You could try booting in verbose mode to see what's going on when it freezes or reboots by holding Command-V after turning on. As @dosdude1 says, the GPU can cause the machine to fall over as it tries to load the GUI, even in Safe Mode.
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Early Intel - Trash or treasure? MacBook Pro 2008
- Thread starter AphoticD
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You could try booting in verbose mode to see what's going on when it freezes or reboots by holding Command-V after turning on. As @dosdude1 says, the GPU can cause the machine to fall over as it tries to load the GUI, even in Safe Mode.
@dosdude1 & @Amethyst1 : thanks for your help!
And thanks for encouraging me to go after the GPU !!!
I know, my choosen workaround 👨🍳 is just a temporary fix, but it did work and it's for personal use only ...
Well I'm typing this on the fixed MBP4,1 A1260 just now 😊
and I'm happy to have another option for an additional Mobile/Home-Office workspace.
Thanks a lot guys and stay healthy!
And thanks for encouraging me to go after the GPU !!!
I know, my choosen workaround 👨🍳 is just a temporary fix, but it did work and it's for personal use only ...
Well I'm typing this on the fixed MBP4,1 A1260 just now 😊
and I'm happy to have another option for an additional Mobile/Home-Office workspace.
Thanks a lot guys and stay healthy!
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I'm not made to be a Penguin ... 😳
After having fun with openSUSE in a virtual machine a few days ago, I was keen to try full installation on a MPB4,1 A1260.
Man, I'm not made to cope with Linux ... or tame it to prevent the MPB burn a hole into the table.
The A1260 got so hot, that I feared about the GPU failing again.
Despite all my fancy about Linux (sure, there are a lot of distributions/desktops/settings requiring less resources) I'll stay away from further attempts to run it on an early intel.
The A1260 is able to run Mojave and even Catalina without any effort thanks to @dosdude1, so I think, that's the best choice of all - especially when it comes to temperature-management.
I'm really sorry to get to this conclusion, since I'd like to have also the Linux option for these powerful early-intel machines ...
After having fun with openSUSE in a virtual machine a few days ago, I was keen to try full installation on a MPB4,1 A1260.
Man, I'm not made to cope with Linux ... or tame it to prevent the MPB burn a hole into the table.
The A1260 got so hot, that I feared about the GPU failing again.
Despite all my fancy about Linux (sure, there are a lot of distributions/desktops/settings requiring less resources) I'll stay away from further attempts to run it on an early intel.
The A1260 is able to run Mojave and even Catalina without any effort thanks to @dosdude1, so I think, that's the best choice of all - especially when it comes to temperature-management.
I'm really sorry to get to this conclusion, since I'd like to have also the Linux option for these powerful early-intel machines ...
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Was Just wondering if @dosdude1 or anyone else knows a way to tell from the codes on the front of the chip if its a 64bit or 128bit one?
I have a g84-603-a2 but have no idea which version, a google search does not reveal much, wiki pages and the like mostly omit the 64bit version from tables.
Don't want to commit to the repair to discover 128mb VRAM at the end.....
"Trash or Treasure?"
This 2008 Mac is running Mojave or Catalina fine.
And it will do so another decade.
THAT'S a big win for the planet!
Thank you Apple for offering to dump that very machine *for free* ...
This 2008 Mac is running Mojave or Catalina fine.
And it will do so another decade.
THAT'S a big win for the planet!
Thank you Apple for offering to dump that very machine *for free* ...
Technically, there isn't a "real" 64-bit 8600M GT. All the "real" chips are 128-bit. If you do get one that's sold as being "64-bit", it's technically a rebadged lower end similar chipset. The best source all have a date code of 1427A2.
Just got a 2.2GHz MBP 3,1. And... Woohoo!
Lucky you! Probably the first Santa Rosa emerald-book being shown here ...
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Heh, this thread brings back memories. The 2008 pre-unibody was my first personal Mac for college. It went through some rough handling the five years I had it; I might have actually kept it around if I'd been confident enough at the time to upgrade to an SSD. By the end it had gotten two logic board replacements and the optical drive was shot. Only Mac I've owned where the AppleCare actually paid off.
Nice story! But also frightning to read, that also a refurbished board seems to have failed in your book ...
@dosdude1 and @raymanster also have one of these IIRC.
I got this one because the seller explicitly stated the GPU had been taken care of - I'm not keen on spending money on a machine that has the defective GPU...
I might just name this machine "EmeraldBook"
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Perhaps the GPU had not been replaced on that one or it died for another reason.
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That's what I did to mine ...I might just name this machine "EmeraldBook"
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Oh well, I'm obviously the kind of visitor of funfair lotteries ...
And the son of a baker!
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That's what I did to mine ...
I've decided to go for "Jolene" instead. Get it?
In any case, "she" is now rocking Snow Leopard on a 240GB SSD, with Tiger, Mountain Lion and El Capitan to be added to the mix. Not sure whether I'll bother upgrading the RAM from 4 to 6 GB given how pricey the modules are...
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My grandma having played the lottery for decades and never won anything may have made me weary of them.
IIRC I have a motherboard for a 2.4GHz Early 2008 MacBook sitting on my box of parts and unfinished projects. Would it be worth trying to find someone to take the CPU off of that board and put it on my 5,2's board (if that is even possible)? I'd do it myself, but I have none of the equipment to do BGA soldering (and it's not like I would want to touch BGA with a ten foot pole).
The 2.4GHz CPU has a slower FSB than the ones in the 5,2, but a higher clock speed. Pick your poison.
I'd say if you can have it done very cheaply, why not? (According to Wikipedia, the pinouts are not identical though.) But I'd rather use that CPU to upgrade an MBP 3,1 to go past El Capitan, if I could.
Interesting... If I were to get this done, what would the slower FSB cause issues with vs. what would the faster clock help with? I had a 3,1, but it was afflicted by the faulty GPU. I think I still have the mobo though, how would the processor on there compare to the 2.4GHz that I have on the spare MB mobo and the one currently in my 5,2? I forget if it's a 2.4 or 2.6 GHz.The 2.4GHz CPU has a slower FSB than the ones in the 5,2, but a higher clock speed. Pick your poison.
I'm interested in getting the best performance out of my 5,2 as possible for the least amount of money.
Then the 3.06 GHz T9900 is the CPU you want this baby outfitted with.
I'll have to look at that. It would be pretty awesome to trick this out with 6GB of RAM and the fastest processor I could get the best deal on. I run Arturia software on this machine. I love Arturia's software, but it gets really heavy at times. This could help a lot.Then the 3.06 GHz T9900 is the CPU you want this baby outfitted with.
How likely would I be to find someone who could do BGA soldering for me?
Meroms and Penryns are identical in clock-for-clock performance IIRC, especially at the same FSB. Penryns run cooler though. However the 2.4GHz Merom has more L2 than the Penryn.
Ok, thanks for the info! It would be awesome if I could make my 5,2 faster while also making use of some of the other parts I have laying around.
Max RAM and an SSD are obvious, but you're still stuck with a 2 or 2.13 GHz CPU as you say.
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Best to ask him
Ok, thanks! It seems I've spent a good amount of money upgrading my Power Mac and my iBook, but not much on my MacBook (and nothing on my Mini). I feel like I probably should show those two a little love soon.Max RAM and an SSD are obvious, but you're still stuck with a 2 or 2.13 GHz CPU as you say.
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Best to ask him
I'm thinking a CPU and RAM upgrade for the MacBook (I already have an SSD) and an SSD for the Mini (it's already maxed and 1GB of RAM and I don't want to risk any issues with thermals, so a CPU upgrade would likely be out of the question).
If you want to see how the T9900 upgrade is done, I have a video about it here. Unfortunately, though, doing this as a service is not viable due to BGA variants of the T9900 being near unobtanium. I've tried to modify PGA versions of the chip (as you'll see in the video) with no success, so the only viable way to do it is to pull a T9900 off another MacBook logic board.Ok, thanks! It seems I've spent a good amount of money upgrading my Power Mac and my iBook, but not much on my MacBook (and nothing on my Mini). I feel like I probably should show those two a little love soon.
I'm thinking a CPU and RAM upgrade for the MacBook (I already have an SSD) and an SSD for the Mini (it's already maxed and 1GB of RAM and I don't want to risk any issues with thermals, so a CPU upgrade would likely be out of the question).