What have you done with an early Intel recently?

[Certificate of Excellence]

I found an easy and super fast to stand up canned Static Blog for ones website called Zonelets. It's essentially HTML with a simple java script. You just drop the guts into your website directory and voila, you're blog is ready to rumble. I have been considering solutions for a while but fundamentally I did not want to pay for anything so I steered clear of complex products like wordpress, wix etc. so it really boiled down to Jekyll. J is free and very cool but jeez, more work than what I wanted to put in to get a basic static blog going so when I ran into Zonelets, it was exactly what I was looking for; fast, easy and free.

One caveat. When I build sites, I out of habit call page one, index.html. When you unzip the zonelets file, the blog html file is called Index.html. I wasnt paying attention and dropped the files into my directory and in doing so, overwrote my websites landing page LOL, so had to stop and fix that little oopsie. Luckily I had a back up to c/p from. Did all this from my 09 mbp.

 

[Aoligei]

Sorry, forgot about the year. It was 2011 version 15 inch MacBook Pro. Broken screen can mean broken screen, or the infamous graphic card problem.

This is why I am debating.

Oh well. I ended up buying it after all. The pics provided by seller doesn't show any sign of damage not the screen.

I received the MacBook Pro today. It is the 2011 MacBook Pro 15 inch, with Core i7 2720QM, 4GB RAM (upgraded to 10GB, I can only find a 8GB spare so it is 8GB + 2GB), didn't come with boot drive (so upgraded to 500GB SSD).

So, when boot up and selected the bootable USB. Now the issue is really apparent. It has the blue line across the screen horizontally and it is from top to bottom. Everything is still visible, but it is clear that it is either the LCD screen or the graphic card problem.

After installing macOS Ventura with OCLP, it booted into black screen. So, it is the graphic card problem after all. Did some research, tried to reset SMC, NVRAM. Booted back to Ventura installer, then use terminal to enter fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00. I have to read twice to make sure that I have entered things correctly.

Then somehow, it worked. The MacBook booted into the Ventura!!

Now I have few questions for the experienced folks here:

1) Does this stay forever? Will a software update mess up everything again?
2) What should I avoid to do, so that problem doesn't come back again.
3) I tried install macOS High Sierra, but the installer seems stuck.

Anyway, this is my weekend collection. $200 in total ($40 for the 2011 MacBook Pro and $150 for the 2013 MacBook Pro Retina).

Sold one of my old iPhone 12 that I don't use anymore for $250. Brought these two.


The 2011 MacBook Pro has the graphic card problem.

The 2013 MacBook Pro has dead battery. Replacement battery costs like $100, I might just use this as desktop replacement.

 

[ToniCH]

1) Does this stay forever? Will a software update mess up everything again?

Sw update and/or PRAM reset will mess it up.

2) What should I avoid to do, so that problem doesn't come back again.

The above. Only hardware mod will make the fix permanent. More you mess it up more likely that one day you can no longer do the Sw fix.

3) I tried install macOS High Sierra, but the installer seems stuck.

HS can be difficult to install to a new drive. Installing El cap first can help.

 

[DCBassman]

1) Does this stay forever? Will a software update mess up everything again?
2) What should I avoid to do, so that problem doesn't come back again.

1) to slightly contradict @ToniCH , yes and no. NVRAM reset certainly will mess it up, SW update maybe, maybe not. I have two of these 15" 2011s, one early, one late. They have had all sorts installed on them, and have rarely needed to reapply the fix. If it's your intention to get it running and tgen just use it, it will almost certainly be ok. However, just in case, I keep that instruction, printed a bit larger than normal, in my spares box!
The hard bit is getting into the system and typing it in if the screen is unreadable.

 

[ToniCH]

I too have 2, one early, one late. The late is still trouble free but the early was GPU problematic. I had to reapply the Sw fix over and over again until I no longer could do it at all. Then I had to scrap it.

I am prepared to do the hw fix right away when the late one display the first sign of GPU trouble.

I thought you declared your 2011s scrap many times?

 

[DCBassman]

I too have 2, one early, one late. The late is still trouble free but the early was GPU problematic. I had to reapply the Sw fix over and over again until I no longer could do it at all. Then I had to scrap it.

I am prepared to do the hw fix right away when the late one display the first sign of GPU trouble.

I thought you declared your 2011s scrap many times?

Sounds like a plan. I didn't scrap them, just put them away for a bit. I *did* scrap 2 MBPs, another dead 2011 and a 2009, which I killed by being ham-fisted. I will also seek a hardware fix if the late 2011 shows any sign of further problems. So far, it's been pretty bombproof, only giving problems due to my lack of knowledge.

 

[Aoligei]

Sw update and/or PRAM reset will mess it up.

So that means I probably will stay on Ventura forever on this machine. Which is fine.

Regarding to PRAM reset, beside that I reset it on purpose. What else can cause PRAM rested?

The above. Only hardware mod will make the fix permanent. More you mess it up more likely that one day you can no longer do the Sw fix.

Oh well. I don’t know if I can find anyone here in Canada that can do it. It is a $40 computer, if I can get it work for a year, I will be more than happy lol.

HS can be difficult to install to a new drive. Installing El cap first can help.

Sure. If I go get a blank drive and install El Cap, will that mess up PRAM?

 

[DCBassman]

Mid-2011 MacBook Air:- when I first got this, I tried out various versions of macOS to see what worked best, and aimed at Monterey. But it did not work well, and I could never quite figure out why. Given it's a not-very-powerful 2C i7 with only 4GB of RAM, I shrugged my shoulders and reverted to Catalina. But sat here house-sitting for Christmas, I had nothing better to do, so tried again.
And this time? It works well. The thing I did differently? I explicitly re-wrote the root patches for this model to the USB installer before starting, rather than just using it as-was. I imagine this is not news to anyone, but I'd not done this before in quite this way, so a lesson learned.

 

[DCBassman]

So that means I probably will stay on Ventura forever on this machine. Which is fine.

To be clear: mine have both done OTA updates without resetting NVRAM. Almost everything that caused me to have to reapply the NVRAM fix was basically some error on my part. But these all fail in subtly different ways, so never say never!

 

[Aoligei]

To be clear: mine have both done OTA updates without resetting NVRAM. Almost everything that caused me to have to reapply the NVRAM fix was basically some error on my part. But these all fail in subtly different ways, so never say never!

Sometime I will store my laptop for period of time. Do you think depleted battery will cause NVRAM to be rested?

if yes. I will have to take out that laptop weekly to charge it

 

[Aoligei]

I too have 2, one early, one late. The late is still trouble free but the early was GPU problematic. I had to reapply the Sw fix over and over again until I no longer could do it at all. Then I had to scrap it.

Have you tried to install Linux on it to see if this laptop will be used in some capacity? LOL.. I just don't want to scrap a MacBook.

 

[DCBassman]

Sometime I will store my laptop for period of time. Do you think depleted battery will cause NVRAM to be rested?

if yes. I will have to take out that laptop weekly to charge it

Any stored device with lithium-ion batteries should be kept above 40%, ideally. An occasional charge to 80% is well worth doing. Depends on the Macbook; some have a coin cell, others use a capacitor for NVRAM backup. Either way, best to keep them recharged. But monthly or so would probably be ok.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Well, I just posted this over on my alma mater (lol ) MacRumors PowerPC forum , so the same goes for all of us now Intel or AS users. 🎄🎅

On a side note, I know this was initially discussed here last year on the PPC forum but yanno life happens and with that just got around to installing Legacy AI on my El Cap early Intel 2009 MBP. What a fantastic app While I do own a couple, I dont really have any 68k macs in my workflow or set up to use, so havent tried, however this app supports back to that cpu & system 7. I absolutely do plan on installing this across my favorite PowerPC macs once I get some free time after the holiday.

Great work dev Jordan T & Manticore

 

[eyoungren]

Typically, when I upgrade OS I do not go back and delete any old apps that may be in the Applications or Utilities folder. One, I'm lazy about that and two I'm a packrat on this stuff.

But a few years back I did start removing old PowerPC apps that have the prohibitory symbol whenever I see one. They won't run on my Intel Mac, they will be in older PowerPC backups and because of all that they are simply taking up drive space. Fortunately, I also started using Hazel and it's ability to remove old prefs and auxiliary files when deleting apps makes this much easier. There is far more cruft in my preferences and Application Support folders than I care to think about.

But sometimes, having old apps around reveals that some were universal installs. Today that was the case with Radon 1.5.1. Radon is an old browser that worked on PowerPC under Leopard. 1.0 worked under Tiger. And apparently Radon also works under Sonoma 14.6.1. I believe the company that made the browser no longer exists, but if they do then maybe someone can point me to them.

In any case, Radon seems to not have any issues here. A browser from 2008.

 

[occupant]

Christmas afternoon update on my $38 2010 13" MBP with the 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo.

No, I haven't bumped the memory up from 4GB to 16GB yet.
No, I haven't removed the 320GB HDD for a 480GB SATA SSD. (it's still Windowsing at the moment)
No, I haven't yet bought the orange clamshell thingie from eBay or Amazon for protection from kitties.

But I did spend MOST of the day slowly and carefully going through all the process to upgrade the OS using OCLP from High Sierra to Ventura (13.7.2 I think it said). It started out PAINFULLY slow but with each restart it seems to get a little better. I imagine once I swap in an SSD and get the RAM increased, it will get better. I may consider going further to Sonoma or Sequoia but with all the improvements they're making on those patches I think I may wait until a couple more things are working before I make another change.

The only reason I wanted to go to Ventura was to get the current version of GarageBand and be able to download all the instruments and whatnot. I just kept hitting walls using version 6, mostly that it was bought on someone else's AppleID and I guess that means I can't make changes. So this copy of GB is on my AppleID and I should be able to do with it what I please.

So since I'm typing this reply on the thing while GB installs, I guess it went pretty well.

The only 2 issues I ran into were:

1) internal trackpad and keyboard were NFG during the MacOS Installer portion. I used a 99 cent ONN keyboard I got from Goodwill and an AmazonBasics mouse I've had awhile.

2) Wi-Fi refused to connect on first boot (from the USB) and second boot (from the hard drive) but I was able to connect manually clicking on my modem's name from the list the third boot (after removing the USB and setting it up to boot straight into Ventura from the HDD). Then after running the POST patches, it was able to connect automatically on boot #4 and since.

Neither issue kept me from completing the task, so I'd say they are, if anything, only minor annoyances!

I look forward to the RAM and SSD upgrades in a few weeks when I have $20 to buy memory and some free time to get them both installed and then go back through the OS install process again (unless I figure out how to clone it over with a HDD dock I have, would be nice, probably won't work, but I'm keeping OCLP and the Ventura installer on that USB drive to try anyway)

 

[Aoligei]

Christmas afternoon update on my $38 2010 13" MBP with the 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo.

I got an 15" MBP 2011 for like $47CAD and it has bad AMD chips. This is my Christmas gift for myself.

No, I haven't bumped the memory up from 4GB to 16GB yet.
No, I haven't removed the 320GB HDD for a 480GB SATA SSD. (it's still Windowsing at the moment)
No, I haven't yet bought the orange clamshell thingie from eBay or Amazon for protection from kitties.

I brought an 8GB DDR3 from Amazon for like $14CAD and I have a spare 500GB SSD. So I did upgrade the 15" MBP 2011 to 10GB RAM and 500GB SSD. I didn't feel like I need 16GB for the things that I wanted to do with it.

But I did spend MOST of the day slowly and carefully going through all the process to upgrade the OS using OCLP from High Sierra to Ventura (13.7.2 I think it said). It started out PAINFULLY slow but with each restart it seems to get a little better. I imagine once I swap in an SSD and get the RAM increased, it will get better. I may consider going further to Sonoma or Sequoia but with all the improvements they're making on those patches I think I may wait until a couple more things are working before I make another change.

I also installed macOS Ventura on the 2009 MacBook Pro (both 13inch and 15inch that I own). I got lots of beachballs on 13inch whereas 15 inch runs pretty well.

Ventura really flies on 2011 MBP with Core i7 processors. However, I am not willing to anything pass Ventura. Reasons are three fold:
1) I have tried Sonoma on the 2012 MacBook Pros and I have very bad experiences with it. Everything is just slow, even with 16GB RAM and SSD.
2) Most new features on Sonoma or Sequoia will not work with older Intel MacBook Pros.
3) I have set NVRAM parameter to Disable AMD Graphic card on the 2011 MacBook Pro 15", so I am not willing to risk anything.

The only reason I wanted to go to Ventura was to get the current version of GarageBand and be able to download all the instruments and whatnot. I just kept hitting walls using version 6, mostly that it was bought on someone else's AppleID and I guess that means I can't make changes. So this copy of GB is on my AppleID and I should be able to do with it what I please.

So since I'm typing this reply on the thing while GB installs, I guess it went pretty well.

The only 2 issues I ran into were:

1) internal trackpad and keyboard were NFG during the MacOS Installer portion. I used a 99 cent ONN keyboard I got from Goodwill and an AmazonBasics mouse I've had awhile.

2) Wi-Fi refused to connect on first boot (from the USB) and second boot (from the hard drive) but I was able to connect manually clicking on my modem's name from the list the third boot (after removing the USB and setting it up to boot straight into Ventura from the HDD). Then after running the POST patches, it was able to connect automatically on boot #4 and since.

Neither issue kept me from completing the task, so I'd say they are, if anything, only minor annoyances!

I look forward to the RAM and SSD upgrades in a few weeks when I have $20 to buy memory and some free time to get them both installed and then go back through the OS install process again (unless I figure out how to clone it over with a HDD dock I have, would be nice, probably won't work, but I'm keeping OCLP and the Ventura installer on that USB drive to try anyway)

I tried to clone the disk and didn't work. My macOS setup on older machine is very simple: VLC+ Elmadia Player + MS Office + Google Chrome. All I need from old MacBook Pro are just office editing and video streaming. So it is pretty easy for me to reinstall MacOS and load five programs. LOL

 

[ckwang]

1) to slightly contradict @ToniCH , yes and no. NVRAM reset certainly will mess it up, SW update maybe, maybe not. I have two of these 15" 2011s, one early, one late. They have had all sorts installed on them, and have rarely needed to reapply the fix. If it's your intention to get it running and tgen just use it, it will almost certainly be ok. However, just in case, I keep that instruction, printed a bit larger than normal, in my spares box!
The hard bit is getting into the system and typing it in if the screen is unreadable.

Hi I am new to this forum because I need some advice. It seems you have a lot of experience on 15" 2011 Macbook Pro. I have been using OCLP on MacBook Air 2012 and Macbook Pro Retina 2013. Quite happy with them. I met with one of my old friend, he has a 15" 2011 Macbook Pro, the hardware is in pristine condidtion, but it does not boot, and does not respond to all the recovery methods. Option key to bring up USB booting option is also not working. I have done SMC and PRAM reset. No luck. I opened the back cover to take a look, it has a 256GB SSD with manufactured year 2016 on it. So someone did a SSD upgrade and mess up the whole machine. Does the 2011 Macbook Pro behave very differently from the 2012 and 2013 machines? Is there any way I can recover or reinstall OS on it?

 

[DCBassman]

Hi I am new to this forum because I need some advice. It seems you have a lot of experience on 15" 2011 Macbook Pro. I have been using OCLP on MacBook Air 2012 and Macbook Pro Retina 2013. Quite happy with them. I met with one of my old friend, he has a 15" 2011 Macbook Pro, the hardware is in pristine condidtion, but it does not boot, and does not respond to all the recovery methods. Option key to bring up USB booting option is also not working. I have done SMC and PRAM reset. No luck. I opened the back cover to take a look, it has a 256GB SSD with manufactured year 2016 on it. So someone did a SSD upgrade and mess up the whole machine. Does the 2011 Macbook Pro behave very differently from the 2012 and 2013 machines? Is there any way I can recover or reinstall OS on it?

Firstly, I would get hold of an SSD you know is good. Second, make sure the battery is charging properly. If not, remove it, and try the Option key to bring up the boot loader again. Even with no drive at all, you should see a white screen with a mouse cursor somewhere on it. If that's OK, then with a good SSD, you can begin the process of installing a new copy of, I suggest, High Sierra. Without the battery, the processor will be pegged at 1GHz, so it will be slow.

 

[ckwang]

Firstly, I would get hold of an SSD you know is good. Second, make sure the battery is charging properly. If not, remove it, and try the Option key to bring up the boot loader again. Even with no drive at all, you should see a white screen with a mouse cursor somewhere on it. If that's OK, then with a good SSD, you can begin the process of installing a new copy of, I suggest, High Sierra. Without the battery, the processor will be pegged at 1GHz, so it will be slow.

Thanks. I will ty that and post my progress. I also just did some digging, and there are people suggesting the Radeon GPU can cause booting problem. If I cannot get the boot loader with the Option key, could it be caused by the GPU issue? Sometimes the machine can get really hot when trying to boot up.

 

[Aoligei]

Thanks. I will ty that and post my progress. I also just did some digging, and there are people suggesting the Radeon GPU can cause booting problem. If I cannot get the boot loader with the Option key, could it be caused by the GPU issue? Sometimes the machine can get really hot when trying to boot up.

I have exactly the same laptop with faulty AMD GPU. When I boot up, it will display horizontal line across the screen from top to bottom. The screen is pretty much still readable. I still able to bring up boot loader with Option key.

The key is that you have to made sure the bootable USB is properly formatted, so that the boot loader can recognize the USB. The issue for me was that the when the OS installed, it boot into blank screen. I have to boot to installer again, use terminal commend to Disable AMD GPU.

 

[Aoligei]

Without the battery, the processor will be pegged at 1GHz, so it will be slow

There is an option under OCLP to disable CPU throttle.

 

[DCBassman]

There is an option under OCLP to disable CPU throttle.

View attachment 2466375

Ah yes, had forgotten that!

 

[DCBassman]

Well, have managed to Mac-flash a GTX680, and the cMP3,1 shows the boot picker, so I must have done something right! Beginning the process of taking it up to Monterey next.

 

[DCBassman]

On my way
To Monterey
But having fun
with 1.1


The situation
Was terribly splodgy
But progress was made
With Lenovo and Logi!

 

[swamprock]

There is an option under OCLP to disable CPU throttle.

View attachment 2466375

... and that will come in handy when I start my new project, involving a 2017 12" Macbook PCB and a Cube