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Barkerto
Asked: 2012-10-23 16:42:42 +0800 CST

MacBook Pro 5.5 compatibility issues with 12.10

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I'm trying to figure out how the compatibility for the MacBook Pro 5.5 is now, with the new release of Ubuntu 12.10. I have tried several times with the previous 12.?? releases, and it always seemed to run hotter than normal and have a couple kinks with drivers and what not. So out of fear of burning out my laptop, I've had to force myself to wait with hopes of a brighter future, haha.

I really want to move on to ubuntu for good, and heard a lot of compatibility issues have been fixed.

If anyone could shine some light on the situation, it would be great. Again, I would love to finally use Ubuntu as my primary OS finally.

Thanks, Barkerto

12.10

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    I have a MacBook Pro 5,2 model, one of the last 17 inch models. A few months ago, I did a clean install of 12.04 (no OS X). I upgraded to 12.10 yesterday, and everything is going well. I did have to take about three days to get my install working perfectly. This is a good weekend project.

    BACKUP

    Make sure to do a complete backup of all of your data on a separate drive. I recommend a complete byte-for-byte drive copy. I cannot stress enough how important this step is. After a clean install, you will need to copy all of your files over to your Ubuntu install.

    Programs

    There were a few problems that I had to get through first, however. Heat wasn't exactly an issue, since your fans will make sure that your CPU doesn't melt. However, without a special program installed, your fans will always run at max RPM, which is quite annoying and unnecessary. You want this program to control your fans: macfanctld - Fan control daemon for MacBook

    You will also want to add this repo for mac-related stuff in Ubuntu:

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mpodroid/mactel

    Drivers

    You also might have some problems with WiFi drivers. If you do an install, make sure you have (1) power and (2) wired ethernet. On 12.04 I had to custom install some Broadcom drivers for WiFi to work properly. However, in 12.10, Ubuntu's Install Drivers thing works for me (Software Sources -> Additional Drivers (tab)). Make sure to install the Broadcom Corporation wireless drivers.

    You will also want to install the current Nvidia proprietary drivers.

    Additional Stuff

    I did a good deal of web searching during / immediately after my install. These are a collection of websites that I used when doing my install. They might not be applicable for your situation, but I recommend that you do a read through to become aquainted with what others have done.

    http://maketecheasier.com/install-dual-boot-ubuntu-in-macbook-air/2012/08/27

    http://blog.projectz.me/2012/10/21/setting-up-ubuntu-12-10-on-a-macbook-pro/

    Good luck with everything. I know that I am 100% glad that I made the jump to Ubuntu full-time.

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