According to the github page it supports 10.10 through 10.15 (Catalina) officially, with a couple of user comments seeming to indicate that it also works on Monterey and Ventura. I took only a superficial look at the comments though, so YMMV.Thanks, i forgot about the limitation to 10.14 on the MBPMid2010GPUFix
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MacBook Pro A1278
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Unfortunately, there isn’t much more you can do at this point.
If you haven’t cleaned out the fans and reposted the CPU and GPU, do that, however that will only have a minor impact on temperature.
1. Systemeinstellungen/Bedienungshilfen/Anzeige: reduce transparency;
2. Titanium Onyx: Switch off all unnesserary graphic animations listed under the topic "parameters"
3. iLapStand: great for cooling and tucking stuff/cables beneath the MacBook
4. Modifiy Spotlight-indexing: during the first full indexing put the MB onto a cool-brick (covert with thin kitchen-towel). Switch of indexing of attached external drives
5. Browser: use ad-filter
Interesting. That is not the MBPMid2010GPUFix by Julian Poidevin, this: https://github.com/julian-poidevin/MBPMid2010_GPUFix, which is what i am using now and is working, but if the software you mentioned above by Fabio does the same thing as MBPMid2010GPUFix, it should be fine, and i can then run higner versions of mac os on my mac
Thanks for the info and idea, will think about it.
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Yeah, i thought so too that the only thing left to do is repaste the cpu/gpu, which i think hasnt been done in a loooong time, but as you said that will not have a large impact on heat. The fans i have checked and blown out. Maybe taking them apart would help a bit but i think they are fine.
I would like to make the automatic system fan control be actually useful, because having the fans at idle when the computer is literally melting is not good, and i would love to not have to manually control the fans always for the computer to not overheat and have the system control that...
Thank you!
(5) I already have strict ad guarding and blocking in all of my browsers.
1-3 are great recommedations. I know i can get a stand but i thought maybe i can get the computer to not overheat without a stand, like on my lap or traveling, but i guess not...
What do you mean in #4?
Spotlight indexes your drives so that finding files is much quicker and snappier. However, the service that does this (mds / mds_stores) uses up quite a lot of system resources. Disabling indexing on some/all of your drives can help improve performance and maybe stop it from overheating as much.
If you haven’t done so before, set up Macs Fan control so that it’s one of your start-up items (under Users & Groups in System Preferences, under your login account).
BUT… here’s the part which deserves especial care:
If you have not yet done so with this particular MBP, crack it open, find a soft bristle brush (like, real talk here, the $10–15 kind one uses to apply rouge/blush to one’s cheekbones… sorry boys, but your local pharmacy/druggist is likely to have something to fit the bill, and no, no one will look at you funny… it’s just a soft brush). Use the brush to thoroughly clean out both sides of the logic board, the fans (namely, the blades, after you’ve taken them out), the exhaust grilles, you name it. I have worked on mid-2010 unibody MBPs (the 13-inch, 2.4GHz variant), whose fan and exhaust was completely clogged, and the CPU, alas, was very much dead forever.
Doing a full clean-out on a 10-to-15-year-old laptop, especially if you intend to use it with any regularity, is an absolute must. This includes cleaning away the now-dried OEM thermal paste and applying new thermal paste to the CPU, PCH, and GPU. (Good, affordable thermal paste brands include Noctua and Arctic Silver; I tend to use the Noctua NT-H2, which comes with wet cleaning cloths for removing the old paste and prepping those surfaces for the new). Doing this is just like doing a full inspection, change of fluids, and tune-up on a car: preventive maintenance now can save on so many headaches down the way.
Real talk: very few Mac laptops have zero heating issues. It’s been a long established thing over the years that thermal dissipation might get lower priority than other features.
Every series, and even specific models within a series, going back to the iBook/PowerBook days, may have certain situations where pushing the system causes the laptop to get especially hot, especially if having it on, well, your lap. Some are notably worse than others (notably, many of the the pre-unibody MBPs, especially the BTO/CTO high-end CPUs for a particular revision).
The general rule of thumb I rely on (which many models, including yours, have a sensor for, although I wouldn’t know what it’s named on your specific model) is monitoring the temperature sensor on the underside/bottom case when, at or over ~43°C for over something like 45–60 minutes, can cause second-degree burns on bare skin — especially on all models with aluminium cases. The higher that sensor goes, the less time it takes to scald your skin.
But foremost, use Macs Fan Control manual override to make sure the fans are running at maximum with the CPU and/or GPU cores are at, say, 70°C, or lower, if you prefer (and really don’t mind the sound of the fans running at their max of ~6000–6200rpm). On my pre-unibody MBP, I have mine fine-tuned to make sure the underside exceeds 43°C for no longer than a minute or two and, optimally, below 42°C at most/all times.
I’ll stress this again: give the internals a full-on clean out, and apply fresh paste after cleaning the crumbly old stuff. The iFixit guides are outstanding for the unibody MBPs. This ought to help with thermal dissipation a lot better than if your MBP has never really been serviced before.
This is completely on-topic!
One ask: if any of this advice from folks on here is helpful, give them a “like”/thumbs-up.
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You will want to grab the version of Macs Fan Control for the version of macOS you install.[Note: never mind here! I kept reading.]
If you haven’t done so before, set up Macs Fan control so that it’s one of your start-up items (under Users & Groups in System Preferences, under your login account).On start-up, it will nag you to buy a full version of the utility, butfor setting the two fans in your model, whether 15 or 17-inch, have a look at the iFixit guide for your model to get a sense of where the fans are in relation to where the CPU and GPU live on the logic board. For my older, pre-Unibody MBP, I set the fan nearest the GPU to come on at an earlier threshold temperature and to max the fan speed at a lower max temperature than for the CPU side (which tends to run less hot on my model… results may vary depending on the model).
BUT… here’s the part which deserves especial care:
If you have not yet done so with this particular MBP, crack it open, find a soft bristle brush (like, real talk here, the $10–15 kind one uses to apply rouge/blush to one’s cheekbones… sorry boys, but your local pharmacy/druggist is likely to have something to fit the bill, and no, no one will look at you funny… it’s just a soft brush). Use the brush to thoroughly clean out both sides of the logic board, the fans (namely, the blades, after you’ve taken them out), the exhaust grilles, you name it. I have worked on mid-2010 unibody MBPs (the 13-inch, 2.4GHz variant), whose fan and exhaust was completely clogged, and the CPU, alas, was very much dead forever.
Doing a full clean-out on a 10-to-15-year-old laptop, especially if you intend to use it with any regularity, is an absolute must. This includes cleaning away the now-dried OEM thermal paste and applying new thermal paste to the CPU, PCH, and GPU. (Good, affordable thermal paste brands include Noctua and Arctic Silver; I tend to use the Noctua NT-H2, which comes with wet cleaning cloths for removing the old paste and prepping those surfaces for the new). Doing this is just like doing a full inspection, change of fluids, and tune-up on a car: preventive maintenance now can save on so many headaches down the way.
Real talk: very few Mac laptops have zero heating issues. It’s been a long established thing over the years that thermal dissipation might get lower priority than other features.
Every series, and even specific models within a series, going back to the iBook/PowerBook days, may have certain situations where pushing the system causes the laptop to get especially hot, especially if having it on, well, your lap. Some are notably worse than others (notably, many of the the pre-unibody MBPs, especially the BTO/CTO high-end CPUs for a particular revision).
The general rule of thumb I rely on (which many models, including yours, have a sensor for, although I wouldn’t know what it’s named on your specific model) is monitoring the temperature sensor on the underside/bottom case when, at or over ~43°C for over something like 45–60 minutes, can cause second-degree burns on bare skin — especially on all models with aluminium cases. The higher that sensor goes, the less time it takes to scald your skin.
But foremost, use Macs Fan Control manual override to make sure the fans are running at maximum with the CPU and/or GPU cores are at, say, 70°C, or lower, if you prefer (and really don’t mind the sound of the fans running at their max of ~6000–6200rpm). On my pre-unibody MBP, I have mine fine-tuned to make sure the underside exceeds 43°C for no longer than a minute or two and, optimally, below 42°C at most/all times.
I’ll stress this again: give the internals a full-on clean out, and apply fresh paste after cleaning the crumbly old stuff. The iFixit guides are outstanding for the unibody MBPs. This out to help with thermal dissipation a lot better than if your MBP has never really been serviced before.
This is completely on-topic!
One ask: if any of this advice from folks on here is helpful, give them a “like”/thumbs-up.
Wow, thanks a lot for all of this info!
I looked at the insides multiple times and it really seems clean to me, the fans too, but i will take them apart and clean them...
I am already using Macs Fan Control, and monitoring the temperatures, but which should i monitor, the cpu or gpu?
I am now monitoring the cpu becise that is more important, but IDK. I always manually ramp the fans up to Full Blast pretty much always, becuase of the heat, and even on a flat surface with the compiter on a book to keep it off the ground and have more airflow underneath to cool it, the cpu still sits at ~60 degrees C! These Macs have a cooling problem for sure....
"One ask: if any of this advice from folks on here is helpful, give them a “like”/thumbs-up."
Sure! Forgot about that feature
...dont know how that benefits folks here though, other than personal satisfaction, maybe forum points or good forum record or something...but thats off topic again...I know about IFixit, they are great indeed. I really dont know if my mac was ever serviced, but it is damn clean for a 13 year old computer....i just got it from a friend who said it was "kaputt" and gave it to me for 10 bucks lol, little did he jnow that i would then go on to fix the crashing issue, replace the feet with custom ones, and more. It is a fully working mac now, which NEVER crashes, for 10 bucks! Web browsing, documents, and more all great . I think someone opened it before though because it already has all of the upgrades for 10 bucks! 8GB RAM and SSD instead of HDD!
I just want to reduce the heat and install a newer operaring system. I tjinm you pretty much said everything you can do to reduce jeat, which iwwill try, so i would lile to ask you about the new OS installation: Y'all told me that the MBPMid2010GPUFix ,which is keeping this computer working, is not compatible with over 10.14, so i only can install Mojave. Then @Grumpus said that it is compatible with over Mojavr]e, but he was confused, i am talking about MBPMid2010GPUFix, by Julian Poidevin, but he was talking about MBP-2010-GPU-Panic-fix by Fabioiop. So, the program i am using is actually not compatible with over 10.14, yes, but if a similar fix like Fabio's will do the same thing as what i am using, i could in theory get my mac to work with 10.14 and later and not crash beciase pf its gpu problem using Fabio's fix...
Some help on that would be great, because then i could run 10.15 or higher even (if you trust the comments, its a hit or miss i think, so i would not take my chances and just stick with Mojave or Catalina) using MBP-2010-GPU-Panic-fix by Fabioiop (NOT MBPMid2010GPUFix by Juloan Poidevin which is what i am using to keep my mac working right now, which isnt compatible with later yhan 10.14) to keep my mac working, and while running Catalina for example!
However, i have not tested MBP-2010-GPU-Panic-fix yet, if it keeps my mac working or not, but i know that MBPMid2010GPUFix by Julian Poidevin is working for me, but if MBP-2010-GPU-Panic-fix lets me run Catalina or higher, then i will seriously think about it...
I will certainly apply new paste, becuase thats seems like the only thing possible left to do, physically wise, except a cooling pad or stand, which i will look into as well.
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"One ask: if any of this advice from folks on here is helpful, give them a “like”/thumbs-up."
Sure! Forgot about that feature
The response interaction (i.e., “Like”, “Love”, “Wow”, etc.) is good for the comity and community we have here and over on the PowerPC Macs forum. It’s also helpful for the person donating/sharing their knowledge to help others to know it was helpful for others who happen to come across the info later on.
OkThe response interaction (i.e., “Like”, “Love”, “Wow”, etc.) is good for the comity and community we have here and over on the PowerPC Macs forum. It’s also helpful for the person donating/sharing their knowledge to help others to know it was helpful for others who happen to come across the info later on.
I guess all of the steps to install Mojave or Catalina or higher in my macbook have been mentioned already in this thread, but kne thing i need help on: Since the app that i use to keep my mac working and not crashing, MBPMid2010GPUFix, only supports 10.10 to 10.14, i cant run anything higher than 10.14 on my mac, which is not ideal, but there is also MBP-2010-GPU-Panic-fix by Fabio which does the exact same thing but DOES support higher than 10.14, with some even reporting it working in ventura, i just havent tested it yet, so theoretically it could work and i can then have a MBPMid2010GPUFix by Julian Poidevin equivalent fix, AND run a MacOS higher than 10.14 on my mac!The response interaction (i.e., “Like”, “Love”, “Wow”, etc.) is good for the comity and community we have here and over on the PowerPC Macs forum. It’s also helpful for the person donating/sharing their knowledge to help others to know it was helpful for others who happen to come across the info later on.
That sounds great if it works,and would like some help on that idea, becuase otherwise i am stuck with MBPMid2010GPUFix by Julian Poidevin which does work great and fixes the crashing GPU problem, but limits me to 10.14, and 10.14 is just not great for me...Catalina or higher would be ideal.
So again, if somebody here could take the time to help on this that would completely finish the issue on how to install an unsupported version of MacOS on my mac, becuase basically all of the steps necessary to install a newer os have already been covered here, so the only thing left is to fix this limitation of the fix/lofe saving software for my mac.
However, if somebody has any other steps/advice/tips on installing a newer unsupported os on my mac, that would of course be greatly appreciated.
Also, i have liked all of the helpful comments here:>
PS: Sorry for all of the typos, i am typing most of this on my touchscreen device...
@HawkTheHusky1902: If you think, your MBP is at a thermal limit, do not force the machine beyond Mojave!
With Catalina you'll get Fotos-indexing in addition to Spotlight-indexing, which causes a lot of background activity.
All OCPL variants will strain ressources of your MBP even more. The mid2010 MBP sports a pretty fast dualcore CPU, but that comes at the cost of heat.
Using TurboBoostSwitcher was probably your best decision alongside with cleaning fans and fan-grids (as for me, I prefer to use the iFixit egg-shaped Dust Blower).
Reducing graphical overload of macOS-GUI and blocking ads etc. in your browser comes next.
Using an iLapStand is kind of mandatory for me, since I've got my first 13" MBP in 2009.
I didn't ever feel comfortable to repaste CPU/GPU on my old G4 PowerBooks or after maintaining the GPU of my early2008 15"MBP by the 10min/140°C oven-trick, and, as @theMarble said, results might not be much impressive.
To make a long story short: better stay with Mojave and the recommended Firefox ESR.
Then, if you are going to be in need for a faster machine, there will be a lot of them "lying around" at a decent price.
With Catalina you'll get Fotos-indexing in addition to Spotlight-indexing, which causes a lot of background activity.
All OCPL variants will strain ressources of your MBP even more. The mid2010 MBP sports a pretty fast dualcore CPU, but that comes at the cost of heat.
Using TurboBoostSwitcher was probably your best decision alongside with cleaning fans and fan-grids (as for me, I prefer to use the iFixit egg-shaped Dust Blower).
Reducing graphical overload of macOS-GUI and blocking ads etc. in your browser comes next.
Using an iLapStand is kind of mandatory for me, since I've got my first 13" MBP in 2009.
I didn't ever feel comfortable to repaste CPU/GPU on my old G4 PowerBooks or after maintaining the GPU of my early2008 15"MBP by the 10min/140°C oven-trick, and, as @theMarble said, results might not be much impressive.
To make a long story short: better stay with Mojave and the recommended Firefox ESR.
Then, if you are going to be in need for a faster machine, there will be a lot of them "lying around" at a decent price.
"Reducing graphical overload of macOS-GUI and blocking ads etc. in your browser comes next."
Did that.
I dont think its at a thermal limit, it just gets hot. However, most of the time it doesnt get too hot. I am not worried about heat, so i will if possible get a version of macos over 10.14. The fans are clean, i checked, and i cleaned the heat grid.
It has an i5 btw, 2.53ghz.
Will stick with Firefox ESR i think now...
I know that a lot of faster ones are everywhere used at crazy prices, but j just want to use this computer for light tasks and for school work, like documents, etc... because it is a completely working mac, so why not?
And it is my only computer now, and cant get another computer now, and need a higher version of macOS than Mojave for apps.
Will seriously consider getting a stand, like the iLapstand....
So, i will have to follow the steps outlined by other users including you to install an unsupported OS on my mac...JUST DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE MBPMID2010GPUFIX's limitation to 10.14...WILL CHECK OUT MBP-GPU-PANIC-FIX BY FABIOIOP WHICH DOES SUPPORT HIGHER THAN 10.14 AND SHOULD DO THE SAME THING AS MBPMID2010GPUFIX BY JULIAN POIDEVIN, JUST WITHOUT THE LIMITATION TO 10.14. NEED HELP ON THAT....
Well, it'll be then a matter of try and error ...
(OCPL/Monterey proved to perform decent on my late2009 c2d 15"MBP)
Better stay with OCLP/Monterey then - OCLP/Ventura is still under construction ...
Why
How would it be trial and error if you ran MONTEREY, which is much newer than what i am planning to run, Catalina or Big Sur, fine on your OLDER and LESS POWERFUL macbook?
I meant the GPUfix, which is the unknown quantity in your equation.
If it was not for the GPUfix I was already positive for an OCLP-option in #22 ...
As for OCLP: I'd choose Monterey over BigSur (too old 😄) or Ventura (too experimental beyond OCLP0.6.1/Ventura13.2.1) ...
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Oh, ok, but i said multiple times that i am looking at MBP-MID-2010-GPU-PANIC Fix, by another guy, Fabioiop, and NOT MBPMID2010GPUFIX by Julian Poidevin which doesnt support higher than 10.14, and what is what i am using now, and Fabioiop's Fix does support 100% Catalina and most likely will work on higher versions of MacOS, and should do the same thing as MBPMid2010GPUFix by Julian (fixing crashing GPU panic issue). Also, i am planning mainly to run Catalina, i think higher than that is pushing it, but should still be fine.
Also, why would you choose Monterey over Big Sur or Ventura? I understand why not Ventura, becuase of Metal, but why not Big Sur?
Yeah, that's what I've meant ... try and error. You have no proof, that the other GPUfix will work on your MBP in combination with OCLP. Make sure to have a good routine for backup and restore
I wouldn't bother to install BigSur, when I could gain one more year of support with Monterey.
I would even go with Ventura, as soon, as it's stable for the very same reason.
Interesting.....i just thought the newer the Os the less stable it is on an unsupported, older mac , like architecture and processor wise....but maybe im wrong. Having Monterey on my ma would be awesome! Ventura even more!
I can’t speak for your specific use-case — the 15/17-inch mid-2010 MBP — but the general rule of thumb is the more recent OS installed on an unsupported, but patched system, some features promoted for that version of macOS (and above) may not be available to use.
This alone does not mean “less stable”, but for a currently-supported version of macOS which, for example, relies heavily on later-protocol Bluetooth and wifi which didn’t exist in 2010, you may not have “killer” features available to you, such as AirDrop, or being able to use an iPad as a supplemental display. There may be community-led hardware upgrades which can potentially enable those features, but they involve a bit of tinkering — some of it semi-invasive.
Core features of the OS, however, will probably be at the same level of stability as what might be expected with a currently-supported, late Intel Mac running a currently-supported build of macOS. With the OCLP patches available, any other unsupported features, such as non-Metal graphics rendering, have workarounds which shouldn’t detract from the regular, everyday experience of using an OS like Monterey.
Well, then, i need help on how to install Big Sur. Monterey or Ventura onto my mac via OCLP. I think the steps have been covered in this thread before already, but a kind of final guide would be great, combining all of the already outlined steps by other users in this thread and you into that.
Thanks for the info. Iam not looking into newer OSes becuse of some certain features, mainky becuase of app compatibility. So thats why the newer the better. I want to use this mac for some time, with en9ugn compatible apps.
You’ll want to use the instructions on the OCLP web site. Everything is broken down by chapter on the left-hand panel of the browser screen (assuming you’re viewing the page on a non-mobile device). Read them thoroughly, then go step by step with their instructions.