Linux on older Intel Macs without T2

[DCBassman]

Just installed MX 25 Beta 1 on this late 2011 13" Macbook Pro with SSD and 12GB RAM. Runs really well, no issues so far.

No, no hangover. It just doesn't work properly on this machine. Time to try a selection of other distros for this one.

That was MX 23.6 on an A1229 17" MBP. Works just fine with the new version 25, backgrounds and all.

 

[DCBassman]

More on MX 25 Beta 1:
One of the great things about MX 23 was that it would boot and install on a great variety of machines, including all my Intel Macs. One or two required some initial fiddling with 'nomodeset', but that was it. I was particularly pleased that it just worked on the 2011 15" MBPs with disabled dGPUs. 25 will not even get to the GRUB screen. Yet.

 

[Snowlover]

I experimented with linux on my "new" 2011 11inch air (i5, 4gb ram, 256gb ssd) and didn't have a lot of success. MX, Lubuntu, Solus, and linux lite all froze when I tried to launch firefox during live boot.
MX also froze when I tried to install it to ssd.
I only had luck with Salient os, a nice arch based distro that I soon discovered stopped being actively supported in May.
I might try some other distros, but am quite pleased with Mavericks on this machine and may leave it at that.

 

[DCBassman]

I experimented with linux on my "new" 2011 11inch air (i5, 4gb ram, 256gb ssd) and didn't have a lot of success. MX, Lubuntu, Solus, and linux lite all froze when I tried to launch firefox during live boot.
MX also froze when I tried to install it to ssd.
I only had luck with Salient os, a nice arch based distro that I soon discovered stopped being actively supported in May.
I might try some other distros, but am quite pleased with Mavericks on this machine and may leave it at that.

Strange, my 2011 11" lapped up MX, and runs it well.

 

[Snowlover]

This is the first machine I have had this problem with, I don't understand what is happening. No problem running Mavericks or High sierra.

 

[diggy33]

Just updated to Ubuntu 25.10 on the MacBook. I never did get audio working, but the problem I had with the sign in screen not accepting a password after going to sleep is no longer an issue.

# System Details Report
---

## Report details
- **Date generated:** 2025-11-07 09:17:47

## Hardware Information:
- **Hardware Model:** Apple Inc. MacBook9,1
- **Memory:** 8.0 GiB
- **Processor:** Intel® Core™ m7-6Y75 × 4
- **Graphics:** Intel® HD Graphics 515 (SKL GT2)
- **Disk Capacity:** 500.3 GB

## Software Information:
- **Firmware Version:** 529.120.1.0.0
- **OS Name:** Ubuntu 25.10
- **OS Build:** (null)
- **OS Type:** 64-bit
- **GNOME Version:** 49
- **Windowing System:** Wayland
- **Kernel Version:** Linux 6.17.0-6-generic

 

[Minghold]

Try BigLinux with proprietary drivers.

 

[Snowlover]

Tried BigLinux on my 2011 air, actually got it installed dual booting with Mavericks.
Had problems with connecting to wifi hotspot till I realized I had to switch it to wpa2 password. Everything worked fine untill I got the wifi working (was fine tethered with usb). As soon as wifi connected, the system froze, no way to do anything but shut down. 😕
I wonder if Salient os worked because it was using an older lts kernel?

 

[Snowlover]

It seems later linux kernels (past 6) have an issue with the proper drivers for my broadcom wireless, causing system freezes. There is alot of posts about it on the internet, but not a lot of clarity as to which driver to switch to.
I decided to go with linux mint 21.3, mate de, as it still uses the 5.15 Lts kernel and is supported thru April 2027. I`m not real excited about using mint, never really liked it, but it works and I just want it alongside Mavericks for online banking on this device if necessary while traveling.

 

[Minghold]

Tried BigLinux on my 2011 air, actually got it installed dual booting with Mavericks.
Had problems with connecting to wifi hotspot till I realized I had to switch it to wpa2 password. Everything worked fine untill I got the wifi working (was fine tethered with usb). As soon as wifi connected, the system froze, no way to do anything but shut down. 😕

I have a BigLinux external SATA SSD that I swear will boot just about every damned thing I connect it to, PC or Mac, and the WiFi works. (I have not tried a MBA'11 recently, so that model might be a corner case. Generally, though, if installed with proprietary drivers option, it should be able to handle anything -- which makes it a rarity among Linux distros.)