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Ask HN: What do you do with your old Intel MacBooks?

16 points by laktak ↗ HN
Now that my MacBook Pro no longer receives the latest OS updates I was wondering what to do with it. Should I keep the 'aged' but working macOS or try Linux?

It would be great if there was something like Asahi Linux but for Intel macs. When I tried distros in the past I had limited success as there was always at least one component that was not supported (like Wifi or sound).

22 comments

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rbanffy
Linux should work well on it, so, if that's your thing, go for it.

You can, however, keep the machine running unsupported newer version of macOS. That's what OpenCore Legacy Patcher does - it patches a newer macOS to recognise and run on an older Mac. YMMV, of course, and there will be a point when there are no Intel versions of macOS whatsoever.

laktak
> should work

Do you have any links on what's the best way to get all drivers? I have a 2015/2017 MacbookPro. I've tried this a few times but there was always something missing and most of the "How to" sites appear to be abandoned after a few years.

rbanffy
It was always a proposition with marginal value. The original macOS is a decent Unix and Macs weren't very competitive price-wise in relation to x86 laptops, so I wouldn't be surprised if tutorials aren't very up-to-date. That said, once it gets working, chances are it gets some support from the biggest distros. I wouldn't be surprised if Ubuntu or Fedora got everything working. I think it'd be worth a try at least.

Things like haptics, touchbar, and other more unique features, I wouldn't bet too much.

ilt
Which linux flavor will work well with Macbook Air Early 2015 version with most drivers taken care of for essentials like wifi, bluetooth, graphics, trackpad, etc?
shivc
Going linux on older machines is a great way to revive them. Totally agreed with rbanffy up with his comment.

If you want to play around, learn linux or try your hand at distro swapping, old machines make a superb tool.

there is a yt channel called action retro that had posted a video tutorial on installing ubuntu to intel macs that you should check out imo

GianFabien
I've used Debian with Mate desktop on a 2009 MBP for a several years. Ran fine with 4GB RAM and retro-fitted SSD. Just installed Debian from a USB flash stick. The same one that I have used on non Apple x86-64 systems.
kevinherron
I traded it in for some token amount of money when I replaced it with an M2 Max. I assume Apple recycled it because there’s no refurb market for those turds.
wpguy
I use a 2012 MacBook pro for my daily. I upgraded it with 16gb of ram and installed fedora on it and I haven't had any major issues with it besides the battery life, but that is to be expected.
i_don_t_know
I'm using this example project from Apple to create and run linux virtual machines on macOS:

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization/run...

(Download the example project, build it in Xcode and run it. Point it to a linux .iso and you're good.)

I can stay in macOS for the stuff macOS is good at, and I can use linux for the stuff it's good at.

belthesar
Is this largely for the exercise? Totally cool if you’re using it to get a better understanding of understanding of macOS’s Virtualization framework, but if your goal is that you were looking for a way to run VMs without Parallels, VMWare or VirtualBox, UTM [1] would be the direction I’d point you in.

[1] https://mac.getutm.app/

solardev
I gave it to my girlfriend, who uses it as her daily driver. It makes for a very nice (if heavy) Chromebook-equivalent. Much fewer issues than Windows.
navjack27
It's in my closet never to be used again. Useless hot inefficient thing
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mentalgear
I have an 2012 MBP (upgraded 500 SSD, 4GB RAM) which runs great on Linux Mint (lightweight) or even Fedora. The battery is only about 2.5 hours, but I guess when replaced it would also last much longer.
Jtsummers
I'll be clearing it of all my data and unlinking it from my accounts, making sure it's updated, and mailing it to a friend who'll pay me a token amount plus the shipping costs. It'll go to his kids to use as a spare computer. If he wants, he knows how to install Linux or Windows on it. We've done this with several of my older computers and he still has most of them up and running for the kids, I think the oldest one I sent him is now recycled though.

I got 7 years out of it before it became worth replacing for me, they'll probably get another 5 at least before it gets retired. I'd keep it and put Linux on it but my wife is already annoyed by my (now reduced) large and often disorganized book collection, I don't need an electronics collection adding to the issue.

brudgers
Ubuntu is highly likely to fully support your old laptop and is probably the simplest thing that might work. On the other hand if you want to make tinkering around to fix Linux a new hobby, Arch is probably the simplest thing that might work. If you want to do something impactful with your old laptop, auction it on Ebay and give all the proceeds to a food bank. Good luck.
billylo
I traded it in (Apple Trade-in) to pay for its replacement.
badpun
You can also put Windows on it. That's what I do with my 2013 MBP.
jrowley
It's my home assistant server (running in a vm), with a built in UPS ;)
sandwichukulele
> What do you do with your old Intel MacBooks?

Trade it in. At the time of M1 release, I traded in my Intel MacBook Pro at the Apple store for a M1 mac mini.

redoubt
It appears no-one have adressed the issue of wifi/bluetooth support, so I will weigh in.

I have installed Debian derivatives on both a Macbook Pro 2008 and a Macbook Air 2017 and had issues with bluetooth/wireless.

The solution was to identify the wireless chip through the terminal, download the specific DKMS module for that chip to a file on another computer, transfer the module over to the Macbook via USB, blacklist old module, install new, reboot.

This have worked flawlessly for me so far. If you want a tip on a beginner-friendly distro with decent Macbook support, try Pop!_Os.

sircastor
Look into open core legacy patcher. It’s imperfect (my 2014 MBP is hosed atm because of a bad update) but it’ll let you run the latest macOS.