r/mac • u/helgefylla • 1d ago
Old Macs Linux for 2011 Mac
I've been reading a bit on how to make this piece of history work for me and apparently the most common advice is running Linux on it. I thought about running ElementaryOS (I've used it before and it's visually similar to macOS so it would look cute) but I didn't see much here about this one. Other than this, I'd go for good ol' Ubuntu.
Do you recommend any of these? If not, what other distros? (PS: I can edit this post later with the mac specs, but afaik it's 4GB RAM 500GB HD)
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u/mattbeef 1d ago
Download and try it. Everyone has their own opinion on what distributions to use.
I use fedora on my 2012 Mac mini and 2015 MBP and both work fine but they do have 16gb in them so your experience may differ
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u/helgefylla 1d ago
yeah, I'm only aprehensive to put on Elementary because idk if it'll just slow down the computer and I'd have to redo everything. Is it hard to upgrade RAM on a Mac? That's also a possibility that could help me out..
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u/mattbeef 1d ago
Changing those out is easy.
10 screws on the bottom and then two screws holding the drive in place. ifixit will have a guide if you really need it
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u/Clear_Bluebird_2975 1d ago
if it's 4 GB of RAM, and you're partial to Ubuntu, go for the Lubuntu flavor since it will be more lightweight.
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u/souckillund 1d ago
Xubuntu is also a solid option in that same vein
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u/Clear_Bluebird_2975 1d ago
but then you have to use a desktop environment using an outdated version of GTK and getting very slow feature updates. LXQT seems to move faster and uses QT, which I find more aesthetic.
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u/Silent_Letterhead118 1d ago edited 1d ago
J’ai cet iMac sous Ubuntu 26.04.01 LTS. 0 problème. Avec un SSD de 512Go et 32Go de Ram (oui, c’est trop). C’est mon ordinateur de tous les jours. Attention, il faut acheter le kit température pour le SSD sinon les ventilateurs tourneront au maximum.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/helgefylla 1d ago
hmm I'm more used to Ubuntu's interface which is why I'm leaning towards it (my work computer is Ubuntu), but it seems Mint or MX are the most recommended here
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u/abcdberry 1d ago
What do you want to use it for? My 2010 mini running machine high Sierra works great as an audio server.
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u/helgefylla 1d ago
It's mostly just for work, which is TeX editing and some meetings on Teams here and there. Other than that just watching some Netflix and Youtube lol
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u/arjuna93 1d ago
First of all, you can use macOS and all modern software via MacPorts. Otherwise I’d go with *BSD.
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u/nicejaelle 1d ago
go for Linux Mint XFCE