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Don't junk your old Mac hardware just because it can no longer get new software updates. Get some new life in your old Macs with the GNU/Linux operating system! We'll show you how to 'try it before you buy it' so to speak to see how a specific version of GNU/Linux, Ubuntu, will run on your aging Mac.
I have a late 2010 MacBook Air. It's not as fast or as optically pretty as my 5K iMac nor my iPad Pro for that matter. I do, however, use it daily. I'm writing this article on it. As old as it is, it's 'good enough' for what I use it for and I still prefer the keyboard on it to the one on more modern MacBooks.
My MacBook Air just made the cutoff for being compatible with the newly released macOS High Sierra. I'm happy to know that for at least one more year, I'll be able to get the latest and greatest doodads, bells and whistles, and more importantly, I'll get the latest security updates (good thing too as while I'll write this, we've just found out that WPA2 has been cracked and clients will need to be updated with security patches).
However, Apple at one point will deem this well working, useful, good-enough MacBook Air as unworthy of any more updates. And as I understand the reasons why my venerable MacBook Air can't be supported indefinitely, I still find it to be wasteful that a decent-enough, capable, and not to mention still functioning computer be put to pasture because of lack of software updates.
This is where GNU/Linux comes in. GNU/Linux is a free and open source operating system very similar in many respects to the under-pinnings of macOS. It comes with modern networking capabilities, web browsers, and content creation tools. Not only is it known to run well with older hardware, but you will also get many years of software and security updates that you'd likely miss out on if you were to remain on a macOS-only installation.
You needn't throw out the baby with the bathwater and wipe your old Mac's hard drive clean before trying it out. All you need is a USB drive of a least 2GB in size and an internet connection to get started. Here's how to do it.
Select your External USB device from the list of volumes. (BE VERY CERTAIN YOU SELECT THE PROPER DEVICE).
Click Erase.
The first task in installing and configuring Ubuntu on your Mac is to create a live bootable USB flash drive that contains the Ubuntu Desktop OS. Use this flash drive to not only install Ubuntu but also to confirm that Ubuntu can run on your Mac. You should be able to boot Ubuntu directly from the USB stick without having to perform an install.
We now need to make the USB drive capable of booting Ubuntu Linux with special software. Ubuntu recommends using Etcher.
Click Flash to start the process.
You're now ready to try Ubuntu linux by booting off of your newly created bootable USB key drive.
Ubuntu Linux will now boot up!
You'll be able to connect to Wi-Fi, browse the web, write up an article (or anything else you may want to do) without making any permanent changes to your existing hard drive. See how much you like it and you can eventually install Ubuntu side by side with your macOS install or go full bore with a Linux only installation (tutorials coming later).
I get a real kick out of repurposing old technology with new abilities. I really value the longevity of a computer system that can still run modern software. If I can keep it going beyond it's expected lifespan, I'm a happy camper. What's your take? What do you do with your old hardware? Let us know in the comments!
Installing Windows on your Mac is easy with Boot Camp, but Boot Camp won’t help you install Linux. You’ll have to get your hands a bit dirtier to install and dual-boot a Linux distribution like Ubuntu.
If you just want to try Linux on your Mac, you can boot from a live CD or USB drive. Insert the live Linux media, restart your Mac, press and hold the Option key, and select the Linux media on the Startup Manager screen.
We installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS to test this process.
RELATED:How to Install Windows on a Mac With Boot Camp
rEFInd is a boot manager that will allow you to choose between Mac OS X, Linux, Windows, and other operating systems when you boot your computer. Installing rEFInd makes the dual-boot process easier. (Some older how-to’s will instruct you to use rEFIt, but it’s no longer maintained. rEFInd is a currently maintained boot manager based on rEFIt.)
Full-disk encryption causes problems with rEFIt, so you’ll need to disable full-disk encryption or do some extra work before installing rEFInd.
First, visit the rEFInd page on SourceForge and click the Download button to download the latest refind-bin-[version].zip file. Open a Terminal window by pressing Command + Space and, typing Terminal, and pressing Enter. Drag and drop the install.sh file from the downloaded zip file into the terminal window and press Enter to run it.
Shut down your Mac — a full shut down, not a restart — and boot it back up again. You should see the rEFInd boot manager screen.
You’ll now need to resize your Mac OS X system partition to make room for your Linux distribution of choice. From within Mac OS X, press Command + Space, type Disk Utility, and press Enter to open the Disk Utility. Select your Mac’s hard drive in the list on the left and select Partition on the right.
RELATED:Beginner Geek: Hard Disk Partitions Explained
Shrink the current Mac OS X partition to make space for your Linux system. How much space you want for Linux is up to you. Ubuntu’s system requirements say it requires at least 5 GB of space, but something like 20 GB is much more reasonable. Drag and drop the handle on the partition volume or enter a final size for the partition and click Partition to partition it.
Don’t create a new partition after shrinking your current partition — just leave the space empty for now.
You’ll need Linux installation media to continue. For example, if you’re using Ubuntu, you’ll need to download an Ubuntu ISO file — download the “64-bit Mac” version. Burn the ISO to disc or follow Ubuntu’s official instructions to create a bootable USB drive from the ISO file.
Restart your computer and rEFInd will appear. Select the USB or disc drive containing the Linux system and boot it on your Mac.
Launch your Linux distribution’s installer and go through the installation process. On Ubuntu, launch the Install Ubuntu application from the desktop and install Ubuntu as you normally would. Be sure to select the “Install Ubuntu alongside Mac OS X” option instead of overwriting your Mac OS X system with Ubuntu. The installation process should otherwise be normal.
Whenever you boot your computer, you’ll have the ability to choose between Mac OS X and Linux on the rEFInd boot manager screen.
Depending on your Mac, some hardware components may not work perfectly on Linux. This depends on the version of Linux you use, how recent it is, and what Mac hardware you’re using. If something doesn’t work, you may have to perform some Google searches with the model and year of your Mac as well as the name and version of the Linux distribution you’re using. Other users have probably dealt with the same problems before you, and they’ve probably written guides to making everything work.
RELATED:How to Wipe Your Mac and Reinstall macOS from Scratch
If you decide you no longer want to dual boot Linux on your Mac, you can remove Linux fairly easily. Boot into OS X, open the Disk Utility, and delete your Linux partitions. You can also boot from your Linux USB media and use the GParted partition manager to remove these partitions. After the partitions are deleted, you can enlarge your Mac OS X partition afterwards from the Disk Utility in OS X to reclaim the space used for Linux.
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If you installed Linux as the only operating system and replaced Mac OS X, you’ll need to reinstall OS X on your Mac if you want to leave Linux behind.
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To remove the rEFInd boot manager, follow rEFInd’s uninstallation instructions. You don’t have to remove rEFInd — your Mac will continue working fine with rEFInd installed even if you remove Linux.
The rEFInd bit isn’t mandatory, but you’ll have to perform other tweaks to make Linux boot properly on a Mac if you opt to not use rEFInd. While Apple makes installing Windows easy through Boot Camp, they don’t provide any simple solution for installing Linux.
Image Credit: Brandon Nguyen on Flickr
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