Macbook

Hello all! I have a question regarding a white MacBook I purchased. The computer has a 120 GB hard drive and 1 GB ram. I can't recall some of the other tech specs off the top of my head right now. Anyways, I think it's a 2009 model but I'm not totally sure. I paid $400 for it. Did I get a good deal? And is it with maybe upgrading the hard drive and possibly RAM? Or did I make a mistake in this purchase. I think if I made a mistake I'd probably just try to resell it..

Well that all depends on what you plan to do with it.

I would definitely recommend more RAM, 2GB at least (depending on which model it actually is, it might handle up to 4GB).

If it is indeed a 2009 model I'd say you got a good deal. Both the RAM and the hard drive are easy to change out, and it would be capable of running the latest everything and should remain so for a good while yet.

Awesome thanks for the input! I'm definitely going to look into upgrading the RAM and possibly the hard drive. Maybe even try to get a little more speed out of it! Thanks again!!!

I have a 2009 white MacBook and for what I use it for(internet, email, word processing, light video editing, photos, iTunes), it works just fine.

As chas says, upgrading is easy. Here's Apple's guide for rep[lacing the hard drive:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/macbook_13inch_harddrive_diy.pdf

and the RAM:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacBook_13inch_Memory_DIY.pdf

Wow it's awesome to have so many people that are willing to lend advice! thanks a bunch you guys. I took it to the apple store today just to find out some more info. Turns out it's from early 2008. I asked what their opinion is as far as upgrading the HDD and the RAM and they told me that it is worth it and that I will notice a difference in its performance. They actually discouraged me from having the genius bar do the work. The associate told me the best sites to get the components and everything! So I ended up ordering 4 GB of RAM (the max according to Apple) and a 500 GB HDD. Once I get the upgrades installed and the operating system re-installed, do you think that this machine has the capability of running Lion? The people at the Apple store told me that it shouldn't have a problem with it. What do you guys think? Thanks again for your awesome insight!

I ran Lion on a early 2008 2,4Ghz C2D 15" Pro fine, 4GB RAM, so don't see why yours can't

I'm running Lion quite happily on a 2007 MacBook, so in a word: sure!

Thanks you guys I really appreciate the help. I looked over the manuals and it looks like it's a pretty simple operation if you have mechanical ability. I think with 4 GB RAM and a 500 GB HDD along with Lion this thing will be awesome. Anything is better than going back to my 6 year old dinosaur of a PC lol.

Well I installed the 4 BG of RAM, the 500 GB HDD and the MacBook is running fantastic! Awesome awesome awesome!

If you're quite lucky, that machine may also be able to run Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8) when it comes out this summer, so I'd say that was definitely a good deal.

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion System Requirements

That machine won't run Mountain Lion since it's a 2008 model and has an integrated GPU.

This is one of the requirements to run 10.8.....

Advanced GPU chipset required

Which means your BlackBook and my 2008 MacBook are as far as they will go with Lion.

I know my BlackBook won't work, but I wasn't aware we'd definitively determined that the OP's machine didn't qualify. Quoting from the page I linked to:

Macs that will support OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
MacBook – 13″ aluminum from 2008

While quoting the OP:

White MacBook

Click to expand...

Nice work on installing the RAM and HDD in your Mac, OP, for $400 you got a good deal there!

Doh! Thanks Chuckoir! Sorry, chscag!

Ok, so now I am trying to migrate my data from PC to Mac. I downloaded migration assistant for lion on my PC (my mac is currently running lion) and hooked the 2 computers up together via ethernet/networking cable. The Mac gets to the screen where it asks me to verify the passcode on the PC. However, the PC is stuck at the "Waiting for Mac to connect screen" and won't seem to recognize the Mac. Am I missing something? Thanks again everyone!