Upgrading my Macbook
I’ve had my 13” aluminum Macbook 5.1 since my second year of college, back in 2008. Over the years, I made several modifications to increase its functionality while running music recording software.
Several years ago, I increased the RAM to the maximum 8GB, replaced the original hard drive with a 120GB SSD and installed a 500GB HDD in the CD bay. The SSD functions as the startup drive where I run all of my applications, while the HDD is storage for various projects.
After I updated to Mavericks, I never again updated the OS. Why? I had obtained (via torrents) perfect working versions of Ableton Live 9 and Pro Tools HD and I didn’t want to risk losing their functionality with an update. I taught myself how to create and record music with these programs. I used Ableton to record my band's first album. Years later, when we recorded in a friend’s state-of-the-art studio, I was able to edit the recordings using my Pro Tools copy.
Now, due to security concerns about my old drive, I picked up another SSD to install El Capitan, the most recent OS compatible with this Macbook.
I also purchased (finally) Ableton Live 10. Live’s license allows the user to download to two authorized computers. I plan to install a copy on my brother's computer as well. Per the license, both copies may not be able to run at the same time, but they will both be fully functional. This will allow us to work on projects together and send each other project folders.
Below are the steps I took to install the new SSD with El Capitan:
I purchased a SATA 120GB SSD and a USB enclosure from OWC. [Note: I believe OWC states that the enclosure is recommended for HDDs only, but it seems to work fine with the SSD installed. I wanted to setup the drive externally first.]
From the App store, I downloaded El Capitan to my current startup drive.
Next, I Installed El Capitan on the new SSD. The installation would not complete due to the ‘no package was eligible’ error. Apparently, changing the date in Terminal fixes this issue. Open Terminal, type: date 101615072016. This completed my installation.
I now have a (mostly) updated OS installed on a new SSD. In the future, I may swap it out with one of the current internal drives. The new drive will run Ableton and other apps, with files being saved elsewhere. Here’s to the joys of new gear, legal software and most important of all - a blank slate.
KW