Is it physically unsafe to turn on an old MacBook?

MatMetInc wrote:

I have a 13” 2010 MacBook, and I want to see if it works and transfer photos to my 13” 2017 MacBook Air. Are there any physical risks to this?

Nobody here has seen your machine, or can give you any guarantees.

If you see signs that the battery is bulging on that old notebook, do not plug it in, or turn it on. I don't know if that particular model uses lithium-based batteries, but just about everyone does. Lithium-based batteries are good at holding large amounts of power, but they are nothing to fool around in the rare cases where they do go bad.

Assuming you've taken good care of the notebook (no dunking it in water, etc.), and it appears to be in good shape, I wouldn't think the physical risk would be very high.

Also, does anyone have any suggestions on how to transfer files and photos?

That MacBook uses a 2.5" SATA notebook drive, has two USB 2.0 ports, and can be upgraded as far as High Sierra. This suggests several methods of data transfer:

• Get a USB drive that's big enough to hold all of your data from the old MacBook. (Shouldn't be hard – those old MacBooks came with 250 GB, 320 GB, or 500 GB drives.). Attach it to the old MacBook, copy data onto it, eject it, then plug it into the newer machine, and pick off the data.
• Enable iCloud Photos on both machines (requires El Capitan or later, and logging into the same Apple ID). If you are not already using iCloud Photos on the old machine, it might be easier to simply transfer files on a USB drive and then let Photos on the newer Mac run an import against that drive's copy of the old Mac's Photos Library.
• Remove the internal drive from the old machine and place it in a tool-free USB / SATA case. (These cases go for about $10 on Amazon.). Then use the new external drive with the newer machine.