Running a Linux distro from USB drive can be very useful, you can do almost anything just like from an installed operating system. It’s an easy way to run something on Linux or just see how Ubuntu works, the biggest disadvantage is that the USB flash drives are much slower than SSD drives. In this tutorial we will create a bootable USB drive in macOS and test it on MacBook Air.
This in depth guide will take you every step of the way through installing Ubuntu Linux on your Mac, by way of VirtualBox – a free and outstanding program. Using this method you’ll be able to run Ubuntu and macOS at the same time! Please note: although this guide was initially authored in 2015, it has been updated (2020) to be current. I don't know about a 2019 MacBook but when I installed Linux on a 2009 MacBook I had to adjust the keyboard layout via the selections dialog. I had to set it to something weird which, unfortunately, I cannot recall at this time. The odd thing was the keyboard worked fine when running from a 'Live USB' but worked all 'crazy' when installed:/. The ISO in from this repo should allow you to install ubuntu without using an external keyboard or mouse on a MacBook Pro. It work in my MacBook with T2. If this repo helped you in any way, consider inviting a coffee to the people in the credits or me. UBUNTU 20.04 ISO with Apple T2 patches built-in. Hdiutil convert /path/to/ubuntu.iso -format UDRW -o /path/to/target.img. Note: OS X tends to put the.dmg ending on the output file automatically. Run diskutil list to get the current list of devices. Insert your flash media; Run diskutil list again and determine the device node assigned to your flash media (e.g. /dev/disk2) Run.
Test environment: macOS 10.13.1 Download ISO: Ubuntu 16.04
Create the bootable USB drive (MBR/UEFI scheme)
a.) Identify the USB drive, in my example the device is /dev/disk2.
b.) Erase the /dev/disk2, create one big partition /dev/disk2s1 and format as FAT32 with the label “UBUNTU”. All data on /dev/disk2 will be destroyed!Blender on macbook air.
diskutil partitionDisk /dev/disk2 1 MBR FAT32 UBUNTU R
d.) Copy the Ubuntu installation files to the USB drive, it might take a few minutes.
cp -Rv /Volumes/UBUNTUISO/ /Volumes/UBUNTU/
e.) Unmount the USB drive.
* Note The bootable USB drive will work only on systems with UEFI firmware.
Run Ubuntu
a.) Turn on your MacBook and press the Option (⌥) key, you should see the Startup Manager, which allows you to boot from other disks. b.) Select the USB drive and press Enter.
c.) When Grub loads, select “Try Ubuntu without installing” and press Enter.
My Early 2008 MacBook was my gateway drug into the world of Macs. Shortly after seeing how everything “just works” with my MacBook after years of Windows Vista hell, I made the full transition to Apple.
However, this 12-year-old MacBook no longer receives macOS updates and is stuck with Snow Leopard. So I decided to do a little experimenting by installing Linux on the device.
For this article, I’m using a new hard drive and keeping the old one in case I want to swap it back in later. If you’re going to use the same hard drive, please be sure to backup any documents, photos, etc before beginning!
Be sure to backup any files you want to keep from your MacBook before you start!
Step 1: Choose your Linux distro
I decided to go with Peppermint OS 10, a Linux distro based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. I picked this as I wanted something lightweight for the aging hardware of the MacBook 4,1 and I wanted a desktop that was a little “prettier” than Xubuntu’s default XFCE environment. I also really like their implementation of Single-Site Browsers (making web apps look like desktop apps). Of course, there are many great distros out there, so feel free to explore.
I downloaded the 64-bit ISO file from Peppermint’s website and used Unetbootin to write it to a USB drive. You can check out Peppermint’s great user guide for more details on this process.
Step 2: Install Peppermint OS
Before beginning the install process, I replaced the hard drive on the MacBook with a SSD drive to (hopefully) make the MacBook a little snappier with it’s new OS. This process was very easy.
Install Linux On Macbook Pro
I inserted the USB drive with the Peppermint OS’ image on it and powered on the MacBook while holding down “Option” until the Mac’s boot options showed. I selected the “EFI Boot” option with the USB symboled above it once it appeared.
The Peppermint OS desktop took forever to appear (more on how to fix this later), but once it did, I selected the “Install Peppermint OS” option on the desktop and went through the wizard to install it.
Since I’m using a new SSD drive, I selected the option to erase everything and install Peppermint. Be sure this is something you actually want to do and that you have a backup of any files you want to keep!
Next, I grabbed a cup of coffee while Peppermint is installed and the system rebooted.
Step 3: Fix some broken stuff
First issue: Long Boot Times
The extremely long boot times were infuriating, so I decided to address that first. I was constantly seeing messages like this at startup:
drm:drm_atomic_helper_wait_for_flip
A quick Google led me to a helpful page that provided the following instructions. Open the Terminal application and run:
On the line that starts “GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT,” add this kernel boot parameter after “splash” and before the ending quote:
Save the file (CTRL+X and then Y to write file), then run:
Once I restarted the computer, the login screen appeared in under a minute.
Run Ubuntu On Macbook Pro
Second Issue: Flaky Wifi
I also began to notice that the WiFi would randomly stop working after a few minutes of web browser. How to insert pen drive in macbook pro. To fix this, go to the menu, select System > Additional Drivers. Check the box to use the Broadcomm proprietary driver and click “Apply Changes”. Reboot the system and your WiFi should be much more stable.
Ubuntu 20.04 On Macbook Pro
So what are proprietary drivers and why are they off by default? Well, part of the beauty of Linux and Ubuntu is that it is open source, meaning anyone can look at the code and submit changes and find security bugs. However, some hardware manufacturers don’t want to give away company secrets and other proprietary information, so they release drivers that are not open source. Ubuntu will try to use open source drivers if it can, but you can still choose to use proprietary drivers if you find any issues with the open source drivers, which is what happened to me in this case.
Summary
How To Run Ubuntu On Macbook Pro Model
Running Peppermint OS on my 2008 white MacBook actually works surprisingly well. It’s definitely not as fast as today’s laptops and Chromebooks, but it works fine for basic web browsing, development and word processing. I’m glad to give some new life to my MacBook and it’s otherwise solid hardware.