1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
|
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<meta name="color-scheme" content="dark light">
<link rel="icon" href="data:,">
<title>Linux Mint MacBook Air Setup</title>
<link href="/atom.xml" type="application/atom+xml" rel="alternate" title="Atom feed for blog posts" />
<link href="/rss.xml" type="application/rss+xml" rel="alternate" title="RSS feed for blog posts" />
<style>*{box-sizing:border-box;}body{font-family:sans-serif;line-height:1.33;margin:0 auto;max-width:650px;padding:1rem;}blockquote{background:rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-left:4px solid;padding-left:5px;}img{max-width:100%;}pre{border:1px solid;overflow:auto;padding:5px;}table{text-align:left;width:100%;}.footnotes{font-size:90%;}</style>
</head>
<nav>
<a href="#menu">Menu ↓</a>
</nav>
<main>
<h1 id="linux-mint-macbook-air-setup">Linux Mint MacBook Air Setup</h1>
<p>2020-08-16</p>
<p>I don’t like the idea of throwing away old or outdated tech (within reason), so I try to find a new purpose for some of my “retired” devices. This article will cover how to switch over a mid-2011 model MacBook Air to utilize Linux Mint.</p>
<p><strong>Important</strong>: This setup will completely wipe your existing disk and create a fresh install of Linux Mint on the SSD. You have been warned.</p>
<h2 id="the-specs">The Specs</h2>
<p>My old MacBook Air has a pretty decent spec sheet:</p>
<ul>
<li>Processor: <strong>1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5</strong></li>
<li>Memory: <strong>4GB of 1333MHz DDR3</strong></li>
<li>Graphics: <strong>Advanced Intel HD Graphics 3000</strong></li>
<li>SSD: <strong>128 GB</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>And let’s take a look at the basic system requirements Linux Mint suggests:</p>
<ul>
<li>2GB RAM</li>
<li>Dual Core Processor</li>
<li>20GB free disk space</li>
</ul>
<p>We are looking pretty good!</p>
<h2 id="step-1-download-linux-mint">Step 1: Download Linux Mint</h2>
<p>For this setup we will be using the latest, stable version (at this time of writing) of Linux Mint 20 “Ulyana” - Xfce which is 20. You can download the necessary files here: </p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=283">Linux Mint 20 “Ulyana” - Xfce</a> [1.8GB]</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="step-2-flash-linux-mint-to-usb-stick">Step 2: Flash Linux Mint to USB Stick</h2>
<p>Next we just need to flash the Linux Mint OS to a USB storage device. If you need to purchase some, you can easily find them on Amazon (affliate link):</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JB3NXIS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00JB3NXIS&linkCode=as2&tag=uglyduck-20&linkId=494f4c1dd4e21782ecb865bcaa5a526b">Kootion 10 Pack 4GB Flash Drive 4gb USB 2.0 Flash Drives Keychain USB Drive Bulk Thumb Drive Swivel Memory Stick Black</a></p></li>
<li><p>Download <a href="https://www.balena.io/etcher/">Balena Etcher</a> for your current operating system</p></li>
<li><p>Run the installer</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Once installed, open Etcher do the following:</p>
<ol>
<li>Select your downloaded Linux Mint ISO file</li>
<li>Select your USB stick/device as the media</li>
<li>Flash media</li>
<li>???</li>
<li>Profit!!</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="step-3-boot-from-usb">Step 3: Boot from USB</h2>
<ul>
<li>Make sure your Macbook Air is turned off</li>
<li>Plug your newly flashed USB stick into the MacBook Air</li>
<li>Turn on the MacBook Air</li>
<li>Immediately hold down the <strong>alt/option</strong> button (keep holding until the prompt screen is visible)</li>
<li>You will be shown drive “icons” - you want to select your USB drive (normally the far right icon)</li>
<li>Press <strong>Enter</strong></li>
<li>Select the first item in the list that appears “Start Linux Mint”</li>
</ul>
<p>After this you will boot into a “live session” of the Linux Mint operating system.</p>
<h2 id="step-4-installing-linux-mint">Step 4: Installing Linux Mint</h2>
<p>Linux Mint makes it very easy for you to install it’s OS step-by-step (similar to most other Linux distros). Simply <strong>double-click</strong> on the “Install Linux Mint” CD icon on the main desktop.</p>
<ul>
<li>Choose your language. then hit <strong>Continue</strong></li>
<li>Select your preferred keyboard layout, then hit <strong>Continue</strong></li>
<li><em>Optional</em>: You might be asked to connect to a WiFi network, if you are set it up now</li>
<li>I would suggest downloading the multimedia codecs to make things easier, then hit <strong>Continue</strong></li>
<li>For installation type, select “Erase disk and install Linux Mint”, then hit <strong>Continue</strong>
<ul>
<li>WARNING: This will wipe your current drive completely - make sure you are okay with this!</li>
</ul></li>
<li>It will issue you with a warning prompt, simply click <strong>Continue</strong></li>
<li>Select your timezone, then hit <strong>Continue</strong></li>
<li>Enter your name, a username, a name for your computer, and set a password (you will use this to login moving forward)</li>
<li>Wait for the installation to complete</li>
<li>Once complete, you will be prompted to <strong>reboot your system</strong></li>
<li>After a reboot you will be prompted to remove the USB device and then press <strong>Enter</strong></li>
<li>Welcome to Linux Mint!</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
<p>Linux Mint is not only a great operating system, but it is also an excellent starting point for newcomers to Linux in general. It’s stable enough to be used as a daily driver and popular enough that most minor issues can be solved with a quick internet search.</p>
<p>Hopefully this inspires others to try “recycling” their older Apple products instead of tossing them away or having them collect dust.</p>
<footer role="contentinfo">
<h2>Menu Navigation</h2>
<ul id="menu">
<li><a href="/">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="/projects">Projects</a></li>
<li><a href="/uses">Uses</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki">Wiki</a></li>
<li><a href="/resume">Resume</a></li>
<li><a href="/colophon">Colophon</a></li>
<li><a href="/now">Now</a></li>
<li><a href="/donate">Donate</a></li>
<li><a href="/atom.xml">RSS</a></li>
<li><a href="#top">↑ Top of the page</a></li>
</ul>
<small>
Built with <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/barf">barf</a>. <br>
Maintained with ♥ for the web. <br>
Proud supporter of <a href="https://usefathom.com/ref/DKHJVX">Fathom</a> & <a href="https://nextdns.io/?from=74d3p3h8">NextDNS</a>. <br>
The content for this site is <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.<br> The <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/bt.ht">code for this site</a> is <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/bt.ht/tree/master/item/LICENSE">MIT</a>.
</small>
</footer>
|
