So I have a pretty old MacBook, a 2 GHz Intel Core Duo with 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. About a year ago, I managed to upgrade the HD myself to a 500GB, but I may have met my match here.
I'm running OS 10.5.8. A few weeks ago, Firefox started giving me a hard time, saying I needed to upgrade my browser -- but to do that I'd need to update my OS.
After doing some research, I learned that I could only upgrade to Snow Leopard. I went to the Apple Store and bought the Snow Leopard DVD.
The problem is, when I inserted the DVD, my optical drive spat it out. I did some more research. I repaired permissions multiple times. I zapped my PRAM. I did the "stick a cleaning cloth wrapped around a credit card" trick. Nothing worked. I even stuck in an old CD to test if it was the drive or the DVD. No dice.
So I am left with one option, it seems, and that is to buy an external optical drive. I suppose it could be worse. These things are pretty cheap nowadays. Will this do?
Amazon.com: AmazonBasics USB 2.0 8x DVD Writer External Optical Drive (Black): Computers & Accessories
My only qualm is, I hate buying new things, and if I can avoid it, I certainly will.
I have a PC whose optical drive works.
I also have a brand new 2TB external drive.
And I have access to a black MacBook whose screen died, but other parts presumably work ok.
Can I use these to get around buying a new drive?
Can I use the PC's optical drive to boot my MacBook or create a book disk on the external drive?
I could cannibalize the other MacBook for a new drive, but I think that would risk harming my MacBook. I'm not 100% sure if the other MacBook's optical drive even works.
What do you think? Is there a better way to solve this issue than "buy something"?
Thanks!
I'm running OS 10.5.8. A few weeks ago, Firefox started giving me a hard time, saying I needed to upgrade my browser -- but to do that I'd need to update my OS.
After doing some research, I learned that I could only upgrade to Snow Leopard. I went to the Apple Store and bought the Snow Leopard DVD.
The problem is, when I inserted the DVD, my optical drive spat it out. I did some more research. I repaired permissions multiple times. I zapped my PRAM. I did the "stick a cleaning cloth wrapped around a credit card" trick. Nothing worked. I even stuck in an old CD to test if it was the drive or the DVD. No dice.
So I am left with one option, it seems, and that is to buy an external optical drive. I suppose it could be worse. These things are pretty cheap nowadays. Will this do?
Amazon.com: AmazonBasics USB 2.0 8x DVD Writer External Optical Drive (Black): Computers & Accessories
My only qualm is, I hate buying new things, and if I can avoid it, I certainly will.
I have a PC whose optical drive works.
I also have a brand new 2TB external drive.
And I have access to a black MacBook whose screen died, but other parts presumably work ok.
Can I use these to get around buying a new drive?
Can I use the PC's optical drive to boot my MacBook or create a book disk on the external drive?
I could cannibalize the other MacBook for a new drive, but I think that would risk harming my MacBook. I'm not 100% sure if the other MacBook's optical drive even works.
What do you think? Is there a better way to solve this issue than "buy something"?
Thanks!