Install Ubuntu On Macbook Air
Write Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 LTS to a USB drive after downloading it. Shut down the MacBook Air after backing up any files you want to keep to a different computer or another USB stick. Install Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 LTS after rebooting. Configure the wireless card if it is not already.
There are a lot of different versions of Linux out there, but for the purposes of this guide, we are going to recommend installing Ubuntu on a Mac. Macworlds will recommend starting off with Ubuntu, but installing all of the various versions of Linux is fairly straightforward, and there is nothing stopping you from trying out all three (and counting) before you decide which you like best. Installing Linux Ubuntu in a Mac laptop is really a snap, since both MacOS and Ubuntu are Unix systems, so Mac machines are designed to support Ubuntu, and installation should be a lot easier than on Windows machines or Chrome machines (even with ChromeOS being Linux, too).
Since I needed Linux Ubuntu for some academic work, and since MacBook Airs since mid-2012 are not getting any more operating system updates anymore (the latest update is Catalina), I decided to completely replace the MacOS with Linux Ubuntu, rather than do a dual-boot setup (as I had on my MBP until recently). I decided the best approach was to initially dual boot MacOS and latest Ubuntu, make sure Ubuntu is stable, then delete the partition in which MacOS lives.
At Step 7, when I rebooted my Mac and held down Option I was presented with the menu option to either try Ubuntu or install it. The method described in the above link failed just like others did: I rebooted, held option key, selected the EFI Boot, selected to install Ubuntu, then was met by a black screen. I burned an image of Ubuntu onto a thumb drive, then booted into that, holding down the option key. After about 40 seconds, I was presented with the Ubuntu desktop and the icon of the shortcut for the Ubuntu installer.
If everything worked out the previous steps, then the box should reboot into the Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS Live Desktop of Ubuntu 20.04. Once you are happy everything is working, click on the Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS installation icon in the Ubuntu 20.04 live desktop.
Then, clone your Linux installation onto your internal SSD drive (again, you will need a bootable drive that supports T2 Security Chip). Click on “Flash” and type in the admin password to erase your USB Flash Drive and generate the Ubuntu USB Installer. You will be wiping your flash drive at a later stage in order to place an Ubuntu installer on it, so be sure you back up any important files first. Now, plug the USB stick back into your Mac, or whatever PC you would like to install on.
Shut down the Mac on which you wish to install Linux, then connect the thumb drive with your USB. If attempting to create a USB thumb drive which you can boot from your Mac, then please refer to the instructions below. If wishing to use thumb drives, then please do so following the instructions below.
Now, download and install Etcher, the application that helps you to make a Live USB for installing Linux. An app called Etcher will be used to copy a Linux installation.iso file onto a USB. You will have to use a third-party app to build a USB installer from the disk image. Download the latest Ubuntu release as a disk image from the Ubuntu website.
Connect the current installation media for the 14.04 release, such as the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS USB drive. If you wish to reinstall macOS on your Mac, you must make a OS X Recovery Drive using a thumb drive USB.
I will mention that, once the USB stick was loaded with UNetbootin, UNetbootin warned the device that it can boot Ubuntu on PCs only, and not Macs.
If you wanted to boot Linux on this laptop, then it is more than likely that you would have to install Linux first to an older Mac, or another PC with UEFI boot, and then to the latest kernel, V5.6. You can install Linux to any Intel-powered Mac, and as long as you stick with one of the larger versions, you should have very little difficulty in the installation process. Linux is incredibly versatile (it is used to run everything from smartphones to supercomputers) and you can install it on a MacBook Pro, iMac, or even your Mac mini. This makes Linux perfect for installing on older computers, like an older polycarbonate Macbook.
We suggest starting out with Ubuntu, since it is the most widely used, and offers a lot of community support should you ever find yourself stuck. We will use Ubuntu for this tutorial; however, the process is not any different for other Linux distros. The next guide in the series is about setting up dual-booting Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS and Kali Linux, and will follow this one up with a one showing how to install Fedora on the same MacBook. We talked about choosing an appropriate Linux distro, creating a Live USB using Etcher, and provided the step-by-step Linux installation process on a Mac.
This post is the step-by-step story on how I installed Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 LTS on my MacBook Air (13) without any issues, or even getting my wireless card working. Heres the tutorial for getting Ubuntu 12.10 running a reasonable dual-boot configuration on a shiny MacBook Air.
Instead of leaving your older MacBook Pro as a pricey paperweight, get it up and running on the latest version of Linux, and you will be good to go for years. You can even pick up a brand-new MacBook Air, swap out MacOS for Ubuntu, and save some cash in the process.
You will need to download Ubuntu Server version, no worries, we will easily install the GUI once we install Ubuntu. This will feel very familiar for Ubuntu users that did the installation earlier.
Once you finish installing, you will be asked to reboot your Mac. When the installer launches, go through the first few steps, and when you reach the one shown in Figure 5, choose Normal Installation, and Install Third-Party Software… Updates will not install while you are installing, since Internet access is not configured. Once the installer loads, choose Install Ubuntu, and then choose Install alongside Mac OSX. The installation steps are mentioned at the bottom of UTMs ubuntu web page.
Can I install Linux on a MacBook Air?
Consequently, it is possible to run Linux on the most recent MacBook Air, but only through virtualization. While there will undoubtedly be improvements in the future, there is at least one relatively simple solution for developers who need to be able to boot into Linux or even those who prefer to have both.
Does MacBook air support Ubuntu?
After installation, copy Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 LTS to a USB device. After backing up any files you want to keep to a new computer or another USB stick, turn off the MacBook Air. After rebooting, install Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 LTS. If the wireless card hasn’t already been configured, do so.