Much research and forum digging later – Apple included an extended warranty program on these devices which involves a replacement logic board but this service has long since closed. The next option was to find a working logic board/gpu combo and transplant in to my current MacBook chassis as there is no current aftermarket solution unlike the 27” iMac which have the same fate, and have the space for a separate GPU card that can be replaced.
Whilst in the forum information rabbit hole, I stumbled across some old posts where people have installed and got Linux Mint working on these ill fated MacBooks – whilst its a favour of Debian its been known to have a couple of issues with the types of desktop environments available – I like GNOME it feels not too far away from macOS / OSX.
In theory the commands used on Linux Mint would work with Ubuntu a Linux distribution I’m very familiar with as a flavour of Debian which all stems from the Unix – MacOS old.
Another reason to update/upgrade to Ubuntu OS (or any Linux bistro) is the lack of security updates for macOS on these older devices – This age of MacBook can update to macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) which in itself is 7 years old now, and the last update was pushed down in November 2020.
Ubuntu is current, receiving updates to its different versions and being opensource nothing nasty is hidden in the code, with it being visible to all to inspect. Virus’ and Malware are very few its not how the community works. With the plus point, doing this is a technology upskill the world functions on Linux servers, and since the introduction of the Raspberry Pi the uptake in Linux users has increased tenfold.
Anything important on the MacBook is going to need to be backed up, and this can only be done removing the Harddrive (HDD) / SSD from the MacBook and reading the contents on another device. As we’ve mentioned these MacBooks are getting old – technology has moved on I would strongly advise getting a new modern large capacity SSD – to replace its only 10 screws on the base – and two screws to release the SSD/HDD becareful of the ribbon cable.
Things we need
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16gb USB Stick
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New SSD (your choice)
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Ubuntu iso file
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Raspberry Pi Imager software
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Another device to create the Bootable USB Stick on – MacBook / Windows / Linux is fine – just not a Chromebook
Getting Ubuntu Working
Once you’ve downloaded both the ISO File and Imager you can insert the USB Stick and follow the instructions displayed on screen. When its complete remove from your device creating the bootable USB.
