Fedora 9 on a MacBookPro
I’ve looking for information about configuring Fedora 9 on a MacBookPro and I didn’t find anything (just a shame). For that reason I’d like to resume the main steps to configure the basic things that a normal user would need.
- Installation
There is nothing important to remark. First we have to install rEFit on MacOSX. Download the lastest version of Fedora (at this moment, Fedora 9), put the cd in the drive and restart the computer. The installation will start and we only have to follow the typical steps: create two partitions at minimum (firts it’ll be necessary to reduce the mac partition and the create one partition for the base system and the other one for swap). Anaconda will install the bootloader at /dev/sdax, and that’s alright; don’t select the MBR because it won’t work.
- Graphic driver
At this moment, the last fglrx version is the 8.7 and it is not compatible with Xorg 7.4. but it seems that the radeonhd testing driver works fine and it can run Compiz. It is necessary to add the update-testing repositories and install the radeonhd module:
yum --enablerepo=updates-testing install xorg-x11-drv-radeonhd
yum --enablerepo=updates-testing update
Once updated, it is necessary to edit the xorg.conf file and add some lines. Just look this one. Then restart the computer and go to System > Preferences > Look&Feel > Desktop Effects and enable them. It will work perfectly (at least it worked for me).
- Webcam (iSight)
After trying a lot of ways to set it up, finally I was successful. What I did:
1. Install the package isight-firmware-tools from the package manager.
2. Download the AppleUSBVideoSupport and extract it:
ift-extract --apple-driver AppleUSBVideoSupport
3. Edit your xorg.conf and copy this Module section:
Section "Module"
Load "synaptics"
Load "extmod"
Load "dbe"
Load "glx"
Load "xtrap"
Load "dri"
Load "GLcore"
Load "record"
EndSection
4. Restart the computer and if you are lucky, it will work (try with Skype, Cheese or Ekiga)
- Keyboard
For me, it works well. I missed up the AltGr and Del keys. The way to fix it is too easy. Go to System > Preferences > Keyboard. On the Layout Options tab, select “Third Level Choosers” and check “Press Right Win-key to choose 3rd level” (this key is the right apple on the keyboard).
To add a Del key, for example we can use the next key after the right apple. Create a text file as ~/.xmodmap containing the following text:
keycode 108 = Delete
And run xmodmap each time you start GNOME. Go to System > Preferences > Personal > Sessions and add this command:
xmodmap /home/your_user/.xmodmap
- Network
If you use the ethernet, maybe it is not interesting for you to configure the wireless card. However, it’s always good to set it up thinking about future situations. First of all, install development software (gcc, make, etc.). To do that, just go to System->Administration->Install/Remove Software and then, search for those programs (it’s kind of crappy because if you search for “make” it will appear a lot of results, so you have to find it by alphabetic order).
Once installed, it’s time to download the lastest madwifi drivers. Unpack them in your preferred folder, open a terminal and go to that folder. Then, compile it:
make (the second line as a root)
make install
Next time you restart the computer, the wifi will be active. Each time you upgrade the kernel, it is necessary to compile the driver again.
From here, the next points are basically for either computer. It is just configuring multimedia codecs and other basic stuff.
- Multimedia codecs
First it’s necessary to add the livna repository. To do it, just type as a root in a terminal:
rpm -ivh http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-9.rpm
rpm --import http://rpm.livna.org/RPM-LIVNA-GPG-KEY
And then, install codecs:
yum install gstreamer-plugins-good gstreamer-plugins-bad gstreamer-plugins-ugly
yum install libdvdcss libdvdread libdvdnav lsdvd libdvbpsi
yum install ffmpeg ffmpeg-compat libmatroska xvidcore
To install flash (always as a root):
rpm -Uvh http://linuxdownload.adobe.com/adobe-release/adobe-release-i386-1.0-1.noarch.rpm
yum install flash-plugin
mozilla-plugin-config -i -g -v
The last command is to register the plugin (it is not always necessary).
There is other easier way to install all multimedia codecs and other interesting software. In the Fedora Forums you can find more information about it.
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Well, at this moment this is enough. I will add more tips later.
Great article! it rocks.. specially about DVD/Codecs. Thnx a lot man.