Help! Issues with pro tools LE 8 and macbook

[kath123]

Equipment:
PRO TOOLS LE 8
RACK 001 (missing cable to connect to macbook)
RACK 003
MACBOOK PRO, 1 USB PORT, OS X 10.6.8

Hi,

this is a bit long winded and I am technically pretty clueless, so any advice would be gratefully received...

15 years ago or so I bought pro tools LE 8 and a digiesign rack 001 and a rack 003. Used it to record tracks. Haven't used it in around 12 years but want to get it going again.

If memory serves me right I got the 003 first along with a G4, but then moved to a 001 and a macbook as it was easier to use. Would this make sense? Looking into it now the 003 seems the higher spec system, so it seems if I did that I downgraded?

Anyway, I went to connect my 001 to my macbook pro and i have lost the strange cable which connects the rack to mac. It seems to be a SCSI on one side, not sure about the other. Any idea what it is called/ how I can replace this cable? I have googled with NO luck :-(

Onto the software. I had PRO TOOLS LE 8 on an old macbook pro which I was using up until the macbook got damaged last year. By this point it was OS 10.6.8, but I now realise it wouldn't have been back when I was using pro tools as that now needs a compatibility upgrade (LE 8.05 for 10.6.8). I have bought a replacement macbook, on 10.6.8, as i thought it would be straightforward to start using pro tools straight away (before I realised the incompatibility issue). The new macbook won't allow me to open Pro tools LE 8 if I drag it over from the old macbook HD (I can access the files etc on the old mac HD, but not boot up from it). It says that it isn't compatible and may need to be reinstalled.

I have tried to upgrade it with the AVID update download, but the download says it can't find pro tools on my new macbook (despite me dragging it over from the old one).

I have tried to install it again with the original LE 8 disc, but that says NO SOFTWARE IS FOUND when I tried to do so (this disc has been in its case in a cupboard for 10/15 years, not lying around getting scuffed!). But I ran disc utility which says the disc is damaged, but doesn't give me the option to repair it.

What do I do? Do I need to get another copy of LE 8? Will I need to buy it and if so who sells it, only ebay? Would AVID give me a download since I've already bought it? I can't find it on their site (I was on the phone to their support line today for nearly 2 hours, listening to ALL OUR OPERATORS ARE BUSY etc etc, before I gave up on them). If I get a new copy will I then be able to install it onto my macbook 10.6.8, and THEN upgrade it to 8.05?

And then (if I manage that), what do you recommend I do- use the 001 or the 003? And if so is it just a matter of connecting the rack?

Thank you so much for any help, feeling a bit lost!

Kath