How can I restore an older MacBook?

evoorhies wrote:

Thank you! According to the serial number it's a MacBook late 2008.

MacBook (13-inch, Late 2008) with a white plastic case can run Mac OS X 10.7.5 Lion, but no higher.

For other Late 2008 Mac laptops, El Capitan is the end of the line. These include:

• MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)
• MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2008)

This information is from MacTracker. Apple's identification articles for the plain MacBooks, and for the MacBook Airs, only go back as far as 2009.

Identify your MacBook model - Apple Support

Identify your MacBook Air model - Apple Support

Identify your MacBook Pro model - Apple Support

If the bottom of the MacBook has a removable battery either via coin width screw or slide tab, there is no recovery partition possible. And you will need to identify the age of the machine to find the recovery DVD that is compatible with it.

This is also true of MacBooks older than July 22, 2011. To find the age of a MacBook, look for its serial number and make sure you know its true moniker. Apple has three MacBook series, Pro, Air, and no extra moniker, just called MacBook. Usually this is specific to the screen frame label. The serial number is either in the battery bay or on the bottom fo the computer. Do not post the serial number here.

http://checkcoverage.apple.com/ will tell you the age of the MacBook. Once you know that, then we can figure out what kind of recovery it has.

command-option-shift-R offers what's called internet recovery, which can either be had via Thunderbolt-Ethernet adapters or straight ethernet to your modem. USB-3.0 and earlier to Ethernet do not work.

This will allow you to install the original OS that came with the Mac. Disk Utility should format it HFS Extended GUID.

Then you'll be able to install the OS.

If internet recovery doesn't work and the DVD don't work, you may need to replace the drive inside the computer. Bring it in to an authorized service provider to verify.

If the Mac comes up with remote management service startup screen, the school has to deregister it.

Same if you get a startup with a padlock, the school has to unlock it.

Apple would have originally shipped any of these Late 2008 machines with some version of Mac OS X Leopard – 10.5.4 for the one with the white plastic case, 10.5.5 for the others. Apple never offered Leopard (10.5.*) or Snow Leopard (10.6.*) as electronic downloads – only preinstalled and/or on disk. (Aside: Snow Leopard was the first version of Mac OS X that only ran on Intel-based Macs, and the last that offered Rosetta 1 to run PowerPC applications.)

Apple offered Lion as an electronic download and also on USB flash drives. I do not know how well those drives will have stood up to the test of time (even if you can find an original second-hand one).

You can download Lion (10.7) through El Capitain (10.11), but the catch is going to be how to install them if you don't have a working Mac that can run the OS you are trying to install. You may need a spare external drive, and help from someone who has an ancient Mac.

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Yep, and that model you can use the 10.6.3 retail, run the 10.6.8 combo update, and use the App Store in 10.6.8 to upgrade to 10.7.5.

All that is covered in

Lion (10.7) upgrade questions - Apple Community