I got my hands on this computer about 6 months ago, and I've been wondering what to do with it. I've got a basement workshop that I use for some woodworking as well as a place to make wiring looms for a guy who builds drop-in, plug-and-play replacement injection systems for vintage Jaguar V12 engines, and I figured I could perhaps use this computer as an entertainment box there. However, having 3GB of RAM when maxed out and topping out with Mac OS X 10.7 means all sorts of certificate problems as well as no Youtube worth mentioning. Playing music was no problem, but youtube videos was a no-go.
I installed a 1TB Seagate Barracuda disk in it (because that's what I had) and started creating USB boot media for installing Linux. Note to self: Remember to check for boot issues before trying this on a computer with 32-bit EFI next time... because that took me a while to figure out. The iMac flat out refused to even acknowledge the existence of any of my usb sticks. So I bit the bullet and googled. For...some time. Turns out these computers like their boot devices to be DVD's. Specifically DVD's that have been doctored to accommodate the 32-bit EFI boot. Thanks Ob...Apple.
Then I found Matt Gadient, who has done exactly that: Doctored 32-bit ISO's can be found here for a bunch of Linux versions
I downloaded and burned a DVD for Elementary OS, and Lo! and Behold! the iMac booted. My happiness was somewhat short lived though, as I got stuck for a while on how to partition the disk for the EFI and all that malarkey. I sincerely wish I had written it down, because I can't remember what I did now... I think I ended up with 4 partitions and then I could install. Happy days!
Been testing it for a day now and it seems to be doing what I want it to. I've installed TightVNC, Chrome, Samba, Adguard and some other goodies. Nice and smooth, responsive and... it even looks nice! I might try to install this on one of my 2010 Mac Minis, and try it as a daily driver... i have some experience with Raspberry Pis and that flavor of Linux, and Elementary seems familiar enough to me to give that a try.
If anyone wonders "Why Elementary?", the answer is simple: @The House of Moth didn't seem to like it all that much.
I installed a 1TB Seagate Barracuda disk in it (because that's what I had) and started creating USB boot media for installing Linux. Note to self: Remember to check for boot issues before trying this on a computer with 32-bit EFI next time... because that took me a while to figure out. The iMac flat out refused to even acknowledge the existence of any of my usb sticks. So I bit the bullet and googled. For...some time. Turns out these computers like their boot devices to be DVD's. Specifically DVD's that have been doctored to accommodate the 32-bit EFI boot. Thanks Ob...Apple.
Then I found Matt Gadient, who has done exactly that: Doctored 32-bit ISO's can be found here for a bunch of Linux versions
I downloaded and burned a DVD for Elementary OS, and Lo! and Behold! the iMac booted. My happiness was somewhat short lived though, as I got stuck for a while on how to partition the disk for the EFI and all that malarkey. I sincerely wish I had written it down, because I can't remember what I did now... I think I ended up with 4 partitions and then I could install. Happy days!
Been testing it for a day now and it seems to be doing what I want it to. I've installed TightVNC, Chrome, Samba, Adguard and some other goodies. Nice and smooth, responsive and... it even looks nice! I might try to install this on one of my 2010 Mac Minis, and try it as a daily driver... i have some experience with Raspberry Pis and that flavor of Linux, and Elementary seems familiar enough to me to give that a try.
If anyone wonders "Why Elementary?", the answer is simple: @The House of Moth didn't seem to like it all that much.
