Re: how to install debian on iMac
On Sun, 21 Feb 2016 15:55:38 +0800
lina <lina.lastname@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 8:07 AM, Rick Thomas <rbthomas@pobox.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > On Feb 20, 2016, at 2:13 PM, Rick Thomas <rbthomas@pobox.com> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> On Feb 19, 2016, at 9:31 PM, lina <lina.lastname@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Has anyone tried successfully to install the debian into the iMac
> >>> with Fusion drive?
> >>>
> >>> The basic configuration is
> >>>
> >>> • 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to
> >>> 3.3GHz • Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200
> >>> • 8GB 1867MHz LPDDR3
> >>> • 1TB Fusion Drive
> >>>
> >>> Where I can find a step-by-step guide?
> >>>
> >>> Thanks,
> >>
> >> Hi Lina,
> >>
> >> As noted by another person on the list, there is a fairly complete
> >> installation guide at https://www.debian.org/CD/http-ftp/#stable
> >>
> >> I've never tried installing Debian on an intel-based Mac before,
> >> but as it happens, I do have a MacBook-Pro from about 2007 or so
> >> that I recently retired and replaced with with a much lighter
> >> MacBook Air. Since your biggest problem is probably going to be
> >> getting the installer to boot, I'm willing to work through it with
> >> you step-by-step using my MacBook-Pro and your iMac.
> >>
> >> The first question will be, "Does your iMac have a functioning DVD
> >> or CD drive?" The second question will be, "Do you have access to
> >> the Internet? If so, is it wifi or wired ethernet?"
> >>
> >> Let's keep the conversation on the debian-user list for the time
> >> being. There may be others who have knowledge to contribute.
> >>
> >> Enjoy!
> >> Rick
> >>
> >> PS: And thanks for the kind words from Stephen Allen!
> >
> > A couple more questions...
> >
> > Does your iMac currently have a functioning version of MacOs-X
> > installed?
> >
> > Do you want to keep the option to boot into MacOS-X after
> > installing Linux? This is possible (it's called "dual boot") but it
> > takes a couple of extra steps -- don't be afraid. It's not
> > complicated!
> >
> > Enjoy!
> > Rick
>
> Yes, the current iMac comes with OS X EI Captian version 10.11.3
>
> I do wish to keep the Mac OS, and may give 400GB for it. and 600GB for
> debian. My big concern is the fusion driver.
>
> Thanks,
>
I confess to never having heard of a Fusion drive before today, so I
googled it and found this explanation:
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/computing-components/storage/fusion-drive-what-it-is-and-how-it-speeds-up-your-mac-1154051
Which says that, in contrast to a "hybrid" drive which uses on-board
firmware to provide a flash cache -- with no OS software involvement at
all; the "Fusion Drive" is implemented as two separate drives -- one SSD
and one HD, with the OS software supervising the caching.
This means Linux (and the boot loader firmware) will see it as two
separate drives, but MacOS-X will continue to see it as one logical
drive. The mis-match between the two storage models means the debian
installer's disk partitioner will (almost certainly) wind up destroying
the MacOS-X image on the drive, which is probably not what you were
hoping for.
The techradar web page hints at some partitioning tools that maybe
could be used to split the hard drive into two partitions and attach
the SSD to the first partition forming a Fusion drive that is somewhat
smaller than it started out, leaving the second partition free to hold
Linux. But... Needless to say, my MacBook-Pro doesn't have a Fusion
drive, so I can't use it to test any procedures we might come up with.
So here's my suggestion:
Get yourself a USB3 or thunderbolt external drive and install Debian to
it stand alone, leaving the Fusion drive untouched for MacOS-X.
I'm thinking that you're probably going to want an external drive to use
for TimeMachine backup anyway, so you can easily carve out a 600GB
partition on it to use for Linux.
You sound like you are fairly familiar with Linux already, so you may
not need my help with the installation process, once you're got the
disk partitioning figured out. But if you do need help, my offer still
stands to work it through together with you, each on our separate
machines.
Enjoy!
Rick
Reply to: