Upgrading/repairing a 2006 MacBook

Hello good people.

I have a very, very "well used" (read as: essentially only good as being a doorstop) old MacBook - think it's the 2006 model black core duo. Can't check the actual model number at the mo since I'm not at home.

I've previously upgraded the RAM to 2gb, and I've had to change the hard drive a couple times due to failure.

Now, the fan is broken - it overheats excessively - has been doing for a couple of years now (recently it has occurred to me that the overheating is probably what has caused two lots of hard drive failure...), and now it's got to the point where I can't have it on for longer than say 30 minutes - even for non-intensive tasks like web browsing - before it just turns itself off.

I've looked into buying a replacement fan, and that seems like something that is feasibile to do. What I want to know is, what other upgrades can I potentially make to my practically prehistoric (but very much loved!) Macbook? I can't afford a new Macbook, and I'm not sure if I can cope with reverting to a Windows laptop so just weighing up my options if my Macbook can be brought a little more up to date.

Thanks ladies and gents!

kimblejay said:

Now, the fan is broken - it overheats excessively - has been doing for a couple of years now...

I've looked into buying a replacement fan, and that seems like something that is feasibile to do.

Click to expand...

Why not replace the fan first...see what happens...then proceed from there.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Why not replace the fan first...see what happens...then proceed from there.

- Nick

Click to expand...

Well, yes, this will probably be my course of action anyway - at the moment I'm just looking for advice on how far I can realistically rebuild my mac to make it more up to date.

kimblejay said:

Well, yes, this will probably be my course of action anyway - at the moment I'm just looking for advice on how far I can realistically rebuild my mac to make it more up to date.

Click to expand...

There's not much you can do.

- With 2gig of ram...the ram is maxed.
- You didn't say what OS you're running...but OS 10.6.8 is the newest it can run.
- You could upgrade to an SSD drive...but that would be an expensive upgrade for this computer (compared to it's value)

Basically all you can do is replace the fan...and upgrade the OS if you're not already running 10.6.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

There's not much you can do.

- With 2gig of ram...the ram is maxed.
- You didn't say what OS you're running...but OS 10.6.8 is the newest it can run.
- You could upgrade to an SSD drive...but that would be an expensive upgrade for this computer (compared to it's value)

Basically all you can do is replace the fan...and upgrade the OS if you're not already running 10.6.

- Nick

Click to expand...

Thanks Nick. I thought as much, really. I think I have OSX 10.5 but I have 10.6 on a disc somewhere that I can install (wouldn't want to upgrade to Lion anyway... upgraded my iMac a few months ago and just don't like it!)

I have read on various other sites that even though Apple say the maximum upgrade for RAM is 2gb, you can install 4gb - but the system can only utilise 3gb. Has anyone done this/would it be worth it? (and in this case, could I have a 2gb in one socket and 1gb in the other?)

I've ordered a new fan, so once that's installed and I've opened it up and given it a good clean (kind of worried to see how much dust has built up in the last six years) we'll see how much better it runs...

kimblejay said:

I have read on various other sites that even though Apple say the maximum upgrade for RAM is 2gb, you can install 4gb - but the system can only utilise 3gb. Has anyone done this/would it be worth it? (and in this case, could I have a 2gb in one socket and 1gb in the other?)

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You said this was a "Core Duo" black MacBook...if so...2 gig of ram is the max. If it was a Core 2 Duo model...then what you said is true.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

You said this was a "Core Duo" black MacBook...if so...2 gig of ram is the max. If it was a Core 2 Duo model...then what you said is true.

- Nick

Click to expand...

Ah, my bad. I obviously didn't read it that carefully! Thanks for clarifying.