External Boot Disc for Late 2008 MacBook

Will the MacBook 13-inch Aluminum boot from an external USB disc (SuperDuper bootable clone)?
If so, any special requirements for this to happen? (Select external disc with Startup Disc, or use option key at startup and select system from which to boot as before?)
(Previous Books would only boot from Firewire external discs...)
...JB

I boot both Intel-based and PowerPC-based Macs from APM partitioned USB and FireWire hard drives every day at work. We have to have the APM partitioned because the PowerPC-based Macs will NOT boot from a GUID-partitioned hard drive. Our hard drive need to be able to boot both so we can use the same hard drives to install Leopard on either platform.
EDIT: Intel-based Macs can startup from either a GUID or APM partitioned drive. However, looking into it further, Intel-based Macs can only INSTALL Mac OS X to a GUID-partitioned drive. If Mac OS X 10.5 is already installed on an external drive, it doesn't matter what the partition format is.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1600
I don't specifically remember installing Mac OS X 10.5 on an APM-formatted external hard drive from a PowerPC-based Mac, but it's possible I did. It's just my own tower and my one test iMac at work are both Intel-based Macs. I'm not sure what computer I might have used to format and install Mac OS X 10.5 onto our external drive...
Of course, if you only have an Intel-based Mac, there's no reason to bother with the APM format. You could use the Disk Utility to "restore" your Intel-based Mac to an external drive with either partition scheme and it would be bootable. It's only the Mac OS X installer that would stop you if you had the wrong format.
-Doug

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How to update graphics card drivers for late 2008 macbook pro with Nvidia 9600m GT?

Can anybody help me update the drivers for my 9600m GT graphics card for my Late 2008 Macbook pro? I am running OS X Lion 10.7.5 with a Windows 7 partition. I have tried finding support on Nvidia's website, but at least for the 9600m GT, it isn't supported for my operating system. Would I have to update it from my Windows side? And if so, would the update apply to my OS X side as well? I have a little computer knowledge, but nothing indepth.

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
In OS X, Apple provides the GPU drivers and you cannot update them from NVIDIA. They are updated with each OS X update, so you are running the most recent drivers for your OS X version. OS X Mountain Lion and Mavericks have got more recent GPU drivers, but it's not worth upgrading unless you need newer drivers for an app (I highly doubt this).
However, you can update the GPU drivers in Windows, and you should do it to get the best performance. You can download them from the NVIDIA site > http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us Note that drivers are only applied in the operating system you are installing them, so they will not be installed in OS X

Replacement hard drive for late 2008 Macbook Pro

I need to replace my drive in a late 2008 Macbook Pro 15". I can access the battery and what looks like the hard drive from the underside, if this helps. Would this be a good replacement choice?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136279
Finding exact specs for the drive has been tricky, or maybe I just need to have the physical size verified. What I know/have found is:
5400rpm       (would a 7200rpm improve performance, or am I limited by hardware?)
SATA II        (does this matter tese days?)
2.5" drive   (needs verification)
open drive? (do I need this or not?)
Any other options or advice? I'd like to spend a small amount since this is an older computer and won't be around a whole lot longer anyway. Thanks in advance!

The link you posted above is for a WD drive,....dont get it.   WD drives (some) have SMS sensor coflicts with Mac, and the consumer grade western digital HD are the worst you can buy.
Same as used by Apple below, best option, cheapest price.
best likewise replacement 1TB 9.5mm Toshiba
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-1TB-MQ01ABD100-HDKBB96A1A01-2-5-5400RPM-Laptop-N otebook-9-5mm-HDD-/171120091488?pt=US_Internal_Hard_Disk_Drives&hash=item27d78d 6 160
$68
Stockdizzle
I will need to clone the current drive before it fails; is there an article in this forum on that?
Easy, 3 clicks and sit back and let Superduper CLONE your HD.....about 40 mins average.
Superduper is free and most of the pros use it (or carbon copy cloner)
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
See instruction and get software there<     very very easy to do

Keyboard Mappings for Late 2008 MacBook Pro

Hi
I have found the keyboard mappings for older models of the MacBook Pro (shown below) but I can't find the same article for the new keyboard on my new late 2008 MacBook Pro.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1220
Thanks!

Hey Bigtalex712!
I have an article here for you that can provide some troubleshooting steps for this issue:
Intel-based Mac notebooks: Troubleshooting unresponsive trackpad issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1248
Take care, and thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities.
-Braden

New macbook pro battery for late 2008 macbook pro dies fast.

I have a late 2008 macbook pro 2.4 HGz Intet Core 2 Duo with 2 GB of ram. I've had it since 2009 and just got a new battery, as the old one finally gave up. That being said, the new battery dies quite fast and I'm not sure why. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! thank you

Only problem is that maybe the battery you were sold was manufactured around the same time as the Mac. And LiPo batteries die because of old age as well as use. Take it out and carefully examine all markings, especially anything that can date when it was made, like copyrights or such.
With that evidence you can go back and demand a refund.

BT 4.0 dongle available for late 2008 macbook?

Greetings,
I have a late 2008 MacBook. My understanding is that it is not bluetooth 4.0 capable. I am trying to pair my laptop to other devices that use bluetooth 4.0 but am not successful. I have been made aware that there may be bluetooth smart dongles that can fix this issue. My question is, which one is recommended and are they reliable?
Thanks,
Vince

BT devices should be backward compatible. My MacBook Pro connects with any BT devices.
in answer to your question, I do not know of anything like that.
Barry

Best SSD for late 2008 Macbook?

Afternoon,
I'm also looking for an SSD for my late 2008 aliminum Macbook. It's the 2ghz model : model number- A1278.
Can anyone suggest one that's fast and reliable, but not too exspensive. I'm looking in the 250 GB range.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH IN ADVANCE!
BertieTBE

OCZ Vertex 3! Bar none!. For this model, only 2 SSD works reliably with the MCP79 problem that hosts the sata controller. OCZ did their best work to rectify this situation where it works flawlessly now. Crucial M4 SSDs also works well without any effort. Vertex is very fast and lower cost than most SSDs due to aggressive price pushing by OCZ.
Here is the right method of doing upgrade.
1) Use a desktop PC to update the firmware of the SSD before installing. Choose Mac version or latest version.
Set the sata 2 setting and temperature fix using the CD software of OCZ. Best firmware update anyone has ever created!.
2) Put SSD in USB enclosure and connect it to your Mac. Download SuperDuper software for Mac to clone your existing disk.
3) Run SuperDuper to clone. 1 hours or less.
4) Shutdown everything and swap the HDD with the SSD.
5) On Bootup, then quickly Reset SMC, Left-Shift Control Option (3 fingers on these) and Power button. Remove Magsafe power, remove the battery, Press POWER with all those things removed for 5 sec. Put battery back, Magsafe on and power up.
6) On Powering up, quicky do NVRAM reset with OPTION COMMAND P R keys. Hold it until it chimes twice, then release. See it boot in 15 seconds and "One More thing ....."
7) Last step, on boot up, Download TRIM Enabler 2.2 and run it. Check System profiler to see it is ON. Then enjoy. Remember to backup daily or weekly, SSDs can fail anytime without warning unlike HDD.
Note: This process can save people days of agony if they simply rush into the install without understanding the process and will cause all sorts of strange problems.

SSD for Late 2008 Macbook Pro 15

Hi all,
I'm looking to upgrade my old Macbook Pro 15, late 2008 model and would like to ask for recommendations from anyone with experience here. I'd like to get a 500GB range SSD. Both link speed and negotiated link speed are 3, which I think is SATA III correct? Any recommendations on the optimum drive that will boost performance for this setup?
Thanks in advance!!

A 500 GB SSD will be $250-300. Why would you throw that kind of money to such an old machine which is very underpowered by today's standards?

8GB of ram for late 2008 Macbook

Offically it can't be done. In the realworld I've hear it can.
How, from where and at what cost? I'm in the UK and I've already trield Crucial UK.
Any ideas?
Thank you very much.
BertieTBE

Spoke to Crucial UK last week. This is what they had to say about exeeding Apple's rmaximum reccomended ram upgeades. Note - this relates to a late 2008 aliminum Macbook.
"I really do not recommend exceeding 4GB...we test the machines in our labs for the maximum capacity it can take, and in numerous cases APPLE recommends a certain capacity and we find that the machine can take more, so we type our figure, as of this I strongly recommend that you stick to the 4GB recommended by us as we’ve tested the machine and that’s as much as it can take.
If you want to take your chances with 8GB kit ( 2 x 4GB ) modules, then you will find it on this link'
What do you think?
What are the risks of going over?
Thank you.
BertieTBE

Where can I buy a "boot disc" for my 2008 IMac?

I just got rid of bootcamp from my IMac and when I was updating my IMac (which had not been updated since purchasing it in Aug 2008), the computer restarted and upon restarting a black screen appeared. the screen said to insert a "boot disk" and then press any key. As I do not have a boot disk I cannot insert it and carry on... Where can i purchase a boot disk for my mac or how can I solve this issue?

you need to order one from AppleCare.

External boot disc for MAc Mini

Please forgive the naivety of this question but if some one could confirm this once and for all in simple terms I would be grateful.
I want to have an external hardrive on which I can place OSX so that I can boot from it, rather than the Mini's built in drive, not least so that I can run the disc utility on the built in hardrive. My question is does this external hardrive have to be USB or Firewire or does it not matter? My Mini is an Intel Duo with 2GB RAM running 10.4.9.
Thanks for any suggestions
Matt.
Mac Mini intel dual 2GB RAM OS10.4.9 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Presumably this GUID thing also explains why my
current Lacie 500Gb mini hub won't let me load OSX
onto it as it isn't GUID partitioned just HFS+
formatted straight out of the box?
That's exactly right, yes. Since it's not a bootable volume as far as your mini is concerned, it won't give it as an option to install MacOS on it.
Incidentally, once GUID partitioned, you don't have to actually INSTALL MacOS if you want to use it in place of your internal drive. You can use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper! to clone the internal to the external as a complete single operation, which will leave you with a bootable external that is an exact duplicate of the internal drive. After that, once the external has been tested out, you can then remove whatever you wish from the internal drive, or use it as a backup for the external.
Either/both CCC and SuperDuper! can be downloaded from www.versiontracker.com.

Boot time for early 2008 MacBook Pro longer after upgrade to Snow Leopard

Hi all,
I upgraded to Snow Leopard about 2 months ago and have found my boot times longer ever since - by about 5-10 seconds. Any idea what could be causing this?
btw all patches to SL have been applied including the most recent OS update, 10.6.4.
Thanks!

Thanks. Now I could back it up. It even booted. But now I have a new problem. The new hard drive is reallz faster than the old one. But Evers now and then the system just freezes. Not like when it was overworked before with the old system. No it completely freezes. You can just move the mouse then. But you can move windows, can't click on anything. This lasts about 30 seconds, then everything is normal. Is there a size maximum for a internal hard drive or cache max or a speed max. It makes go crazy.
But never the less. You first hit helped. Maybe you have another one.

Any recommendations: SSD for Late 2008 Macbook?

I've been searching and found a few 32gb. I'm a writer and do absolutely nothing but write and surf the Internet on this computer, so 32gb should be enough. And since you'll ask why switch to an ssd, I want to know my hard drive is new, quiet, and more durable. I've found some like OWC mercury with 263 258 read/write while others are half those speeds. I also found some double that but SATA3.
Is it true older MacBooks can't get the sata3 speeds?
Also if anyone knows, why are some for $100 slower than ones for $50?
If anyone can recommend one in the $50 range, I'd appreciate that as well. Or even might give a reason why the OWC Mercury isn't as good as it seems.
Thanks!

If you want to replace your internal hard drive with an SSD, you'll need more than 32GB. You'll need to include 10%+ of the capacity for OS X systems usage, which is above any files and data that you may have. You may want to add programs in the future, which would need space. If you download internet video, that takes space. I would suggest you consider in the 120GB range, as even 60GB may be marginal.
To see what your macbook can handle, on the menu bar, click the apple on the left side, about this mac, more info, and serial ATA. Note the link speed. 1.5 gigabit is SATA I, 3.0 gigabit is SATA II, and 6.0 gigabit is SATA 3. It should be either SATA I or SATA II. Negotiated link speed is what your drive is currently running at.
While SATA III drives are supposed to be backwards compatible, I just installed an OWC SSD 6G in our 2010 mac mini, and the negotiated link speed only showed SATA I speed where the mini could handle SATA II speeds. Turns out I needed to use a OWC SSD 3G model, which works great at SATA II speeds.

How Hot Is Too Hot For Late 2008 Macbook Unibody?

I'm still in the process of adjusting to life in the world of Macs and I was wondering just how hot is too hot for the CPU to be running at with the Unibody 13 inch Macbook?

The sensors are set to put the computer in thermal shutdown at 212F to prevent catastrophic damage.
Dave M.
MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
Macsimum News Associate Editor  Creator of 'Mac611 - Mobile Mac Support'

Replacement optical drive for early 2008 MacBook

I own an early 2008 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 13" MacBook that appears to have developed a fault with the MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857E optical drive.
Unfortunately I am unable to get the optical drive replaced by Apple, as it seems they don't keep the parts for any machine over five years old. So I plan to replace the faulty unit myself. Can anyone recommend a replacement? The UJ-857E model doesn't appear to be available anywhere other than in the United states and then only as a refurbished unit and listed as an 857C which I assume to be from an earlier model.
I was wondering if there might be a more recent equivalent available that I might use instead. There seem to be several UJ-898 models for late 2008 MacBooks available, but I have no idea how much of a change Apple made to the internal configuration from early to late 2008.
Does anyone have any experience of replacing or upgrading their optical drive that they would be willing to share? I plan to follow the IFixit tutorials for the procedure. I just need to know what unit to buy as a replacement.

I would stick to what OWC (macsales) offers.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/superdrive/MacBook_13

External Boot Disc for Late 2008 MacBook

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