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Re: [LUG] Repurposing an old iMac into a Linux m/c

 

On 31/01/18 16:05, Mike Paddison wrote:
> Hi
> 
> I have never written to a User Group for help before, so please excuse any bad 
> manners or breaches of protocol on my part - any advice on how to do things 
> properly will be gratefully received.
> In summary, I have a 2007 24â iMac (2.16GHz IntelCore 2 Duo, 2GB SDRAM, 250GB 
> Serial ATA Drive, NVIDIA GEFORCE) in good working condition that my grandchildren 
> do no want because it is old and so I would like if possible to repurpose it into 
> a Linux m/c.
> Iâve read articles on the web that claim it is possible, but the articles all seem 
> to be followed by succession of comments/reviews from people who have failed.
> Can anyone please advise me on the feasibility/practicality of doing this and 
> point me in the direction of a suitably authoritative article/tutorial etc on the 
> way forward?
> From my previous attempts to run Windows on this computer, I don't think Bootcamp 
> or VM s/w is going to be an effective way forward.
> 
> Regards, Mike
> 

Welcome aboard chief, you're off to a good start - that's a fun
question. Personally I'm a huge fan of old (free) computers and making
them do stuff they weren't originally supposed to: Macs are really nice
for this sort of project. Ignore all the naysayers on the internet,
they're just technically incompetent - a 2007 (it's an iMac7,1 isn't
it?) 24" iMac is a perfectly nice machine and absolutely capable of
running Linux, BSD or whatever other crazy non-mainstream system you
fancy hacking on to it (Plan9 anyone?).

First job: find out exactly what kind of machine you have:

https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/

That will also tell you what versions of OSX its (officially) compatible
with and the feasibility of upgrading the hardware. It looks like one of
these:

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-2-duo-2.4-24-inch-aluminum-specs.html

Next check out just how hard it might be to actually perform upgrades:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+24-Inch+EMC+2134+and+2211+RAM+Replacement/8966

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+24-Inch+EMC+2267+Hard+Drive+Replacement/9028

RAM is a two minute job - anything else like the HDD is a nightmare job
requiring total disassembly. Thanks Apple!

The good news is that it's a 64 bit system, the bad is that Apple have
done their usual early sunsetting of the system and capped it at El
Capitan 10.11 if you want to stick with or keep OSX as a boot option.
That can be worked around, but you'd have to upgrade the CPU - a very,
very hairy option. Retired Macs can be made to run the latest MacOS
version 10.13 (High Sierra) with a little effort though:

http://dosdude1.com/sierrapatch.html

Of course, the easiest option is to forget all that, abandon OSX/MacOS
completely and just reach for a Linux installer (this is what I'd do in
your position initially at least) and have at it. There are a lot of
sources on the internet for this, some of which are bound to be useless,
out-of-date and contradictory. Don't worry about that, it's just part of
the fun.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/IMac_Aluminum
https://linuxnewbieguide.org/how-to-install-linux-on-a-macintosh-computer/

You'll inevitably end up having to mix and match information from all
over the place to fit your individual situation - don't worry too much
about individual Mac-specific help though. Luckily for you Apple are
relatively consistent in the way they build their systems so once you've
dealt with one EFI based 64 bit Mac you've kind of dealt with them all
(ok, the really new ones are a bit different but don't worry about
that). One thing I can tell you: whatever you do don't lose or kill the
working OSX install if you have one. If you don't have one, make one
first and then clone it to an external bootable firewire/USB drive so
you can always fall back to booting a working vanilla OSX. You will
categorically need it for things like firmware flashing (you MUST flash
the 1.2 EFI update if you ever want to boot anything non-OSX) and
disaster recovery.

Ask away with any questions - I'm really, really used to Macs and
especially upgrading/rescuing/hacking older ones. By coincidence I have
a client 2009 Mini3,1 arriving Friday for a full refresh+upgrade to High
Sierra so I'll even have a similar era Mac in pieces on my desk shortly.
I'll test installing Linux on it whilst I'm at it I guess - I probably
would have anyway just for fun - and I'm always happy to share hints and
tips.

Cheers

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