The superdrive in my late 2008 4,1 macbook has passed on but I need to upgrade the HDD with a larger one meaning a reinstall of 10.6 snow leopard.
Can I use an external optical drive to do this on such an old macbook or will I need to replace the internal?
If I can what key do I need to hold down at boot to access the USB optical drive.
Alternatively is there some way I can make a bootable USB, preferably without having to upgrade to Lion.
Thanks.
Best Answer
Yes, you can.
Holding Option on boot, will show you all the bootable possibilities.
Making a bootable USB is as easy as making a clean installation. Format the USB with the correct Mac Os X format, and then install as usual. Here is a step-by-step guide, with lots of useful tips.