Fedora 12 on mac book pro 13" .... with sound ! (updated)
Submitted by lefred on Wed, 01/13/2010 - 23:30
On my new mac book pro 13inch, I decided to install Fedora 12 for my daily use (I like Mac OSX but not for work) and as GNU/Linux consultant I need my dear lovely Linux laptop :-)
But out of the box 3D support for the video card is not supported nouveau (open source nvidia driver) and the WIFI is also not working.
Using rpmfusion I've installed kmod-nvidia and kmod-wl and it works fine. (YOU STILL NEED TO INSTALL THEM, even with the packages bellow, the current packages are : kmod-nvidia-190.42-1.fc12.9.x86_64.rpm and kmod-wl-5.10.91.9.3-3.fc12.11.x86_64.rpm)
But (there is always a but it seems) the nothing comes out of my speakers or headphones... (Whhhyyyyyyy!!!?).
Due to a lack of time and a reasonable level of frustration, I stayed several weeks with my new brand silent laptop.
00:08.0 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP79 High Definition Audio (rev b1)
This is the ouput of the sound preferences :
and in alsamixer :
I finally decided to have a deeper look to my problem (frustration level reached the limit :-P )
I installed the kernel from rawhide (kernel-2.6.32.2-18.fc13.x86_64) but of course no driver for nvidia video card and wifi available for that kernel :'-( (I told you there is always a but)
UPDATE: that kernel is not more available (seems to be updated while writing this post), new packages are now attached at the end of this post for kernel-2.6.32.3-21.fc13.x86_64
So I recreated the rpms to support them.
You just need to install them and add the following line to /etc/modprobe.d/sound :
options snd_hda_intel model=intel-alc889a
Reboot, check sound preferences:
Increase the volume and unmute in alsamixer, save it and enjoy (no more but !) :)
For those looking how to turn on the lights of the keyboard, just try this :
echo X > /sys/devices/platform/applesmc.768/leds/smc::kbd_backlight/brightness X is a value from 0 to 255
9 reponses to "Fedora 12 on mac book pro 13" .... with sound ! (updated)"
1. How did you get Fedora
How did you get Fedora working on macbook pro?... I've tried almost everything, but after the install, the grub menu just does not work, i get the name "grub" and a blinking cursor in front of it, no menu options, nothing... I've tried to boot from cd and make grub setup but still not working... Please, help me...
2. Re: How did you get Fedora
While refit is helpfull. It is not needed in fact. The most important thing is to make partitions inside your MAC OSX with help of diskutil, that is:
1) make free space
2) make several MSDOS partitions for linux (I've made 3, 1- /, 2-/home, 3 for swap). They can be formatted further under installation. However you should avoid the change of partition table (like delete partition, create partition) under installation procedure
3)install using the option "custom partition layout"
4)installer is clever and propose to install grub on the first linux partition, Don't install grub to mbr.
5)after reboot: if you have refit -you should update partition table and then to reboot again. Still grub may not appear, however it should after additional reboot (this is in my experience). If you have no refit, just put an "option" button when you reboot the system. Mac's boot show the linux boot-loader as windows. Here you may need the additional reboot as well.
6) As concern to the topic the sound should work with alsa version => 1.0.22
I use MacOsx10.6 and Fedora 12(Russian remix) on mac book pro 5.5 (aluminium 13"). Everything is working satisfactory.
3. can't get fedora working on my mac
I've followed all your instructions:
-parted disk from mac osx (one partition for / and one for swap) in two MS-DOS partitions
-installed fedora12 in / and installed boot loader in / (not in MBR)
-executed refit for resync partition table and shutdown from refit utility
but i still have grub does not work.I have a black screen, a "GRUB" string and the blinking cursor...
what should i do??? i really need to run fedora12 on my mac....please help me...
thankyou
4. Re:
>-executed refit for resync partition table and shutdown from refit utility
Was it done after installation within refit boot manager? Or did you do this inside mac?
By the way, in the former case, was your partition marked as bootable, with star mark in front of it
5. refit
do you see the refit boot screen ? do you see in it the mac and the linux icon ?
6. Re: How did you get Fedora
While refit is helpfull. It is not needed in fact. The most important thing is to make partitions inside your MAC OSX with help of diskutil, that is:
1) make free space
2) make several MSDOS partitions for linux (I've made 3, 1- /, 2-/home, 3 for swap). They can be formatted further under installation. However you should avoid the change of partition table (like delete partition, create partition) under installation procedure
3)install using the option "custom partition layout"
4)installer is clever and propose to install grub on the first linux partition, Don't install grub to mbr.
5)after reboot: if you have refit -you should update partition table and then to reboot again. Still grub may not appear, however it should after additional reboot (this is in my experience). If you have no refit, just put an "option" button when you reboot the system. Mac's boot show the linux boot-loader as windows. Here you may need the additional reboot as well.
6) As concern to the topic the sound should work with alsa version => 1.0.22
I use MacOsx10.6 and Fedora 12(Russian remix) on mac book pro 5.5 (aluminium 13"). Everything is working satisfactory.
7. re How did you get Fedora
Do you use refit ?
8. Rawhide
How is the newer kernel working out? I'm nervous to update it, but I'm out of options, I can't live in this silence anymore!
What method did you use for the update and how is the performance?
9. it doesn't work
for people not having installed the nvida driver before trying those rpms, you must follow the steps to remove nouveau from your initrd as explained here :
http://fedorasolved.org/video-solutions/nvidia-yum-kmod