Linux Mint has been top of the Distrowatch rankings for the past year. This time I am going to show how to install Linux Mint alongside OSX on the MacBook Air. Which one you decide on is entirely up to you.In previous articles I have shown how to install Ubuntu Linux alongside Windows 8 and how to dual boot Ubuntu with ChromeOS on the HP Chromebook. If you’d like to go the second route our friends over at LinuxHint have put together a really nice step-by-step guide to replacing macOS with Linux.īottom line: It’s indeed possible to install and run Linux on a Mac, and there are actually two ways to go about it. What’s more, since both machines would be running the latest updated versions of their respective operating systems, you won’t have to worry about potential security risks.

In short, completely replacing Linux on the old MacBook will give you plenty of flexibility since you ‘ll be able to simply run your new MacBook as a Mac and the old one as a Linux box.

In my opinion this would be your best course of action, for the following reasons:ġ – You have a new MacBook to use when you need to use a Mac, therefore you don’t really need macOS installed on the old machine.Ģ – Having the old MacBook dedicated strictly to running Linux will make things simpler for you while also streamlining the machine’s performance.ģ – You won’t have to spring for a copy of Parallels (which starts at about $75). Your second option would be to completely replace your old MacBook’s macOS installation with a fresh installation of Linux. The problem with this option is your MacBook would likely be running an older version of macOS which is no longer supported by security updates. That would allow you to use either macOS or Linux at any time.Īnd although it would make your Mac run slower, you could even run both operating systems at the same time and switch from one to the other without having to reboot the machine. There are actually two ways to install Linux on a Mac…įirst, you could use an awesome virtual desktop tool called Parallels to install Linux inside a virtual machine. And you’ll be happy to know the answer is yes! Rick’s answer: That’s a great question, Myron. I recently purchased a new MacBook Pro but the old MacBook still runs great and I’d hate to just trash it. Your post about installing Linux didn’t mention anything about installing it on a Mac. I have an older MacBook that can no longer be updated to the latest versions of macOS. Question from Myron: I read this blog post about installing Linux on an older Windows PC and found it quite intriguing.

How to get linux on mac