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Today's fun project: High Sierra on 2008 MacBook Pro!

Today's fun project: Installing the latest macOS on an early 2008 17" MacBook Pro!

Officially the MBP topped out at OS X El Capitan (2 OS's ago, not counting the upcoming macOS Mojave). With a simple software hack, you can trick the High Sierra installer to install and run on this and other ancient hardware.

I used the macOS High Sierra Patcher from http://dosdude1.com/highsierra/ to make a bootable USB drive using a 2013 MacBook Air (though I guess I could have done it with the old MBP as well).

After backing up the existing installation "just in case", less than an hour later I had a "modern spec" 2008 computer! Which, BTW, was given to me for free. I had already replaced the old spinning hard drive with an (also) older 120 gig solid state drive; now a larger SSD might be justified depending on what I will use this for (it currently has 100 gigs free, even after installing some useful apps).

The OS hack (as expected) broke the wireless, but a newer wifi card can be installed. And the current 2/2 GB RAM setup can be upgraded to 4/2.

But even in its current state, the computer feels surprisingly fast.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Today's fun project: Installing the latest macOS on an early 2008 17" MacBook Pro!

Officially the MBP topped out at OS X El Capitan (2 OS's ago, not counting the upcoming macOS Mojave). With a simple software hack, you can trick the High Sierra installer to install and run on this and other ancient hardware.

I used the macOS High Sierra Patcher from http://dosdude1.com/highsierra/ to make a bootable USB drive using a 2013 MacBook Air (though I guess I could have done it with the old MBP as well).

After backing up the existing installation "just in case", less than an hour later I had a "modern spec" 2008 computer! Which, BTW, was given to me for free. I had already replaced the old spinning hard drive with an (also) older 120 gig solid state drive; now a larger SSD might be justified depending on what I will use this for (it currently has 100 gigs free, even after installing some useful apps).

The OS hack (as expected) broke the wireless, but a newer wifi card can be installed. And the current 2/2 GB RAM setup can be upgraded to 4/2.

But even in its current state, the computer feels surprisingly fast.


Fabulous! You methodology could help me a lot

I have a failed 2011 MacBook Pro and a 2013 Mac Pro slow for 2-8 GB image files.

I just tried out two brand new MacBook Pros to hopefully speed up my slow points in my Photoshop editing. The worst drag is the “Content-Aware” Fill Utility which I use as a creative tool.

It turned out that these latest machines were far slower than my late 2013 Mac Pro cylinder.

Now my 2011 MacBook Pro developed alternating stripes of pink and blue. Not readily fixable. So from your report here I have an idea: to try to resurrect my even older 2008 17” MacBook Pro!

At least I will have a laptop.

In the meanwhile I may order a custom PC and for the first time in decades return to the dark side for Photoshop speed!

Asher
 
Sure, all you need to proceed right now is a flash drive! Let me know how it goes.

Bullding a PC and/or Hackintosh is probably the way to go, actually.

PS: I am writing you from a 2013 11" i7 MacBook Pro that had some bad encounter with a cat and a large drink, so the person who gave it to me said! I use it with an external ViewSonic monitor and I'm happy... Even though it doesn't travel, as its own screen is all cloudy.
 
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