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Instructions to install macOS Sierra on older Macs. 1) Find yourself an 8GB or larger USB drive or external hard drive partition. 2) Format it as GUID Partition Map, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using the Disk Utility application. Related tutorial: How to use Disk Utility to format drives on your Mac. 3) Download a copy of macOS Sierra 10.12. To download this via the Mac App Store you will need access to a supported machine.
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This is intended to be an installation guide for Intel iMac users, as well as a reference for getting various hardware working. At this time, there are 4 major variations of the Intel iMac.
- White iMac with Intel Graphics
- White iMac with ATI Graphics (X1600)
- White iMac with nVidia Graphics (7300 GT)
- Aluminum iMacs (ATI Graphics - HD2600)
Older information is available in these pages: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/iMacIntelhttps://help.ubuntu.com/community/iMacCoreDuo
If you decide to partition your hard drive and install Ubuntu, please note that resizing your OS X partition to reuse the empty space is not easily done. If you would like to just test out Ubuntu, try using a Virtual Machine such as VirtualBox.
This guide will help you through all the steps necessary for installing Ubuntu on an iMac. This guide was written while Gutsy Gibbon (7.10) was current, with Hardy Heron on the way. However, there should not be too much derivation for any current version of Ubuntu. For any Mac, I would always recommend using the most recent version of Ubuntu that is available since as time passes, more fixes for Mac nuisances are incorporated into the releases.
Triple Booting
This guide will assume that you want to dual-boot OS X with Ubuntu. It is recommended that you keep an install of OS X, even if you do not plan to use it in order to install firmware updates in the future that may be required for your Mac to operate properly. There are many other guides available for Triple (and more) booting with various operating systems. Whether they are for a Macbook, Macbook Pro, or whatever, the partitioning and initial installation process of Ubuntu in the same. The Macbook Pro Wiki Page has an excellent how to for triple-booting. Note that although it mentions Vista, the process should be the same to install Windows XP.
Basic instructions
Here I present my preferred method of installation
- If you have an iMac from before Bootcamp existed, make sure that you have the needed firmware updates to dual boot. Update the firmware to the latest version. If you prefer, you may use the standard 'Software Update'.
- Get your Ubuntu Live CD ready. The Live CD should work, but if you have trouble, try the Alternate Install CD. If you have a Core2 Duo Mac (as oppossed to the Core Duo), it is capable of using the AMD64 (64bit) CD otherwise you have to use the standard version. There is a lot of information about the good/bad of a 64bit install. You can find information about which to choose here.
- It is highly recommended that you install rEFIt]. rEFIt is a user friendly interface to the Mac EFI that will cause a boot menu (to select between OS X/Ubuntu) to appear on every boot. You can make Ubuntu boot by default by uncommenting the 'legacyfirst' option and change the menu timeout in the 'refit.conf' file (described on the above website).
- At this point you need to make room for Ubuntu by shrinking the OS X partition. This can be done with various tools:
- In OS X Leopard (10.5.x), the Disk Utility is able to 'add' a partition to the durrent disk without completely repartitioning the hard drive. To use this method, start Disk Utility, (Applications > Utilities) Select the Hard drive to partition, and click the '+' button to add a partition. You can then resize the partition to suit the amount of space you would like to use for Ubuntu. Don't worry about the partition format (Mac OSX, UFS, etc), we will be reformatting the partition later.
- gParted can shrink your OS X partition as well, but it is not able to 'grow' or increase the size of a partition once it have been resized.
- OS X has a commandline tool for resizing your partitions. See the AdvancedMethods Section of this guide to use this tool.
- Hold down 'C' to boot from the CD.
- You should get a boot menu to select the type of boot you would like. Choose to start Ubuntu (NOTE: On Hardy, you can start the LiveCD, or you can choose to start the installer, choose to start the live environment).
- Once you get to the desktop, start gParted: System > Administration > Partition Editor
- It should be plainly visible that there is an EFI partition at the beginning of the disk, followed by the HFS+ (OS X) partition, and lastly, the new partition you created.
- Select the last partition and delete it. Make sure to click the Apply button to actually remove the partition. This will leave you with free space to install to. Exit gParted.
- Once back to the desktop, double-click in the install icon to start the installer. When prompted, choose to install to the 'largest, continuous free space'. This will allow the installer to create a root and swap partition for you. If you would like to have more control over the partitioning, you can choose to 'manually partition'. See the AdvancedMethods section for tips.
NOTE ON INSTALLATION BUG
Due to a bug in the installer, you will likely not be able to boot into your installed system after the installation has finished. This can be corrected by completing the steps at the following post: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=767677
WARNING: For those that have very complicated multi-boot systems (numerous installs of linux and/or windows). This may leave some of your installs unbootable. Please post in the forum to get specialized help with your setup. PLEASE add your comment to this bug report. This is a serious issue and should be addressed. It will not get attention unless it affects a lot of people.
If you Dual-Boot or Triple-Boot:
- If you haven't already, boot into OSX and install rEFIt. If you do not get the rEFIt menu when starting up your Mac, you may need to run a command in the OSX terminal to get it to work. See the manual install instructions.
- Once you reboot into the rEFIt menu, choose to start the partition tool. It will ask if you want to sync your partitions. Say yes. after rebooting, you should be able to select the Linux icon in rEFIt and it will boot into your Ubuntu install.
WiFi / Airport
You can use a utility called ndiswrapper and an appropriate Windows XP driver to get the card working in Ubuntu. This Windows XP Driver can be found on your Leopard Install DVD (which would normally be used with bootcamp) and in the older BootCamp driver CDs. Additionally, there are some compatible drivers available from Dell. For older iMacs (which the Dell driver will work on), you can follow the steps in the Santa Rosa MacBook wiki page.
Recently, there have also been issues using ndiswrapper at all. Broadcom released a driver for these cards that will be available in Intrepid 8.10. You can also get it from the backports repository in Hardy Heron 8.04. http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=914697
Graphics / Video
Check 3D acceleration
To make sure your graphics are working properly, we need to make sure that 3D acceleration is working. You can check this with the command:
glxinfo |grep direct
You should see in the output 'direct rendering: yes'
glxinfo |grep direct
You should see in the output 'direct rendering: yes'
Intel Graphics
For iMac users with Intel graphics (some early white Intel iMacs), everything should be working out-of-the-box. If you have have any problems, be sure that your xorg.conf is set to use the 'intel' driver rather than the any of the other specialized Intel drivers like 'i810'.
nVidia Graphics
For nVidia graphics, the 2D open-source driver gives you basic support out-of-the-box. If you want to run 3D applications, select System > Hardware Drivers > nVidia accellerated graphics driver (version 185) as recommended. This provides OpenGL support for Compiz.
ATI Graphics
For ATI graphics, you will need to install the proprietary graphics drivers. This can be done with the Driver Manger in System > Adminstration > Driver Manager. When installed correctly, reboot, and an additional check is to run
fglrxinfo
The output should tell you that the provider is ATI and not MESA.
fglrxinfo
The output should tell you that the provider is ATI and not MESA.
If you have issues with the driver in the Ubuntu repos, you can alternately try Envy or even download the driver from ATI's website and install manually.
The default 10.04 ISO won't boot with a compatible driver for 2010 iMacs, so use one of the following solutions:
- Boot and install 9.10, install the proprietary ATI driver then upgrade to 10.04
- Download Ubuntu Alternate installer, which runs in text mode. Once Ubuntu is installed:
- Reboot and in GRUB menu highlight Recovery Mode
- Edit kernel parameters and add radeon.modeset=0 nomodeset
- Boot and choose 'Low Graphics Mode' when problems reported
- Install the proprietary driver using System > Administration > Hardware Drivers
- Use an external monitor connected to the HDMI output.
Sound
If you have an aluminum iMac and you do not have sound :
open /etc/modprobe.d/options :
sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/options
and add 'options snd-hda-intel model=imac24' to the file and save ( ctrl+o and ctrl+x to exit )
then reboot.
NOTE: The file /etc/modprobe.d/options no longer exists in newer versions of Ubuntu. It is still supported by the kernel, however the filename needs the .conf extension, i.e. /etc/modprobe.d/options.conf would be the file you create to save your options. Actually the filename doesn't matter as long as the .conf extension is used.
open /etc/modprobe.d/options :
sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/options
and add 'options snd-hda-intel model=imac24' to the file and save ( ctrl+o and ctrl+x to exit )
then reboot.
NOTE: The file /etc/modprobe.d/options no longer exists in newer versions of Ubuntu. It is still supported by the kernel, however the filename needs the .conf extension, i.e. /etc/modprobe.d/options.conf would be the file you create to save your options. Actually the filename doesn't matter as long as the .conf extension is used.
Will Tinsdeall (Ubuntu 10.10 - Clean install, 27' iMac Intel i7): Just open a terminal to run 'alsamixer' from the command-line. Ensure 'Front speaker' is turned up and unmuted, using arrow keys and 'M' for mute toggle. (Best to open up Rhythmbox and play some music while doing this, changes are instant)
El채imen.Varmuus: With Ubuntu 8.10 (amd 64) and iMac rev. early 2008 the first step was enough. I edited only /etc/modprobe.d/options.
Some of the Aluminum iMacs need a patch to get functioning sound. An ubuntuforums user, 'nicfagn' has created many patches and posted them in the forums. Many of the fixes have made it into the latest ALSA driver, so downloading and compiling the latest ALSA source code may work as well. Here is a link to a patch that many have found useful.
Tiziano Faion: If you have an Aluminium Imac setting in /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base the option model=mbp3 make sound work without patching anything.
Klaus Doblmann: If your microphone doesn't work (no mic-boost switch), set the model to 'mbp3' instead of 'imac24'.
Jonas Westerlund: If you only get sound from the internal speakers, 'options snd-hda-intel model=mbp3' fixes that at least on the 2008 24' aluminum model.
Matthew Fernandez: For a 2010 iMac you shouldn't need to patch anything. Append 'options snd-hda-intel model=mbp55' to /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf. Restart. Then enter alsamixer in a terminal window and unmute the Front Speaker channel (left and right arrows to switch channels, up and down to change volume, M to mute and unmute).
Gary Watts: For my 2009 24' iMac, adding 'options snd-hda-intel model=lenovo-sky' to /etc/modprobe.d/imac.conf (or indeed anything.conf) got sound working. Special thanks to zacbarton for his advice at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1443020
Warren Harrison: For those unhappy with the audio quality (compared to OS X), install the Pulse Audio Equalizer (http://exploreubuntu.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/equalizer-for-pulse-audio/) and choose the 'laptop' EQ preset. This significantly reduces the mid-range frequencies and brings the audio into closer parity with OS X-native quality.
iMac 27' & ubuntu 11.04
Since kernel 2.6.38, the HD audio model imac27 is available.
The following line must be inserted at the end of the file /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
- options snd-hda-intel model=imac27
force reload alsa configuration
- sudo alsa force-reload
then unmute and adjust volume of front speaker and Surround Speaker with the help of :
- alsamixer
Seen at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1043568 and http://www.mjmwired.net/kernel/Documentation/sound/alsa/HD-Audio-Models.txt
iSight
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AppleiSight
Aluminium keyboard
Users are reporting problems with the aluminium keyboard. The keyboard is still partially functional so long as the keypad on the right is not used. If you have problems with the main keyboard try pressing F6 to turn off num-lock. PLEASE add your comment to the launchpad bug tracker.
Magic Mouse
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AppleMagicMouse
Compiz
Compiz (Desktop Effects) can be enabled after enabling 3D acceleration by installing the appropriate graphics drivers as shown above.
Working with other OSs
Here are some link to information that may be helpful for those that are dual booting: Mount ext2/3 partitions in OSX
Windows hal.dll error
Accessing your OS X partition in Ubuntu
Windows hal.dll error
Accessing your OS X partition in Ubuntu
Partitioning with the commandline
Let's say you want to resize your OS X partition to 200GB and create a new 200GB Linux partition. Open a terminal and type:
This is the actual tool that Boot Camp would use to resize the partition as well.
Manual Partitioning Tips
The emulated MBR/BIOS compatibility is limited to 4 partitions. This really just means that legacy bootloaders need to reside in those first four partitions (and in the case of windows, everything it needs to access has to be in the first four partitions), but you can customize the MBR partition table to point it to other partitions on your disk.
Triple Boot Guide for 24' iMac
CategoryMac
The MactelSupportTeam is about to restructure and reorganize the documentation for Intel-based Macs. If you are interested in helping, please visit our team page for information. For all Mactel wikis, there is a starting place here. There is also a thread about planning the Mactel docummentation going on. |
CategoryAudioCategoryMac
Is your Mac slowing down? Do you spend more and more time waiting for applications to do what you want? If so, there is a very good chance that you have high memory usage and need a Mac RAM upgrade.
What is RAM?
RAM stands for Random Access Memory. This memory is temporary and used by the CPU to hold information that processes are actively using on your system. Your Mac slows down when it experiences high memory usage, in other words, when the running applications demand more RAM than your Mac is able to provide. The more RAM available, the better your Mac is able to execute on the tasks that are being thrown at it.
The obvious solution would be to increase Mac RAM, but before we show you how to do that, let’s make sure that your lack of RAM is actually the cause of your Mac slowdown.
Note: Not all devices are able to upgrade RAM, like the Macbook Air and the 2014 edition of the Mac Mini.
How to manually check Mac RAM
Checking your RAM is dependent on the version of OS X that you have installed. You should check your Mac RAM after you have been using your Mac for a bit of time. When you are in the middle of normal daily tasks, follow these steps.
El Capitan OS X
- Open Spotlight Search.
- Type in ”Activity Monitor”.
- Click on the “Memory” tab on the top of the window.
Memory Pressure is the graph you need to study.
![Copy Copy](https://support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/imac/late06_remove_memory_panel.png)
If there is mostly green, your system RAM is currently fine. If there is a lot of yellow, the jury is still out. If there is a lot of red, your memory is under strain and your Mac has a high memory usage.
Older OS X versions like Leopard and Lion
For older versions of Mac OS X the steps are the same but the System Memory tab looks a bit different. You’ll want to look for Free and Page Outs.
Free – This is how much free RAM your Mac currently has. If you’ve got a bunch of applications open and there is still a good number of free RAM, then your Mac may have enough memory.
Page Outs – This number tells you how often your Mac has run out of RAM and needed to use the slower hard disk instead. A high number here is very bad and a sure sign that your Mac doesn’t have enough RAM.
Use a Mac memory analysis tool
Another alternative, which will work easily on all versions of Mac OS X, is to use a 3rd party tool to check your RAM usage. We highly recommend CleanMyMac X, which will not only clean and speed up your Mac, it also has a RAM monitoring tool called Menu App.
Simply click on the Memory Monitor tab for a clear overview of your Mac’s memory usage. The tool will also enable you to free up memory by closing down unnecessary applications, which will become really helpful when your system is slowing to a crawl.
CleanMyMac X is a free download so try it out and get to the bottom of your high memory usage problem.
Note: With all above solutions we recommend checking the results on a regular basis until you are certain that your Mac needs a RAM upgrade.
How to upgrade your Mac RAM
If you have reached the conclusion that you need more memory, we are going to show you exactly how to increase your Mac RAM. Don’t worry if you’ve never done it before, as this guide will help you every step of the way.
The first steps are to gain knowledge about your system. This will help ensure that the RAM that you get will be compatible with your system.
Step 1 – What kind of Mac do you have?
Whether you have an iMac, a Macbook Pro, or any other kind of Mac, there is a lot more information to be found out in order to identify your exact system. To get these details, follow these easy steps:
- Click on the Apple icon.
- Select “About this Mac”.
- View your system information.
Step 2 – Do I have space for more RAM in my Mac?
This may not be what you want to hear but it’s possible that you can’t add more RAM to your Mac, even if you wanted to. Let’s look under the hood and see what your RAM situation is like.
- Following on from Step 1, click on “More Info” on the “About this Mac” window.
- The complicated looking System Profiler will launch. Click on “Memory” in the left column.
On the right you will see exact details of your RAM modules or sticks. The “banks” are the slots that the RAM is inserted into. If you have an empty bank or two, you’re in luck, upgrading your Mac RAM just got that much easier.
Step 3 – Check how much RAM your Mac can take
Now let’s really make sure you can upgrade your RAM. Head over to Technical Specifications on Apple Support, find your exact Mac model. Once you find your Mac, click it to reveal a ton of information. What you’re looking for is the information, which will tell you how much RAM your system can work with. Compare it to your Mac’s current RAM (from Step 2) and now you know if you can upgrade your RAM or if you are stuck with what you have.
If you can’t upgrade your Mac RAM, download CleanMyMac X and use all of the cleaning tools to boost your Mac performance. You should also take a look at the performance improving solutions found in How To Fix Mac Running Slow.
Step 4 – Purchasing RAM for your Mac
In Step 3 you navigated to your Mac model and discovered what memory your system could potentially add. Now it's only a matter of choosing your new RAM and we recommend to start with this source. If you're located outside of the US, Google will probably tell you which stores sell RAM nearby.
Step 5 – Installing RAM into your Mac
Adding your new RAM into your Mac is not as hard as it sounds. This is definitely an upgrade that you can perform yourself, as long as you have a screwdriver on hand. The only tricky thing is to know exactly where the RAM is, and that it varies between types of Macs.
Below are handy tutorials to install new memory on your specific type of Mac.
How to upgrade RAM on an iMac
- Shut down your iMac and unplug everything.
- Place iMac face down, ensuring the screen is protected from anything that could scratch it.
- Unscrew, counterclockwise, the RAM panel in the centre until it pops out.
- Expose ribbon tab over RAM and pull on it to release RAM module.
- Use your fingers to remove the RAM entirely.
- Line up the new RAM with the now empty slot and push it in until it clicks into place.
- Screw the RAM panel cover back on.
- Re-connect everything, turn your iMac back on and go to About This Mac to confirm new RAM installed.
How to upgrade RAM on a Macbook Pro
- Turn your Macbook off.
- Turn your Macbook upside down and pop the latch on the back to remove the plate.
- Use tiny phillips head screwdriver to unscrew the larger back plate.
- Note - one screw will be a lot smaller than the others. Remember where it goes.
- Touch metal to ground yourself before touching the RAM.
- The RAM is to the left or right of centre. Pull apart the latches on each side of it and the RAM will pop up.
- Slide the RAM out.
- Slide the new RAM into the slot and push it down till it clicks into place.
- Put the large backplate back on and screw it into place.
- Screw the smaller backplate back into place.
- Turn your Macbook on and and go to About This Mac to confirm new RAM installed.
How to upgrade RAM on a Mac Mini
Due to the form factor of the Mac Mini, it is one of the more challenging devices to upgrade. We recommend getting help from professionals or someone that has experience upgrading Mac Mini RAM.
The final word on Mac RAM upgrades
In this guide we showed you how to identify high memory usage on your Mac using OS X and the ever-useful CleanMyMac X. We then outlined the steps to determine what RAM your Mac has installed, whether it can be upgraded, how to purchase new memory for your Mac and finally how to install your new RAM into your Mac.
Once your new RAM is installed, depending on how much you were able to add, you should see a considerable boost to your Mac performance.
You will also gain a boost to your social status, as now you can confidently boast, “I know how to upgrade my Mac memory”.