Installing latest OS on 2007 macbook pro?

I have a 15" "Santa Rosa" macbook pro from 2007 that I used for video editing while I was in film school and still occasionally use for editing old short films as a hobby. My everyday computer is a PC gaming desktop running Windows 8 (which I hate). Now, at my new business I'm using a Square ipad POS system and an ipad inventory system. I'd like to be able to use my old macbook pro in my back office, rather than getting another PC, as it seems like I should stick with macs if I'm using an ipad POS, right? However, I've never updated my macbook from OSX 10.4.11, and I'm not sure if I can even update to a new OS at this point, from such an old one? This is the laptop model I have:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/specs/macbook-pro-core-2-duo-2 .4-15-santa-rosa-specs.html
I looked into getting a refurbished macbook air, but I'm used to using 15" laptops or larger desktop screens for the last 7 years, and 13" laptops seem oddly small to me. The refurb 15" macbook pros are way out of my price range right now.
So, if there's any way to make my old, (decently fast for my purposes) 15" laptop functional in 2014 (i.e. by dumping all the files on a backup drive and updating to the latest OS it can handle), I'd like to continue using it for a while just for the 15" screen. Also, I have a bunch of firewire external drives I still use. Are there any OTHER reasons why this laptop would be unusable in 2014, other than the old OS? It has an Intel 2.4 GHz "Core 2 Duo" processor, usb 2.0, firewire 400, and firewire 800 ports. It doesn't have an HDMI port but I seem to recall buying a converter at some point to use it with a projector on campus, years ago. Maybe it was a different type of converter...
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as I've missed the last 7 years of advances in Macs while using PCs for work.

Start by checking if you can run Snow Leopard:
Requirements for OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard'
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP575
(NB: PowerPC applications can still be run in Snow Leopard using Rosetta, but they will not work in later versions of OS X. For detailed information see this user tip: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6271 )
The OS 10.6 Snow Leopard install DVD is still available for $19.99 from the Apple Store:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
and in the UK:
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
Before installation you should back up all your data.
When you have installed it, run Software Update to download and install the latest updates for Snow Leopard to bring it up to 10.6.8, or download the combo update from here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
Check via Software Update whether any further updates are required, particularly to iTunes (you will need the latest version in order to synch with mobile devices).
You should now see the App Store icon in iTunes, and you now need to set up your account:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4479
You can now upgrade to Yosemite OS 10.10 for free IF you have one of the following Macs, with not less than 2GB of RAM, and at least 8GB of available space on your hard drive:
Yosemite will run on the following Macs:
iMac (Mid-2007 or later)
MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, Late 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or later)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later), (15-inch, Mid/Late 2007 or later), (17-inch, Late 2007 or later)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)
Mac Mini (Early 2009 or later)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)
Xserve (Early 2009)
The requirements for Yosemite are the same as they were for OS X 10.9 Mavericks,
iCloud system requirements:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4759
If you cannot run Yosemite you can purchase the code to use to download Mavericks from the App Store (requires an Intel-based Mac with a Core 2 Duo, i3, i5, i7 or Xeon processor and 2GB of RAM, running the latest version of Snow Leopard):
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D6106Z/A/os-x-Mavericks
or Mountain Lion:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/D6377Z/A/os-x-mountain-lion
Getting your Mac ready for a major update like Yosemite:
http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/how-get-your-mac-ready-prepare-for -os-x-yosemite-release-how-to-download-yosemite-3521995/
Detailed review of Yosemite:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/10/os-x-10-10/

Similar Messages

Performance unacceptable after installing lion on late 2007 MacBook Pro

I have a mid-2007 MacBook Pro with 2Gb of memory and a 2.4GHz Intel Core2Duo. Since installing Lion, Safari is all but unusable, it takes forever to load, every page I try to load stops the entire computer with the spinning beach ball, I haven't even tried flash sites. iTunes hangs every time I download a podcast at the processing file stage. I keep iTunes open to feed my AppleTV, but after a few hours of watching I have to restart iTunes because everything starts to hang. To say nothing of what happens when iTunes starts automatically downloading podcasts. Syncs with my iPad have been hit or miss. The entire machine seems slow and sluggish. I tried running one app at a time, and that helped some, but it didn't fix the problem. I am assuming this is a RAM issue and have ordered more, but Apple said it would work with 2Gb of RAM. I don't call this working.
So my question is does it save memory to run apps in full screen or should I keep them as just windows? I have tried to kill all the extras, and I have been trying to just do one thing at a time, but I have honestly never had this kind of reaction to a new OS when the machine was in spec. And I have been upgrading since system 7. Is 4Gb going to be enough? Is the processor just not fast enough to handle it? Upgrading to a new machine is not an option at all, and I really like the working bits of Lion I have seen, but am I stuck?

I haven't done permissions yet, but I have rebooted several times. I had an issue with the superdrive not recognizing DVDs, so I zapped the PRAM and did the SMC thing. Plus, I've tried rebooting just to see if that would help, but it has not.
I have been watching istat and there's some free memory but not a lot. I was fine under snow leopard, I never had any troubles until I started running a lot of stuff at once. I agree that this is almost certainly memory. It gets worse the more things I try to do at once. Everything hangs whenever there's an operation to be done (syncing, downloading). It just feels like the machine is choking.
I saw an article earlier on one of the Mac RSSs that the writer was having problems with Safari consuming up to a gig of memory just sitting idle with a few tabs open. I'm not going to bother with Safari until I put the memory in, Chrome runs pretty well, even if I can't really do the full-screen thing. I guess at this point I'm just looking for help for what I can do to conserve memory until more arrives. And I'm a little annoyed at Apple for saying Lion works with 2Gb of RAM when it really doesn't. If you can't use the browser or the iTunes, how can you even hope to run Photoshop? iMovie takes 5 minutes to load and when it does it's full of visual glitches.
I guess I'll try permissions and see if that helps. Thanks for your ideas though.

I have a 2007 Macbook Pro that is running 10.7.5 and I am trying to use a 10.6.3 DVD to install Snow Leopard to an external hard drive.

I have a 2007 Macbook Pro that is running 10.7.5 and I am trying to use a 10.6.3 DVD to install Snow Leopard to an external hard drive. I've followed every possible instruction on every which website. The problem is when I boot to Install disc, I am unable to choose which hard drive I'd like to install the OS on. It says that it is unable to Install and automatically takes me to Restore and suggests that I restore to Time Machine backups. Any and all help is appreciated.

lovinlife5959,
have you tried booting from the grey Mac OS X Install DVD that originally came in the box with your MacBook Pro? See if you can install its version of Mac OS X (either 10.4.9, 10.4.10, or 10.5.0, depending upon when it shipped from the factory) onto your external hard drive. If that works, boot from your external hard drive, run Software Update on it, and then try updating your external drive to 10.6.3 via the white Snow Leopard DVD.

Is there a plug in to make my 2007 macbook pro able to install Mountain Lion

Is there a plug or something in to make my 2007 macbook pro able to install Mountain Lion?
I bought it in early 2007 so just miss out on the cut off point. Is compatibilty based on Hardware or software?
Thanks
Mark

Mark Harlen wrote:
Is there a plug or something in to make my 2007 macbook pro able to install Mountain Lion?
I bought it in early 2007 so just miss out on the cut off point. Is compatibilty based on Hardware or software?
Thanks
Mark
No. The architechture is too old. I think Lion will be as far as you can go, as a guess without knowing your specs. But if the machine cannot run Mountain Lion then there is no way of doing it (short of replacing the mechanics which would be more expensive than buying a more up to date Mac)
Pete

Late 2007 MacBook Pro - Fresh install

I have a late 2007 MacBook Pro. I want to do a fresh install. Is it best to use the original discs, which would take me back to tiger, or can I just use a new retail copy of Snow Leopard?
Will that retail copy of Snow Leopard hold all the proper drivers for the late 2007 mbp?

I just did a fresh install of Snow Leopard on my late 2007 MPB (I bought it in Jan 08 and it shipped with Leopard). Worked out fine, only difference is the Retail Snow Leopard doesn't bundle the iLife applications like the originals did. Other than that it went very smoothly.

Will installing OS X mavericks slow down my late-2007 macbook pro?

Will installing OS X mavericks slow down my late-2007 macbook pro? If so, is it worth it?
I currently run OSX 10.7.5 on a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4Gb mem.

Does it meet the specs for Lion?
Are your third apps compatible?
I'd also be sure to have at least 4GB RAM and 10-15% free space on your HDD.

I have the 2007 macbook pro need help

i have the 2007 macbook pro is there any way to install the latest os x software with out installing all the updates inbetween, and where is the best place to download these updates from??

I honestly dont know and i dont have the laptop with me but it could be 10.6.1 it wont let me update my itunes to the new style

I can only run Windows on my Mid 2007 MacBook Pro :(

So, a weird thing happened recently. A friend of mine was trying to get his old PowerMac G4 working, but his DVD drive wasn't working, so I booted my computer into Target Disk mode so that we could restore his computer using my DVD drive. After we were able to get it installed, I tried to reboot my computer back into Mountain Lion. Upon restarting the computer, I noticed that the OS wouldn't boot. After playing with that for a little while, I backed up my files onto another iMac (again, using Target Disk mode) and tried to reinstall the OS. When I put in the Mountain Lion DVD and tried to boot from it, it didn't work. So I tried my Lion disk, also didn't work. Tried Snow Leopard and was able to get it to install, but I wasn't able to use my keyboard and mouse upon getting to the "Select Language" screen. I finally thought "screw this" and made an appointment with an Apple Genius (who was quite helpful) at the Apple Store near me. I showed up and we tried a bunch of things to no avail. He ran the Apple Hardware Test and that nothing was wrong with the computer. I did have non-apple RAM in my computer, so we tried switching that out. No luck. I also told him that I switched Hard Drives to another 320 GB to try and see if that was the problem. That wasn't the fix either. After trying all of that stuff, I tried installing Windows 7, and ironically enough (since its an Mac), and it worked. I am now using my Mid 2007 MacBook Pro with Windows 7 only and I still can't install MacOS (which I miss big time!). The Genius said that he had never seen this before and was at a loss (couldn't think of another thing to try). Instead of leaving it with them, I took it home with me as I needed a computer for School as I am a High School Teacher. I also am a bit of a Computer Engineering guy (built my own computers, been installing OSes for 10 - 15 years, etc) and while I like to consider myself a modest person, I will call myself a self proclaimed expert.
Has anyone heard / seen this happen?
I've searched high and low on the internet for this and haven't found anything. ****, even the Genius has never heard of anything and gave me his business card and told me to drop him a line if I am able to figure out the problem.
I'm really hoping someone can help me shed some light on this subject as I feel like I have tried completely everything.
Thanks in advance,
Todd

Take your MBP to an Apple store genius bar for a free diagnostic examination. Since these symptoms are 'regular' and not intermittent, they should be able to determine what the problem is and the cure.
ciao.

What is max internal hard drive transfer rate compatible with a 2007 MacBook Pro?

In attempt to upgrade my mid-2007 MacBook Pro (Intel Core 2 Duo), I bought a Seagate 750GB listed as compatible with my computer on MacSales.com . . .
Seagate Momentus XT ST750LX003 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache 2.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Solid State Hybrid Drive -Bare Drive
Installation appeared to go well and I ran an extended hardware test with no issues found. However, the drive is listed at 5.46 TB (would be nice) and I get an input/output error when attempting to partition. I can initiate an erase, but after the time I would suspect it would take to erase the drive, I get an input/output error - it seems to appear after the first 750 GB of the '5.5 TB' was erased. At all times, the drive is not recognized when I attempt to install OS X from original discs.
I suspect the 6.0 GB/s transfer capacity of the hard drive is not compatible with the MacBook Pro. The drive came with 4 jumper pins but no jumper and no label diagram to set a slower transfer rate. I called Seagate, Newegg, OWC, and Apple, but no one has compatibility info for my MacBook Pro. To them, it appears I am running the first tests of this new technology with an 'older' MacBook Pro.
My MBP has had no issues - I'd like to keep her going with the optimum internal hard drive capacity, but don't necessarily want to set up a test bench in my house (though my kids would enjoy destroying it) and pay several shipping and restocking fees to test new hard drives.
The original drive had a 1.5 GB/s transfer rate. Does anyone know the maximum transfer rate compatible with a 2007 MacBook Pro? 3.0 GB/s? 1.5 GB/s? Thank you.

No spinning hard drive will transfer data faster then 60-80MB a second. The XT models have a flash storage area that is used when reading and writing data that can make it Appear faster in some situations. That flash memory if only 8 or 16GBs in side, I forget which one.
The drie is rated to work on 6GB SATA bus but it certainly can not transfer data that fast. It should be backword compatible to work on slower buses.
Your drive is 750GBs in size. Not wure where you are getting this 5.5TB (that is 5.5 Tera Bytes which is 5500 Giga Bytes. Your drive is under 1TB)
What are you using to partition the drive? Disk Utilities from the original install DVD?
You need to install on your old drive, Update it from the Apple Website then clone it to the new drive. The version of OSX you are using may not function correctly with that large of a drive. Or get yourself a copy of Snow Leopard, retail disk for $29 from Apple, and do all the partitioning and installing with that version od OSX.

When installing Maverick on my 17" Macbook pro I got the message that my HD is damaged and can't be repaired. I now can't restart without simply repeating the attempt to install Maverick and thereby returning to the same message. How do I abort install

When installing Maverick on my 17" Macbook pro I got the message that my HD was damaged and couldn't be repaired. (not good news!!) I now can't restart without returning to the Maverick setup and therefore returning to the same message. How do I abort the Maverick installation so that I can try to return to the previous OS so that I can try to recover/repair the HD

I have the same problem with my 2008 MacBook. Repair disk from disk utility says it was successful but the installer thinks it's groundhog day after a reboot. I also tried fsck -fy after booting in to a command mode and it came back clean but again the installer gives the same error message. It seems like a bit is stuck somewhere indicating my HD is bad when it isn't.
I had the latest version of Mountain Lion and have applied every upgrade up to then without issue.
Anyone find a solution yet without having to erase the entire disk and staring over?
Attached is a screen shot of the error.

Can't install adobe flash player on macbook pro

Can't install adobe flash player on macbook pro. Installation file automatically runs through Matlab as a default program. What to do?

I have this version installed on my MacBook Pro. 3.3.7.0 (3.3.7.0) I am using Lion OS X 10.8.4.
I have followed the instructions from the Adobe site, The installation process completes. I click "FInish"
I get taken to the Adobe website, http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/completion/aih/?exitcode=0&type=install where I am told the installation is complete.
I restart the computere just in case, go to YOuTube and blam. You need the latest version of Flash Player error shows up again to complete my frustrating loop.
Under Applications on my Hard Drive, I have: AdobeFlashPlayerInstaller_11_ltrosxd_aaa_aih.dmg
When I look at my downloads folder, I find Wccb63Gg.dmg.part
I don't know what to do. I don't seem to have the same file name as others on this site for the download. and I can't find it anywhere.
Thanks to anyone who can help.
Ahulani

What can i upgrade to and how? late 2007 macbook pro

I am running tiger 10.4.11 can i go straight to mountain lion or do i need to install all 4 in between leopard snow leopard lion and then mountain lion i have a 13" late 2007 macbook pro thank you

Yes. Snow Leopard requires at least 1GB of RAM; the Mac App Store will check compatibility before allowing Mountain Lion to be purchased.
(88252)

Late 2007 MacBook Pro intermittent black screen

I have this very odd issue with an intermittent black screen on a late 2007 MacBook Pro (4GB/320GB 7200rpm) Mac OS X 10.6.8 v1.1
Apologies for the length of the post.
In cycles separated by a few days to a week, the screen will flicker to black, initially very briefly, then for longer periods until it is black continuously, where it stays from a few hours to a couple of days then it flickers to normal, again very briefly then with longer intervals until it is steady and normal. It can then be fine for a week or more.
When the screen is working, it's perfect; no lines, stripes, colour shift or any difference to what one would expect. When it is black, the backlight is still operational (and dimming when on battery power) but there is no image - all pixels are solid black. Shining a torch on/through the screen does not reveal any image. When mirrored, the external monitor shows the brightness adjustment moving up and down in response to the key presses but it has no effect on the internal screen.
My external display (Eizo) is always functional no matter what the built-in one is doing and is completely solid at all times.
There is no correlation to temperature (I have SMC fan control), sleep, restart, fan speed, power source or anything environmental. The MacBook is on a fan stand for most of the time. External connections make no difference. If the fault is present before changing any of these factors, it is there after.
I am aware that this machine has known vulnerabilities with GPU and display issues but none present quite like this. I have performed the usual trawl on the net and I now know more than I ever wanted to about attempts to fix it.
Software remedies attempted:
Resetting PRAM and power manager.
No sleep image file (never used this option). I deleted the old swap files that were there in any case but this unsurprisingly did nothing.
Resetting the display settings via keyboard commands or Sys Prefs.
Screen savers and settings are not implicated.
Nothing whatever in the console logs that I can see.
TechTool Pro gives video RAM a clean bill of health and all other components pass including tests on the HD with TTP and DiskWarrior.
Safe boot and booting from systems on backups seem to have no effect but one safe boot restored the screen briefly - I think it was a coincidence.
I updated the OS from 10.6.6 to 10.6.8 while this fault was coming and going and it made no difference. I usually prepare the machine for updates by running the cron jobs, repairing permissions etc.
In expectation of suffering this fault when the external monitor was not connected, I installed iScreen on the MacBook and use my iPad as a supplementary display and that works well too. Having all three operating, when the internal is functioning, is quite fun.
Hardware tests:
I removed the upper plate holding the keyboard and the interior of the machine was very clean with only some small dust accumulations in the fans, which were removed. There was no sign of any discolouration, corrosion, or other unpleasantness on the PCBs. All connectors and wiring looked good.
Every part of the logic board, cables and connectors were percussed, gently deflected and spray freezed, both while the fault was present and not (machine running) with no effect.
Display back was removed and the LCD board given the same treatment. No changes.
Display cable disconnected at both ends and tested for continuity (probe resistance accounted for) and consistency with a Fluke 87 multimeter - passed OK. On a scope, active signals and power were present on all the pins when the display was working but the fault did not occur during this test, which might have been interesting.
No apparent shorting of the display cable but without removing it this cannot be proved.
Problem not affected by hinge position, pressure on any part of the display, twisting, percussing etc.
Used compressed air to blow out the connectors which were reseated carefully.
After all this, the machine remains in exactly the same state, cycling between operational and black with various flickering stages as it comes and goes.
All I can deduce is that as the external monitor has always been OK, the GPU itself is probably working fine and the fault is more likely in the LCD panel electronics. I doesn't feel like a software issue to me but heck, I don't know what is going on.
Does anyone have any experience of something like this?
Thanks,
Joel.

Thomas,
Thanks for your post and I'm sorry you have suffered the same problems.
My trust levels are not very high because it's clear there is some systemic display problem with this model, which is why Apple are fixing them. As I mentioned, we have no idea if the replacement boards are any different to the originals. From your experience it would look like they are not and my suspicion is that it is very unlikely that Apple made a new batch of these logic boards a long time after the model was discontinued. If anyone has evidence to the contrary, I stand to be corrected.
As you say, the difference between our two faults appears to be that a physical deformation of some part of the machine does something with yours but never did with mine. At one point I felt that a short in the internal display cable seemed like the best explanation for the problem but it looks like it's more complex than that because of the behaviour of our external displays and subsequent strange booting behaviour.
If, as I have read, the soldering of the GPU was faulty and leads to progressive failure of the graphics sub-system, then all kinds of strange behaviours could arise and produce the intermittent problems we have seen. Micro-fractures of the chip interconnects would suggest that tiny movements might change the presentation of the fault. If soldering really is the issue, then keeping the machine as cool as possible will extend the life of the connections. Consequently mine will sit on a fan-stand for the rest of its days, which is no problem because it just had Win 7 installed on it and I don't want to be seen in public with it in that state ;-)
All we can conclude is that a logic board swap fixes the problem for some indeterminate period, so the problem is on that board. Whether it is a design fault with the NVIDIA chip itself or a manufacturing fault with the board is not clear but we can probably forget LCD panels, cables, sleep issues, power supplies and all the other peripheral issues unless there is yet another design issue that causes the GPU to fail.
Are you intending to present your machine to Apple for another go at a fix?

2007 MacBook Pro ctrl key not working

Hi all,
I have used various iterations of bootcamp with my 2007 macbook pro without problem. I have also sucessfully installed Windows 7 64-bit using bootcamp and got it working almost perfectly (sound, video, magic mouse) despite it not officially being supported by the version of bootcamp that came with Snow Leopard.
My only problem now is that the control lkey isn't working. I've tried various keymappers to map it to another key (generally the Apple key) to no avail. And when I say it isn't working, I mean it's not working at all. Key mappers don't recognise when I tap it, I can't Ctrl-C to copy or Ctrl-anything to anything.
I have installed the Apple keyboard driver and everything else works perfectly, including the F-keys, Fn, alt and the Apple key (which opens the start menu). Any suggestions for how I could fix this would be greatfully received.
Thanks,
Alexis

Sadly it turns out that it's not working in OS X either. I had convinced myself it was a software issue but it is apparently hardware. Shows how seldom the control key's used in OS X doesn't it.
If anyone has any suggestions as to how I might have a bash at fixing it, please let me know.
Thanks,
Alexis

Does anyone know the maximum hard drive size for a 2007 Macbook Pro (A1226)?

I have a 2007 Macbook Pro (A1226). Is there a limit to the sized hard drive that can be installed? If so, what is the largest hard drive I can put into it? I have a 500GB HD that I upgraded to from the 320 GB that was in it when I bought it. I'm now trying to install a 1 TB or 750 GB drive, but after cloning with 'Carbon Copy Cloner' and installing it, I get the "?-folder" flashing when I start up. I'm pretty confident in CCC because if I use it to clone to another 500GB HD, it works fine. The problem only occurs when I try to use larger drives. Is 500GB the largest HD I can use in this machine? If so, can anyone point me to a spec sheet so I can be sure the next Macbook I buy can be expanded to suit me.
Thanks in advance.
Brian

You said: "I've never tried the restore function in disk utility. Would that be the same as cloning the drive?
YES! See the my old instructions below. What you might try after step 5 is to restart you MBP holding down the Option key. Select the new HDD icon and see if it boots. This way you will know that the new HDD is operable.
Ciao.
INSTALLING A NEW HDD IN A MB
1. Make certain that you have backed up all of your important data.
2. You will need a HDD enclosure. One with a USB connection will do. A 9 pin Firewire is better.
3. Install your new drive in the enclosure and connect it to your MBP.
4. Open DISK UTILITY>ERASE. From the left hand column drag the new drive into the 'Name' field. Make sure that the format is 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)'. Click on the 'Erase' button.
5. Click on the 'Restore' button (on top). Drag the old drive into the 'Source' field and the new drive into the 'Destination' field. Click on the 'Restore' button on the bottom right hand corner.
Depending upon the amount of data you are transferring, this may take a couple hours or more. A Firewire will speed up the transfer. This will result in both drives having identical information on them.
6. After the data transfer has completed, you may swap the drives. Start the MBP and you have finished the installation. The initial boot may take a bit longer than you are accustomed to, but that is normal.
7. When you are satisfied that the new hard drive if functioning properly, you can erase the old drive and use it for any needs that you may have.

Installing latest OS on 2007 macbook pro?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for