Got a MacBook Core Duo (A1181) working again and installed Snow Leopard, now trying to figure out if Airport/Wi-Fi can be saved…

If it is a "Core Duo CPU" and not a "Core 2 Duo" (the "2" there is very important), then it is a 2006 model and first generation of the Intel Macbooks. I can tell you from personal experience that the 2006 MacBook with the 32bit Core Duo (notice no "2") is a terrible model. The later 2007-2009 models with the Core 2 Duo CPUs were much better. However, I discovered after 3+ years of service that their Logic Boards did tend to develop issues (the laptops used in our organization were not well taken care of by their users so that definitely contributed to some of the failures, but not all since I did see a large increase in Logic Board failures after year 3, more in year 4, and more yet in year 5).

If it only Kernel Panics with WiFi, then I would suspect the Airport card may be bad. I seem to recall replacing them, but cannot recall if it was due to a "normal" failure or because of liquid damage. It was a long time ago, surprising I could forget so quickly after having repaired so many of them over at least seven or eight years.

Seeing a couple Kernel Panics logs may be useful to see if there is any pattern.

However, with these 2006-2009 MacBooks, the Logic Boards can develop cracked solder joints due to the flexing of the laptop & MLB....usually results in the memory slot nearest the center of the laptop to fail due to cracked solder joints.

For a laptop that old with an unknown history, check that the memory is original Apple OEM or a known good third party such as Crucial or OWC. With Crucial, the memory should be labeled as "Mac Compatible" or "For Mac".

If you do have a first gen model with just the 32bit CPU, then whatever you do.....do NOT ever install Linux on it or you will end up bricking that laptop. The firmware and/or NVRAM on that 2006 model has something wrong with it....I completely bricked two of them by running Linux on them. The first time everything seemed Ok until I tried updating the bootloader which likely modified the PRAM to set the default disk (it really should not have caused a problem, but it did). The second time I encountered intermittent video issues while booting Linux (flickering and/or black screen during boot sometimes...while trying to figure it out with a software update it became bricked (once again updated the bootloader & probably the PRAM). I had not noticed any issues while using macOS prior to using Linux on them. I've never had any such problem with any later model Macs which had 64 bit CPUs & 64 bit EFI firmware.

pixelatedbaited wrote:

Right, I guess Ethernet is the only option. Oh well, that sucks, any ideas as to why it might be crashing every time I try to wirelessly connect to a network?

I stand by what I wrote above, that those symptoms are truly bizarre.

The WiFi problem you are seeing has never been common here, I don't remember ever seeing crashing as an issue. It is likely a defect in your exact sample of this product.

once you get it hooked up to be able to share things,

Kernel Panic Reports are stored at:

/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports

If you copy and paste that string into:

Finder > Go menu > Go to Folder

it will take you to the Folder where those reports are stored.

They are named with Date&Time and start or end in ‘panic’

If you find one, please post the entire report here, by using the “additional text” Icon in the reply footer (looks like a paper with writing).

Please don’t post more about 20 lines of any other types of reports — they are interminable, and any information useful for this purpose is on the first screenful.

<< Whenever I try to connect, I get the classic Kernel Panic restart error message and I have to force restart the laptop every time. >>

No. That is bizarre. Not expected. That specific computer is Not working properly.

There is no compelling reason an older MacBook notebook computer can not attempt to connect to a more modern network without crashing. It MAY NOT be able to use the latest Wi-Fi encryption standards, but that should just give you a 'can not connect' message. It should not crash.

A1181 looks up to MacBook core duo black or white from 2006 thru 2009.

great old computers! My recollection is that they have removable modular battery, user-serviceable drive and RAM.

The oldest can run 10.4.6 thru 10.6.8

The newest can run 10.5.7 thru 10.11 El Capitan, still usable on the Internet!

their Wi-Fi supports 802.11g, a modern-enough standard still used on 2.4 GHz, a little slow on the 5 GHz band, but should be usable.

Their built-in Ethernet is Gigabit capable. Just move it close to your Router and connect a cable to try it out or run software update. A two-pairs Ethernet cable can run up to 100 G bits/sec. Faster speeds requires all four pairs of wires in the cable. Crosssover or straight cable is a don't care.