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Linux on MacPro
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cgc
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Jun 13, 2013, 07:59 AM
 
I have a 2006 1,1 MacPro and am feeling left behind regarding OSX. I've been using Linux in one form or another since 2004 but would like to clone my current OSX onto a spare drive and stick it in the closet. I then want to just boot into Linux somehow. I've seen articles online explaining this but I'm curious if anyone's done this and if they've experienced any problems which makes them regret the switch.

Also, if I'm booting into Linux can I simply buy any Linux-supported GPU and plug it in (so long as I have the right power cable)?

If I do a dual boot config via rEFIt is it easy to convert that to single boot without reinstalling Linux? Thanks.
"Like a midget at a urinal, I was going to have to stay on my toes." Frank Drebin, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
     
angelmb
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Jun 13, 2013, 08:56 AM
 
It doesn't look very promising…

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacPro
     
besson3c
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Jun 13, 2013, 12:31 PM
 
As long as you have rEFIt installed I see no problem.
     
angelmb
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Jun 14, 2013, 08:41 AM
 
I am not informed enough to make a well-grounded statement about this but, wouldn't it be cooler
to get OS X Mavericks running on the 2006 Mac Pro.?

I was not interested in Mountain Lion at all so I didn't do any research about getting it installed and running, but I do am interested on OS X Mavericks. Any chance to get it installed on a Mac Pro 1,1 upon past ML experiences and findings from those in the known.? I have done some search and it looks like a bit of a nuisance.
     
besson3c
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Jun 14, 2013, 01:31 PM
 
If the intent is to learn Linux, running Linux in a VM would be a good bet.
     
cgc  (op)
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Jun 15, 2013, 06:38 AM
 
Originally Posted by besson3c View Post
If the intent is to learn Linux, running Linux in a VM would be a good bet.
I've been using Linux for a long time and have dual-booted Ubuntu 5.04 on my PPC G4 but I've never dual-booted my EFI MacPro.

My goal is to dual boot Linux and OSX for a few weeks before migrating 100% to Linux as a single boot option. If I use rEFit will I have any problems or issues or if there a better option for booting directly into a non-OSX OS?
"Like a midget at a urinal, I was going to have to stay on my toes." Frank Drebin, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
     
besson3c
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Jun 17, 2013, 11:31 AM
 
AFAIK, rEFit is your only way to boot Linux. It seems like it ought to work fine aside from the issues noted on the Ubuntu page once booted. I see no reason why you couldn't at least boot Ubuntu.
     
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Jun 17, 2013, 12:02 PM
 
Can I ask why? Is there something you can't do on an MP running 10.6? If you just want to run Linux on something, you could get a cheap modern desktop with known well-supported hardware and have a much easier existence.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
cgc  (op)
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Jun 17, 2013, 06:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
Can I ask why? Is there something you can't do on an MP running 10.6? If you just want to run Linux on something, you could get a cheap modern desktop with known well-supported hardware and have a much easier existence.
It seems the 2006 MacPro has been left behind by Apple. There will be no more updates to OSX 10.7 and my nVidia 7300GT is long in the tooth, plus I don't want to spend $250 for a three year old ATI Radeon HD5770. I plan to dual boot so I can migrate everything and once all's migrated I'll dump OSX and live in the Linux world until the MacPro dies. My G4 Sawtooth tower is still running strong after 12 years pushing SD exercise videos in the basement gym.
"Like a midget at a urinal, I was going to have to stay on my toes." Frank Drebin, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
     
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Jun 18, 2013, 06:44 AM
 
I get that the MP will not be getting any more updates from Apple (beyond security updates), but in what way will the Linux setup be better than 10.7 or 10.6? I'm sure you can make it work, but it's not going to be trivial.

Also, if you plan to dual boot, you have to keep a Mac-compatible GPU in the machine.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
shifuimam
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Jun 20, 2013, 10:30 AM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
I get that the MP will not be getting any more updates from Apple (beyond security updates), but in what way will the Linux setup be better than 10.7 or 10.6? I'm sure you can make it work, but it's not going to be trivial.

Also, if you plan to dual boot, you have to keep a Mac-compatible GPU in the machine.
Software updates.

If you're comfortable in Linux alternatives to Windows/OS X apps (e.g. The Gimp, OpenOffice, etc.) as well as more popular apps like Pidgin and Firefox, you're going to have to move to Linux if you want to continue to run current software.

Apple seems to make enough changes at each point release of OS X that older versions do eventually get left behind, and the usability of the newest OS you can run (e.g. 10.6) slowly declines until you realize that there's nothing left that will run on your machine. I'm already noticing that with 10.6 on my MacBook - I keep finding really cool looking apps that only run on 10.7 and higher. It's only going to get worse over time.

With Linux, you're pretty much guaranteed to be able to continue running the latest stuff. At the very worst, you might have to compile it yourself, but even that is trivial in modern Linux environments like Ubuntu.
Sell or send me your vintage Mac things if you don't want them.
     
ghporter
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Jun 20, 2013, 04:30 PM
 
Originally Posted by shifuimam View Post
Software updates.
Apple seems to make enough changes at each point release of OS X that older versions do eventually get left behind, and the usability of the newest OS you can run (e.g. 10.6) slowly declines until you realize that there's nothing left that will run on your machine. I'm already noticing that with 10.6 on my MacBook - I keep finding really cool looking apps that only run on 10.7 and higher. It's only going to get worse over time.
I agree. In order to get my wife's old iBook (800MHz G4) to run any available version of Firefox, I had to trick it into upgrading to 10.5. Which runs r e a l l y s l o w l y. Surfing at all is pretty slow, and doing anything else is painfully slow. I'm still pondering which Linux to put on it to keep it usable, but 10.5 is not viable on this machine. I guess the guys in Cupertino knew what they were doing when they decided to prevent machines slower than 866MHz from upgrading to 10.5...

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
besson3c
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Jun 20, 2013, 06:55 PM
 
Will Macs with support for internet recovery continue to be able to download 10.7 in perpetuity anyway? I would imagine that obtaining 10.6 install media is a bit of a challenge these days, but I'm just wondering if there are scenarios where older Mac owners might be completely SOL?
     
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Jun 21, 2013, 04:35 PM
 
The day will come when the MP 1,1 will not be supported anymore, but that day is not yet here. I would argue that today, the best generalist OS is still OS X 10.7. If there is a special need, that might change the equation, but without that there is no reason to jump yet. And if you're considering hardware update to improve compatibility, consider getting a cheap new computer again. Newer Intel chips have left older Core 2-based chips completely in the dust.

As for browsers on older machines: Look up TenFourFox.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Halfloaf
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Jul 28, 2013, 04:04 PM
 
While I didn't have a 32bit EFI Mac Pro, I did manage to happily run Arch Linux on my Mac Pro 3,1 (Early 2008). I had Refit installed initially by once past the installation stage you can remove refit and boot into Linux by holding down the Option key. I believe you can even make it a single boot system if you choose.

Arch comes in 32 and 64bit flavours and runs most DE's & WM's happily. The only thing that I couldn't get to work was audio out from the front headphone jack...otherwise EVERYTHING else worked 100%, even wireless and graphics.

Have you seen the document at the link below?

rEFInd / Discussion / General Discussion:Booting ArchLinux on a MacPro (2006) from a second internal HDD
2012 Macbook Pro 13" 8GB Ram 250GB SSD
2010 5,1 Dual 2.93 Ghz 6 core Mac Pro 48GB Ram 250GB SD, 2x 1Tb HD, 1x 320GB HD, GTX970 Black Edition
     
cgc  (op)
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Aug 18, 2013, 10:29 AM
 
Funny you mention Arch, that's one of the only Linux Distros I never tried. I was considering using a mainstream distro other than Ubuntu so I'd have as much support as possible. I'll look into Arch and see what it offers.
"Like a midget at a urinal, I was going to have to stay on my toes." Frank Drebin, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
     
Halfloaf
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Aug 21, 2013, 02:37 PM
 
Originally Posted by cgc View Post
Funny you mention Arch, that's one of the only Linux Distros I never tried. I was considering using a mainstream distro other than Ubuntu so I'd have as much support as possible. I'll look into Arch and see what it offers.
It has, as far as I'm concerned, the best package manager ever! Pacman (PACage MANager) is superb and once you have the base system set up you can pick and choose your DE and WM...

Good luck.
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angelmb
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Nov 1, 2013, 06:16 AM
 
Apologies for the two months bump, but I wonder if cgc has considered Elementary OS which looks like a OS X long lost brother to me.

Home | elementary OS

     
angelmb
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Jun 8, 2014, 12:25 PM
 
Originally Posted by angelmb View Post
I am not informed enough to make a well-grounded statement about this but, wouldn't it be cooler
to get OS X Mavericks running on the 2006 Mac Pro.?
At the behest of my personal bravado I was able to install OS X Mavericks on my unsupported Mac Pro 2006. It’s faster (surely not!! actually, yes!!) than Lion, which given I have the slowest Mac Pro ever, is nothing short of awesome.

Hurray for Me.
     
ghporter
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Jun 9, 2014, 07:16 AM
 
Wow. I would think that took a lot of "convincing" of the installer. Details, please!

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
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Jun 9, 2014, 10:05 AM
 
That hacked-up 32-bit bootloader and a supported GPU? Congrats in any case - and since Yosemite has the same sys reqs, it will likely work with the same trick.

Seriously, you should try the beta...
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
angelmb
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Jun 9, 2014, 11:49 AM
 
Actually, the hardest part was to create a bootable USB disk as neither DiskMaker X nor Terminal were able to successfully complete the process. So I relied on Disk Utility.

Then, the process went like this:

First, what you will need besides the unsupported Mac.
- Tiamo’s custom boot.efi file.
- Supported GPU, preferably from Apple but some PC cards do work. I had this AMD Radeon 5770 I bought from Apple Store when my Nvidia 8800GT crapped out time ago.
- Another Mac supported by 10.9. Please note it does not need to run 10.9. I used my MacBook Pro 17” running 10.7
- OS X Mavericks installer obviously.
- 8 GB or bigger USB Flash Drive.
- FireWire cable to connect both Macs. I have a LaCie FW400 to FW 800 orange flat cable. Best LaCie hardware I have ever had.

1) Make sure you have “Install OS X Mavericks.app” in your Applications folder of the Mac that can natively run Mavericks, here the MBP 17”.

Make a bootable USB flash drive. There are plenty of guides on internet about it. Plug the USB flash drive to the supported Mac (MacBook Pro 17”.)

2) Connect both Macs by FireWire. Start up the unsupported Mac (Mac Pro 1,1) into Target Disk Mode holding down T key.

3) Reboot the supported Mac (MBP 17”) and hold down the option key until a list of drives appears. Select the USB flash drive and boot up from it. Takes a bit, but it should be faster than booting up from a DVD.

4) Once the installer shows up, select your language and go to Disk Utility to format the hard disk of the unsupported Mac (Mac Pro 1,1) in order to install Mavericks on it. Please double check you are formatting the right drive. Mistakes happen. You might want to do this beforehand and name the drive accordly to avoid any confusion.

5) When the installer finishes, reboot the supported Mac (MacBook Pro 17”) hold down the option key and select the newly installed Mavericks drive from the unsupported Mac (Mac Pro 1,1.) First Run Assistant will appear, configure it to your liking.
Once done, reboot again back to your supported Mac (MacBook Pro 17”) internal drive. You don’t need the USB flash drive anymore, unmount it.

6) From your supported Mac (MacBook Pro 17”) download and copy the custom boot.efi file to these locations on the unsupported Mac (Mac Pro 1,1) drive where you just installed Mavericks:

System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi
usr/standalone/i386/boot.efi

The former is visible, the later is not. Again, double check you are copying the right file to the right folders.

It bears repeating, my MacBook Pro runs Lion and I had no issues whatsoever. There is no need for the Mavericks supported Mac to be running Mavericks in order to install Mavericks on a unsupported Mac. Bit of a tongue twister, huh.

7) Unmount the unsupported Mac (Mac Pro 1,1) drive. Shut down the unsupported Mac (Mac Pro 1,1) and boot it up into Mavericks. It will start up in verbose mode, then the Apple logo shows up for a mere two seconds and you are into Mavericks.

And so, you beat planned obsolescence.


Yosemite… love what I see but right now, you need to use another route (Clover efi boot loader) to get it installed onto a Mac Pro 1,1.

I am going to wait until it becomes available at Apple Store to see what options do I have.
     
angelmb
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Jun 12, 2014, 02:13 AM
 
Updated to 10.9.3 (combo) and all is fine and good.

A note of advice: keep the modified boot.efi file at hand because the updater overwrites it. In order to copy the modified file to the locations specified at step #6, you firstly have to use Terminal to unlock the boot.efi file installed by the 10.9.3 combo updater.

Updated Safari to 7.0.4 as well. No problems at all.
     
schalliol
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Sep 4, 2014, 08:44 PM
 
angelmb, this is helpful! I'll have to try this. Really, with the SSD RAID 0, maybe a CPU upgrade and a good GPU, this is a very capable machine on Yosemite. I understand people have been able to get the developer previews to load.
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