How to erase Macbook from 2008 running 10.5.8 when the CD/DVD drive is broken?

Question

How to erase Macbook from 2008 running 10.5.8 when the CD/DVD drive is broken?

The computer works fine (albeit slow) so it's worth selling or donating. But I am stymied trying to erase it and reinstall system software because there is no Recovery mode in 10.5 (nor does there seem to be internet recovery mode) and any system software update disk I put in grinds then ejects. I also can't find a disk image or installer to download from Apple's servers or anywhere else on the internet. What are our options here?

MacBook

Posted on Jan 31, 2022 2:16 PM

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Answer 1

rs09

Level 2

335 points

Feb 6, 2022 7:01 AM in response to semidivine___

Plug the hard drive into another Mac, then go into disk utility on the other Mac and select the hard drive you want to erase. Click erase from the options and change the name to something generic for the new owner. Then you can connect an external CD drive or use a USB to install Mac OS X. A 2008 MacBook can run up to OS X El Capitan (10.11.6) natively. You can easily download the installer for El Capitan from Apple if you google search how to get old OS X.

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Answer 2

rs09

Level 2

335 points

Feb 9, 2022 11:54 PM in response to semidivine___

If you can, open the MacBook and remove the hard drive then connect it with a SATA - USB cable. Otherwise, boot the MacBook holding the T key until you see a floating FireWire logo on the screen, then connect a FireWire cable to another computer and wipe the disk through Disk Utility on the other computer

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Answer 3

Phil0124

Level 10

216,698 points

Jan 31, 2022 2:28 PM in response to semidivine___

You could get an external optical drive and try that way. Or a bootable USB drive: How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Internet Recovery was only added in 2011 with macOS 10.7 Lion and only some 2010 and later Macs could be updated to support it.

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Answer 4

Jan 31, 2022 3:45 PM in response to Phil0124

I have an external DVD drive (I didn't think of that!) but when I plugged it in the old Macbook didn't recognize it.

The bootable installer instructions only mention El Capitan through Monterrey, but I imagine I could make it work with Leopard.

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Answer 5

Feb 9, 2022 11:11 AM in response to rs09

Thank you this is another helpful option, probably easier. What's the best cable to connect the two computers? I have a Macbook Pro with Thunderbolt 3 ports and the 2008 Macbook seems to have FireWire 400 and USB A.

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Answer 6

rs09

Level 2

335 points

Feb 9, 2022 11:55 PM in response to rs09

Wait you’ll need a FireWire 400 to thunderbolt 3 adapter

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Answer 7

Feb 16, 2022 12:29 PM in response to rs09

Yes that's what I thought. I don't want to have to get such a specialized cable, I am going to try the USB stick way first.

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How to erase Macbook from 2008 running 10.5.8 when the CD/DVD drive is broken?

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