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DebianOn is an effort to document how to install, configure and use Debian on some specific hardware. Therefore potential buyers would know if that hardware is supported and owners would know how get the best out of that hardware.

The purpose is not to duplicate the Debian Official Documentation, but to document how to install Debian on some specific hardware.

If you need help to get Debian running on your hardware, please have a look at our user support channels where you may find specific channels (mailing list, IRC channel) dedicated to certain types of hardware.

Models covered
Apple MacBookPro 8-1

Sub-models (LIST OF MODEL REFERENCE NUMBER) options :
- Video card (Intel HD 3000, AMD GPU disabled)
- Screen size (17")
- Wireless card (B43)
- Disk and Ram size, optical device
- Other options, like fingerprint reader, bluetooth...

Overall Status

Core Components

[ATTACH]

Boot Standard Kernel:

{OK}

LAN network card:

{OK}

Detect CD/DVD:

[OK]

Detect hard drives:

{OK}

Extra Features

CPU Frequency Scaling

[?]

Hibernation

[?]

Sleep / Suspend

[OK]

Xorg

{OK}

- OpenGL

{OK}

- Resize-and-Rotate(randr)

[?]

Switch to External Screen

[OK]

Mouse

- Built-in (Trackpoint)

[?]

- Built-in (Touchpad)

{OK}

Modem

[?]

Wireless/Wifi

{OK}

Keyboard's Hotkeys

[OK]

Legend :
{OK} = OK ; {X} Unsupported(No Driver) ; /!\ = Error (Couldn't get it working); [?] Unknown, Not Test ; [-] Not-applicable
{i} = Configuration Required; X-( = Only works with a non-free driver and or firmware

Installing Debian Buster on an Apple MacbookPro8,1

Notes

My MacBookPro 8,1 has the following characteristics:
Processor Intel Core i5 2.3 Ghz.
RAM 8 GB 1333 Mhz DDR 3.
Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB.
SSD drive dedicated to Debian.
DVD-R drive Matshita UJ-898.
Ethernet Broadcom 57765-BO.
Wireless Broadcom BCM4331 rev 02.
Integrated UVC Camera.

How to

1. Boot using Debian Buster Live KDE 64 bit on USB thumb drive.
2. Ethernet cable is attached.
3. Select installation from Live medium.
3. Set time zone, set user, set keyboard to mac_nodeadkeys, partition the hole drive.
4. Let Calamares finish the installation.
5. Reboot and login with created user.
6. Install firmware-43-installer to make wireless working.
7. Reboot.

Configuration

Display

Works as expected with i915.
Adjusting screen brightness works fine with the keyboard keys.
Switching to external screen works "Out of the Box".

Audio

Works "Out of the Box". Adjusting volume with keyboard keys works fine.

Keyboard

Configured keyboard layout at install time. The output of cat /etc/default/keyboard

XKBMODEL="pc105"
XKBLAYOUT="de"
XKBVARIANT="mac_nodeadkeys"
XKBOPTIONS=""


Mouse

Touchpad works "Out of the Box".

Power Management

Have not tried with macfanctld installed.
The battery, which only has ~70% left of initial capacity is seen properly.
The system is charging normal and switching between battery or power connected fine.
The apple logo is glowing when the laptop is on.
A light on the front is indicating that the laptop is in suspend.
A battery indicator on one side is showing the left battery capacity.

WiFi

The BCM4331 wireless card needs the package firmware-b43-installer installed.
While firmware-b43-installer will get the WiFi card to work, it will not detect or connect to 5 Ghz band networks.
I did not bother to test other drivers, because the 2,4 Ghz is working fine for my needs.

Modem

Not tested

Fire Wire

Not tested

DVD Drive

The DVD drive is working "Out of the Box".


System Summary

lspci

lspci -nn
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller [8086:0104] (rev 09)
00:01.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200/2nd Generation Core Processor Family PCI Express Root Port [8086:0101] (rev 09)
00:01.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200/2nd Generation Core Processor Family PCI Express Root Port [8086:0105] (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0126] (rev 09)
00:16.0 Communication controller [0780]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 [8086:1c3a] (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Universal Host Controller #5 [8086:1c2c] (rev 05)
00:1a.7 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 [8086:1c2d] (rev 05)
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller [8086:1c20] (rev 05)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 [8086:1c10] (rev b5)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 [8086:1c12] (rev b5)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 3 [8086:1c14] (rev b5)
00:1d.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Universal Host Controller #1 [8086:1c27] (rev 05)
00:1d.7 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 [8086:1c26] (rev 05)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation HM65 Express Chipset Family LPC Controller [8086:1c49] (rev 05)
00:1f.2 SATA controller [0106]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family 6 port SATA AHCI Controller [8086:1c03] (rev 05)
00:1f.3 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller [8086:1c22] (rev 05)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Limited NetXtreme BCM57765 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe [14e4:16b4] (rev 10)
02:00.1 SD Host controller [0805]: Broadcom Limited BCM57765/57785 SDXC/MMC Card Reader [14e4:16bc] (rev 10)
03:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Broadcom Limited BCM4331 802.11a/b/g/n [14e4:4331] (rev 02)
04:00.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394) [0c00]: LSI Corporation FW643 [TrueFire] PCIe 1394b Controller [11c1:5901] (rev 08)
05:00.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010] [8086:1513]
06:00.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010] [8086:1513]
06:03.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010] [8086:1513]
06:04.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010] [8086:1513]
06:05.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010] [8086:1513]
06:06.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010] [8086:1513]
07:00.0 System peripheral [0880]: Intel Corporation CV82524 Thunderbolt Controller [Light Ridge 4C 2010] [8086:1513]

lsusb

lsusb -t
/:  Bus 04.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/:  Bus 03.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=ehci-pci/8p, 480M
    |__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Hub, Driver=hub/2p, 480M
        |__ Port 1: Dev 3, If 0, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 1.5M
/:  Bus 02.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=uhci_hcd/2p, 12M
/:  Bus 01.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=ehci-pci/6p, 480M
    |__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Hub, Driver=hub/3p, 480M
        |__ Port 1: Dev 4, If 0, Class=Hub, Driver=hub/3p, 12M
            |__ Port 3: Dev 8, If 0, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=btusb, 12M
            |__ Port 3: Dev 8, If 1, Class=Wireless, Driver=btusb, 12M
            |__ Port 3: Dev 8, If 2, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=btusb, 12M
            |__ Port 3: Dev 8, If 3, Class=Application Specific Interface, Driver=, 12M
        |__ Port 2: Dev 5, If 1, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
        |__ Port 2: Dev 5, If 2, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=bcm5974, 12M
        |__ Port 2: Dev 5, If 0, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
    |__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 2, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=, 480M
    |__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 0, Class=Video, Driver=uvcvideo, 480M
    |__ Port 2: Dev 3, If 1, Class=Video, Driver=uvcvideo, 480M

lscpu

lscpu
Architektur:                   x86_64
CPU Operationsmodus:           32-bit, 64-bit
Byte-Reihenfolge:              Little Endian
Address sizes:                 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
CPU(s):                        4
Liste der Online-CPU(s):       0-3
Thread(s) pro Kern:            2
Kern(e) pro Socket:            2
Sockel:                        1
NUMA-Knoten:                   1
Anbieterkennung:               GenuineIntel
Prozessorfamilie:              6
Modell:                        42
Modellname:                    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2415M CPU @ 2.30GHz
Stepping:                      7
CPU MHz:                       818.145
Maximale Taktfrequenz der CPU: 2900,0000
Minimale Taktfrequenz der CPU: 800,0000
BogoMIPS:                      4589.47
Virtualisierung:               VT-x
L1d Cache:                     32K
L1i Cache:                     32K
L2 Cache:                      256K
L3 Cache:                      3072K
NUMA-Knoten0 CPU(s):           0-3
Markierungen:                  fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx lahf_lm pti ssbd ibrs ibpb stibp tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts md_clear flush_l1d

Resources

Attachments

Some configuration files and sample outputs.

Credits