upgrade OSX for MacBook5,2

I just upgraded a Macbook 5.2 with 4GB RAM from Snow Leopard (10.6.8) to Mountain Lion (10.8.5) and it works perfectly. The performance is as good as it was with Snow Leopard.

Now I can install the correct version of Flash Player and Java. Even Safari works much better now.

Now I will go for Mavericks and see if it works. :-)

Welcome to Apple Support Communities.

Summoning my very best 'Carnac the Magnificient' powers of deduction...

(Enter 'Johnny Carson, Carnac' into your favorite search engine for details and hilarious images and videos)

I'm sensing that you want to know which version(s) of OS X you can upgrade to, and how much it costs to do it.

The good news: Your MacBook 5,2 is either an early-2009 or mid-2009 model:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1635

IT IS compatible with the very latest version of OS X, 10.8 'Mountain Lion':

http://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrade/

The cost of the download is $20, available from the Mac App Store.

The bad news: You'll first need to call Apple (1-800-MY-APPLE in the US) and order a $30 OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard' upgrade disc and install it when it arrives, updating your system to OS X 10.6.6 or later, in order to get the Mac App Store so you CAN download 'Mountain Lion'. You'll only be using the Snow Leopard upgrade long enough to install Mountain Lion, but it is still a requirement today, because the only way to purchase 'Mountain Lion' upgrade is a download, and the only way to purchase a 'Snow Leopard' upgrade is on disc.

If you have just 2GB RAM installed, I'd also suggest upgrading to at least 4GB RAM for best performance when installing OS X 10.7 Lion or OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. You might also consider a larger hard disk if you are have less than 15GB to 20GB free space remaining on yours.

I responded to this similar message thread earlier today with a bit more detail about a few other OS X upgrade options, all that cost MORE than the 'Snow Leopard' + 'Mountain Lion' combined purchase:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4165083?answerId=19122683022#19122683022

HELLO <<<<<<<CARNAC THE GREAT >>>>>.....

First...I want to thank you for your efforts ..... I really have very little knowledge of OS ...I'm more a classic end user that used to relied on "tech support" people to fix things.

When I left the corporate world ... I switched to Apple and now also have ( and couldn't live without) an IPad, an IPhone , & a big silver IPod. But I'm more into the front end ...the OS world is beyond my attention span ....it seems..

When I have a problem, I have run down to see a "genius" ..... but with my finding this discussion group ( yesterday (@#&*%*^) ...its much better because it seems one can get not only help ..... but also "work around's" that geniuses don't tell you about. But there are people like you willing to share their knowledge. BRAVO!

But Maybe your cards got out of order because I have .....a late 2007 ....... It may have been That Hat.

Model Name: MacBook

Model Identifier: MacBook3,1

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo

Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 2 GB

Bus Speed: 800 MHz

Boot ROM Version: MB31.008E.B02

SMC Version (system): 1.24f3

Serial Number (system): W874305R01X

Hardware UUID: C7F39B2D-878F-5929-A0CE-26A274E0A587

Sudden Motion Sensor:

State: Enabled

And ....... I am already running on OS X 10.7.4

But when I go to the app store and try and buy Mountain Lion .... It says my computer is not compatible.

From what been said it seems the only problem lies with the " Late 2007" thing. Is the 4MB I have the right MG ?

Got any ideas ....of what I might do.

Its just not a good time for be to buy a new Mac...

So your help is greatly appreciated.

And I know that I may be left in the dust and eventually become unsupported...its just the way it is ....

Thanks for your comments...and help....

Travel Safe....

PS ` What do you think Apple was thinking >>>> Apple knows EXACTLY what I have but they still sent me an email telling me to by Mountain Lion. Do you think they just don't take time the to sort their database .... or is it really a way to make you feel "out of Date" .....until all his started I did not even know my MacBook was a " late 2007"...or ?

Your MacBook is now done upgrading. Any pre-unibody macbooks can't upgrade to Mountain Lion. So your kinda screwed. But don't worry there is not that much is new so don't worry but if you really need it you have to get a new or used unibody mac.

Good luck

Thanks for the response.

I guessed wrongly that the MacBook model number mentioned in the Description line of your post - MacBook 5,2 - was the model you owned.

From the info you posted, the amount of System RAM you have installed REALLY IS 2GB

The 4MB you pointed out refers to Level 2 Cache memory, a small amount of high speed RAM that speeds up data access with prefetching data and/or storing recently used data that might be accessed again:

http://www.cpu-world.com/Glossary/L/Level_2_cache.html

I do think you would get a modest system performance boost from upgrading system RAM to 4GB or 6GB with OS X 10.7 Lion. RAM upgrade info here from OtherWorldComputing www.macsales.com: http://eshop.macsales.com/Descriptions/specs/Framework.cfm?page=macbooklate07.ht ml) Crucial.com is another reliable RAM vendor.

Finally, the response from Derekk1998 above is correct, there is simply no way to upgrade your Late 2007 MacBook 3,1 so it can run OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

So if you need a good excuse to purchase a new or refurbished shinier faster sleeker MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, now you have one!

Model Name: MacB

I have a MacBook 5,2. I have 4GB Ram and about 90GB extra space. I recently updated to Snow Leopard. There are lots of error messages and such and my system crashes sometimes. The Geeks at the Apple store told me not to update any further. However, from reading the discussions it sounds like I could. I would like your expert opinion on how far I should update. Lion? Mountain Lion? Or OS X Maverick?

Below is from my computer About.

Model Name: MacBook

Model Identifier: MacBook5,2

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo

Processor Speed: 2 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 3 MB

Memory: 4 GB

Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz

Boot ROM Version: MB52.0088.B05

SMC Version (system): 1.38f5

Serial Number (system): W89135H84R1

Hardware UUID: 7C884712-4C1A-56B3-B918-115C5AB3A5B0

Sudden Motion Sensor:

State: Enabled

Thank you

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. We're mostly users here, not 'Apple Inc.'

My last reply in this thread was in August 2012!

You're usually better off posting a brand new message with your question than replying to an old one, because you'll get a faster response and the most knowledgable users (the ladies and gentlemen here with Level 7 and above) in the community will see it with '0' replies and respond, usually the same day.

In my opinion, stay with Snow Leopard, OS X 10.6.8, until you can afford to either:

A) upgrade your current computer with more RAM (8GB) and perhaps a faster, larger capacity hard drive or SSD (Solid-State-Drive with all flash memory, no moving parts);

-or-

B) purchase a more powerful Mac in the future.

Posting the specific errors here or using a popular search engine can be helpful, IF you understand what the answers you find mean, and understand how to apply the 'fixes'.

Here's a useful guide that might help diagnose errors, increase performance with Snow Leopard, and eliminate some of your crashing: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4941

Error messages and crashes can be an early symptom of some parts reaching the end of their useful life, the hard drive, in particular, or something as simple as dust clogging the air ventilation within the computer, causing things to get warmer than they used to when new.

4 years is a long time in 'computer years'.

If you want to buy a new 7200rpm hard drive and 8GB of RAM, it would cost a few hundred dollars and extend the useful life of your current computer another year or two. THEN you might upgrade the OS to 10.8, but be prepared for SLOWER overall performance than you have now with 10.6 and your current hardware.

Adding RAM AND a relatively expensive SSD and then upgrade to OS X 10.8 or 10.9, but again, you might end up with the same or even worse performance!

So you may be more comfortable applying that amount of money toward a new(er) Mac.

To summarize, in my opinion, 4GB is NOT enough RAM memory for Mountain Lion OS X 10.8 on your current computer. I would NOT upgrade your current computer to Mavericks. It is still relatively early in development and would NOT offer more reliability, fewer crashes, or better performance than what you have now.

I encourage you to browse in the Mountain Lion user community and the Mavericks community here to see what kind of issues people are having.

Message was edited by: kostby

Thank you, your response was very helpful. I will stay with Snow Leopard and save for a new Mac. I am not computer savey enough to do all the fancy stuff to upgrade. I also really appreciate your honesty. Thanks, Cindiae

Glad that my rambling was helpful. 🙂

Keep in mind that most people post messages here ONLY when they have problems. Still, there are many messages from people who upgrade compatible 2008-2009 MacBooks and MacBook Pros to OS X 10.8 or 10.9, and then are asking how to 'downgrade' back to 10.6 Snow Leopard because their systems are slower.

You can also purchase reliable 'refurbished' Macs (as well as iPads and iPods) direct from Apple, often for 10% to 15% less than the price of a new system. http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

These carry the exact same full one-year warranty just like a new Mac, are eligible for extended 3-year AppleCare, and they cannot be distinguished from a brand new unit, except that they come in a plain brown box instead of the 'pretty' box that retail stores have. New models become available as refurbs about 3-4 months after the model is introduced to the public. Both of my Macs were Apple refurbs.