To be able to run both Ubuntu and MacOS on the same machine, we require to create a partition in the hard disk to hold both operating systems. I then opened the Terminal and ran the following command: I logged into MacOS and downloaded the latest Ubuntu image from and saved it in ~/Downloads/ubuntu-20.04.2.0-desktop-amd.iso. The first step was to generate a bootable USB stick which would hold the Ubuntu image. I decided the best approach would be to initially dual boot MacOS and Ubuntu, ensure that Ubuntu is stable and then remove the partition where MacOS lives. I wasn’t buying it that the hardware would not be able to run the browser and applications and I had a strong belief that it’s some Apple-imposed limitation as part of the ‘Lightbulb Conspiracy.’ So I decided to pursue a different option: installing the latest Ubuntu on this 2013 MacBook Air to free the software restrictions of the machine manufacturer and unleash the power of the hardware. But when launching Google Chrome, I discovered that when navigating to GMail or Google Drive, I received an error message indicating that the applications do not support this browser and operating system. So I began downloading all the applications I usually use like Google Chrome, iTerm, Visual Studio Code. Select Reinstall macOS, click Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions.Īll of the steps ran smoothly and I had a working machine! The battery was still in really good shape as well, the screen was scratchless and the keyboard still had that bounce to it.After the disk is erased, choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.Click the Format pop-up menu, choose Mac OS Extended format, enter a name, then click Erase.Select your startup disk on the left, then click Erase.Select Disk Utility, then click Continue.As your Mac restarts, hold down the Command + R keys until the macOS Utilities window appears. In the menu bar, choose Apple menu > Restart.Since it must’ve been laying at my family’s house for a few years at least, and we as human’s have a tendency to forget our credentials, I decided to save the attempts and just format it and start with a clean OS. I discovered that the laptop was password locked with my sibling’s user and password. I thought it would be wasteful to just leave it there so I picked it up and took it to the lab, AKA home.

The other day when visiting my family, under a large pile of torn up binders and laminated documents, I found my sibling’s old 2013 MacBook Air.

How to install linux on old macbook