[girishv]

Sorry for replying to an old thread.
I have a similar laptop (mid 2012 13 inch) came with 4GB RAM. I upgraded,
1. RAM to 16 GB (in two steps, first four years 8 GB and last month, last night before the lock-down bought 2 8GB sticks for 5k)
2. 256 GB SDD replacing the OEM hdd
3. HDD in place of optical drive using
https://www.amazon.in/Storite-Optical-Drive-Caddy-Universal/dp/B00HD7QQQA


4. Running Catalina 10.15.3

I can say that except for cosmetics, my laptop can give a good competition even after 5+ years to modern laptops costing twice as much.

I replaced RAM, Hard disks myself thanks to Apple's own instructions.

Originally Posted by ZMG

Hi All,

I have Mid 2012 Macbook Pro (Non retina)

The config is as:

RAM : 8 GB
HDD: 750 GB
Intel i7

Currently running on MacOs Sierra 10.12.12 and there is an update available to Yosomite I guess.

I have some questions:

1. Should I update it to Yosomite ? Will it slow down my 7 year old computer ?
2. I have seen people removing the optical drive and adding SSD, and loading the OS on that, can someone help me with some links for the entire project, as I would like to do it as a DIY
3.My computer runs fine, I was thinking of adding a WD 240 GB Sata 3 SSD with the cadey for about 3K. So you think this is a good SSD ?

Thanks in advance

[girishv]

Originally Posted by ZMG

Hi All,

Thank you for your response.
I have gone through some videos, and they show how one can remove the optical drive and add the caddy, and then through carbon copy cloner, clone the hdd to ssd.

My question however is, how will I ensure that the OS is now only on SSD, and that is the drive which is called on reboot ?

Thanks,
ZMG

You can have OS on both disks. To select the one which is not default, press option key while booting.
You can select the disk to boot from later and make it permanent too.

[vb-saan]

The keyboard and the trackpad on my 2014 MacBook Air suddenly decided to stop working. Any pointers to revive, or its effectively end of the machine?
Works with an external keyboard/mouse attached though.

[Repsol]

Is anyone using antivirus software for your Mac? If so, can you please help with which one is good, and has least impact on the system performance.

[Rahulkool]

Originally Posted by girishv

Sorry for replying to an old thread.
I have a similar laptop (mid 2012 13 inch) came with 4GB RAM. I upgraded,
1. RAM to 16 GB (in two steps, first four years 8 GB and last month, last night before the lock-down bought 2 8GB sticks for 5k)
2. 256 GB SDD replacing the OEM hdd
3. HDD in place of optical drive using
https://www.amazon.in/Storite-Optical-Drive-Caddy-Universal/dp/B00HD7QQQA


4. Running Catalina 10.15.3

I can say that except for cosmetics, my laptop can give a good competition even after 5+ years to modern laptops costing twice as much.

I replaced RAM, Hard disks myself thanks to Apple's own instructions.

I also have a 2012 MBP, i have upgraded it to 8GB ram and 256GB SSD. Stock 512GB HDD is in CD drive caddy. Performance is very good and it works good for regular use. Only difference i feel from my 2016 rMBP retina is heat. This one heats too much when compared to the retina model. Maybe due to older processor. Also screen and touch pad is much better in retina model but i can live with it, heat is something which bothers me too much, have to keep it always on desk, otherwise it becomes a lap warmer.

[girishv]

Few weeks back I opened my MBP and cleaned fan vents which completely covered with some dust bunny kind of thing. After that my MBP is running with temperatures around 50 degree during normal run.

Originally Posted by Rahulkool

I also have a 2012 MBP, i have upgraded it to 8GB ram and 256GB SSD. Stock 512GB HDD is in CD drive caddy. Performance is very good and it works good for regular use. Only difference i feel from my 2016 rMBP retina is heat. This one heats too much when compared to the retina model. Maybe due to older processor. Also screen and touch pad is much better in retina model but i can live with it, heat is something which bothers me too much, have to keep it always on desk, otherwise it becomes a lap warmer.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by Repsol

Is anyone using antivirus software for your Mac? If so, can you please help with which one is good, and has least impact on the system performance.

Would I be right in presuming that you have recently moved to Mac from Windows?

I do not use any antivirus apps on my macs. I believe that as long as one does not install software from sketchy sources (meaning, outside the App Store or outside of really well-known and trusted developers); and as long as one does not visit sketchy websites etc., one is generally quite safe on a Mac from malware. The hardware and OS work quite well together to keep one safe.

Also, I would recommend the you either stick to using Safari as the web browser; else use Firefox with the following addons: uBlock Origin (not uBlock, but uBlock Origin - very different animals); Privacy Badger, Smart HTTPS; Privacy Badger and finally DecentralEyes. This action will prevent sites from tracking you or installing any malware and thus keep you safe.

Finally, (1) if you see an unexpected popup asking for the password of an admin-level user, do not permit unless you have explicitly asked for something to be installed; and (2) if you see any popup asking for permission to access your camera or microphone or contacts etc., I would deny any such permission unless the app is made by Apple. Ecceptions would be video-conferencing apps as mentioned below - and even with those, be judicious.

When it comes to video-conferencing apps (since the popularity has shot up due to the current pandemic), I would avoid Zoom like the plague; I would use Google apps (Duo, Hangouts, Meet etc.) only if I had absolutely no other alternative; I would trust Cisco Webex a bit more, and would trust Jitsi (meet.jit.si) the most at the moment.

For people who insist on using Google videoconferencing apps, I have enabled Guest user on the Mac; and have created a google account that I use only for these video conferences, and I login to the google app only from my Guest account using the dedicated google account.

Welcome to Mac; and cheers

[Repsol]

Originally Posted by tilt

Would I be right in presuming that you have recently moved to Mac from Windows?

Not really, moved to MacOS about a year back. Have been using it without any specific antivirus, as I too had the same understanding like you mentioned.

But yesterday, I installed Chrome (as I use chrome extensively on my work laptop, which is Windows). Now, as soon as I installed Chrome, it started to install the extensions which I already have installed in my work laptop too, one of them is "AdBlock". I have been using this extension for a couple of years in my work laptop, and have never experienced any issues with it. But once this got installed in my Macbook, it started to act weird. All of a sudden, the default search engine changed to Bing (even in Safari). I changed it back to Google search, but still if I go an search something in Google, the results would show up in Bing.

So I checked over the net for any such issue, and got to know that this something called YahooSearchVirus. I then quickly downloaded CleanMyMac X (free version) from AppStore, and did a scan, and there it shows AdBlock as an alert. Immediately uninstalled Chrome, and any related extensions and files. Will stick to Safari only.

But this is when the thought of having a dedicated antivirus software came to my mind.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by Repsol

Is anyone using antivirus software for your Mac? If so, can you please help with which one is good, and has least impact on the system performance.

I use a paid subscription of MALWAREBYTES on my MacBook and other devices. My subscription allows me to use this product on 10 concurrent devices.
I know this has a good threat directory and the scanning isn't intrusive or noticeable.

[wildsdi5530]

Originally Posted by girishv

Few weeks back I opened my MBP and cleaned fan vents which completely covered with some dust bunny kind of thing. After that my MBP is running with temperatures around 50 degree during normal run.

How did you open the MacBook? I have a MacBook Air and the screws are funny, Even my 32 screw head adapters didn't have a compatible one.

[Repsol]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

How did you open the MacBook? I have a MacBook Air and the screws are funny, Even my 32 screw head adapters didn't have a compatible one.

That's because Apple uses special pentalobe screws, for which a specific screw driver is required.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by Repsol

Not really, moved to MacOS about a year back. Have been using it without any specific antivirus, as I too had the same understanding like you mentioned.

But yesterday, I installed Chrome (as I use chrome extensively on my work laptop, which is Windows). Now, as soon as I installed Chrome, it started to install the extensions which I already have installed in my work laptop too, one of them is "AdBlock". I have been using this extension for a couple of years in my work laptop, and have never experienced any issues with it. But once this got installed in my Macbook, it started to act weird. All of a sudden, the default search engine changed to Bing (even in Safari). I changed it back to Google search, but still if I go an search something in Google, the results would show up in Bing.

So I checked over the net for any such issue, and got to know that this something called YahooSearchVirus. I then quickly downloaded CleanMyMac X (free version) from AppStore, and did a scan, and there it shows AdBlock as an alert. Immediately uninstalled Chrome, and any related extensions and files. Will stick to Safari only.

But this is when the thought of having a dedicated antivirus software came to my mind.

You installed Chrome? That's a no-no . I would strongly recommend that you either use Safari or Firefox with the add-ons I listed.

And please, please, do not ever install anyting like CleanMyMac or MacKeeper or anything that purports to keep your Mac clean. MacOS does that very well by itself and is designed to be that way.

Malwarebytes is the only exception to the above rule.

Cheers

[Red Liner]

After doing a measly amount of video editing on my 2017 mac air, i have realised that i need something better. A mac mini with a 4k monitor. I enjoy the video editing process in imovie and will continue on it.

Are there big updates for the mini expected in 2021? I am not going to be doing this professionally, its just something i enjoy creatively and have owned nothing more powerful than a macbook air the past 15 years of being in the mac ecosystem.

I will be happy to wait for apple to drop their own processors into the mini's. Been hearing that intel processor development has been a key thorn in the side of Apple trying to launch better things in the future.

My purchase will be in 2021 and not before.

[Pancham]

Guys, I have 2019 MacBook Air 128GB; basically the previous gen i5 version. Is there a way I can increase SSD storage in this thing? I made the mistake of getting the 128 GB version and within a year I am running out of space.

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by Pancham

Guys, I have 2019 MacBook Air 128GB; basically the previous gen i5 version. Is there a way I can increase SSD storage in this thing? I made the mistake of getting the 128 GB version and within a year I am running out of space.

Have you considered upgrading the iCloud storage? I have the same spec MacBook. With high speed internet available everywhere, cloud storage is the way to go. If you are an Apple eco system user, it makes syncing data across devices a breeze.