Codeman234 wrote:
Does my MacBoo Pro use a SATA I,II,or III connection?
SATA I 1.5 Gb/s I don't recommend a SSD with your machine, it just doesn't have the faster SATA II or III.
Is the laptop a unibody?
No
The free MacTracker can give you more details.
http://mactracker.ca/
Does the SSD need a special "tray" to fit in the laptop?
No. That's for those who can replace the Superdrive with a SSD, it needs a sled to fit.
I read good things about Samsung 830 and 840 250GB SSD... will it work?
I recomend a 7,200 RPM boot hard drive with your slower SATA I, it gives more space, a lower cost and it's more in line with your hardware and easier to install than messing with a SSD and TRIM etc., with OS X 10.6 which you will have to install.
A hard drive with OS X 10.6 you just install it, no tweaking necessary. You can't upgrade to OS X 10.7 or 10.8 on that machine.
Can i do the upgrade myself with out being a certified computer repairman?
Yes, but you have to consider this, the machine is over 7 years old and considered "Vintage" and certainly outlived it's normal 3-5 years of a typical laptop.
So you got it for free or cheap, but it's a very old machine.
In my opinion it's best to leave it just as is and milk it until it dies.
However it's possible to max the RAM to 2GB
2 - 200-pin PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 SO-DIMM
Install a new 7,200 RPM hard drive
Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's
And erase and install 10.6
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6
Software Update to 10.6.8 and live with it until it dies, as you can do nothing else.
It's a waste to spend any large amount of money on that machine, especially a SSD when the machine can't handle it (also complicated to install on older machines with 10.6) nor can use a later OS X version
OS x 10.6 is still receiving security updates, but Apple is not changing the version number, we are stuck at 10.6.8
If you don't have 10.6, (Apple Menu > About this Mac) you can buy the 10.6 white retail disk online at Apple Store.
OS X 10.4/10.5 need to upgrade, 10.6.8 ok still
There is some free software that still works with 10.6
LibreOffice, GIMP, Firefox and a free version of CS2
https://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html
Also 3D games, Cube 2 Sauerbraten and Nexius Classic
If you want to spend money on a Mac, get a new one. Then buy all the software you want because it will last 3-5 years depending upon use.
Good Luck 🙂
