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My MacBook (mc721ll/a, 2011) got slower, so slow, boot ups took 15 minutes. Now it will not even boot.
Question: I have the original Lion OS CD. Can boot from the CD or from Time Machine (external drive)?
I'm guessing "no," as I suppose the OS doesn't even get to that point.
Also, my MacBook will not eject the CD. Is there another way to do this if the eject key does not make it eject?
Look like my old MacBook will be heading to the (recycled) junkyard.
Mac Pro
AFAIK Apple never released OSX 10.7 Lion on DVD even as a system specific version from the factory.
I don't use TM so I'm not sure if the TM backup is bootable.
If your laptop ever had macOS 10.12.6+ installed, then you can access Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to access the online macOS installer. Even if you never had macOS 10.12.6+ installed this key combination may still access the online macOS installer for the oldest OS still available from Apple (Apple's documentation is a bit unclear on this).
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT204904
Most likely the hard drive on your laptop has failed. Some hard drive failures can prevent the laptop from booting from any external media. You can easily replace the hard drive with an SSD which will greatly improve system performance, but you do need to be careful which make & model SSD to use since some SSDs may not be compatible with an older Mac. I have used the Crucial MX500 SSD and the OWC Electra 3G SSD (the latter has a better chance of being compatible since it is a SATA II SSD, but I personally dislike the OWC SSD). Stay away from the Crucial BX500 SSD since it is a low end budget economy model that can be as slow as a hard drive.
AFAIK Apple never released OSX 10.7 Lion on DVD even as a system specific version from the factory.
I don't use TM so I'm not sure if the TM backup is bootable.
If your laptop ever had macOS 10.12.6+ installed, then you can access Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R to access the online macOS installer. Even if you never had macOS 10.12.6+ installed this key combination may still access the online macOS installer for the oldest OS still available from Apple (Apple's documentation is a bit unclear on this).
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT204904
Most likely the hard drive on your laptop has failed. Some hard drive failures can prevent the laptop from booting from any external media. You can easily replace the hard drive with an SSD which will greatly improve system performance, but you do need to be careful which make & model SSD to use since some SSDs may not be compatible with an older Mac. I have used the Crucial MX500 SSD and the OWC Electra 3G SSD (the latter has a better chance of being compatible since it is a SATA II SSD, but I personally dislike the OWC SSD). Stay away from the Crucial BX500 SSD since it is a low end budget economy model that can be as slow as a hard drive.
Thank you so much! I never knew about the Cmd +Option+R trick. I was able to reboot to the OS install, from there I went to the disk utility, reformatted my HD, then rebooted from my OS DVD, and have reinstalled Lion. I now have a working Mac again!
To eject a disc, boot with the trackpad button pressed. To boot from an inserted macOS disc, boot with the ‘c’ key held down.
Reviving an old MacBook Pro.
