How can I tell if my 2008 Macbook is dying?

Question

I have a Macbook that was purchased in August of 2008. I have replaced my battery once. However, now it will say not charging, even if it sometimes does charge. My airport will shut off automatically if my computer sits idle for a few minutes and restarting the MAC is the only way to fix it. Also, I have a set wireless network, yet sometimes it chooses to connect to other networks that aren't mine. The internet runs tortoise slow. We even changed our internet provider and speed hoping that was the issue and it still takes a really long time to load a site. Today I went to turn it on and it wouldn't cut on. I gave it a few minutes and tried again. It sounded like it was powering on, but the screen stayed black for an unusually long time. Eventually, the blue screen came on for a minute or two, then went back to black, and then blue again, taking almost 5-6 for my home screen to load. There are occasional times when it will freeze, but they aren't too frequent. The biggest issue is the internet speed. It is very fast on all our other apple devices, but an awful experience on the MAC. I have 3 online classes, which I use daily. I check emails and use my itunes for my iphone and backing up purposes. What I am getting at is whether or not these are signs of an aged macbook? All my software updates are up to date and I believe it is running OS X Leopard. I don't think a 5 year old Macbook is worth putting much money into, but I could be wrong. Would it be better to replace or repair? I'm really just lost. I'm not tech savvy. I know I need it to work and work well and quick. I rely on my MAC for all things school related, so it's very important to have it in tip top shape. ADVICE, please?
Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi Alicia ...
However, now it will say not charging, even if it sometimes does charge
MIght be the adapter >  Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters
My airport will shut off automatically if my computer sits idle for a few minutes and restarting the MAC is the only way to fix it.
Try resetting the router.
Also, I have a set wireless network, yet sometimes it chooses to connect to other networks that aren't mine
Open System Preferences > Network > Advanced. Drag your network to the top of the list. Delete any networks you don't use.
The internet runs tortoise slow.
Try this DNS.
Open System Preferences > Network > Advanced > DNS
Click + and type:
208.67.222.222
Click + again and do the same.
208.67.220.220
Click OK. Try a browser.
If it's still slow, check your download / upload speed here > Speedtest.net by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test
If the download speed is less than 10Mbps, contact your ISP for information about upgrades for a high speed broandband connection.
whether or not these are signs of an aged macbook?
Not really. Perhaps just needs maintenace. Check the startup disk for errors.
Launch Disk Utility located in HD > Applications > Utilities
Select the startup disk on the left then select the First Aid tab.
Click:  Verify Disk  (not Verify Disk Permissions)
If the disk needs repairing, restart your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys. From there you can access the built in utilities in OS X Recovery to repair the startup disk.
Message was edited by: CS