Unsupported macOS or experiment with Linux? MBP 15 late 2008.

[emildegothia]

Hi, I'm new to the forum so sorry if I ask in the wrong thread but and have some questions regarding how to keep using my MBP 15 late 2008 2,4GHz. I'm thinking of how to get a modern OS on it. Either patched unsupported MacOS or switching to Linux. I'm actually interested in multi booting Windows, Linux and MacOS if possible.

1. If I replace an hdd with working mac OS 10.9 and bootcamp with a blank hdd in my MacBook Pro 5,1 to install and test Linux and multiboot, could I then later just switch back to the old hdd and keep using the current installation ? Or does RefInd or UEFI or anything else related to Linux affect the laptop outside the hdd?

2. Would it be worth upgrading to SSD like crucial mx500 1TB?

I upgraded the ram to 8gb and hdd to a hybrid 750gb sshdd many years ago but its deadly slow, takes minutes to boot to macOS. I have a company computer for work so I only use it for streaming now as it is too slow for most other tasks and the OS is unsupported so can hardly run any apps. I would like be able to run modern apps, have security updates and maybe practice coding and do some light gaming. I have considered getting a new computer but it pains me to throw away well built hardware that should be able to work a few years more and I don't have too much budget for upgrades or a new computer at the moment.

 

[velocityg4]

1. You sure can. All that stuff will be located on the new boot drive.

2. It sure is. It'll make quite a difference in OS/app load times. Fewer beachballs. Got one in a 2006 Macbook and 2009 Core 2 Duo iMac.

3. Consider using an optical bay adapter. I'm pretty sure you need an SATA model not PATA to SATA. That way you can have your regular HDD and SSD installed at the same time and switch between them. Perhaps just use dual SSD and dump the HDD. They're so cheap now. Use a smaller one for the multi-boot drive. Then a large one for the files. Use ExFAT for the format of the data drive. As it will be easily used by any OS.

4. A lightweight Linux distro may be best for your uses. Given the old hardware. Check out Dosdude1 for Sierra through Catalina patches. Paying attention to the known issues.