2009 iMAC and Linux

[NinjaMARIO]

Hello,

I have been trying to run linux on an old iMac with varying level's of success. I can run Ubuntu, but the screen tearing is horrendous. I've been trying to boot Manjaro, but it either black screens partway through boot, or hangs indefinitely during boot. I have also tried installing macOS but nothing seems to work and paying $20 buck for the backup CD's is a ripoff. The hard was completely dead, hence installing OS's

 

From what I've read already, the issue seems to be graphics drivers. I've tried using proprietary drivers but they black screen. I've also tried nomodeset, but then it hangs. On Ubuntu, AMD drivers failed to boot.

 

I know this is pretty ambiguous, but I just want an operating system that can run a desktop environment without serious issues like screen tearing.

 

Specs for refference:

27" iMac late 2009

i7 860

amd HD 4850

8GB RAM

[Sauron]

Old amd cards are a pain in the butt - try the mesa driver, it should give you maximum compatibility though performance won't be great.

[NinjaMARIO]

On 6/16/2019 at 4:34 AM, Sauron said:

Old amd cards are a pain in the butt - try the mesa driver, it should give you maximum compatibility though performance won't be great.

Thanks. I tried that, but no luck. I got a Mac OS vm going and I'm going to try and get a bootable usb from that. I don't know why I didn't try this earlier.

[NinjaMARIO]

I got MacOS back on the iMac with the usb from the VM. I don't think I can post a download link for a MacOS image, but if someone wants to do the same thing, it was easy to google.

[beankylla]

Hello,

 

That's weird, i have give or take the same setup and do not notice the screen tearing (linux mint on the machine but its ubuntu as well).

 

had you installed the proper amd drivers?

 

greetings