10-20-2021, 07:07 PM
I have an old Macbook that I'd like to get working again. It's an A1181 from 2006. What version of Linux Lite should I use for this?
Thanks in advance :032:
Thanks in advance :032:
Installing Linux Lite in A1181 Macbook from 2006
10-20-2021, 07:15 PM
A better question might be: What minimum specs do I need to run Linux Lite Legacy 32bit version 3.8?
10-21-2021, 05:30 PM
Linux Lite 3.8 is no longer supported, therefor no patches are released.
I would advise against installing any OS that is out of support.
Unfortunately LL3.8 was the last to also include 32bit support..
I would advise against installing any OS that is out of support.
Unfortunately LL3.8 was the last to also include 32bit support..
LL4.8 UEFI 64 bit ASUS E402W - AMD E2 (Quad) 1.5Ghz - 4GB - AMD Mullins Radeon R2
LL5.8 UEFI 64 bit Test UEFI Kangaroo (Mobile Desktop) - Atom X5-Z8500 1.44Ghz - 2GB - Intel HD Graphics
LL4.8 64 bit HP 6005- AMD Phenom II X2 - 8GB - AMD/ATI RS880 (HD4200)
LL3.8 32 bit Dell Inspiron Mini - Atom N270 1.6Ghz - 1GB - Intel Mobile 945GSE Express -- Shelved
BACK LL5.8 64 bit Dell Optiplex 160 (Thin) - Atom 230 1.6Ghz - 4GB-SiS 771/671 PCIE VGA - Print Server
Running Linux Lite since LL2.2
10-22-2021, 11:06 AM
If this is a late 2006 machine, it appears it might be 64bit capable, but with a 32bit UEFI bootloader. I found a list of A1181 related specifications from which you might be able to glean more info.
If it is 64bit capable you could try Lite 5.x (5.6 as I write this) which I've successfully used on an Intel Atom based laptop with a 32bit UEFI. I know nothing about installing Linux on Macs but there are some threads findable with Google with some of the necessary information suggesting it should be possible (I tried "macbook a1181 linux" for a quick look). If it is 32bit only, you'd best look at a distro that still has 32bit installers with the XFce desktop (e.g. Debian, MX Linux & Mageia seem to have recent releases).
If you can get Linux installed your biggest performance limitation will be the internal hard drive; an SSD upgrade will make the machine much more usable. Maxing out the installed memory will help too, but 1.5GB of RAM can work ok for light use (email, browsing with only a few tabs open etc) - the Atom laptop mentioned above has similar CPU core performance to your machine (4 cores rather than 2 though) and runs fine for light use with 2GB of RAM and eMMC storage (akin to a slow SSD but still faster than a spinning platter drive).
If it is 64bit capable you could try Lite 5.x (5.6 as I write this) which I've successfully used on an Intel Atom based laptop with a 32bit UEFI. I know nothing about installing Linux on Macs but there are some threads findable with Google with some of the necessary information suggesting it should be possible (I tried "macbook a1181 linux" for a quick look). If it is 32bit only, you'd best look at a distro that still has 32bit installers with the XFce desktop (e.g. Debian, MX Linux & Mageia seem to have recent releases).
If you can get Linux installed your biggest performance limitation will be the internal hard drive; an SSD upgrade will make the machine much more usable. Maxing out the installed memory will help too, but 1.5GB of RAM can work ok for light use (email, browsing with only a few tabs open etc) - the Atom laptop mentioned above has similar CPU core performance to your machine (4 cores rather than 2 though) and runs fine for light use with 2GB of RAM and eMMC storage (akin to a slow SSD but still faster than a spinning platter drive).
11-04-2021, 04:46 PM
Thanks! I ended up upgrading the RAM and SSD. I'm thinking of using this as an email machine only, yes.
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