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I have an old MacBook on which I might like to try installing StartOS.

I would save the contents of the computer to an external hard drive first, but here’s what I’m wondering:

When installing a new OS on an existing machine, does it replace the old OS and all the contents? Or does it create a “split” of sorts, such that when you boot up the computer you can choose which OS to run, and access all the content on the specified system?

Just trying to figure out if I’ll be able to “use” the old MacBook as it was, after I install StartOS, or if it’s a complete overhaul and “no going back”, in which case I’d be much more careful about backing up the old hard drive.

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Discussion

zyrotin 1y ago

In general you would be wiping the original OS and replacing it with StartOS.

If you want them side by side one option might be installing StartOS to an external drive so you leave your original hard drive totally intact. I've done that to run linux on a mac mini in the past.

boston wine 1y ago

Ooh, that’s cool. So when I want to run StartOS, I plug the external drive into the laptop and choose to boot from there?

I recognize that a large part of the point of a home server is being online all/most of the time, especially when it comes to nodes and data backups, but just trying to get my bearings and understand what I’m doing before I do it.

Ideally it would be “plug in HD and run StartOS on laptop constantly, but the option to go back to my old laptop’s content exists if needed”. Although at that point, I may as well just back up the laptop to the external drive, install StartOS on the laptop, run that 24/7, and if I need the old computer’s data I can just connect the external drive to my current machine. Less trouble (and fewer boxes and cables) that way, I’d think.

boston wine 1y ago

Another question - I did read somewhere that StartOS requires a wired internet connection. Would I actually need the laptop connected via Ethernet cable, or would connecting to my home WiFi suffice?

(Again, with the knowledge that WiFi is imperfect with regard to uptime).

Troy 1y ago

A bit of caution to give you:

I've installed Linux on plenty of "Windows laptops", either as a replacement, or dual-boot.

I recently turned my spouse's Intel-based MacBook Pro into a dual-boot, and it's wonky as hell, especially with wifi. It seems others have run into similar issues running Linux on Mac. Sometimes it just means spending some time playing with drivers, configs, etc. So maybe I just need to spend a few weekends deep-diving into Mac hardware issues.

I encourage you to forge ahead, you'll learn a lot. Just be prepared for some Steve Jobs "gotchas".

boston wine 1y ago

Thank you for the word of wisdom 🙏