any computer tecs out there ?

[tommyguns]

so I have a few questions about my computer I am tech savvy enough to handle this but just some helpful hints would be great.

So I have a older mac about 5 years old now I am running snow leopard and have about 2 gb of memory left on my computer. I bought a programmer for my truck and will be re writing my ecu and the new programmer software is windows based only. So I have been looking into either running a vm ware software which will allow me to run windows also my mac os. I would like to run windows 7, allot of issues with 8 is what I have heard. I have been looking into a cheap pc but really dont want to buy another computer just for this so I was thinking about updating my mac as far as memory/ hard drive I know windows 7 takes about 32 gigs and the vm ware takes about 4 only having two gigs left I was thinking about updating my hard drive to a 500 gig. Would this be a good solution or do you think I am better off buying a new comp, I know my mac is out dated but I dont do allot on the comp just surf the web and shop lol. What would be my best approach what route would I want to take I have been looking into hard drive swap out looks simple enough. I would like some guidance on the matter about what would be the best and most cost affective approach.

 

[buffdaddy]

Not sure which version of W7 you want to run, but a legal copy of Windows home premium 64 bit will set you back anywhere from $75.00 for $100.00.

As far as a hard drive, a regular 500gb drive is pretty cheap at $50.00. But I would suggest looking into an SSD drive, but at 500gb they're still pretty expensive.

So you're looking at $200 to upgrade your Mac, if you do it yourself. If you're looking for a new Windows box, a pretty decent one can be had for $500.00 with a core I5, although you may want to invest in a decent graphics card as well. If you want a new Mac, well that's another story. But places like Microcenter do sell refurbs and you can also check out Apple's website for some refurb deals as well.

 

[tommyguns]

thanks for the info, I do not want to buy a new mac because I don't need a new one. As far as boot camp is concerned I used it before and did not like it also the vmware is nice because I can run both at the same time. I can get windows 7 for free through my school so thats a good savings i just found this out so im happy about that. I can buy parallel for 35 bucks or vm ware for 45 so its not that much to invest. My question is do I "NEED" to buy a new graphic card or is it just a luxury. My buddies brother works for a electronic repair shop so im going to have him do the swap I just need to get the parts. I just dont know if the hard drive is all I need to update my mac or if I would need more items, not just want them or if it is even worth it to buy all these things or just say forget it and invest in the new computer and vmware software.

 

[neilyasno]

The thing is, replacing a hard drive in a mac is not as easy as one may think. Macs are programed to work with only certain hardware. Meaning some brands work while others don't. You simply wouldn't be able to reinstall the OS on it. However, it still can be done. But think about it, your mac is outdated and running a virtual machine such as parallels will put a lot of strain on your RAM and processor. Also, if you want to take the legal route, you will spend about a bill on Windows and another bill on parallels. (There are other free Virtual Machines but none are as fast.) In your case, I would personally buy a small netbook for about $300. If treated well, it will be able to serve you for a long time and will make a great travel companion.

This is a good cheap alternative

 

[tommyguns]

neilyasno- thats what I was wondering if I switched out the hard drive would my computer be fine because the rest of it is out dated. The issue I have with buying the small computer is that I love my mac and would never really use the pc for anything. I bought a kindle fire for travel use used it on vacation and now it sits in my laptop bag lol. My mac was never top of the line but I dont need it to be and what I will be using it for I will be loading software on it save my original ecu tune then not touching it again lol so dropping 250 on a lap top for that Is going to be a waste. Thats why I would like to upgrade my everyday comp and Ill get more use out out of that. I also really dont want to drop 1500 on a new mac when mine runs great lol.

 

[tommyguns]

it just seems everything is a pita for me lol

 

[neilyasno]

neilyasno- thats what I was wondering if I switched out the hard drive would my computer be fine because the rest of it is out dated. The issue I have with buying the small computer is that I love my mac and would never really use the pc for anything. I bought a kindle fire for travel use used it on vacation and now it sits in my laptop bag lol. My mac was never top of the line but I dont need it to be and what I will be using it for I will be loading software on it save my original ecu tune then not touching it again lol so dropping 250 on a lap top for that Is going to be a waste. Thats why I would like to upgrade my everyday comp and Ill get more use out out of that. I also really dont want to drop 1500 on a new mac when mine runs great lol.

Assuming you were to acquire a hard drive which is compatible with your mac, you would then have to reinstall the OS which is usually a pain in the butt. I too love my mac even though I think it is over priced for what it is. I mean I payed 1500 for this thing, yet the graphics card is only 383 mb while a windows laptop of this range would have a video card that is AT LEAST 1 GB. Even though its rather obvious, see if a friend will let you borrow their laptop for a few hours or visit your public library which is sure to have computers for the public use. Out of curiosity, why are you messing with your ECU. Usually, it is never left alone as it always will need little tunes. I've always wanted to try it out but all of our cars are leases.

 

[tommyguns]

my gf has a pc and she told be I can use hers the issue is that you have to register the software and it will have to stay on that computer. plus I will be keeping a copy of the tune on the pc as well as a portable hard drive. These are all good things to know I will be going into micro center tomorrow and seeing what they suggest for me and see what some options are if I have to drop 500 into my mac ill just buy the cheap pc and be done with it.

I am messing with my ecu because I cant leave well enough alone lol I have a lifted dodge ram with allot of after market parts, and even though the ecu will remap and adjust to the cai, ported tb , headers and such it will only adjust to stay in specs in which it was programmed from factory. Also I have over sized tires or it will throw off my miles and spedo. Also I will be able to add some nice mpg to the truck while getting much better horse power and torque out of it. There are allot of things you can do with these tuners simple as plug in load tune and go or rebuild it from scratch.

 

[hillbilly pick]

What are the minimum requirements for the software? Is the patch cable USB, Serial, or COM. I know that I am going back to old school.

 

[tommyguns]

the software is not the issue the requirements are not much but because it is windows based and im using mac i need to run windows and the vm ware software which is like 32 gigs for windows and 4 for vmware which i do not have open on my mac. the patch cable from the tuner to car goes right in the obd from tuner to computer its usb.

 

[shavious]

The thing is, replacing a hard drive in a mac is not as easy as one may think. Macs are programed to work with only certain hardware. Meaning some brands work while others don't. You simply wouldn't be able to reinstall the OS on it. However, it still can be done. But think about it, your mac is outdated and running a virtual machine such as parallels will put a lot of strain on your RAM and processor. Also, if you want to take the legal route, you will spend about a bill on Windows and another bill on parallels. (There are other free Virtual Machines but none are as fast.) In your case, I would personally buy a small netbook for about $300. If treated well, it will be able to serve you for a long time and will make a great travel companion.

This is a good cheap alternative

As a former Apple technician, I can tell you it's not as complicated as you might think, especially in a 5-year-old Mac. The ONLY issues I have seen in HD swaps in Macs have involved relatively new iMacs [2010+], and even then HD works just fine as long as you have the right connection [and 90%+ of the HDs you see out there have the right one]. The only problem was the newer machines have an internal temperature sensor that's only in certain drives. So you should be fine with a HD swap to a 500 GB with no problems.

I'm not really a fan of VMWare Fusion or Parallels, so I usually recommend just using Boot Camp. Especially with the limited use you're going to have for Windows, it just seems like you'd want to do it once and be done with it.

 

[tommyguns]

Thanks for the info guys

yeah I looked into the swap and it really wasn't that bad so I reformatted an old external hard drive, used super duper , saved my old hard drive to it and bought a 350g hard drive they had an awsome sale on them at micro center. I'm backing up my hard drive now and lets hope the swap out will go smooth lol.

 

[Ixtab]

The thing is, replacing a hard drive in a mac is not as easy as one may think. Macs are programed to work with only certain hardware. Meaning some brands work while others don't. You simply wouldn't be able to reinstall the OS on it. However, it still can be done. But think about it, your mac is outdated and running a virtual machine such as parallels will put a lot of strain on your RAM and processor. Also, if you want to take the legal route, you will spend about a bill on Windows and another bill on parallels. (There are other free Virtual Machines but none are as fast.) In your case, I would personally buy a small netbook for about $300. If treated well, it will be able to serve you for a long time and will make a great travel companion.

This is a good cheap alternative

+1 ive got an old G4 mac power pc that is bulletproof & use a netbook for small windows based programs