Old Macbook upgrades

I’m looking at upgrading the ram and drive on my 2011 macbook

I’m just not sure how to keep my files

I have had a look at some youtube videos but they just seem to show using a flash drive to create a back up disc (?)

I’m useless when it comes to things like this, and I know a lot of people here are very clued up so I might need things explained in simple(ton) terms

thanks

Relax its easy.

The thumb drive isn’t file backup but an operating system (OS) startup

Do you have a backup / Time Machine ? Always advisable but not strictly necessary. As a min get key data/personal files onto say google drive and photos on a cloud service like flickr or piscasa (if you wish)

Upgrade methods depend on your preference

A usb thumb drive startup works well. Basically you can takeout your old drive and put in a blank new drive. Boot from usb and then decide what next …

Either fresh osx install from web
Or complete copy of old disk via time machine backup (if you have one)

Note I would recommend spending £20 on a usb caddy as you can put the old disk in it to get files off and the reformat the old disk to use as storage

Also with the usb caddy you could do a complete clone from old fo new disk and that way you have a coly of everything inc passwords … this is very similar to time machine restore if for example you don’t have a time machine backup

FYI I have done 5 disk replacements now. Email in profile and we can have a call if you want

RAM is easy and I would suggest you do this first to check it works

Hardest part imo is undoing the damn screws on the back of the laptop. You need small phillips and a torx 10 (? I think)

RAM imo 8gb is ample, depends on what you are doing
Samsung Evo SSD are excellent 250 or 500 depending on your budget
If you don’t have a time machine backup spend £50 on a 1tb usb drive and make one before you start

BTW I found one 8gb RAM chip was cheaper than 2×4 so if upgrading from 4 (2+2) you can just put in 1 8GB chip and get 10. Works completely fine and yes in theory matched ram chips are faster but not in a way any of us mere mortals would ever notice

Have a look online atbthe various startup modes – you’ll need these

Linky

Upgraded my 2011 MBP with a SSD, and maxed out the RAM too. Totally worth it – it’s a flying machine!

Did the same with my wife’s 2009 MBP.

I just googled a few how-to videos, used a wee HDD caddy from Amazon (£7?) and it was easy. Trickiest part was finding a good quality philips screwdriver to get the back off. Size 00 I think? Tiny.

Now, if anyone could direct me to a decent battery supplier…

I’ve done a couple of hard drive->SSD and RAM upgrades, they’re very easy to do.

Check to see what the max amount of RAM your Macbook can take. Older ones were limited to 8GB.

Re. Battery, I accidentally bought two from an Amazon seller. Installed one and was arranging to return the second when it stops charging after 2 days. Swapped them over and the second one is fine, holds charge for 3-4 hrs which is fine for me. They were £37 each.

Returning a LiIon battery is a nightmare. Royal Mail won’t accept it, so you have to find a courier that will. Amazon were very apologetic and said they’d send their courier to pick it up…. Still waiting 3 months later. I should chase it up.

I did something similar in terms of upgrading to 16Gb RAM and a new 500Gb SSD, but also ripped out the DVD and replaced it with the old hard drive in a caddy as extra file storage. DId a clean install of OSX on the new SSD as the primary hard drive using an external USB DVD which cost me about £15. Has given our 2010 Macbook Pro a new lease of life.

This website has all the info you need: http://www.upgradeable.co.nz/apple/macbookpro5-5-core-2-duo-2-26ghz-13-inch.html
Just pick your machine from the homepage and it gives you a list of parts to buy and simple instructions on how to install everything. It’s NZ based, so probably not much help for actual purchasing but you can always copy and paste part numbers into google. Solid state drives are a revelation in speed.