Question Will it be problematic to install and use Fedora Workstation or Ubuntu Desktop on a MacBook Pro ?

[Manuel Jordan]

With the purpose to keep alive a laptop currently in a well descent state

I have an old MacBook Pro - it is:

• MBP 13.3/2.9/2X4GB/750/SD
• Model No: A1278

So far, it works in peace, it has a HDD of 750GB - in this point is not possible do an upgrade of the macOS itself.

Therefore, my intention is remove the HDD and replace it with a new SSD, and upgrade the RAM too. About the OS an option is install Fedora Workstation and Ubuntu too.

Question:

* Will it be problematic to install and use Fedora Workstation on a MacBook Pro?

It mostly about hardware conflicts - well, the processor is Intel, but just in case I am doing this consult here - your experience is valuable.

Note: I installed Linux Fedora/Ubuntu - through GParted and the respective .iso file - in others laptops as HP and Toshiba, all working or running in peace. But now exists this situation with a MacBook Pro.

Observation: this laptop does not have neither VGA nor HDMI ports, it has either a thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort port instead - therefore I bought a Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Do Fedora and Ubuntu recognize this port? It to use the adapter in peace to work with a secondary monitor.

 

[mettall]

You can create a LiveCD on a usb flash drive with either of those distros. Then boot the laptop from the flash drive and check if you hardware and peripherals are working correctly. You don;t need to install the linux on your hard disk for that.

Overall it should be possible to run linux on an Intel-based Macbook. For some things you may need to apply additional configuration setting but be not afraid of the terminal. Just google what is not working and you will find a lot of resources and guides.

Ubuntu 23.04 will be released on 20 April.
Fedora 38 will be released on 18 April.
Currently there should be beta versions of them both.