Install Mavericks on Aluminum MacBook 5,1

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Level 1

6 points

Install Mavericks on Aluminum MacBook 5,1

I am trying to install Mavericks on an Aluminum MacBook 5,1. It was built supposedly early 2009. It has 4 GB of RAM. It is now running Snow Leopard.

I have read the specs for Mavericks and Mountain Lion from different sites.

This laptop should be support either operating system according to what I read.

I keep getting an error message when I start to install, that Mavericks cannot be installed on this device. I do not want to buy Mountain Lion, if it will give the same message. The specs for Mountain Lion are the same as Mavericks.

So what am I missing in the specs or the install that is stopping the install?

Thanks in advance.

Don

Posted on Jan 30, 2014 7:37 AM

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Answer 1

K Shaffer

Level 7

34,966 points

Jan 30, 2014 12:48 PM in response to grandpa06

Is the Snow Leopard system updated to the last step of 10.6(.8) because if not, it won't upgrade past SL.

From what I can tell, looking into database information I have access to, the MacBook 5.1 is a Late 2008 aluminum model; however both the 5.2 model (Early 2009) and 5.1 both are said to support the latest OS X.

You can 'identify your Mac by serial number' online at one of several different sites, some appear better than others or offer more information. Then, there's the Mactracker.ca download of a good database.

How full is your MacBook's hard disk drive? If it is near the limits of capacity, that may affect an upgrade. Some users of Snow Leopard held off on an upgrade due to some of their applications being older and not supported past that system; others found issues in their upgrade that were not well suited for an older computer model.

It is suggested you backup your computer data to an off-computer archive if you want to revert to Snow Leopard, after an eventual upgrade to any later system. Not sure if you'd have to buy a later system in order to try Mavericks. Some users had different paths, depending on the hardware build. And others were happier with Mt Lion than Mavericks in older supported Macs.

Sorry to not be of much help.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

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