Old White Macbook Harddrive Recovery

[OlliePlate]

Hi All!
Ive found my old white macbook from probably 2009 which I have a vague memory of mining some bitcoin on in 2010. Not sure how much i ended up with =) (just a fun fact and reason i want to reuse it). the battery has exploded and pushed the touchpad and some of the keys out so it seems it wont be able to live again. Is there a way to extract the harddrive and run it on another computer to 1 to 1 simulate the computer? I dont have any fancy hardrive readers etc so was wondering if theres a simple fix. I have the computer opened and extracted the harddrive but not sure what to do now...

Grateful for any advice.

 

[Dave Braine]

Just buy a hard drive enclosure/caddy.
Something like this:

ORICO 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool-free External Hard Drive Enclosure for 2.5" SATA III HDD and SSD with UASP Compatible for Windows Mac OS (Black)

ORICO 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool-free External Hard Drive Enclosure for 2.5" SATA III HDD and SSD with UASP Compatible for Windows Mac OS (Black)

www.amazon.co.uk

I've done this with quite a few hard drives.

 

[OlliePlate]

Just buy a hard drive enclosure/caddy.
Something like this:

ORICO 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool-free External Hard Drive Enclosure for 2.5" SATA III HDD and SSD with UASP Compatible for Windows Mac OS (Black)

ORICO 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool-free External Hard Drive Enclosure for 2.5" SATA III HDD and SSD with UASP Compatible for Windows Mac OS (Black)

www.amazon.co.uk

I've done this with quite a few hard drives.

when it plugs in will it just be a list of the files on the hrddrive? or could i theoretically simulate the computer too?

thank you for the tip ill pick one up =)

 

[DeltaMac]

You will see the same files that you can see when you were booted to the old MacBook.
You may be able to run some of the apps on that drive, but that will depend a bit on how old the apps are.
Otherwise, it will simply show you the files, much the same as any external drive on your Mac.

(If you use this drive with a PC, running Windows, you will need some software on Windows to be able to view anything on the Macbook hard drive. Windows won't natively see the files on a Mac-format hard drive... )

 

[Amethyst1]

when it plugs in will it just be a list of the files on the hrddrive?

That is the default behaviour.

or could i theoretically simulate the computer too?

You could create a virtual machine (VM) which uses the OS and data that is on the drive — but macOS doesn't really run all that well in a VM. Or buy another Mac (ideally a 2009 or earlier model to ensure the version of macOS on the drive will be compatible with it) and put the hard drive in there. macOS installations can be transferred between Macs.

 

[OlliePlate]

You will see the same files that you can see when you were booted to the old MacBook.
You may be able to run some of the apps on that drive, but that will depend a bit on how old the apps are.
Otherwise, it will simply show you the files, much the same as any external drive on your Mac.

(If you use this drive with a PC, running Windows, you will need some software on Windows to be able to view anything on the Macbook hard drive. Windows won't natively see the files on a Mac-format hard drive... )

Perfect Thank you so much

 

[OlliePlate]

That is the default behaviour.


You could create a virtual machine (VM) that uses the OS and data that is on the drive, but macOS doesn't really run all that well in a VM or buy another Mac (ideally a 2009 or earlier model to ensure the OS on the drive will be compatible with it) and put the hard drive in there. macOS installations can be transferred between Macs.

Perfect Thanks!!
Would a 2007 mac (Big tower thing) work? i have one lying around with a dead harddrive (Boot on with question mark). the hard drive is much bigger in that one (350GB with 5k+ RPM). I assume that means they arent compatible. =)

 

[DeltaMac]

Easy...! Your MacBook drive uses the same drive connecter. All you need is an adapter such is this -

NewerTech AdaptaDrive 2.5" to 3.5" Drive Converter Bracket

NewerTech AdaptaDrive

smile.amazon.com

Install your Macbook hard drive on that bracket, then add the bracket to one of the drive sleds on your MacPro.
The boot system on the MacBook hard drive is likely too new to boot an unmodded, first gen MacPro (which is limited to Lion) but easy enough to put a different drive in

 

[Boyd01]

You could create a virtual machine (VM) which uses the OS and data that is on the drive — but macOS doesn't really run all that well in a VM.

Do you say that from personal experience? Because I am running Mountain Lion and Sierra virtual machines under Parallels on my 2018 i7 Mini and they work great with my (very expensive) legacy software. Now, it may be that older versions of MacOS don't work well and of course you need a host machine with enough resources to run the VM properly. Some old software just won't work in a VM too, such as Final Cut Pro.

Anyway, it's not for everyone but my old Mac software runs much faster in the VM than it ever did on the original physical Macs.

 

[wordsworth]

When you say that the battery 'exploded' do you mean that it has swollen? If so, would it not be possible to replace the hard drive in the MacBook, remove the battery if you have not already done so (and dispose of it appropriately, treating it with respect, remembering that it is in an unstable condition), then plug in the keyboard and mouse from your Mac tower setup? If the laptop boots up and the keyboard/mouse work, then you can see what's on your hard drive. You could then get a thumbdrive or external hard drive and copy everything across (or just those files that you require).

A swollen battery happened to my early-2009 white MacBook. I ran it off the mains without battery for long enough, and then sourced a replacement battery (not easy to get a good one) – it's still working and running El Capitan. I subsequently upgraded the hard drive to SSD and upped the memory too.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Get a 2.5" USB3 drive enclosure like this:

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

www.amazon.com

Put the drive in. It just snaps together.

Then connect the drive to your current Mac and see if it mounts on the desktop.

If it does, get the data you need from it -- save it somewhere else.

When that's done, erase the old drive using disk utility. Now it's ready to become a backup, scratch storage drive, etc.

 

[Amethyst1]

Do you say that from personal experience?

Yes. macOS VMs lack graphics acceleration which slows down the GUI and can cause glitches; some software which requires graphics acceleration — iWork 09 is what I can think of right now because I’m still using it — is unusable.
How useful macOS is in a VM strongly depends on what you want to use it for.

 

[Boyd01]

iWork 09 is what I can think of right now because I’m still using it — is unusable.
How useful macOS is in a VM strongly depends on what you want to use it for.

I have heard that about iWork. But I have no interest in running any version of iWork. What I need is a way to run some very expensive legacy software. VectorWorks 2008 works perfectly for me - a CAD program that costs about $1500 to update. Also perfect with FileMaker Pro 14, which is about a $600 program and the current version has a more restrictive license that only allows one installation. I was especially surprised how well Strata3d cx runs on a Mountain Lion VM, it's a 3d modelling program that costs around $1500. It renders much faster than it ever did on my old Macs.

I'm retired and don't need those graphics programs much, but still have a project from time to time and also need access to all my old files. I use FileMaker Pro every day, both in a Sierra VM and also the Windows version in a Win 10 VM.

Anyway, we're getting pretty far off-topic here. I just don't agree with a blanket statement about MacOS VM's not running well. As you said, it strongly depends on your needs.VM's have saved me almost $4000 in software upgrades. I could have saved even more if I continued using my old versions of Photoshop and MS Office in a VM, but I decided to upgrade them since the cost was not as high.

Now, if the OP upgrades to an Apple Silicon Mac, then all bets are off. I don't think there's a practical solution for running legacy Mac apps there.

 

[Amethyst1]

What I need is a way to run some very expensive legacy software.

And it's great that a VM allows you to do that

I just don't agree with a blanket statement about MacOS VM's not running well.

Maybe my statement was a bit too generalising. Maybe I should have said: "To me, the lack of graphics acceleration in a macOS VM is a major issue."

 

[mnbn01]

RAM supported by MacBook 2009 apparrently 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 single slot and make it run a lot faster than older RAM. You guys can try. Later will add another RAM to make it 8GB.

 

[DeltaMac]

Out-of-spec RAM does not always work on many Macs.
Macs are often (for good reason) accused of being a bit finicky about RAM.

Better to get correct spec RAM. That particular model, Late 2009 MacBook, should be PC3-8500 (1066MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM.
Will that 1333 MHz RAM work? Yes, but not in every case, and not necessarily reliably.