Give second life to MacBook 4,1

Give second life to MacBook 4,1

I purchased a second hand MacBook for a throw away price of around 75 USD which is pretty old (More than 12 years may be). However it is in good working condition.

Macbook 4, 1
Specifications

Issue I found was :

  • websites with ssl wont support because of outdated browser.
  • YouTube wont open
  • I cannot use for browsing as no latest browsers supported.

What i did ?

Step 1 : Downloaded latest version of Elementary OS from this https://elementary.io/

I did not pay anything. Please pay if you wish and afford.

Step 2 : Download Bootable USB creator from this site : https://www.balena.io/etcher/

Write boot USB software

Step 3: Insert one USB drive with mnm 2 GB space and run etcher

Step 4: Shutdown your macbook

Step 5: Insert USB to Macbook

Step 6: Press and Hold Option button in MacBook and power on

Step 7: Select EFI boot option

select EFI boot

Step 8: Click Install Elementary OS

Step 9 : Make sure to click additional drivers

If not select your WIFI adaptor will not work

After installation I found that my built-in web cam is not working.

So i have done following

  1. Downloaded the AppleUSBVideoSupport file – From Here then extract it
  2. Open terminal and run sudo apt-get update
  3. sudo apt get –fix-broken install
  4. sudo apt-get install isight-firmware-tools
  5. While installation it will ask for the path for AppleUSBVideoSupport , which you downloaded in first step
  6. Restart your macbook.
  7. Voila Built in camera started working.

Now I am able to browse the internet, attend zoom also microsoft teams.

Now I have given second life to this macbook and my kid can use for another year 🙂