Hi all, I’m dipping my toes into Linux again after almost 30 years, and I’m looking specifically for any distros that will run on a mid-2010 Macbook (Intel Penryn-3M Core 2 Duo with 4GB of RAM and a 1T HDD). Video is integrated Nvidia GeForce 320M.
I’ve already tried Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon booting off USB (but not installing) and it runs well, even wifi and video, no hitches at all. And going forward I’d be fine with Mint from what I’ve seen so far.
But before settling in on one distro, I’d like to try as many as will run on this ancient Macbook, because my endpoint is to eventually convert my much newer Windows machines to Linux, so I’m not just deciding for the Macbook. I am, however, limited to that as my test machine for the moment.
I’m not at all new to tech, but consider me a noob to Linux, esp Linux GUIs: last time I ran it in the early 90s it was text only. I don’t even remember what flavor it was, lol. So yeah, I’m starting from scratch here but can pick it up quickly if I’m pointed in the right directions.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
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Many thanks to everyone who gave me their time and made suggestions. I was looking for myself as well, so now I have many distros to try, lol. I have checked the system requirements and install directions for each of the following, and here is the list I have so far of distros that will work on this old MacBook (not in any particular order):
Will definitely try
Linux Mint 21.2
OpenSUSE Leap 15.5
AntiX 23
Debian 12 “Bookworm” with Xfce
Peppermint OS
Linux Lite 6.4
MX Linux 23 (after RAM upgrade)
Pop! OS 22.04 (after RAM upgrade)
Might also try, but might not (various reasons):
Zorin OS 16.3 Core and Lite
Solus 4.4 “Harmony” with Budgie (after RAM upgrade)
Fedora with Xfce
Thanks again!
Ooh, I just did this! Mid 2010 white MacBook, Core 2 Duo P8600, 2GB, spinning rust HDD.
*Strongly recommend switching to SSD. I also added an 8GB stick (so 9GB total, hah) but my hunch is that even the SSD alone would have made this machine much more enjoyable.
I ultimately decided on MX Linux, although with systemd as init so that logind could handle lid and power button events. The default power manager (XFCE?) would result in a black screen upon resuming otherwise. MX Linux also worked the best for me in terms of optimizing for battery life.
PeppermintOS was my second place but also had the black-screen on resume.
I also tried various flavors of Mint but felt that Peppermint and MX were ever-so-slightly leaner in terms of features I actually use and battery life.
Avoid Void Linux. On my system the trackpad only worked in one direction.
I was not able to get the nVidia card to work with proprietary drivers. It’s so old that it requires legacy drivers (340) and I just ran out of patience. Nouveau or bust.
I am currently using it for casual web browsing and YouTube. It handles YouTube pretty well although I’m still searching for a native frontend that allows me to login to my YouTube account so I get all my subscriptions and stuff.
This is incredibly helpful, thank you. Especially the info on coming out of sleep or hibernate. You’re right about the SSD, but there’s only a SATA port on this one, so the best I could do would be SSD through an adapter. Sounds like SSD was an adapter add on for you as well. Is that what you did? I could definitely use your advice on that part.
In other news, and for whatever reason, Mint saw the onboard Nvidia, wifi and Bluetooth hardware and installed correct drivers with zero further modification necessary. I pulled a Mac system information report to try to help with this if I get into a position of having to manually find drivers with any of these with other distros, but it’s good to know Mint will run for me without modification out of the box. I did NOT try going into or coming out of sleep, though. I will add that to my list of things to check on each distro, thank you!
I looked at MX Linux too but it’s considered “midweight” and not optimal for really old hardware; antiX is recommended instead? Apparently MX Linux gets laggy with so little RAM (4 GB) so I have it on my list for after I throw more RAM on the pile. Sounds like you were able to make it work for you.
Again, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to write this out. So helpful. Thank you again.
SSD: Best Buy (US electronics store) still had some SATA SSDs in stock, so I didn’t need an adapter. This is what I got: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/pny-cs900-500gb-internal-ssd-sata/6385542.p?skuId=6385542
Take advantage of the fact that you can make Live USBs of the distros as you decide what you’re looking for.
For me, I found AntiX a little too barebones for me. But your mileage will vary.
I will have to give Mint another go sometime!
Sweet, the BestBuy near me has this in 1T for $35 and one still physically in stock. This is fantastic. Thank you!
Also, as I’ve been reading about different distros and checking system reqs, an inability to sleep or hibernate correctly pops up as being associated with inadequate swap space. I don’t know that this has been your issue, and the old rule of 2x your physical RAM is only still recommended if you’re at 4GB or less (you’re at 9GB so 1x is probably fine) but I thought I’d throw it out there because it seems like an easy fix if that’s what’s causing the problem.
Again, much appreciated. Your info has been invaluable twice now, lol. Thank you!