Repurposing old MacBook - Linux query

lindsay

lindsay

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I have two old white MacBooks, with 500Gb HDD's and 4Gb RAM each, both work fine but are stuck on old (Catalina I think) OSX versions and most of the software I use now doesn't work with them, also they are just too slow for some apps in osx now. So instead of junking them, I thought I might be able to install a version of Linux on them for which the hardware would be fine (I think). I'm not sure what I'll do with them then, but they would work as sandboxes for experimenting and learning/re-learning things like Linux, C, etc.

I'd appreciate some guidance from the technical literati on here as to the viability of this, whether you think it's worth the bother, and if so which distro to get hold of and then any suggested interesting apps to get hold of for them please?
Ta
 
Thanks for that link. I think I'll try to create a Fedora boot disk and see how it goes.
 
lindsay said:
Thanks for that link. I think I'll try to create a Fedora boot disk and see how it goes.
Click to expand...

I'd be inclined to try running from a USB stick initially, and there are several applications that will burn an ISO to USB - Rufus is one I've used successfully.

In addition to Fedora, I'd suggest trying Mint Mate, Linux Lite and Debian. All it will cost is download and playing time, and running from USB, the distro should be decently responsive.

FWIW I've used Fedora previously with the gnome desktop but never been a fan. Too much stuff didn't work out of the box (like audio for example). I used to regularly try new distros this way, and still do occasionally.
 
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lindsay said:
Thanks for that link. I think I'll try to create a Fedora boot disk and see how it goes.
Click to expand...
Could you keep us posted with how this goes. I've 3 older Mac's ( 2x iMac's and 1 x MacBook Pro) which I'm loathe to dispose of and re-purposing them looks to be a way of extending there usefulness.
 
Thanks for the comments and interest. I'll definitely update folk on here after experimenting.
I'm nervous as it's about 25 years since I did anything with Unix (IBM AIX) and I only dabbled then, so we'll see how I get on.
 
lindsay said:
I'm nervous as it's about 25 years since I did anything with Unix (IBM AIX) and I only dabbled then, so we'll see how I get on.
Click to expand...
I drop into Linux on Windows or FreeBSD on OS-X for anything serious on the command line but I've had little luck with the Linux GUIs I've tried over many years.

I hope you fare better than me!
 
The better Linux installs are easy, and usually 'just work' in a way Cupertino can only envy. Legacy hardware, no problem. Ancient printer, cups will handle it.

I like Mint because it's easy to install non-free drivers for DVD playback etc that can be problematic with some distros. If free as in thought is important to you then there's distros that are designed with that in mind too.
 
I tried using RUFUS to download a bootable distro of Fedora to a usb stick, but it just wouldn't work. So I then downloaded a bootable distro of Mint and that was really easy, checked it out a bit and it looked good, so I've installed that on one of the old MacBooks. I am now struggling a bit to configure the network card for internet access so I can update drivers, but I think if I first make an ethernet wired connection to the router, that will give me a head-start. If I can get this working ok, I'll consider doing the same with the other MacBook.
 
lindsay said:
I tried using RUFUS to download a bootable distro of Fedora to a usb stick, but it just wouldn't work. So I then downloaded a bootable distro of Mint and that was really easy, checked it out a bit and it looked good, so I've installed that on one of the old MacBooks. I am now struggling a bit to configure the network card for internet access so I can update drivers, but I think if I first make an ethernet wired connection to the router, that will give me a head-start. If I can get this working ok, I'll consider doing the same with the other MacBook.
Click to expand...

Hopefully the wired connection will be plug and play.
 
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