Hi all - I’ve never done an install of Linux before but have always hovered around the community. Now that I have a “spare” and old Macbook Pro that is no longer supported by Apple, I am interested in installing Linux on the device. Obviously I am asking a very broad question here, but are there recommendations on what OS to install on Macs? What are some good resources to find installation guides? In general, just looking for guidance as I start this process as I’m very green to the idea. Thanks all.
It’s super easy to get installed. I recommend a user-friendly system like Mint to start off. I have it installed on a 2015 MBP. This isn’t the exact tutorial that I followed, but close to it.
I’ll second mint, works very well on my 2015 mbp and had no issues so far.
Oh wow, I truly appreciate that share. This is the level of detail I was hoping for :D
Make sure you determine whether it has the T2 security chip in it or not. If it does you’ll need to use one of these isos https://t2linux.org/
Thanks - I hadn’t heard of this before, but my Macbook seems to predate the chip according to those dates.
Before you move to Linux, have you had a look at OpenCore Legacy Patcher? It will allow you to install newer versions of MacOS on your unsupported MBP. Mr Macintosh’s channel on YouTube is a good resource for this.
I had not looked into that but the MBP I want to install Linux on is truly an extra laptop. I get a laptop refresh every 3 or so years from work and get to keep the old one, so at this point I have 2 former work computers so I want to try out the install for the experience. Otherwise I’d just consider recycling it at this point.
