Ubuntu 18 installation on a MacBook 6.2 (mid 2010) has graphics and overheating issues

Question

I attempted to restore a MacBook 6.2 (mid 2010) that was very slow with the factory-hardware-configuration in early 2020 (4 GB RAM, GeForce GT 330M dedicated graphics board, and Intel Core i5). First, I manually cleaned the dust from the motherboard, fan, and all other components. After that, I purchased a compatible 4 GB RAM module, installed it, and upgraded to Ubuntu 18.

I then faced the issues below:

1. Immediately after installation, I realized that the fan speed was not correctly configured, and the MacBook was dangerously overheating, causing the system to freeze.

2. After resolving the initial issue (solution described below), when I attempted to start a "heavy-graphics" program (such as Firefox), the OS also became stuck. If it took a long time to open or became stuck for an indefinite period (which was common), the only solution was to restart the system.

3. To avoid the previous issue, I discovered an option, which leads me to a new problem. I began to open this type of program by right-clicking and then selecting Open using dedicated graphics card. It operated flawlessly till some application started on its own. When this occurs, the graphics-heavy program launches without the "dedicated graphics" options and remains in the same condition, stuck. As a result, I began to regard the Open with a dedicated graphics card strategy as more of a "duct-tape" fix than a true solution. Then I recognized that the OS was being stuck when using the Intel graphics card, therefore I realized that no third-party software from the graphics-dedicated-board was being used. Then I went to the apps menu → Software & Updates → Additional Drivers where I discovered an option to use the NVIDIA driver for the graphics that was not chosen. So, believing I'd handled everything, I chose the software option, rebooted the system, and... blank screen! The system was not in any way initialized.

I tried some forum suggestions, reinstalling Ubuntu and trying again and again, but none of them worked for my situation. So, for a long time, I employed the "duct-tape" technique (mentioned previously), occasionally needing to restart my system when my mac became stuck.

Did someone have the same problem? Could someone help me to solve it?

Answer 1

Recently, Linux has published the new Ubuntu version 22.04, and I decided to give it one final shot to have a stable Linux OS on my good old MAC. The fact that they made certain changes to the way the systems interact with dedicated graph cards encouraged me.

After installing this latest version and making some changes, I finally had a fully functional Ubuntu on my MAC!

Then, I decided to write this step-by-step instruction to assist anyone who wants to recover a primitive Mac and is experiencing similar issues.

Solution for the first issue:

To begin, after installing Ubuntu 22.04 on the MacBookPro and ensuring that it has an internet connection, the first issue must be resolved as soon as possible owing to the dangers of overheating:

The solution to the first issue is simple and can be done by installing macfancltd.

Open the terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T and run the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install macfanctld

Solution for the second and third issues:

The second and third issues are more difficult to resolve. I spent a lot of time reading and researching these issues and discovered only a few articles that address them, the most beneficial of which being Hybrid Graphics on Ubuntu 19.10 Early 2011 17" Macbook Pro. Then I made some adjustments, cached only the information that was relevant to my case, and did the following:

1. Check your installed partition with the command gparted (you should be asked to install it):

   sudo apt-get install gparted
   sudo gparted
   

   It opens a Window telling you where you installed Ubuntu. In my case it was /dev/sda2 which contained an ext4 partition.

2. Next, mount the partition:

   sudo mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
   

3. Then mount/bind the directories GRUB needs to access:

   sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev &&
   sudo mount --bind /dev/pts /mnt/dev/pts &&
   sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc &&
   sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
   

4. Then move on to this environment using chroot:

   sudo chroot /mnt
   

5. You should now be able to edit /etc/default/grub, as the others pointed out:

   sudo nano /etc/default/grub
   

6. Change the line GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="" to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="nomodeset" (or add intel.modeset=0 here).

7. Save, overwrite, and reboot the system.

It's done! I genuinely hope that this topic is useful to those who are experiencing the similar issue.

Following these modifications, my MacBook performed admirably, opening multiple high-graphic programs without crashing.