Greetings - I "inherited" a MacBook Pro last year. It was a Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz from Spring 2008. So it was 4 years old when I got it and I was told that the battery was dead and as long as I kept it plugged in, it worked fine, however, I would need a new one. So last year, I purchased a new battery and installed it.
However, I am still noticing that the battery life is horrible. It seems like when I am using it to type a document or check emails and surf the web, etc, I literally can watch the battery drain. I would assume that it might hold a charge of about an hour and a half maybe?
Is there any way I can "test" it to see what my actual battery life if? To ensure there isn't something else going on? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks,
posted by dbirchum
on May 3, 2013 -
13 answers
Hi there,
I have a mid-2009 MacBook Pro, which is getting noticeably slower, the battery needs replacing and the fan is extremely noisy. All this has lead me to believe that this laptop is coming to the end of its "natural" lifespan and I will soon be due an upgrade (however I accept I may be wrong here).
Coupled with this, I am about to move into a new place, meaning I will have a lot less need for a portable laptop, since I will be working from home most days. With this in mind, I was thinking about getting a desktop iMac as my "main" computer and using my old MacBook as and when I needed to.
So my question is, should I...
A) Attempt to prolong my MacBooks life by having it serviced / refurbished, and buy a desktop monitor to plug it into when I work from home.
B) Buy a
new MacBook Pro, and a desktop monitor (because this would be cheaper than the third option, which is to...)
C) Buy a desktop iMac, and continue to use my old MacBook as a spare / portable option.
Thanks.
posted by FuckingAwesome
on Apr 14, 2013 -
15 answers
Would 1-year old RAM not work with a brand new hard drive on my Macbook? I am getting the dreaded 3 beeps when trying to boot the new drive.
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posted by critzer
on Mar 28, 2013 -
16 answers
I have a late 2008 MBP, 8GB RAM, with an SSD, running Lion without problems. Should I upgrade to Mountain Lion right now? Have the battery life and other issues been resolved? I'd like to upgrade because I've finally encountered a program that requires Mountain Lion and I'd like to use it.
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posted by michaelh
on Mar 18, 2013 -
6 answers
So, I've made the fatal mistake of performing several upgrades at once, and I could do with some advice on where to go now... is my problem with charging time and battery life my new SSDs, my new OS, or something else entirely? Generic snowflake details to follow:
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posted by running order squabble fest
on Feb 24, 2013 -
7 answers
How can I best share a monitor, keyboard and Magic Trackpad between a Mac Pro and a MacBook Pro?
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posted by Joleta
on Feb 23, 2013 -
16 answers
I recently got a new MacBook Air and I love it. Sometimes, however, I'm struck by an overwhelming sense of nostalgia for the Apple II I had as a child. Are there classic Mac desktop themes that I can download to rock my Air old skool style?
posted by Avenger
on Feb 21, 2013 -
4 answers
Time for a new (to me) laptop! I know this isn't that complicated, but I hate computer shopping. Please give me your wise advice on what to get and where to get it.
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posted by aka burlap
on Feb 11, 2013 -
16 answers
Need advice on how to update an older MacBook Pro with a new hard drive. I have a late-2008 MacBook Pro: 2.53 GHz, 320GB hard drive, 8GM RAM (4GB in two slots). My drive is getting full and I don't have the cash at the moment for a brand new laptop. Should I replace the optical drive with a SSD? Or just upgrade the regular hard drive with a new one with 750GB or 1TB?
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posted by barnone
on Nov 23, 2012 -
15 answers
Help me navigate buying and upgrading a new Macbook Pro. Can I upgrade the HDD or RAM myself without voiding the warranties, or am I stuck paying the Apple tax for more HDD and RAM?
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posted by grobstein
on Nov 20, 2012 -
10 answers
Help a lifelong PC user who Knows Computers and considers himself a Savvy Consumer buy himself a
non-retina MacBook Pro. Technical and budgeting questions inside.
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posted by griphus
on Oct 18, 2012 -
23 answers
Watching European and US DVDs on a macbook pro: To avoid the region problems, can you keep your internal drive set to region 2 and use an external drive for region 1 DVDs?
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posted by metaBugs
on Oct 5, 2012 -
5 answers
The caps lock light on my two-year-old Macbook keeps blinking back on, but yet caps lock is not actually activated...
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posted by JoannaC
on Sep 18, 2012 -
4 answers
My MacBook's touchpad went wrong this morning. Everything I do is suddenly like fighting with a ghost. Mac forums are useless.
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posted by Navelgazer
on Sep 6, 2012 -
16 answers
Upgraded MacBook Pro RAM, now having trouble getting it to boot up. It will not turn back on after being in sleep mode overnight, otherwise it has no issues turning back on after sleep mode.
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posted by carmel
on Aug 7, 2012 -
3 answers
In the past year or so, around four MacBook chargers have basically stopped working (I've lost count as this includes a couple of old chargers from early MacBooks we had lying around), all in mysterious fashion. Generally they overheat more than I think is normal, and often they switch to the dreaded, "Not charging" status. On one of them, the rubber insulation melted completely then buckled. I am wondering whether it's just a coincidence that so many chargers have died, or if the wiring in our old house could be to blame?
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posted by nosh, daven, shtup
on Jul 13, 2012 -
9 answers
Is there a DVD player that will work with my Mac and also connect to the HDMI port on my TV for playing movies? Bonus points if it is compact enough to carry when I travel.
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posted by bchaplin
on Jul 5, 2012 -
12 answers
Should I (a regular old computer user) get the Retina MacBook Pro? Or will the regular old MBP be sufficiently futureproof?
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posted by AgentRocket
on Jul 3, 2012 -
10 answers
Does anyone have a recommendation for a USB 3.0 ExpressCard 34 adapter for a late-2011 17" Macbook pro?
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posted by arniec
on Jun 21, 2012 -
2 answers
I want to buy a new Macbook Pro as soon as they come out. Today I saw some reference online to "advance booking." What is this and how do I do it? I feel like I'm missing some secret that everyone else is in on...
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posted by ootandaboot
on May 28, 2012 -
6 answers
How can I access a perfectly functioning Macbook hard-drive in an otherwise not perfectly functioning computer?
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posted by taltalim
on Feb 16, 2012 -
22 answers
A couple of weeks ago my Macbook pro started crashing, and I can't use it without it freezing every fifteen minutes. Any suggestions before I go to the Apple Store?
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posted by catwash
on Jan 27, 2012 -
3 answers
Water spill on MacBook Air (4 months old). Currently drying out. What next - Genius Bar? Applecare? Some other thing?
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posted by malhouse
on Dec 17, 2011 -
15 answers
Being neither satisfied with a laptop nor a desktop I have decided to ditch my iMac, get a refurb Macbook Pro with a Henge dock and I have some questions regarding the new Macbook, the migration, and what to do with the iMac:
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posted by sourwookie
on Nov 11, 2011 -
10 answers
What is the best anti-glare (matte) film for my unibody MacBook Pro? I hate the glossy screen, but it was the only option available when I was given the laptop. For a while I had an anti-glare film on it, but it got dirty and seemed like it was making the screen too fuzzy, so it was removed. I'm considering the
Green Onions AG2, the
Moshi iVisor, the
Power Support, or the
RadTech Clear Cal. They all seem to get fairly mediocre reviews. Today I came across the
3M Privacy Filter, which apparently has a matte side, and better reviews, but the privacy filter would actually be a little annoying for my use. Suggestions? Other ideas?
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posted by barnone
on Aug 9, 2011 -
8 answers
What kind of protection cover can I get for my new macbook pro that will prevent wear but also not affect fan power?
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posted by JJkiss
on May 6, 2011 -
5 answers
Is this laptop battery a ripoff, and how can I be sure? I bought a third party battery for my Macbook. It looks like the original 45Wh battery, but Coconut Battery (and the appropriate ioreg command) report the 'design capacity' as lower than it should be.
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posted by beniamino
on Apr 27, 2011 -
10 answers
Is there an easy way to sync all my iPhone notes to my macbook and then delete those notes from the iPhone alone? I want a system where I can easily keep transferring notes to my computer, and leave the iPhone note-free, or with only a few notes that I choose to keep on it, after each sync.
posted by shivohum
on Mar 24, 2011 -
4 answers
Can you help me get set up with Photoshop CS5 and a new non-Apple cinema display?
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posted by critzer
on Mar 22, 2011 -
11 answers
Looking for advice on 1) which Mac laptop to buy (yes, I know the rumors of a MacBook Pro refresh in early March; we'd wait for the new models) and 2) how to integrate a happy home network of Macs.
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posted by Admiral Haddock
on Feb 17, 2011 -
11 answers
Looking for a Mac program (or some other way) that will monitor my MacBook's battery and turn off another program when the battery gets really low.
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posted by Ephilation
on Feb 15, 2011 -
3 answers
Where can I buy a Macbook Pro charger in Cusco, Peru? I think my charger crapped out on me and I need a new one. I can´t really wait for my family to mail one down from the States, so I´m venturing to Cusco, the closest big town from the one that I live in, to find one. Does anyone have any idea where i can find Apple products such as this? It´s the magnet kind :)
posted by badish
on Feb 8, 2011 -
8 answers
I have a potentially rather silly question about Applecare as I purchase a new Macbook Pro.
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posted by Ash3000
on Jan 31, 2011 -
27 answers
Is it possible to get a high-quality 15-inch or 17-inch external monitor for my MacBook Air?
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posted by alms
on Dec 16, 2010 -
6 answers
