Newbie with a difficult situation.

So i have just purchased a 2008 black Macbook MB404LL/A from ebay. The description says the hard drive may let go and the disk drive doesnt work. I'm ok with this because im handy with fixing things. I have come upon a problem though. I bought this macbook so that I can use the latest version of Xcode, which requires lion. And to get lion i need Snow leopard. And to get snow leopard i need a DVD drive. Im thinking about getting this:

Apple Macbook A1181 13.3 UJ-857-C DVD+RW DL (Double Layer) Super Drive Connector | eBay

(if it is compatible) I was also considering and external optical drive. My problem is that if the hard drive lets go before i have the money to replace it, will the OS boot snow leopard from an external optical drive if I install a new HDD? I like the external idea because I dont even use the dvd drive that often and I would be able to use the space from the old internal disk drive for a SSD if i wanted it. What do you guys think i should do? I am also kind of pressed for time to get Lion/Xcode on this computer.

Also what would you recommend for a HDD replacement? I would like a 500GB but my current only has 220 and I havent maxed it out yet. But i may decide to run windows through boot camp on this new macbook. Ok phew go at it

G'day and welcome to the forums.

Go for the internal. You may want to install Windows and an internal optical drive is needed for that. Having said that be aware MacBooks, like Minis and iMacs, use slot loading optical drives which have a very high failure rate.

Thanks for the reply, internal it is. So where would you recommend getting an optical drive on a budget? And where can I find what type i need exactly?

Here is one from Mac specialist OWC for $100.00. Check your model MB against this link:-


SuperDrive DVD/CD Upgrades for Apple MacBook 13" White or Black models - Read/Write Faster + More Burn options!