Which os?

[Walt]

Hello everyone,

I just found my old white MacBook. I think its from 2008. Since I have no laptop I want to use it just for word and web browsing. 

I was wondering, will it be worth to put another os like ubuntu, penguin or w10 on it?

Any help is appreciated! 

Thanks

 

[Chaos Network]

Just now, Walt said:

Hello everyone,

I just found my old white MacBook. I think its from 2008. Since I have no laptop I want to use it just for word and web browsing. 

I was wondering, will it be worth to put another os like ubuntu, penguin or w10 on it?

Any help is appreciated! 

Thanks

 

Either leave it on OS X, or put your favorite Linux Distro on it. And it’s a f*** no for Windows 

[Enderman]

You will need to use bootcamp if you want windows to work correctly on it, so you should probably stick to linux or osx.

[Defunct Lizard]

what are the specs?

 

[mynameisjuan]

If its just browsing, ALWAYS linux

[Walt]

Thanks for your replies! @Enderman, @floppy disk mayhem , @mynameisjuan and @Chaos Network

Which Linux do you advise for a new Linux user? I’m thinking about mint, manjaro and debian. Any tips?

[TheGlenlivet]

1 minute ago, Walt said:

Thanks for your replies! @Enderman and @Chaos Network

 

Which Linux do you advise for a new Linux user? I’m thinking about mint, manjaro and debian. Any tips?

Mint is pretty easy to install and get around in.  The GUI is very easy to pick up and the community is helpful if you get stuck with anything.  I can't speak for the other 2.

[ProjectBox153]

What are the specs? I'd put either Windows 7 or Linux Mint + XFCE on it. 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

15 minutes ago, Walt said:

Hello everyone,

I just found my old white MacBook. I think its from 2008. Since I have no laptop I want to use it just for word and web browsing. 

I was wondering, will it be worth to put another os like ubuntu, penguin or w10 on it?

Any help is appreciated! 

Thanks

 

Just install OSX on it. The newest version of OSX it can run is 10.11 (El Capitan) which isn't that old and still widely used. It should be fine for school work and web browsing considering how optimized OSX is compared to Windows on native hardware.

[Chaos Network]

Just now, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Just install OSX on it. The newest version of OSX it can run is 10.11 (El Capitan) which isn't that old and still widely used. 

I used to have the same MacBook, and it couldn’t update to Yosemite 

[ProjectBox153]

Just now, Chaos Network said:

I used to have the same MacBook, and it couldn’t update to Yosemite 

 

1 minute ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Just install OSX on it. The newest version of OSX it can run is 10.11 (El Capitan) which isn't that old and still widely used. It should be fine for school work and web browsing considering how optimized OSX is compared to Windows on native hardware.

Careful there. @Chaos Network the reason you couldn't is because you had an older one than the model @BlueChinchillaEatingDorito is thinking of. Some white MacBooks can run Mac OS X El Capitan, while others can't. 

[FoxPro]

3 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Just install OSX on it. The newest version of OSX it can run is 10.11 (El Capitan) which isn't that old and still widely used. It should be fine for school work and web browsing considering how optimized OSX is compared to Windows on native hardware.

The Aluminum 2008 MacBook can run 10.11, not the white ones. The white MacBook's from 2008 can only go up to 10.7.5. They could probably get away with 10.7 for a bit longer, but Linux would probably be preferred for a long term solution. 

[Orangeator]

Go with Ubuntu... It looks the best.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

1 minute ago, FoxPro said:

The Aluminum 2008 MacBook can run 10.11, not the white ones. The white MacBook's from 2008 can only go up to 10.7.5. They could probably get away with 10.7 for a bit longer, but Linux would probably be preferred for a long term solution. 

Man this Mac stuff is complicated... 

[Chaos Network]

3 minutes ago, FoxPro said:

The Aluminum 2008 MacBook can run 10.11, not the white ones. The white MacBook's from 2008 can only go up to 10.7.5. They could probably get away with 10.7 for a bit longer, but Linux would probably be preferred for a long term solution. 

They said is is a white, not aluminum 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

1 minute ago, Chaos Network said:

They said is is a white, not aluminum 

He's showing where the confusion lies. 

[FoxPro]

1 minute ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Man this Mac stuff is complicated... 

It tends to be, but applications like Mactracker make checking specs for these systems really easy and convenient. You can get all possible buy to order configurations and specs for systems freshly released all the way back to the Apple I from 1976.

[FoxPro]

2 minutes ago, Chaos Network said:

They said is is a white, not aluminum 

That's why I said they could only go to 10.7, I was showing the difference between the two, as it was said a 2008 could go to 10.11.

[AlTech]

25 minutes ago, Walt said:

Hello everyone,

I just found my old white MacBook. I think its from 2008. Since I have no laptop I want to use it just for word and web browsing. 

I was wondering, will it be worth to put another os like ubuntu, penguin or w10 on it?

Any help is appreciated! 

Thanks

 

Ubuntu

[Gikero]

Go with a simple Linux distro. OS X 10.7 doesn't support Chrome or other modern browsers, so you'll have more security vulnerabilities.

[TopHatProductions115]

18 hours ago, Walt said:

Hello everyone,

I just found my old white MacBook. I think its from 2008. Since I have no laptop I want to use it just for word and web browsing. 

I was wondering, will it be worth to put another os like ubuntu, penguin or w10 on it?

Any help is appreciated! 

Thanks

 

That depends upon what you're used to using. If you're most used to Windows (XP-10), you should just buy a Windows 10 Pro license and use Boot-Camp to install Windows. From there, update your Windows OS until it reaches the highest version number your machine can install without blue-screening. If you're well-versed in the Linux kernel and the many distros attached to such, feel free to throw Ubuntu onto the drives instead. Be warned - Linux distros have a bit of a learning curve. If it's your first time, do the safe thing and try dual-booting. Lastly, if you really want to try out the newest Mac OS, there are two routes you can try. One involves upgrading your MacBook's logic board, so that your machine shows up as a supported piece of hardware. Then you can install High Sierra. This method is safe to try without dual-booting usually. I can personally attest to it  The other is a bit more complicated - Mac PostFactor. It modifies the Mac OS image being installed, so that it supports older hardware. In the case of many older MacBooks (using Intel integrated graphics - GMAxxx), this also gets rid of graphics acceleration (provided on newer graphics chipsets). This method should be performed with dual-boot, to preserve the older OS (in case you want to switch back). I can provide details on how to do all of these methods if need-be!

NOTE: I tend to use this website for tracking Mac Hardware and compatibility:
https://everymac.com/systems/

Edited November 14, 2017 by TopHatProductions115

[FoxPro]

41 minutes ago, TopHatProductions115 said:

That depends upon what you're used to using. If you're most used to Windows (XP-10), you should just buy a Windows 10 Pro license and use Boot-Camp to install Windows. From there, update your Windows OS until it reaches the highest version number your machine can install without blue-screening. If you're well-versed in the Linux kernel and the many distros attached to such, feel free to throw Ubuntu onto the drives instead. Be warned - Linux distros have a bit of a learning curve. If it's your first time, do the safe thing and try dual-booting. Lastly, if you really want to try out the newest Mac OS, there are two routes you can try. One involves upgrading your MacBook's logic board, so that your machine shows up as a supported piece of hardware. Then you can install High Sierra. This method is safe to try without dual-booting usually. I can personally attest to it  The other is a bit more complicated - Mac PostFactor. It modifies the Mac OS image being installed, so that it supports older hardware. In the case of many older MacBooks (using Intel integrated graphics - GMAxxx), this also gets rid of graphics acceleration (provided on newer graphics chipsets). This method should be performed with dual-boot, to preserve the older OS (in case you want to switch back). I can provide details on how to do all of these methods if need-be!

NOTE: I tend to use this website for tracking Mac Hardware and compatibility:
https://everymac.com/systems/

macOS without graphics acceleration is quite honestly the worst experience possible for a Mac. I've been down that road and it's not one for the faint of heart.

And yes, a logic board upgrade is possible, but we'd have to assume the OP want's to just keep it on what's in it; not like Apple makes it easy to switch them anyways. PostFactor has its own share of issues, Apple discontinues the OS on a system for a reason, and it's like What-We-Aren't-Allowed-To-Talk-About-On-The-Forums kind of compatibility as well.

 

[Gdog]

On 13/11/2017 at 6:54 PM, Walt said:

Thanks for your replies! @Enderman, @floppy disk mayhem , @mynameisjuan and @Chaos Network

Which Linux do you advise for a new Linux user? I’m thinking about mint, manjaro and debian. Any tips?

I would highly recommend Linux Mint for your first gnu/Linux distribution.

[Dat Guy]

On 13.11.2017 at 7:43 PM, Walt said:

will it be worth to put another os like ubuntu, penguin or w10 on it?

 

 

No. Use BSD.

[NelizMastr]

I'd say Windows 7, Linux Mint or OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 (through MacPostFactor). All work fine. Win10 is a nightmare on these older machines.