keyboard, chassis and hard drive (160g) were still all good - as were all components other than the Motherboard.
I just completed the complete erasure of the hard drive, but don't have the technical specifications at my disposal.
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Serial No. Is available.
Thanks-

http://www.everymac.com/

Adding ram to mid-2009 Macbook Pro - 4gb vs 8gb?

I want to add ram to my mid-2009 Macbook Pro. It currently has 2gb ram. Any thoughts of whether I should upgrade 4gb or 8gb ram? It has a 2.26ghz intel core 2 processor. I only use the computer for internet and the occasional document editing.

If your needs are that modest, then 4 GB is fine. However, Mavericks is designed to use as much RAM as is available, and so more RAM is always better.
If I were you, I would put 4GB of RAM in, and then buy an SSD to replace the hard drive. You will be surprised how much faster it will be! It's the best way to extend the useful life of a older Mac.

My mid-2009 MacBook Pro's hard drive is near death. I want to install a new SSD and work from scratch. Please help.

Recently, my mid-2009 MacBook Pro has been crashing when I close the screen ("it's having a problem recognizing when the screen is closed/open and deciding what to do, error overload etc."). It wasn't an SMC issue so I took it to an Apple Store, ran some tests, and decided my hard-drive is failing.
Not wanting to spend an insane amount of money on some "official apple hard-drive," I want to install a new 256GB SSD instead. Hoping to squeeze as much life out of this computer as possible (in January I upgraded from 4 GB RAM to 8 GB), I would like to try and start from scratch, i.e. back-up important folders, music, photos etc. and only take that to the new hard-drive. If someone could explain all the steps I need to take to safely complete this task (or point me in the direction of a guide) I'd appreciate it.
Potentially Important info:
     Model:                mid-2009 13'' MacBook Pro
     Processor:          2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
     Memory:             4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
     Software:            OS X 10.8.4
Some additional questions I have...
     Should I be concerned with making a fully bootable back-up (not sure what that is called) as well? If so, what program should I use to create it?
     How much more life should I try and push out of this computer? I'm an engineering student and really only use it for web-surfing, music, and
          word-processing. The batter was replaced in March, the RAM was upgraded to 8 GB in January. When the battery was swapped, the trackpad went           nuts so that's new too. Only other issues are a slightly loose audio jack and the left side of the screen being slightly wobbly (hinge is worn I'm told).

cwgonzalez1192
     Should I be concerned with making a fully bootable back-up (not sure what that is called) as well? If so, what program should I use to create it?
     How much more life should I try and push out of this computer? I'm an engineering student and really only use it for web-surfing, music, and
          word-processing.
Well there is no "official Apple HD / SSD" in any regard, no worries there.
If as you say youre only using same for surfing and word processing, why the need for a SSD? You would not notice any speed diff. in use on either of those,....in boot times yes, but in word or surfing, not.
You can push it likely a few more years, for mere surfing and word processing,...many many years.   Up TO the point that any major fixes become unrealistic relative to getting a new(ER) machine.
Concerned with a boot clone? yes and no. Its an ideal immediate recovery, since you cannot boot from Time Machine, ....in case of HD crash, recovery takes seconds from boot, or 20 mins or so from removing old and installing a clone. All the prosumers and pros have at least one updated clone of their prime machines.
You can do a "fresh install" if you choose, however if your current drive is FINE, why not merely clone it and save yourself some headache?...., but that is your prerogative of course.    Ideally 2 drives, one to backup your data (you need that regardless of installing a new drive for sake of a backup/archive,...ideally 2 actually, not merely one).
You could clone internal to NEW SSD/HD , ...then offload unnecessary files to an external to free up space and clutter and run off the clone, and this would only take a couple hours......the clone itself takes approx. 40+ mins.
CLONE Apps :
Superduper does not clone the recovery partition, but that is NOT necessary if you keep the original HD as a “backup clone”. Most don’t bother with the recovery partition in a clone, however that is your prerogative.
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
(Free superduper APP above)
CCC App
http://www.bombich.com/

I have a mid 2009 MacBook Pro 5,3 Unibody that won't run anything past Leopard.

I have a mid 2009 MacBook Pro 5,3 Unibody that suffered a minor liquid spill. After waiting for it to dry out, we found that it powers up (but the display doesn't work unless connected to an external monitor) just fine. For several months it worked like a tank running Snow Leopard. I upgraded to Lion with no problems. Once the 10.7.1 update came out, it completely flipped out and wouldn't finish the install. I was forced to take it all the way back to Leopard and now it won't upgrade past Leopard. I replaced the hard drive completely and tried a fresh install of Lion using the thumb drive and that didn't work either. I got the set of errors you will find below. (Sorry, I don't know how to hide them like you can in some forums.) Any ideas or suggestions on why it won't install Lion would be great. I'm not so concerned about the display as wondering why it worked for 4 months and then another month on Lion and then suddenly flipped out on me. I'm not knowledgeable enough to decipher the message below.
Jun 26 10:16:11 christine-cowens-macbook-pro mDNSResponder[22]: ERROR: getOptRdata - unknown opt 4
Jun 26 10:16:14: --- last message repeated 5 times ---
Jun 26 10:16:14 christine-cowens-macbook-pro authexec[158]: executing /Volumes/Mac OS X Install DVD/Install Mac OS X.app/Contents/Resources/InstallAssistantTool_10_5
Jun 26 10:16:17 christine-cowens-macbook-pro mDNSResponder[22]: ERROR: getOptRdata - unknown opt 4
Jun 26 10:16:18: --- last message repeated 1 time ---
Jun 26 10:16:18 christine-cowens-macbook-pro [0x0-0xa00a].com.apple.systemuiserver[98]: Unexpected reply from backup server - ignored
Jun 26 10:16:18 christine-cowens-macbook-pro [0x0-0xb00b].com.apple.finder[99]: Unexpected reply from backup server - ignored
Jun 26 10:16:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro mDNSResponder[22]: ERROR: getOptRdata - unknown opt 4
Jun 26 10:16:55: --- last message repeated 11 times ---
Jun 26 10:17:53 christine-cowens-macbook-pro mDNSResponder[22]: ERROR: getOptRdata - unknown opt 4
Jun 26 10:18:23: --- last message repeated 9 times ---
Jun 26 10:21:50 christine-cowens-macbook-pro mDNSResponder[22]: ERROR: getOptRdata - unknown opt 4
Jun 26 10:22:20: --- last message repeated 7 times ---
Jun 26 10:22:21 christine-cowens-macbook-pro com.apple.launchd[72] ([0x0-0x14014].com.apple.installassistant[150]): Stray process with PGID equal to this dead job: PID 158 PPID 1 InstallAssistant
Jun 26 10:22:22 christine-cowens-macbook-pro loginwindow[23]: DEAD_PROCESS: 0 console
Jun 26 10:22:22 christine-cowens-macbook-pro shutdown[170]: reboot by christinecowen:
Jun 26 10:22:22 christine-cowens-macbook-pro shutdown[170]: SHUTDOWN_TIME: 1340731342 279916
Jun 26 10:22:22 christine-cowens-macbook-pro mDNSResponder mDNSResponder-176.3 (Nov 3 2008 16:52:57)[22]: stopping
Jun 26 10:22:22 christine-cowens-macbook-pro com.apple.loginwindow[23]: Shutdown NOW!
Jun 26 10:22:22 christine-cowens-macbook-pro com.apple.loginwindow[23]: System shutdown time has arrived^G^G
Jun 26 10:31:05 localhost com.apple.launchctl.System[2]: fsck_hfs: Volume is journaled. No checking performed.
Jun 26 10:31:05 localhost com.apple.launchctl.System[2]: fsck_hfs: Use the -f option to force checking.
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost com.apple.launchctl.System[2]: launchctl: Please convert the following to launchd: /etc/mach_init.d/dashboardadvisoryd.plist
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.RemoteDesktop.PrivilegeProxy): Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.usbmuxd): Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost com.apple.launchd[1] (org.cups.cupsd): Unknown key: SHAuthorizationRight
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost com.apple.launchd[1] (org.ntp.ntpd): Unknown key: SHAuthorizationRight
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost com.apple.launchd[1] (org.x.privileged_startx): Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: npvhash=4095
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kextd[10]: 417 cached, 0 uncached personalities to catalog
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: hi mem tramps at 0xffe00000
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: PAE enabled
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: 64 bit mode enabled
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Darwin Kernel Version 9.8.0: Wed Jul 15 16:55:01 PDT 2009; root:xnu-1228.15.4~1/RELEASE_I386
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: standard timeslicing quantum is 10000 us
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: vm_page_bootstrap: 905993 free pages and 77047 wired pages
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: mig_table_max_displ = 79
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: 104 prelinked modules
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=0 LocalApicId=0 Enabled
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=1 LocalApicId=1 Enabled
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Loading security extension com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: calling mpo_policy_init for TMSafetyNet
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Security policy loaded: Safety net for Time Machine (TMSafetyNet)
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Loading security extension com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Loading security extension com.apple.security.seatbelt
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: calling mpo_policy_init for mb
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Seatbelt MACF policy initialized
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Security policy loaded: Seatbelt Policy (mb)
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: MAC Framework successfully initialized
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: using 16384 buffer headers and 4096 cluster IO buffer headers
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: IOAPIC: Version 0x11 Vectors 64:87
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: ACPI: System State [S0 S3 S4 S5] (S3)
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: mbinit: done
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Security auditing service present
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: BSM auditing present
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: rooting via boot-uuid from /chosen: CFA77CDA-F33D-3F25-97CF-9E5EE113C739
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Waiting on <dict ID="0"><key>IOProviderClass</key><string ID="1">IOResources</string><key>IOResourceMatch</key><string ID="2">boot-uuid-media</string></dict>
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: wl0: Broadcom BCM432b 802.11 Wireless Controller
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: 5.10.91.21
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: FireWire (OHCI) Lucent ID 5901 built-in now active, GUID 0025bcfffee5710e; max speed s800.
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Got boot device = IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/SATA@B/AppleMCP79AHCI/PR T0@0/IOAHCIDevice@0/AppleAHCIDiskDriver/IOAHCIBlockStorageDevice/IOBlockStorageD river/ST9500420AS Media/IOGUIDPartitionScheme/Untitled@3
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: BSD root: disk0s3, major 14, minor 3
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: jnl: unknown-dev: replay_journal: from: 2878464 to: 2969088 (joffset 0x4b7000)
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: jnl: unknown-dev: journal replay done.
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: [HCIController][configurePM] power parent ready after 1 tries
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Jettisoning kernel linker.
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Resetting IOCatalogue.
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: GFX0: family specific matching fails
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: IGPU: family specific matching fails
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 2
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 4
Jun 26 10:31:07: --- last message repeated 4 times ---
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 5
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: NVDANV50HAL loaded and registered.
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: IGPU: family specific matching fails
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Previous Shutdown Cause: 3
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: AppleTyMCEDriver::probe(MacBookPro5,3)
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: AppleTyMCEDriver::probe fails
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: GFX0: family specific matching fails
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: AGC: 2.8.15, HW version=1.8.8, flags:0, features:1
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: GFX0: family specific matching fails
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: IGPU: family specific matching fails
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: GFX0: family specific matching fails
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: IGPU: family specific matching fails
Jun 26 10:31:07 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 0
Jun 26 10:31:09 localhost kernel[0]: AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement: initialization complete
Jun 26 10:31:11 localhost bootlog[36]: BOOT_TIME: 1340731864 0
Jun 26 10:31:11 localhost rpc.statd[18]: statd.notify - no notifications needed
Jun 26 10:31:11 localhost DirectoryService[32]: Launched version 5.7 (v514.25)
Jun 26 10:31:11 localhost /System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents/MacOS/loginwindow[23]: Login Window Application Started -- Threaded auth
Jun 26 10:31:12 localhost fseventsd[27]: bumping event counter to: 0x25d156 (current 0x0) from log file '000000000025c40a'
Jun 26 10:31:13 localhost kernel[0]: NVEthernet: Ethernet address 00:25:bc:e5:71:0e
Jun 26 10:31:13 localhost kernel[0]: AirPort_Brcm43xx: Ethernet address 00:26:08:e3:43:79
Jun 26 10:31:13 localhost blued[45]: Apple Bluetooth daemon started.
Jun 26 10:31:14 localhost mDNSResponder mDNSResponder-176.3 (Nov 3 2008 16:52:57)[22]: starting
Jun 26 10:31:14 localhost com.apple.usbmuxd[15]: usbmuxd-268.5 on Apr 5 2012 at 15:33:48, running 32 bit
Jun 26 10:31:15 localhost kernel[0]: NVEthernet::setLinkStatus - Valid but not Active
Jun 26 10:31:15 localhost kernel[0]: NVEthernet::mediaChanged - Link is down
Jun 26 10:31:15 localhost kernel[0]: NVEthernet::setLinkStatus - Valid but not Active
Jun 26 10:31:15 localhost kernel[0]: AirPort: Link Down on en1
Jun 26 10:31:15 localhost kernel[0]: jnl: disk0s2: replay_journal: from: 9485824 to: 9519104 (joffset 0x9d9000)
Jun 26 10:31:15 localhost /usr/sbin/ocspd[68]: starting
Jun 26 10:31:15 christine-cowens-macbook-pro configd[34]: setting hostname to "christine-cowens-macbook-pro.local"
Jun 26 10:31:16 christine-cowens-macbook-pro kernel[0]: jnl: disk0s2: journal replay done.
Jun 26 10:31:17 christine-cowens-macbook-pro kernel[0]: en1: 802.11d country code set to 'CN'.
Jun 26 10:31:17 christine-cowens-macbook-pro kernel[0]: en1: Supported channels 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 149 153 157 161 165 153 161 149 157
Jun 26 10:31:19 christine-cowens-macbook-pro org.ntp.ntpd[14]: Error : nodename nor servname provided, or not known
Jun 26 10:31:19 christine-cowens-macbook-pro ntpdate[72]: can't find host time.apple.com
Jun 26 10:31:19 christine-cowens-macbook-pro ntpdate[72]: no servers can be used, exiting
Jun 26 10:31:20 christine-cowens-macbook-pro kernel[0]: Auth result for: c8:3a:35:56:9b:80 MAC AUTH succeeded
Jun 26 10:31:20 christine-cowens-macbook-pro kernel[0]: AirPort: Link Up on en1
Jun 26 10:31:21 christine-cowens-macbook-pro kextd[10]: writing kernel link data to /var/run/mach.sym
Jun 26 10:31:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro loginwindow[23]: Login Window Started Security Agent
Jun 26 10:31:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro authorizationhost[85]: MechanismInvoke 0x129e00 retainCount 2
Jun 26 10:31:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro SecurityAgent[86]: MechanismInvoke 0x1015f0 retainCount 1
Jun 26 10:31:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro loginwindow[23]: Login Window - Returned from Security Agent
Jun 26 10:31:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro SecurityAgent[86]: MechanismDestroy 0x1015f0 retainCount 1
Jun 26 10:31:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro authorizationhost[85]: MechanismDestroy 0x129e00 retainCount 2
Jun 26 10:31:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro loginwindow[23]: USER_PROCESS: 23 console
Jun 26 10:31:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.UserEventAgent-LoginWindow[82]): Exited: Terminated
Jun 26 10:31:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro com.apple.launchd[76] (com.apple.AirPortBaseStationAgent): Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
Jun 26 10:31:25 christine-cowens-macbook-pro com.apple.launchd[76] (org.x.startx): Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
Jun 26 10:31:26 christine-cowens-macbook-pro /System/Library/CoreServices/coreservicesd[43]: SFLSharePointsEntry::CreateDSRecord: dsCreateRecordAndOpen(Christine Cowen's Public Folder) returned -14135

Might have a hardware issue that was caused by the minor liquid spill.
Take it to Apple to have them look at it. I think they do a free diagnostics. That way you can find out what's wrong with your MB.
Good luck....Hope you get it sorted out.

How do I connect my mid-2009 Macbook pro to my HDMI television and get sound?

How do I connect my mid-2009 Macbook pro to my HDMI television and get sound?

Use a mini-Displayport-to-HDMI adapter and a standard HDMI cable to connect the computer to the proper HDMI port on your computer — the one that is paired with the separate RCA audio inputs (see the TV's manual for this information). And connect the headphone port on your MBP to those inputs with a cable that has a 1/8' stereo headphone plug on one end and two RCA plugs on the other. You'll also need to select the proper HDMI input in the TV's menu system, and you may have to select the headphone port as the audio output in the Sound pane of System Prefs on the Mac (or it may be selected automatically).

I have a mid 2009 Macbook Pro and i know the Mini-display port does not support audio out but does it support HDMI out? or do i have to buy a Mini-display to DVI and then a DVI to HDMI adapters?

I have a mid 2009 Macbook Pro and i know the Mini-display port does not support audio out but does it support HDMI out? or do i have to buy a Mini-display to DVI and then a DVI to HDMI adapters?

Run MDP to HDMI for picture. Use a cable like this to run sound from your audio out on your Mac to your TV's audio in. That's about all you can do.

Mini Displayport to DVI Adapter Problem on Mid-2009 Macbook Pro

I have a new mid-2009 Macbook Pro hooked up to a 20" Samsung 2033sw LCD with a native 1600x900 resolution using a mini Displayport to DVI adapter that I bought off of EBay. No matter what I've tried I can't get anything to display on the external Samsung LCD higher than 1024x768. I tried switching between GPU's and that made no difference. Any ideas.?

Michael, thanks for the reply;
When you open System Preferences/Displays does a second preference panel open up OK on the Samsung ?
Yes, but I can't see it unless I select 'gather displays'. Then it appears on the MBP LCD, and showing the correct resolution - 1600x900.
Is there an Options Tab visible under which you can check 'Overscan' ?
None that I can find. Only display and color tabs.
Is the Refresh Rate set to 60.0 Hertz
Yes, that is what it shows in Refresh Rate.
I also pulled out an older LG LCD that is fairly generic, .e.g. it has DVI in at 1280x1024. Same problem on that LCD ... nothing higher than 1024x768, but this time at 1280x1024 I get major noise and screen distortion. The displayed image is jumping all over the place, but at least there is something displayed.

I am having problems rebooting my mid 2009 macbook pro (grey screen other issues), need help!

I am having problems rebooting, I have experienced the same problem as others with the grey screen but my case is a little different, It started with my mid 2009 macbook pro acting a little slower than normal, the screen would freeze, mouse wouldnt move and i'd be forced to "force reboot" this went on for a couple of days until i was tinkering with the wifi connection and it froze again. I had to reboot and this time i noticed that it took a long time to get to the login screen. i put in my password and it went into infinite load (i also tried the guest account and other accounts with same result). i tried rebooting again and the same thing would happen. after several reboots, the screen just stayed grey, sometimes with the apple logo and gear sometimes without it. Since its a 2009, (and for the most part, still works like a champ) i decided test the ram, i took one stick of ram out at a time to see if i could notice anything wrong with them. when i stuck just one in, the mac was still having the same problem rebooting. i pulled that ram and and stuck in the other and i noticed that this time the apple logo never appeard and a big crossed out circle appeared. figuring that the ram must be the problem, i ordered new ram and installed it. i noticed that when i rebooted for the first time with the new ram it was rather quick and took me straight to the login screen and i was able to log in with no problem. at this point i thought the problem was solved, but i noticed the macbook still acting funny. at first, none of my files appeared on my desktop or in the finder window. after about 20 minutes, everything magically popped up. i also noticed long pauses/freezes with the colored pin wheel spinnig. i closed the laptop and opened it again and the screen just stayed black. i tried rebooting again, and again i got the grey screen with no signs of being able to log in... i waited about 20 minutes and tried to reboot again and again i was able to log in, however the macbook is still acting slow and will freeze with no signs of unfreezing without a reboot.
my macbook is 5 years old and has plenty of miles on it, so i understand if the thing needs to be replaced alltogether but does anyone know what could be the issue? could the bad ram have corrupted the hard drive in anyway? would re-installing the OS fix it?? and if so, how would i do that if i downloaded mavericks from the app store? are there any other solutions to this problem?
all my files and what not are backed up on an external HD so theres nothing on it that i'd miss desperately if i had to whipe the hard drive but id really like to get her working again without any whiping of the HD. if anyone can help me out, it'd be greatly appreciated

It is very difficult to offer troubleshooting suggestions when the "os version" you are using is unknown as each os has their own troubleshooting solutions.
How large is your hard drive and how much hard drive space do you have left?

How can I export slideshows created in Aperture v3.3.2 from Mid-2009 MacBook Pro-17 to blank DVDs?

(Fifth futile attempt in two hours, before I learned there was a Post webpage – I’m new to ApSuppCom - and after I learned that I am not allowed to update previous content, so I had to back out, make a few changes, and start over.) How can I export slideshows created in Aperture v3.3.2 (complete with superimposed captions and music tracks) from Mid-2009 MacBook Pro-17 to blank DVDs ? (Some other specs: Mac OS Lion 10.7.5; Capacity 499.5 GB; Processor 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo; Memory 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3; Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256MB)
I cannot do a copy (export) without various error messages appearing and the inevitable stoppage occurring. Always with the DVD Video Player final message reading, “Supported disc not available.” Advisors and Mac Geniuses at local Apple Stores have told me to try Roxio Toast. When I visited the Roxio website, and found numerous other company products, the descriptions all seemed to suggest that most of the apps shown can easily export videos to DVDs, but nothing was said about finished digital slide shows being exported. At future events soon, I hope to be handing out these finished DVDs (free) to the people in them. Any help will be greatly appreciated. A.Z.

How can I export slideshows created in Aperture v3.3.2 (complete with superimposed captions and music tracks) from Mid-2009 MacBook Pro-17 to blank DVDs ?
Aperture cannot burn slideshows to a DVD. It only can export a video of your slideshow.
In Aperture 3 you use the "Export" button in Aperture's slideshow project to render a video to a folder on your disk.
Then you use iDVD or another program to burn a video DVD.
I cannot do a copy (export) without various error messages appearing and the inevitable stoppage occurring. Always with the DVD Video Player final message reading, “Supported disc not available.”
Could you please describe the exact steps that are causing these error messages?
How are you exporting your slideshow from Aperture? Which settings are you using? And how are you importing the video to iDVD or Toast to burn a video DVD?
For more suggestions see Karsten Schlüter's user tip: How to create a video-DVD? (Macs without iDVD)

Samsung hard drive problems with mid 2009 Macbook Pro

Arghh, this is driving me mad.
I'd like to know if anyone has installed a Samsung HM641JI SATA II hard drive into a mid 2009 Macbook Pro (mine is a 2.8Ghz) and, if so, how they managed it. The drive is 640GB. These are the steps I've taken:
1. Swap out the stock drive for the Samsung
2. Boot from a USB drive which contains a mirror of my system
3. When the system identified the new disk, I formatted it with 2 partitions (GUID table, HFS journaled)
4. Reboot
5. System is very slow. Boots from USB but can't use keyboard to login
6. Switch off and try again
7. Remove Samsung drive
8. Reboot from USB (works perfectly)
9. Downgrade firmware to 1.6
10. Replace samsung drive and try again
11. System boots from USB
12. Verify that drive is running at 1.5Ghz
13. Disk utility and system profiler both crash
14. Disk unmounts by itself and other random weirdness
15. Remove Samsung drive
I've read endless reports about the firmware in this model of Macbook Pro and its issues with SATA II but struggling to find anything current and specific. Two questions:
a. Is there anythign I can do to get this drive to play nicely?
b. What drive should I get if the answer to a is no?
As a bit of background.. my system began playing up last week with lots of spinning beach balls resulting in forced switch offs. Booting from a mirror on a USB drive works perfectly so I concluded that the drive was on its way out. A drive test utility confirmed this. I'm now wondering if it really was the drive or the cable or the logic board.
Any advice appreciated.
Cheers
//A

I'm coming around to the idea that this might be a problem with the SATA cable rather than the drive.
I currently have the stock drive (Hitachi) back in the macbook. It mounted for a while and was then ejected when I tried writing data to it. System profiler reports that "There was an error while scanning for Serial-ATA devices."
I was able to mount the same drive in a USB enclosure this afternoon without any problems. Right now, I seem to be having issues with both the Samsung drive and the Hitachi drive - I wasn't suspicious of thr latter because I thought it was failing.
I found one or two accounts of other people having similar problems that were resolved with a new sata cable.
How does a cable fail? Could this be my problem?
Cheers
//A

Can't install a stable Windows 7 on my Snow Leopard mid-2009 Macbook Pro via Botcamp

I just erased the whole disk with Disk Utility and re-installed a fresh version of Snow Leopard on my mid-2009 MacBook Pro with my original install disk and updated all the software.
I then created a 400GB partition via Bootcamp Assistant for Windows and successfully installed Vista.
I then successfully installed Windows 7 (not an upgrade) over Vista (I only have the official upgrade disk) and installed Bootcamp in Windows with the original OS X DVD.
I then upgraded Bootcamp from version 3.0 to 3.1 to 3.2 to 3.3 and then to 4.0.
None of these versions have resulted in a stable version of Windows 7 because the screen randomly turns one color (usually blue or white) with no cursor or interaction possible and I have to shut the computer down by holding the power button.
I've tried the whole process with 32 bit and 64 bit versions with the same results. The funny thing (not so funny, really) is that WIndows becomes increasingly unstable the higher I go with Bootcamp. I've even tried running the Vista to Windows 7 upgrade utility but Windows 7 is totally unusable. Once at Bootcamp 4 the system can't even get past the windows boot process.
I'm pulling my hair out here because I can't think of anything else to try. I'm suspecting the problem is driver related.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I suggest you start over with the install of Windows. You can use an Upgrade version of Win 7 to do a Clean install.
Basically you have to Not put in the license key when asked and also uncheck the option to Auto Activate Windows when the system gets online, mThen once it is installed and you are at the desktop go to the System applet in Control panel and Select Activate Windows. Then put the license key in.
If for some reason that doesn't work then you do a second install of Windows7 over the top of the current install and that make the installer think you are Upgrading and the Activation will go through.
It is all covered over at the Windows 7 forum.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31402-clean-install-upgrade-windows-7-versi on.html

Best OS for mid 2009 MacBook Pro?

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