Apple Macbook 2017 to Linux?

[tangerine_sedge]

I've inherited my daughters old Macbook Air (2017) which is currently running High Sierra (the most current MacOS that it can run).

I'm an amateur photographer and my intention was to use this Macbook as a tool for reviewing a days photo shoot. I shoot in a Canon 'Raw' format (CR3) which is relatively new and requires current photo editing software to open the files, I believe that Gimp and a suitable 'raw' plugin will achieve this.

I've found that High Sierra is extremely limited as to which versions of software it can run, and I'm thinking of replacing MacOS with a Linux variant. Does anyone recomend a Linux flavour which works well with this hardware?

tl;dr - I have an old Macbook, what flavour of Linux do I need?

[megaphone]

Are you sure your Mac won't update? I have a 2013 Air and it will run Big Sur. Your's should run Monterey. Check here

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT212551

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT211238

See the notes at the top telling you how much SSD space you need, you may need to offload some files.


Another option is to run Open Core Legacy Patcher, this may let you run an even newer OS. Lots of tutorials on Youtube. I'm running the latest OS on my 2013 Air.

https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbooT2eyfk4

Edited by megaphone on Saturday 2nd September 10:36

Edited by megaphone on Saturday 2nd September 10:37

[tangerine_sedge]

megaphone said:

Are you sure your Mac won't update? I have a 2013 Air and it will run Big Sur. Your's should run Monterey. Check here

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT212551

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT211238

See the notes at the top telling you how much SSD space you need, you may need to offload some files.


Another option is to run Open Core Legacy Patcher, this may let you run an even newer OS. Lots of tutorials on Youtube. I'm running the latest OS on my 2013 Air.

https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbooT2eyfk4

Edited by megaphone on Saturday 2nd September 10:36

Edited by megaphone on Saturday 2nd September 10:37

Really? I'm fairly new to MacOS world, and wasn't seeing any update options in system settings, so assumed end of the update path. I'm on my phone at the moment so will check out the links when I'm home. Cheers.

[mikef]

I run OpenCore Legacy Patcher on my 2010 Mac Pro and am on the latest MacOS Ventura 13.5.1

[robsa]

tangerine_sedge said:

I've inherited my daughters old Macbook Air (2017) which is currently running High Sierra (the most current MacOS that it can run).

I'm an amateur photographer and my intention was to use this Macbook as a tool for reviewing a days photo shoot. I shoot in a Canon 'Raw' format (CR3) which is relatively new and requires current photo editing software to open the files, I believe that Gimp and a suitable 'raw' plugin will achieve this.

I've found that High Sierra is extremely limited as to which versions of software it can run, and I'm thinking of replacing MacOS with a Linux variant. Does anyone recomend a Linux flavour which works well with this hardware?

tl;dr - I have an old Macbook, what flavour of Linux do I need?

GIMP supports High Sierra, or am I missing something?!

[tangerine_sedge]

@Megaphone / @mikef - Thanks for pointing me in the right direction - I've installed Monterey 12.6.7 and it's now patching to the last version (12.6.8). I'll investigate upgrading to Ventura in the near future.

I was expecting MacOS to offer me the most current version of the OS in the Software update, but that seems to only offer me the highest patch version for the release I'm on. 30 Years of being a Windows user conditioned me for the expected upsell to the latest and greatest - a bear-trap I can avoid next time

Have a virtual beer on me Thanks

@Robsa - An older version of Gimp does support High Sierra, but only the most recent vesion (and the RAW plugins) will support the CR3 files that I need to view, hence the desire to upgrade...

[megaphone]

You should be good for a few years on Monterey.

Did you do a fresh install or an update? Might be worth doing a fresh install and clearing out all the crud that your daughter may have left. Good practice to do this once in a while. Not he end of the world though if you don't. Best do a back up first (Time Machine)

[tangerine_sedge]

megaphone said:

You should be good for a few years on Monterey.

Did you do a fresh install or an update? Might be worth doing a fresh install and clearing out all the crud that your daughter may have left. Good practice to do this once in a while. Not he end of the world though if you don't. Best do a back up first (Time Machine)

I did a fresh install of High Sierra, then updated to Monterey, so it's pretty tidy at the moment. The good news is that under Monterey, the photo app reads my files natively (including all my meta-data), so I don't even have to mess around with Gimp. It's now perfect for my planned use for another 5 years or so

[megaphone]

tangerine_sedge said:

megaphone said:

You should be good for a few years on Monterey.

Did you do a fresh install or an update? Might be worth doing a fresh install and clearing out all the crud that your daughter may have left. Good practice to do this once in a while. Not he end of the world though if you don't. Best do a back up first (Time Machine)

I did a fresh install of High Sierra, then updated to Monterey, so it's pretty tidy at the moment. The good news is that under Monterey, the photo app reads my files natively (including all my meta-data), so I don't even have to mess around with Gimp. It's now perfect for my planned use for another 5 years or so

[robsa]

tangerine_sedge said:

I did a fresh install of High Sierra, then updated to Monterey, so it's pretty tidy at the moment. The good news is that under Monterey, the photo app reads my files natively (including all my meta-data), so I don't even have to mess around with Gimp. It's now perfect for my planned use for another 5 years or so

Oh well that's a winner then!