Upgrading a 2010 MacBook Pro - Can I make it better than new? (RAM + SSD)

Рет қаралды 31,265

Күн бұрын

In this video, we upgrade the Hard Drive and RAM in a 2010 Macbook Pro (15"). We polled the audience, and the majority agreed: Upgrade it! Make it Better!
Parts Used:
8GB (2x4GB) PC8500 DDR3 RAM
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Inland Professional 2.5" SSD Drive:
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MacBook Pro 15" 2010 Battery (Discussed in the video, but not demonstrated)
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The best (and cheapest) tool kit I've used for working with MacBooks
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How to Install macOS from a thumb drive:
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How to install a fresh installation of macOS after upgrading your hard drive:
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Or for a more comprehensive list of upgrade options, check out our list at this link:
kit.co/familygeekery/macbook-...
How to enable TRIM after upgrading your SSD:
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Пікірлер: 93

@jackflash6377 10 ай бұрын

Did the same to my 2009 17" MBP. I also replaced the battery while I was in there. Still working like a dream. Used to carry it with me everywhere I went. Been around the world a few times for sure. Loved the long battery life while stuck in airports.

@jugstery 3 ай бұрын

My father still uses one of these to this day as his main machine, and he bought it used years ago. Still rocking a HDD.

@MrPenguin098 2 ай бұрын

Great tutorial. I updated my friends Macbook Pro. Plus I subscribed. Thanks.

@maladamedialabs4214 9 ай бұрын

An excellent tutorial! I'm hoping to upgrade my own 2010 Macbook Pro soon. This was very helpful! Thank you!

@FamilyGeekery 9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@tonynguyen501 Жыл бұрын

Well my MBP 2010 was death in the closet for about 5 years. Until this video and then now, it is resurrection from the death. It's faster, smoother and less noised. 🤘🤘🤘.

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

Awesome! Thanks for watching.

@davidallen3158 Жыл бұрын

The best bang for the buck is the 2012 MacBook Pro. I upgraded mine to two SSD’s, 16bg and a new battery. I put Windows 10 on one SSD & Catalina on the other.

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

I’ve got the same exact setup on a 2012 15”.

@ryannakamura6906 Жыл бұрын

Bought the same SSD and RAM from amazon. Have the same macbook. Booting up the Flashing folder with the question mark. Tried the Command +R+power and tried the option+command+r+power amd still get the folder. All the videos and trouble shooting websites say the exact same thing. Any other ideas. The ribbon cable works fine with the old drive.

@GalvanicSpa2Bulgaria 8 ай бұрын

I have this mid 2010 1286 model i5 I wish to keep and use I have dell inspiron 15-7577 that repair shop told me motherboard burned and replacing will cost 600$ so they offer better to buy some other laptop with this money my question is can I use memory sticks and it’s HD as apathy’s to give my Mac new life ? I also need to replace battery It’s 0% and works only when plugged to AC

@Bulldog44s Жыл бұрын

Awesome. For $50 I got double memory an d 512 mb HD. Better than new. Thank you so much

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

You’re welcome! Thanks for watching.

@CoincidenceTheorist Жыл бұрын

Iliterally have 10 of these from 09-10 13-15”. And a ton of other shtuffffff. .......annnd idunno. What to do.

@mikepxg6406 Жыл бұрын

Those fans need blowing out with some canned air. 👍 I would not recommended installing much higher than Catalina on this hardware. I tried Big Sur with opencore legacy patcher on one of these it was a bit sluggish. Mike.

@ninline2000 Жыл бұрын

I went for a 2012 15" quad i7 with Nvidia graphics. I put a 1TB SSD in and 16GB of RAM. It's still pretty impressive after 11 years. With OCLP it runs Monterey with no problems. The only problem i have with these earlier ones is no USB3 ports. To me, the 2012 Macbook Pro was the pinnacle of Apple laptop design.

@plasticdope 10 ай бұрын

It is a very cheap but good device for school. My issue is the weight, too heavy for moving around. ended up selling it for an ipad.

@SterkeYerke5555 10 ай бұрын

Does graphics switching swill work on your 2012 with OCLP? They claim it's not supported, which I imagine could seriously hamper battery life. I'm on a late 2011 17", so that's a completely different rabbit hole because it lacks Metal support. I'm dual booting High Sierra with Windows 11, though unfortunately I'm definitely noticing programs are phasing out High Sierra support. I don't think any major web browser still supports it after next year

@towys007 6 ай бұрын

@@SterkeYerke5555the switching graphics don't work even on my 15 inch MacBook pro 2015 with oficial Monterey,, the switching only works on Catalina,,

@SterkeYerke5555 6 ай бұрын

@@towys007 Try Sonoma! Graphics switching didn't work on my spare early 2011 17" either when I tried Big Sur, but it suddenly started to work flawlessly when I installed Sonoma. Well, as flawless as it gets without Metal support, that is

@81hondaman 4 ай бұрын

Just upgraded my own 2010 13" Macbook pro, upgrading to Monterey 12.7.4. This is only a Core Duo 2 machine which had the stock hard drive and it was terrible, but Monterey did run. Switch over to SSD, made the worlds difference! Planning next to upgrade to either 8 or 16 gb of memory. But even on the 4gb, it actually runs surprisingly very well! Its become my new daily driver so to speak.

@Nezi_Ar 4 ай бұрын

Did the same thing for my mid-2010 13" Macbook Pro (8gb ram) but Catalina ended up crashing and I had to go back to 10.13 High Sierra... Any advice on what I did wrong or how I can give it another shot? I really need 10.15 for this software I need to use..

@Greenlemon420 Жыл бұрын

I have the 15 inch version of that lol I'm thinking of upgrading mine I just need the money for it

@samsen3965 5 ай бұрын

The problem with old macs is not hardware. It's Apple policy to intentionally disable them by not giving them the opportunity to run later OS even if it is at a lower speed so anything you try to open, you end up with an error message saying this app can not be run with your OS version.

@yerwotshangingoff 5 ай бұрын

Is there any way of putting a better iOS version on it?

@PRDannyNJ908 3 ай бұрын

@yerwotshangingoff mojave runs good with a patcher made by dosdude. I use an i7 MacBookPro mid 2010.

@Spiderwithweb 3 ай бұрын

You can install windows or oclp, new os is possible still

@404invalid-user Ай бұрын

@@yerwotshangingoffyes search open legacy patcher

@michigal502 Жыл бұрын

I am curious if those replacement parts would be suitable for a 2010 17" MacBook pro? Mine is stuck in sleep mode and I figure I might as well give it some new life.

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

The battery would be different. The SSD would definitely work. As for the memory, I’m only certain that 8gb would work (2x4gb) but it’s possible the 16gb kit would work. Both are the same speed though. I also have a 15” 2010 video that I just uploaded a week or so ago that covers the upgrades (using the 8gb kit). Thanks for watching!

@michigal502 Жыл бұрын

@@FamilyGeekery Thank you for your help! I greatly appreciate it!

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

You’re very welcome!

@martintornqvist9624 3 ай бұрын

Awesome video! My 2010 macbook pro came with a 128gb ssd when I bought it in 2010. Do you know the speeds of those? Is it still worth it to buy a new harddrive now, or won't there be any speed benefits?

@FamilyGeekery 3 ай бұрын

I’m not sure. I’ve never actually seen a 2010 with an ssd (was probably very expensive when new!). I imagine the speed would be similar, but you can certainly get more gb per dollar today!

@Ryan_Revier Жыл бұрын

Macbook Pro still had the upgrades to OCLP Monterey that is the highest update ever for this devices..

@ICMediaCenter Жыл бұрын

Help! We're a small nonprofit and we were given a 15" 2010 MacBook Pro. This looks like a GENIUS fix and we're excited to start. But I can't find the PC 3 8300 4GB 1.5V RAM on Amazon. Will PC3 8500 work? Thank you!

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

Yes, should be 8500. Did I have a typo?

@deybytrochez1131 Жыл бұрын

Hey so I got all this done and when I get to the recovery mode it just says that it can’t connect to the server … I tried to update the date with the terminal and made sure my wifi was working but it continues to say it can’t connect to server. Any help would be highly appreciated

@PRDannyNJ908 3 ай бұрын

Mr Macintosh had a youtube video with a step by step way outta that problem. I had it too. Works. You have an issue where the server is looking for a https when it needs to be recommanded in terminal to use http(no S) . Took me forever to find. Good luck. It sounds like a hard task but if you follow the steps it works!

@linkxius 8 ай бұрын

I’ve been reading that with a MBP 17inch Mid 2010 you can upgrade it to 16GB because of High Sierra. Is this true?

@DKN808 5 ай бұрын

Yes 2X 8GB Ram sticks.

@seanalexandersimpson 6 ай бұрын

You can upgrade the operating system to Sonoma (latest at the time of this comment) - although some features will be lost, the OS is still functional. I'm using a MBP 2010 and have used OCLP to install Ventura and although I can't use things that require a Metal GPU (ie the Maps app), there's a remarkable amount of utility left in this now 14 year old computer. This machine is a workhorse if you are willing to put the maintenance in. I've had almost every part replaced at some point, including desoldering and replacing the notorious faulty GPU capacitor on the motherboard that caused random kernel panics that would restart the system. I think the only things that are original at this point are the screen, camera, trackpad, and outer aluminum unibody shell.

@jemk6492 6 ай бұрын

What storage medium and RAM capacity are you using? I’m looking into fixing an old family laptop so my mum can use it again.

@GasSquadUk 5 ай бұрын

Interesting ! I just installed sonoma on a MID 2010 MBP , runs great and I haven’t upgraded my ram to 16gb or upgraded to ssd yet . The only bug I could find is the maps like you said but I just use google maps instead . I didn’t know it was related to the gpu like you said , thanks. Also can you give me some tips on upgrading my graphics card ? Obviously all the latest games don’t run in the App Store I was wondering whether upgrading the graphics card is possible , cheers @seanalexandersimpson

@DKN808 5 ай бұрын

@donnadie1453….High Sierra 10.13.6 that was the last and best iOS for MBP 2010. A newer iOS only hurts performance. Have the same specs and gifted it to my folks. Ran well for everyday tasks.

@snappy_k Ай бұрын

Any help guys I just installed Sonoma 14.5 in my mid 2010 mbp but the desk top is black and displays CPU info while starting it.thanks in advance 😢😊

@6.Actual Жыл бұрын

I upgraded the HD to SSD as shown (ram was already maxed), everything works great except I am getting the occasional spontaneous reboot. Any ideas?

@laughingspider2199 Жыл бұрын

Have you found the reason? I have the same problem. I think it might be because of the graphics card?

@6.Actual Жыл бұрын

@@laughingspider2199 no I haven’t found the cause. It stopped doing that for several weeks, but then did it again this morning. I think you’re right about the graphics card.

@ninline2000 Жыл бұрын

@6.Actual You might try redoing the thermal paste on the CPU and GPU. After so much time it dries out.

@iwan.channel 6 ай бұрын

Thermal paste

@ICMediaCenter Жыл бұрын

And, of course, the HD you recommend now only comes in 240GB unless you buy a 3-pack of the 256. The Read numbers are also slightly different. Does it matter, or can we just buy the 240GB? Sorry to bug you!

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

You can use any SATA 2.5” ssd for the laptop. Right now, the 512gb is probably not much more than the 240

@ICMediaCenter Жыл бұрын

@@FamilyGeekery Thank you so much! I'll be purchasing today.

@oCHANCEo 3 ай бұрын

My 2010 MacBook Pro is trying to install Mac OS X Lion and struggling in the log it says chunk validation failed? Any ideas of what I can do?

@snappy_k Ай бұрын

Try using open core legacy patcher

@dgasmd1 Жыл бұрын

Did order and installed all the same parts to the same age and model computer. Hit the start button with the same provide and while I hear the apple start sound nothing else comes on. Have tried it several times with different versions and length of times pressing the button. Yet NOTHING!!! any ideas?? Nothing comes on the scream but o do se Ethel light as of it is booting up and get nothing else besides the poor booting sound comes on. ANY IDEAS AT ALL??? Frustrated to have spent $260 for nothing!!!

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

Have you tried re-seating the RAM? Usually if nothing happens, it’s a power (battery) problem or a RAM problem. Take both chips out, and put them in again making sure they are fully seated. Also try one chip at a time if that doesn’t work. It’s possible to have faulty ram as well. Try one alone, then try the other alone.

@dgasmd1 Жыл бұрын

@@FamilyGeekery Thanks for the reply. Tried a few times to replace everything, including the old equipment and NOTHING. Hear a faint "turn on anole sound" but there is nothing in the screen and nothing happens.

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

That’s strange. Make sure the battery is reconnected. Then maybe try resetting the PRAM and SMC. Just Google that, and you’ll find instructions from Apple on how to do it. It’s pretty easy and worth a try.

@dgasmd1 Жыл бұрын

@@FamilyGeekery Dude, I cannot tell you enough how happy with my upgrade. Tried your reset suggestion above and came back on like a champ. Damn things runs as smooth, fast, and good as my 1 y.o MacBook Air. Had I seen this a year ago I would have never bought a new laptop. Thanks again. Loving it!!!!!

@henrydiaz6461 Жыл бұрын

I have the same one but 13” would everything you put on fit mine?

@JackyNguyen-qh6yp 10 ай бұрын

Same

@FamilyGeekery 10 ай бұрын

@JackyNguyen-qh6yp yes, I might have a 2010 MacBook Pro video on the channel. But the same stuff works.

@emmanmach852 Жыл бұрын

Could i upgrade it to 2x8 having a 16gb of ram? Would it recognize?

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

I've always been told the 13" can go up to 16gb, but the 15" can only go up to 8gb. I'm not sure why, and I haven't tested myself.

@TheGunnyBadger03xx Жыл бұрын

A little more advanced for some, but replace the CD/DVD drive with a SSD caddy and run the computer in a RAID 0 configuration. That will make it even faster than a single SSD.

@esscodc2 Жыл бұрын

How?

@TheGunnyBadger03xx Жыл бұрын

@@esscodc2 I explained how. Look up a video.

@RodrigoAReyes95 9 ай бұрын

@@TheGunnyBadger03xxyou just said what to do, not how to do it.

@TheGunnyBadger03xx 9 ай бұрын

@@RodrigoAReyes95 You obviously have Internet. Do your won research.

@RodrigoAReyes95 9 ай бұрын

@@TheGunnyBadger03xx still didn’t explain how.

@m.farid196 Жыл бұрын

Hello from indonesia Can i upgrade my mac 2010 from ram PC8500 to PC12800? Thanks

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

Some models of Mac won’t recognize the lower voltage ram (1.35v vs 1.5v), so that part is more important than the speed.

@m.farid196 Жыл бұрын

@@FamilyGeekery ok bro thanks I have more question 😅 Can it install software different os x? Example software for mojave and install in macbook use os high sierra 🙏🏼

@edibleautopsy2 Жыл бұрын

Is that the max amount of ram you can upgrade to for this model ?

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

According to Apple and the MacTracker app. I think people have tried more RAM, but I personally have not. Thanks for watching!

@emmanmach852 Жыл бұрын

I have checked n people are able to put 16gb in the mid 2010 13'. But just wanted a few more opinions. I'd rather keep that one till i could afford an iMac 😞

@cuishanhe 7 ай бұрын

After change to SSD, can windows still be installed on it?

@DKN808 5 ай бұрын

Yes in bootcamp mode.

@vinceland63000 11 ай бұрын

is it possible to upgrade RAM with 2x8Go ?

@DKN808 5 ай бұрын

Yes

@davidperry4264 6 ай бұрын

Did what you did ram didn’t work, put the old ram back with the new ssd went thru the recovery and after continue with High Sierra it says it cannot reach server ugghhhh always looks easy on the video’s don’t know what to do

@FamilyGeekery 6 ай бұрын

There’s a couple reasons why the sever issue happens. You can also make a usb boot disk to install high sierra. I’ve got a video on this channel that shows that method.

@davidperry4264 6 ай бұрын

@@FamilyGeekery thank you I was just gonna try to clone the old one

@youngsunghyuk Жыл бұрын

opencore?

@FamilyGeekery Жыл бұрын

Yes. That video is coming up! Thanks for watching!

@papakornyt8999 6 ай бұрын

i dont know alot of what he's saying but my main question is will it make it run faster

@zarko6685 6 ай бұрын

Deleted my old hard drive and lost all my files, photos, music lots of memories wiped clean. Don’t do this shit if you don’t know what you are doing… this dude knows what he is doing but I guarantee you will run into some different scenarios… sometimes DIY is not the way to go….

@FamilyGeekery 6 ай бұрын

How did you delete your old hard drive? If you just replace it, the old one should be intact.

@zarko6685 6 ай бұрын

Swapped HD for a new SDD but did not back up anything thinking I could transfer everything with a sata cable… then in the disk utility messing srround with the restore and erase and all that good stuff I wiped my new and old hard drive clean. Not sure what to do now.