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Macbook late 2008

I got an old macbook from late 2008. Unfortunately i can’t update the macbook because i got this from the elementary school. They collected during corona homeschool laptops for children who hasn’t got a device to make their schoolwork. I can’t log in with my apple ID or change it to factory settings without the original apple id. So my question is: is it still usefull and can it be updated for a high school teenage son or do i throw the macbook into the garbage bin? He needs minumum windows 10 and microsoftoffice, webcam and microphone for school.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards, Rita

MacBook

Posted on Jul 9, 2020 10:33 AM

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2 replies

Jul 9, 2020 10:54 AM in response to river64

You'll need the original Software Discs to restore the Mac. If you don;t need Apple's Operating system for anything and only want windows then you don't need the discs.


You may be able to install Windows 7 or 8 officially through Bootcamp. 10 will require more steps but should be possible. But it is a very involved process, and you will need a paid license of Microsoft Windows to install. Windows is not free. Also install discs or a downloaded image for Windows. Macs don't come with Windows.


See here: http://www.davidlenton.co.uk/2016/02/05/installing-windows-10-on-a-late-2008-macbook-pro-running-el-capitan/


The Apple Id should not be required for anything outside the App Store, and on a 2008 Mac should not be blocking anything and you should be able to log off of of the Apple Id currently signed in.


Why can't you log in with your Apple ID, what is stopping you exactly?


With Windows 10 installed It might still be useful and be able to run most current apps, but not really very fast.


You can try the steps here to restore the Mac using the recovery partition: About macOS Recovery - Apple Support







Jul 9, 2020 4:12 PM in response to river64

That doesn't look like a 2008 laptop. It looks like a 2009-2012 model. If you have a 2008 MacBook Pro, then it is too old for use with the standalone version of MS Office, although you could use the Office 365 version which is online and uses a web browser. Personally I cannot stand the online version.


To reinstall macOS you will need to boot from a macOS installer and perform a clean install of macOS by first erasing the physical drive. If the laptop is a 2010+ model and it had macOS 10.12.6+ installed at some point, then you can try booting into Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R which in theory should give boot the laptop to the online macOS installer for the latest version compatible with the laptop.


Internet Recovery Mode:

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT204904


How to Erase the Physical Drive:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208496


How to create a bootable macOS USB installer:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372


Macbook late 2008

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