Mac Mini 4,1 Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat)

This page aims to describe the steps needed, to fully enable all features of the Mid-2010 Mac Mini (Macmini4,1) unibody when using Ubuntu 10.10, Maverick Meerkat.


Installation tested with the Alternate i386 and x86_64 CDs.

You can find out, what model you have by typing at the terminal:

sudo dmidecode -s system-product-name

• If you have a different model, please go here and find the right wiki.

Overview

Anything not mentioned here probably already works out of the box. If not, please refer to the Ubuntu Apple Users forum.

• Feature	Support status
  Sensors (temps & fans)
  Suspend & Hibernate
  Reboot
  CPU
  3D Acceleration, Video & Effects (Compiz)
  HFS+ (only read)
  CD/DVD Writing
  Bluetooth
  FireWire
  LAN
  Wireless LAN
  CardReader
  Sound
  Microphone
  External Monitor
  Apple Remote Control

(works out-of-the-box)
(works, with remarks)
(needs manual install)
(won't work)
(not yet documented)

Sensors

• CD eject button is detected

  Sensors support the same as in Macbook. Sample:

$ sensors
applesmc-isa-0300
Adapter: ISA adapter
Exhaust  :  1804 RPM  (min = 1800 RPM)
TC0D:        +51.8°C                                    
TC0P:        +49.5°C                                    

$ sudo modprobe coretemp
$ sensors
applesmc-isa-0300
Adapter: ISA adapter
Exhaust  :  1796 RPM  (min = 1800 RPM)
TC0D:        +51.2°C                                    
TC0P:        +49.5°C                                    

coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 0:      +51.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)  

coretemp-isa-0001
Adapter: ISA adapter
Core 1:      +47.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)  

Suspend

• TBD

Boot CD

• To boot from the CD, hold down the "C" button while the machine is starting.

• Before running the first option (Try without installing), press F6 and select (with space) each of the options except the last one.

Reboot

• Ubuntu will freeze partway through reboot. For proper working reboot and shutdown, add the following to the kernel parameters in /etc/default/grub :

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="noacpi nomodeset reboot=acpi"

• If it still hangs just before reboot or halt, try the following parameters instead:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="nomodeset reboot=pci"

• NB : don't forget to update your grub config after every modification:

sudo update-grub

CPU

• You can check if all CPU cores are detected. The following command should return 2.

cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep processor | wc -l

Video

• You can enjoy 3D acceleration by using the nVidia proprietary driver which can be retrieved in the ubuntu Hardware Drivers menu.

Bluetooth

• Installing the fix provided here and rebooting will enable bluetooth. Install only the btusb-dkms package.

Sound

• For now, setting the sound card model to MacBook Pro 5,5 should enable the sound card. In the terminal enter the following and reboot.

sudo sh -c "echo 'options snd-hda-intel model=mbp55' >> /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf"

• This will give you analog sound output. If you need digital output through HDMI, use the configuration from this forum post (Could also work for Display Port and SP/DIF but was not tested).

Microphone

• Works out of the box, but only tested on Kubuntu with a Logitech HD Webcam C270. In "Settings - System settings - Multimedia - Phonon" you need to prefer the 0825 Analog Mono device for "Audio Capture - Communication". The cam works perfectly, too.

Wireless

• In the ubuntu Hardware Drivers menu you need to select a wireless driver. It should be named "Broadcom STA wireless driver"

CategoryMac

CategoryMac CategoryHardware