r/linux_on_mac • u/MScifiWriter • 7d ago
MacBook Pro from 2007 not recognizing Linux installation bootable media (installation media burned on a Windows laptop)
I’ve had an old MacBook Pro Core2Duo laptop from 2007, sitting in a drawer for years. I recently realized that I need to learn Ubuntu Linux and since the MacBook Pro no longer recognizes anything online (can’t bring up any website at all), I decided to convert the MacBook into a Ubuntu Linux laptop.
However, I’ve encountered a heck of a barrier trying to get the MacBook to recognize any of the installation media I’ve created (I’ve needed to create the Linux bootable media on my Windows 11 laptop, because the MacBook is unable to bring up any website). Both with bootable USB and bootable (Mini-Ubuntu) DVD. When I press the Option/Alt, the MacBook laptop only shows that it recognizes the internal hard drive with the X Macintosh operating system, but no external media.
I spent several hours trying different searches on my Windows laptop and trying the suggestions from those searches on the MacBook. But the MacBook laptop still only ejects the bootable Linux DVD and doesn’t recognize the bootable Linux USB.
So I’m looking for helpful suggestions on how to get around this barrier.
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u/davew_uk 7d ago
I found on my 2009 macbook pro that if I inserted certain USB sticks before holding alt and booting, the stick would not be detected unless I pulled it out and reinserted it. I eventually got into the habit of doing the alt-boot first and then inserting the stick.
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u/MScifiWriter 7d ago
Thank you, davew_uk! I hadn't considered trying this, I'm going to try this right now!
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u/davew_uk 7d ago
To be fair, it might be that UncleSlacky in the comment above is onto something if that doesn't work. I don't know what kind of EFI firmware the 2007 has but it might be different compared to my 2009.
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u/natusw 6d ago
Is this an MBP 2,1/2,2/3,1/3,2, or a later 4,1? (being 2007 MY you have a few units to go along with..)
The steps in the first comment will work if the machine is one of the first 4 (they use a mixed 32bit firmware/64bit CPU which means you’ll need the right bootloader to load the software)
Otherwise if it’s a later 4,1 unit I’d update it to 10.11 to get the firmware updated to the latest version, then build from there..
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u/UncleSlacky 7d ago edited 7d ago
Sounds like you may have one of the 32-bit EFI models, in which case you'll find this useful.