Upgrade Macbook Late 2008 Unibody Hard Drive SSD or size?

I have a late 2008 macbook aluminum unibody..........it currently only has the standard 160 GB...and I'm at about 152 GB. I need to upgrade (already upgraded from 2GB RAM to 8GB), but now I need the bigger hard drive. My friend is telling me how great a SSD would be, but I can obviously get a much bigger drive if iI do a standard or hybrid. Please let me know if I should spend $$$$$$$ on SSD...or on Hybrid.........or if I should just get a regular HD?
More info: I'm a firefighter, who is a mortgage originator as a side job. I have NO INTEREST in PC's.......but for my Mortgage side job- I need to have a windows based option. at 152/160 GB used; 8 GB RAM - it is 'fast enough'. Any suggestions as to what type of HD I should get for this old boy? THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!!!

Get a regular HDD for your computer. It should be a notebook sized drive, SATA II-3.0 Gb/s, 7200 RPM. A Seagate XT500 Hybrid is a good trade-off of performance and price.

Similar Messages

HT2368 Hello, I have MacBook Late 2008 (Unibody). And I can't install this firmware, need help. Thanks

Hello,
I have MacBook Late 2008 (Unibody). And I can't install this firmware MacBook SMC Firmware Update 1.5
Need your help.
Thanks

Also, according the the 1.4 update page here: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL974
It will update the Boot ROM version (on MB 5,1) to MB51.007D.003.
Yet I have (MB 5,1) Boot ROM version MB51.007D.B03. Weird again!
What a mess Apple. Considering how important firmware updates are you'd think they could make this a little clearer.
Anyways, again, I don't think we need it.

Upgrading MacBook Late 2008

I’ve had my MacBook 13″ Late 2008 now for three and a half years, and it has been used every day since I bought it, and with every passing day, it’s getting slower and slower. I’ve checked with every forum out there to find methods for speeding it up, but nothing works! I’m therefore convinced my hard drive is failing. I want to get a new one, and better memory than the standard 2Gb while I’m at it, rather than buy a whole new MacBook. Luckily, I have a few pennies saved up and want so splash out to get the creme de la creme of upgrades. Any advice on the latest gadgets? Both for hard drives and memory? Can SSD's be put into the late 2008 laptop? Thanks, C

You are also able to upgrade to Mountain Lion.
Upgrade Paths to Snow Leopard, Lion, and/or Mountain Lion
You can upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $19.99. To access the App Store you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later installed.
Upgrading to Snow Leopard
You must purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mountain Lion if your computer meets the requirements.
     Snow Leopard General Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel processor
       2. 1GB of memory
       3. 5GB of available disk space
       4. DVD drive for installation
       5. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider;
           fees may apply.
       6. Some features require Apple’s iCloud services; fees and
           terms apply.
Upgrading to Lion
If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mountain Lion, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
You can purchase Lion by contacting Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes international calling numbers. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
     Lion System Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
           or Xeon processor
       2. 2GB of memory
       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
       4. 7GB of available space
       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Upgrading to Mountain Lion
To upgrade to Mountain Lion you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Purchase and download Mountain Lion from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mountain Lion is $19.99 plus tax. The file is quite large, over 4 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
     OS X Mountain Lion - System Requirements
       Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
     Are my applications compatible?
         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.
     For a complete How-To introduction from Apple see Upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion.

Macbook pro late 2008 max hard drive size

I have a MacBook Pro Late 2008. I think the max RAM is 8GB but what is the max hard drive size. It is running Yosemite. It currently has a 1TB drive.

I solved the heat-issue in Windows Vist32 (tested and worked!)
This should also work in XP, XP64 and VISTA 64 although not tested.
Goto the Nvidia website and download the latest notebook drivers (http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook_drivers.html).
Uninstall your old notebook drivers through device-manager and restart.
Now install the Nvidia notebook drivers you just downloaded and restart.
*NOW THE IMPORTANT PART!!!*
After numerous hours of testing i found out that installing new Nvdia display drivers overwrite some Nvidia chipset drivers. This causes your fans not spinning at all under heavy GPU load.
*THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE BECAUSE TEMPERATURES CAN EASILY PASS 100 degrees celsius.*
Now for the fix in four easy steps!
1. Under Windows insert your MacOS original install-disc (the one with the bootcamp drivers)
2. Choose to explore the Bootcamp folder.
3. Now open the drivers folder and browse to the Nvidia folder.
4. Now install the package called nvidiachipset. These come in all flavors (XP, XP64, VISTA, VISTA64) choose the correct version for your OS.
After installation a reboot is not even necessary. Start your favorite game and notice the extreme humming of your speeding fans! Should sound like music!
*So remember. Every time you update your graphics drivers A REINSTALL OF THE CHIPSET DRIVERS FOR YOUR UNIBODY MBP MUST BE DONE!! If you don't the fans won't come up under heavy load which will result in a BUSTED GPU!!!*
Message was edited by: geethreeforce

MBP 15" (late 2008) new Hard drive issues in 10.6.8 but not in 10.8.5

I have a 15" Macbook Pro (Late 2008) with an up to date EFI firmware (ver 2.8).
When I went to replace the hard drive (Hitachi 320GB hard wired at 1.5Gb/s) with a new hard drive (Seagate 1TB SSHD).
This new HD runs at 3gb/s or 6gb/s and my MBP which will only do 3GB/s (link speed) DOES select this speed.
Now I've read over 1000 posts (no, really) about this topic of SATA drives in older MBP's but problem is a bit more nuanced.
I partitioned the new HD as follows (disk1-250GB, disk2-250GB, disk3-500GB). I have to do this because I run two versions of OSX.
I run OSX 10.6.8 for mobile audio recording and some post-production video editing and my software runs GREAT in Snow leopard.
Of course, there are some good reasons to have a newer OSX and so I put 10.8.5 on disk2.
On my old HD I had two partitions (disk1-150GB, disk2-170GB) and then used disk utility to copy the old drive to the new.
Here's where my problem is more nuanced. The new drive works AWESOME when running 10.8.5 at 3GB/s.
In 10.6.8, however, I get pinwheels, beachballs, hiccups, etc when running the hard drive at 3Gb/s.
I'll play an aif audio file in Quicktime player and it will stop producing audio, BUT it keeps track of the time. I swap back in my old HD and everything runs fine.
I'm planning in getting a different drive (one that works at 1.5 and 3.0GB/s) but I'd like to keep this drive as it boots up 10.8.5 FAST! In about 15 secs or so. OR, I could just swap out hard drives when I need to use 10.6.8 (which is really easy on my MBP but not preferable) and dedicate the old one for 10.6.8 only.
QUESTION:::::
Does anyone have any idea why the same physical HD would work fine in 10.8.5 but have constant (every 15-20secs) read/write errors in 10.6.8??
The fact that it works great in 10.8.5 has me a bit puzzled of whether or not there's an inherent hardware incompatibility.
Sorry for the long post, just trying to give as much info as possible.

Melophage-
I did try booting from the external SATA enclosure and all was fine; no hiccups. I used disk utility to restore my Snow Leopard partition to a newly purchased HD; a Western Digital 1TB(Mainstream) drive that operates at 1.5 or 3.0 GB/s. I noticed it's power requirement is about 3/4 of the factory drive which is also good.
Amazingly this drive actually works with a link speed of 3GB/s with 10.6.8. And no pinwheels/beachballs.
Possible Conclusions:
My MBP SATA onboard controller is OK with a HD that's 1.5/3.0 GB/s but NOT quite OK with 3.0/6.0GB/s. Although both drives had a link speed of 3.0Gb/s, only the newly purchased "slower" drive worked flawlessly. I'm fine with this being that my Apple factory drive was hard wired at 1.5Gb/sec and its speed was adequate for the audio/video recording I do in 10.6.8. Hopefully it works fine with 10.8.5. Still restoring that partition to the Western Digital drive.
In the end, I have a HD with over 3X the capacity as before and a link speed of 3GB/s.
I may not have the 15sec boot-up time as I did with the hybrid drive, but I won't miss it.

Macbook Pro Late 2008 Unibody - Hard disk noise

Hello world
This is my first thread.
You will excuse me by I'm not english...
I have a MBP, default but 7,200 HD optional. The Mac is ok but it has a problem: the hard disk sound like a fan with a "tic" sometime. If I put the fans@1,000 I not hear them, the only sound it's the HD (maybe...), if I push the part of the MBP over the HD the noise stop. In this part, under the HD, the black rubber pad (one of four...) isn't at level, don't touch the table ! So, I push over the HD, at dx of touchpad and the HD noise stops !
Anybody with this problem ?
Thnaks

I solved the heat-issue in Windows Vist32 (tested and worked!)
This should also work in XP, XP64 and VISTA 64 although not tested.
Goto the Nvidia website and download the latest notebook drivers (http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook_drivers.html).
Uninstall your old notebook drivers through device-manager and restart.
Now install the Nvidia notebook drivers you just downloaded and restart.
*NOW THE IMPORTANT PART!!!*
After numerous hours of testing i found out that installing new Nvdia display drivers overwrite some Nvidia chipset drivers. This causes your fans not spinning at all under heavy GPU load.
*THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE BECAUSE TEMPERATURES CAN EASILY PASS 100 degrees celsius.*
Now for the fix in four easy steps!
1. Under Windows insert your MacOS original install-disc (the one with the bootcamp drivers)
2. Choose to explore the Bootcamp folder.
3. Now open the drivers folder and browse to the Nvidia folder.
4. Now install the package called nvidiachipset. These come in all flavors (XP, XP64, VISTA, VISTA64) choose the correct version for your OS.
After installation a reboot is not even necessary. Start your favorite game and notice the extreme humming of your speeding fans! Should sound like music!
*So remember. Every time you update your graphics drivers A REINSTALL OF THE CHIPSET DRIVERS FOR YOUR UNIBODY MBP MUST BE DONE!! If you don't the fans won't come up under heavy load which will result in a BUSTED GPU!!!*
Message was edited by: geethreeforce

MacBook Late 2008 (Unibody Aluminum) running Lion cannot shutdown, restart, or logout

After upgrading to mac os x lion, my macbook has not been able to restart or shutdown or even logout properly. This problem was not present when the laptop was in snow leopard. Currently, I am able to do a shutdown through the terminal by using the command:
sudo shutdown -h now
or restart by using the command:
sudo shutdown -r -h now
This is fine for most situations but when I am trying to install an update or a program that needs a restart, I am unable to do so. When still at the login screen, I am able to shutdown properly leading me to think that a process is preventing shutdown but I can't find anything in the console. The power button also becomes unresponsive (normally pressing it brings up the window asking whether to shutdown, restart, etc.) and can only be used to do a forced shutdown (i.e. holding it down for 10 seconds). The sleep, restart, and shutdown functions in the apple menu also do not work.
Any ideas anyone?

After upgrading to mac os x lion, my macbook has not been able to restart or shutdown or even logout properly. This problem was not present when the laptop was in snow leopard. Currently, I am able to do a shutdown through the terminal by using the command:
sudo shutdown -h now
or restart by using the command:
sudo shutdown -r -h now
This is fine for most situations but when I am trying to install an update or a program that needs a restart, I am unable to do so. When still at the login screen, I am able to shutdown properly leading me to think that a process is preventing shutdown but I can't find anything in the console. The power button also becomes unresponsive (normally pressing it brings up the window asking whether to shutdown, restart, etc.) and can only be used to do a forced shutdown (i.e. holding it down for 10 seconds). The sleep, restart, and shutdown functions in the apple menu also do not work.
Any ideas anyone?

Hard drive upgrade 13" aluminum macbook late 2008

I want to upgrade my hard drive on my 13" aluminum macbook (late 2008) and I can't seem to find any documentation that suggests how large of a hard drive I can install on the computer. I would like to do at least 500 gb, but more is good. Anyone have any info for me?
Thanks!
Jeremy

You can install any drive up to 1tb easily. For a hard drive try Newegg.com http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Dr ives&Order=PRICE
Or OWC http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the Aluminum Unibody http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_13_unibody_hd/

Upgrade SATA drive for macbook late 2008

Hello!!
I am here to ask for help. Let me tell you a bit more about my Mac:
Late 2008 silver 13" MacBook 250GB 2GB RAM 2.4GHz IntelCore2Duo DDR3 MB467LL/A, currently at 10.5.8 OSx system (yes I know I need to update the software as well!)
I currently bought 4GB kit (2x2GB) RAM to upgrade on my silver MacBook (late 2008), and would also like to update my hard drive.
I have looked around on online shops for 2.5" 9mm SATA drive, and came across to 1TB for not too bad a price (between £85 to £100).
Anyone know whether if this is ok for my laptop?
Samsung, WD Scorpio Blue and Toshiba, all are at 5400rpm for 1TB. (However there is 750GB Seagate 7200rpm 16MB - recommended???)
Large memory/drive are usually much needed with me as I do use a lot of design work e.g. Adobe InDesign/Illustrator/Photoshop...you get the drift .
Any advice would be much appreciated!
Looking forward to hear from you soon!
Thanks again,
ejburton.

If all the technical specs (like SATA, physical dimensions, power usage etc) all match then you can use any drive of any available size in your MBP. Right now it appears that the largest available is the Western Digital 250GB 5400rpm drive where as the fastest is the Hitachi 200GB 7200rpm drive. Fujitsu and Toshiba have annonce 300GB drives though I've not heard that either are yet shipping.
I have to say that I'm very pleased with the Hitachi 200GB 7200rpm drive.

Problem with replaced hard drive on macbook (late 2008, 13" aluminum)

i replaced my macbook (late 2008, 13" aluminum) hard drive and get a blinking folder upon reboot. I can't seem to reboot from the original disc that came with my macbook. What do I do next? I tried holding "c" down but still get the blinking folder

With the disc inserted try starting up while holding the option key. That should take you to the boot panel where you can select the dvd.

HT1529 Part 1: Will a Late 2008 Unibody MacBook upgrade to Maverick? Will I be able to install 64 bit Windows 8 on Bootcamp?

Part 1: Will a Late 2008 Unibody MacBook upgrade to Maverick? Will I be able to install 64 bit Windows 8 on Bootcamp?

OS X Mavericks: System Requirements

Looking to upgrade my macbook late 2008

Hi all,
I am looking to upgrade my macbook late 2008 aluminum, i have done a little research and found a few parts which i want to install in my macbook. I just wanted to know if my mac was compatible with the following hardware:
Hard Drive:
Samsung Spinpoint M8 1TB 2.5 inch SATA II 8MB 9.5mm Hard Drive
Memory:
Komputerbay 8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3 SODIMM (204 pin) 1066Mhz PC3 8500Al
My macbook specs are:
Model Name:          MacBook
Model Identifier:          MacBook5,1
Processor Name:          Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:          2 GHz
Number Of Processors:          1
Total Number Of Cores:          2
L2 Cache:          3 MB
Memory:          2 GB
Bus Speed:          1.07 GHz
I am thinking of installing these by myself, if this possible? And if so how could i go about doing this?
Thanks for reading, i would appreciate any help.

Here are video instructions on replacing the hard drive on the Aluminum Unibody http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_13_unibody_hd/
Here are video instructions on replacing the RAM on the Aluminum Unibody.
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbook_13_unibody_mem/
And read this before putting 8gb in your MacBook http://blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-08-macbooks-use-8gb

Do I have all the parts to replace my HDD with a new SSD on my Macbook (late 2008)?

Hey everyone, I am trying to figure out if have all the parts to replace my hdd with a new ssd on my macbook (late 2008 aluminum).
I just bought a crucial mx100 SSD and plan on replacing my mac HDD. I have the appropriate screwdrivers, and a bootable OSX on a usb drive. I also purchased a sabrent usb 2.0 to sata/ide hard drive adapter.
How do I replace and install OSX on my new SSD?
From what I read here are the steps I'm planning on taking.
1) Detach the old HDD
2) Attach new SSD.
3) Turn on computer and use the bootable usb drive to install OS X.
Does that work, I think I read somewhere about maybe formatting the SSD before I can use the bootable usb. Any input or help would be awesome. Thanks.
I'd prefer to do a clean install of yosemite and not carbon copy my old HDD

Hi Bradtk24,
On this site you will find the requirements for the physical change that you want to make.
These pages will give you insight into the processes required for the software side of things. It might be slightly dated, but the principles remain valid.
Have fun
Leo

I have a MacBook Late 2008 Aluminium and want to increase my storage what should I buy a new HDD or an SSD? I want it to work faster too, can you please recommend specific products that I can consider

I have a MacBook Late 2008 Aluminium which has 160GB currently. I want more storage and to speed up my computer. What should I get HDD or a SSD?
Also can people recommend specific products that are compatible, what are my options?

If you have a cable that connects and external HDD to the MBP, it will do. If it is something like this, an enclosure will not be needed for the swap:
An enclosure allows you to use your old HDD for storage or backup purposes. The cable will not.
Here are instructions as to how the swap can be performed using DISK UTITY. Substitute You cable for the enclosure in same:
INSTALLING A NEW HDD IN A MBP
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.
If there is any confusion on your part, post back.
Ciao.

I need to upgrade my MacBook late 2008, what are my options

I need to upgrade my MacBook late 2008, what are my options. I have already upgraded RAM to 4 GB some 4 years ago. Also replaced HDD to 1TB, but ended up with a slower response. I am looking to switch the HDD again to speed up the performance. Any suggestions?
I am open to upgrade the hardware, what options do I have?
Motherboard?
HDD?
Anyway I can increase RAM from 4 GM to higher?
Appreciate tips...

It was a mistake on my part, I tried reinstalling the RAM chips... I love the speed now...
next step to switch to 1TB SSD.... Another $700.00 and my 6+ year McBook will be new again

Upgrade Macbook Late 2008 Unibody Hard Drive SSD or size?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for