Can't upgrade past 10.6.8 - how do I get the best out of my mac?

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Can't upgrade past 10.6.8 - how do I get the best out of my mac?

Hi everyone,

This is my first ever time posting in this community since purchasing my Mac in 2008, it's been that good!

My problem is that I currently live in Peru (from Australia). Macs are ridiculously over-priced here in this country and because I live on savings, upgrading at this time is not going to happen. I'm building a website for my business and because Safari 5 is so out of date, it's not showing the site properly when I make changes (using wordpress). In addition, my computer is very slow and I have regular meetings with the spinning ball of death.

I've tried to clear out as much junk from the computer as I can to speed it up and I am now looking at installing Firefox because of the Safari issues, which is going to just add more bloat to an already sluggish system.

I ran an EtreCheck on my system and I'm hoping one of the good people in the Mac community may be able to tell me if there are any glaring issues/viruses etc that stand out which could be causing me any problems? I've done as much as I can within my limited knowledge of soft and hardware 🙂 Heregoes...Thank you in advance!

Problem description:

Slow Mac 10.6.8

EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)

Report generated 18 March 2015 5:24:44 PM GMT-05:00

Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

Hardware Information: ℹ️

MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008) (Verified)

MacBook - model: MacBook4,1

1 2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core

1 GB RAM

BANK 0/DIMM0

512 MB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

512 MB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Battery Health: Normal - Cycle count 408

Video Information: ℹ️

GMA X3100 - VRAM: 144 MB

Color LCD 1280 x 800

spdisplays_display_connector

System Software: ℹ️

Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) - Time since boot: 0:27:40

Disk Information: ℹ️

FUJITSU MHY2120BH disk0 : (111.79 GB)

- (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

[redacted] HD (disk0s2) / : 119.69 GB (28.04 GB free)

USB Information: ℹ️

Micron Built-in iSight

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Computer Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.Huawei.driver.HuaweiDataCardDriver (2.9.7) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.olympus.CamBlockCommandsDeviceUP (1.0.0) [Click for support]

Problem System Launch Daemons: ℹ️

[not loaded] org.samba.winbindd.plist [Click for support]

Launch Agents: ℹ️

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

Launch Daemons: ℹ️

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.torch.update.agent.plist [Click for support] [Click for details]

[loaded] com.tunnelbear.mac.tbeard.plist [Click for support]

[not loaded] org.eyebeam.SelfControl.plist [Click for support]

User Launch Agents: ℹ️

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Click for support]

[not loaded] jp.co.canon.Inkjet_Extended_Survey_Agent.plist [Click for support]

User Login Items: ℹ️

AdobeResourceSynchronizer Application (/Applications/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/Support/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 [Click for support]

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.2.3.7 [Click for support]

AdobeAAMDetect: Version: AdobeAAMDetect 1.0.0.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.6.6

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

EPPEX Plugin: Version: 3.0.5.0 [Click for support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 13.9.8 - SDK 10.6 Check version

Audio Plug-ins: ℹ️

iSightAudio: Version: 7.6.6

3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

Flash Player [Click for support]

Flip4Mac WMV [Click for support]

Perian [Click for support]

Time Machine: ℹ️

Time Machine information requires OS X 10.7 "Lion" or later.

Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

2% WebProcess

2% WindowServer

1% Safari

1% ps

0% SystemUIServer

Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

152 MB WebProcess

61 MB Safari

44 MB WindowServer

37 MB PluginProcess

35 MB Finder

Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

36 MB Free RAM

511 MB Active RAM

257 MB Inactive RAM

268 MB Wired RAM

429 MB Page-ins

58 MB Page-outs

Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

Mar 18, 2015, 04:54:12 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/TorchUpdater_2015-03-18-165412_[redacted].crash

Mar 18, 2015, 04:54:12 PM /Library/Logs/CrashReporter/TorchUpdater_2015-03-18-165412_[redacted].crash

Mar 18, 2015, 04:53:42 PM Self test - passed

Mar 18, 2015, 03:42:12 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/TorchUpdater_2015-03-18-154212_[redacted].crash

Mar 18, 2015, 03:42:12 PM /Library/Logs/CrashReporter/TorchUpdater_2015-03-18-154212_[redacted].crash

Mar 18, 2015, 03:12:20 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/TorchUpdater_2015-03-18-151220_[redacted].crash

Mar 18, 2015, 03:12:20 PM /Library/Logs/CrashReporter/TorchUpdater_2015-03-18-151220_[redacted].crash

Mar 18, 2015, 02:41:43 PM /Library/Logs/CrashReporter/TorchUpdater_2015-03-18-144143_[redacted].crash

Mar 18, 2015, 02:41:43 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/TorchUpdater_2015-03-18-144143_[redacted].crash

Mar 18, 2015, 02:11:58 PM /Library/Logs/CrashReporter/TorchUpdater_2015-03-18-141158_[redacted].crash

Mar 18, 2015, 02:11:58 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/TorchUpdater_2015-03-18-141158_[redacted].crash

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Mar 18, 2015 3:28 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Mar 18, 2015 3:41 PM in response to saremcdee

Upgrading to Mountain Lion

To upgrade to Mountain Lion you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Purchase a redemption code at the Online Apple Store: OS X Mountain Lion. Mountain Lion is $19.99 plus tax. Use the code to redeem a download of Mountain Lion from the App Store. The file is quite large, over 4 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.

OS X Mountain Lion - System Requirements

Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion

1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later.

2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model

Identifier 5,1 or later.

3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later.

4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later.

5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later.

6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later.

7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later.

To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.

Are my applications compatible?

See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

Upgrading to Yosemite

You can upgrade to Yosemite from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Yosemite can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.

Upgrading to Yosemite

To upgrade to Yosemite you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download Yosemite from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Yosemite is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.

OS X Mavericks/Yosemite- System Requirements

Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Yosemite

1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later

2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later

3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later

5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.

Are my applications compatible?

See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

Upgrading to Lion

If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mavericks, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.

You can purchase Lion at the Online Apple Store. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.

Lion System Requirements

1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,

or Xeon processor

2. 2GB of memory

3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)

4. 7GB of available space

5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.

Reply

Answer 2

notcloudy

Level 4

1,252 points

Mar 18, 2015 3:48 PM in response to saremcdee

You should have more RAM --

In Safari If you use top sites - remove those you don't want, if you don't use them remove them all - the pages are refreshed when safari is opened and can bog you down.

Or switch to another web browser such as firefox or opera.

Reply

Answer 3

saremcdee Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 18, 2015 4:36 PM in response to Kappy

Hey Kappy,

Thanks so much for the info, I did investigate this path however I don't have enough RAM to upgrade to Lion 😟 Mac isn't all that popular in Peru because of the cost I guess! I'm going to see if I can find someone who works on Macs here and see if they can upgrade it for me, this will need to be done manually I think (as in hardware)

Reply

Answer 4

saremcdee Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 18, 2015 4:38 PM in response to notcloudy

Thanks for you reply Notcloudy 🙂 I will be looking into getting more RAM... i think it's the only way! I will be following your other two pieces of advice 🙂 many thanks

Reply

Answer 5

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Mar 18, 2015 6:15 PM in response to saremcdee

Your computer has two memory slots somewhere. Below is what you can install:

Maximum Memory	6.0 GB (Actual) 4.0 GB (Apple)
Memory Slots	2 - 200-pin PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 SO-DIMM

I suggest putting as much RAM in as you can which is with one 4 GB module and one 2 GB module. If you plan to spend the $19.99 on Lion then I suggest you go for Mountain Lion instead. It's a far better OS X than Lion. On the other hand Yosemite is the current version and it is free.

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