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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > macOS > Mavericks on a 1.86GHz C2Duo MacBook with 3GB RAM?

Mavericks on a 1.86GHz C2Duo MacBook with 3GB RAM?
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shifuimam
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May 9, 2014, 06:42 PM
 
Yes or no?
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akent35
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May 9, 2014, 07:43 PM
 
According to this:

Here's the List of Macs Compatible With OS X Mavericks

For MacBooks, it states:

"MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, Late 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or later)"
     
shifuimam  (op)
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May 9, 2014, 10:02 PM
 
Oh, I know that. I'm talking about whether or not it's worth doing. I'm guessing it'll slow down the machine waaaay too much. We'll see.
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P
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May 10, 2014, 07:42 AM
 
The missing pieces would be graphics drivers and boot loader support. I saw a 32-bit boot loader somewhere, and I guess that the driver would be the easy part.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
akent35
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May 10, 2014, 01:33 PM
 
If possible, would increasing the RAM help? Not sure, though, if all 4 Gig can be fully addressed. Also, can you install an SSD in that model?
     
Mike Wuerthele
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May 10, 2014, 02:23 PM
 
The issue isn't drivers, its actual support for the lower end GPU that Mavericks demands. I don't think this is possible. It's only possible on the 1,1 Mac Pro with a GPU swap and a custom EFI boot loader.

The SSD thing is a separate issue, and it's trivial to install a new drive, SSD or otherwise in the white plastic MacBook.
     
ajprice
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May 10, 2014, 07:30 PM
 
Is yours an aluminium or plastic MacBook? I have a 2.16GHz white MacBook, the latest I can update to is Lion.

It'll be much easier if you just comply.
     
shifuimam  (op)
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May 10, 2014, 07:33 PM
 
Ah, damn. I figured the GPU might be part of the problem. I also didn't realize the bootloader would be that big of an issue.

Guess I'll stick with Snow Leopard, even though barely anything supports it anymore...
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P
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May 11, 2014, 05:48 AM
 
Well, you could make your own graphics driver for the integrated graphics, if you wanted to. I assumed that someone had, since the tone of the post implied that it was doable.

3GB RAM would be a big issue, and you can't upgrade it, but it would prevent boot.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
shifuimam  (op)
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May 12, 2014, 03:58 PM
 
Yeah, it's definitely not going to happen, then.

I don't think Lion is worth the upgrade..or is it? I've noticed quite a few apps no longer run on Snow Leopard.

I particularly want the OneDrive client, but I think that might be a lost cause.
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reader50
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May 12, 2014, 04:07 PM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
3GB RAM would be a big issue, and you can't upgrade it, but it would prevent boot.
Based on the sentence flow, I believe P meant to say "but it would not prevent boot."

It would also be interesting to see if a later OS version is able to address all 4 GB installed RAM. By booting into a 64-bit kernel for example. I have nearly this laptop sitting around myself, with 4 GB installed. Snow Leopard sees 4, but only uses 3.
     
P
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May 13, 2014, 04:02 AM
 
Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
Based on the sentence flow, I believe P meant to say "but it would not prevent boot."


Yes, that would be what I meant. Sorry.

Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
It would also be interesting to see if a later OS version is able to address all 4 GB installed RAM. By booting into a 64-bit kernel for example. I have nearly this laptop sitting around myself, with 4 GB installed. Snow Leopard sees 4, but only uses 3.
Nope, it's firmware/hardware. What happens is that the chipset - the little "glue" chips that connect the CPU to the rest of the computer and is mostly integrated in the CPU in more modern computers - can only address 4GB of "stuff". That stuff is mostly RAM, but some other pieces of hardware are addressed as if they were memory, and they need addressing space too. Apple's solution for this was to give the lower 3GB to RAM and the upper 1GB to the rest. This is set in firmware. You might be able modify the firmware to move this point, but you still need space for all that addressable hardware somewhere.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
mr_strat
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May 13, 2014, 04:05 PM
 
There's a reason it's not supported. Even if it was on the supported list, if you're on the bottom end, it's not going to be a pleasant computing experience.
     
Jeronimo2000
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May 13, 2014, 04:12 PM
 
In case anyone is interested, this post on reddit talks about installing Mavericks on unsupported machines. Ok, in their case it's a Mac Pro, but it should apply to a MacBook as well:

http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/commen...1_21_20062007/
     
   
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