Macbook - battery swelling

[oldmoondog]

My wife Macbook battery is showing signs of swelling in one area. So much so the battery is difficult to clip in and does not fit properly although the Macbook works OK. The Macbook is some 8 years old.

Also I am trying to "repair" the hard disc. However, the install disc is for 10.5 and the Macbook currently has 10.6 installed. When I try to boot from the install CD I hold down "c" and when the installation page comes up I follow the instructions to the start up disc. That gives me a selection and I choose the CD and the system just throws me back to the installation page. Should I be holding down some other key? I have tried "C" again but that does not seem to work.

Is it worth replacing the battery and repairing the disc or should i just replace it with an Air? I am reluctant to throw it away as it could be useful for some time. Also I cannot upgrade the SW to allow iCloud to be used so it is getting a bit tedious!

 

[RadDave]

Well, like 'dog years', your computer is ancient w/ an archaic OS installed, you're having two issues which need to be addressed, and you want to use the newest features offered by Apple's more recent operating systems. If the $$ is on hand, a replacement seems to be be the best choice.

But hopefully our hardware 'gurus' will 'chime in' w/ more sage advice as to keeping the old machine - good luck - Dave

 

[pigoo3]

My wife Macbook battery is showing signs of swelling in one area. So much so the battery is difficult to clip in and does not fit properly although the Macbook works OK. The Macbook is some 8 years old.

Easy answer…replace the battery.

Also I am trying to "repair" the hard disc. However, the install disc is for 10.5 and the Macbook currently has 10.6 installed. When I try to boot from the install CD I hold down "c" and when the installation page comes up I follow the instructions to the start up disc. That gives me a selection and I choose the CD and the system just throws me back to the installation page. Should I be holding down some other key? I have tried "C" again but that does not seem to work.

When you boot the computer from the 10.5 install disk…and you are at the initial install window. You need to go up to the top of the display screen (where the drop down menu's would normally be)…and click the mouse pointer. Some menu's should appear. This is where you launch Disk Utility to do the disk repair.

Is it worth replacing the battery and repairing the disc or should i just replace it with an Air? I am reluctant to throw it away as it could be useful for some time.

An 8 year-old MacBook (2006) is probably worth about $150-$175. A new battery from macsales.com will cost about $100 (good battery). Or a (cheap battery) can be purchased from eBay for about $30. If this computer is really not used much on battery power (mostly used while plugged in)…then the quality of the battery may not be important.

So if you want a good battery that will run a few hours on a full charge…you have to ask yourself is it worth spending $100 for a battery on a computer worth $150-$175.

As far as the disk repair. Depends what's wrong with it. Hard drives are mechanical devices. And if the disk is going bad due to a mechanical issue…Disk Utility is not going to fix that. Disk Utility only repairs software related issues. A new hard drive (if necessary) will cost about $30-$60 (depending on its capacity).

Of course spending $100 for a new battery ($150 if getting a new HD too) is still a lot less expensive than $1000+ on a new computer. So if the computer is "still getting the job done"…maybe spending $100-$150 on it isn't so bad (even if the computer is to worth a whole lot).

HTH,

- Nick

 

[oldmoondog]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this. It more or less confirms my suspicions and I will investigate the prices of battery and HD over here in the UK.
Regards

 

[chas_m]

Please make certain you dispose of the battery properly as well (take it to a battery recycler). While the risk is very low, a swelling battery could eventually pose a fire or safety hazard. Sadly it is far too old for Apple to replace it but they will take it and dispose of it properly.

 

[oldmoondog]

Further to the above discussion. I bought a new battery and decided to rebuild my Wifes' Macbook White on to MY MacBook Black which I do not use anymore which has a larger and good HD. I used Time Machine and it rebuilt it no problem. But when I clicked on finish and it rebooted I got the "screen of death" in the attached photo. A number of reboots failed to change the situation. I am suspecting that the rebuild is conflicting with the Macbook Black specs. They are not dissimilar in build but the Black has a much larger HD and more memory.
I think my only option is to replace the HD in the White and replace the battery and rebuild direct using Time Machine.

 

[RadDave]

Hi Oldmoondog - I re-sized your image to eliminate the need to scroll across the page; easy to decrease to size of uploaded images using Preview's edit features. Dave

Further to the above discussion. I bought a new battery and decided to rebuild my Wifes' Macbook White on to MY MacBook Black which I do not use anymore which has a larger and good HD. I used Time Machine and it rebuilt it no problem. But when I clicked on finish and it rebooted I got the "screen of death" in the attached photo. A number of reboots failed to change the situation. I am suspecting that the rebuild is conflicting with the Macbook Black specs. They are not dissimilar in build but the Black has a much larger HD and more memory.
I think my only option is to replace the HD in the White and replace the battery and rebuild direct using Time Machine.
.

 

[oldmoondog]

Thanks Dave> I will look at that as I did it through Elements 11 which was a bit over the top just for that!