Coolscan to a new Mac

[markbau]

I have a 10 year old MacBook that I keep mainly because I can plug my Nikon Coolscan scanner straight into it with its Firewire cable. Lately my old MacBook is starting to die but my Coolscan is still working fine. After a lot of googling as well as looking at this site I'm totally confused if Firewire/USB adapters actually work. So what I need to know is, if I buy a new MacBook, can I hook up my Nikon Coolscan to it and if so, how?

 

[Tom Kershaw]

I'd be interested in this topic as well as I'm also running my Coolscan 9000 on a 10 year old Mac Book Pro. What is the trouble with your machine? I upgraded my computer to 8 GB Ram and an SSD hard drive which has kept performance acceptable.

 

[markbau]

Its somehow got corrupted, the CD/DVD drive is dead, When I try to install El Capitan it says "computer says no" if I try to install Yosemite it chokes. The list is endless! The HD is now read only, if I try to launch PS or chrome it doesn't. I'm at my wits end.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

My CD/DVD drive hasn't worked for ages. Is your machine the Mac Book or Mac Book Pro? I've attached an 'About this Mac' window from my machine as a comparison. Have you got an SSD?

 

[markbau]

I've got a mid 2009 MacBook Pro. By SSD do you mean solid state drive? I do have an external HD for backup but Time Machine just reinstalls the problem plagued OS again. (I can't re-install from original system disk as the DVD reader is kaput) Anyhow I think it's time to upgrade so really want to know of peoples experiences connecting Firewire to new Macs. Also, I doubt my Photoshop CS 5.1 would run on a new Mac so would have to partition my HD and install an older OS, I just don't use PS enough to pay Adobe each month.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

If you do want to rejuvenate your 2009 computer:

1. Yes an SSD

2. You can download a copy of El Capitan for free from Apple - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886 - this is the latest version to work with your model. After the dmg has downloaded you can make a bootable copy on a usb stick to act as an install drive.

On Photoshop, I've found PhotoLine works well for my usage and has no monthly fee. www.pl32.com