Installing FreeBSD on my MacBook Pro 7,1...it is a mid 2010 model

JoshuaBranson · #1 July 23rd, 2011, 03:01

Like the title of this thread suggests, I'm trying to install FreeBSD on a MacBook Pro 7,1 but I'm having trouble finding out if FreeBSD supports my hardware. I know it supports my wireless, audio, and Core 2 Duo processor, but I'm having some difficulty finding anything else. So I could use some help finding out if FreeBSD supports and if I need:

1) My disk controller
2) My FDDI
3) My Serial Interfaces
4) My Webcam (which I have hardware for)
5) My USB (which I have hardware for)
6) My IEEE
7) My Bluetooth (which I have hardware for)
8) My Miscellaneous Devices

a) My VGA card (which I have hardware for)
b) My mouse (which I definitely have hardware for)

Here's a link to the "FreeBSD 8.2-RELEASE Hardware Notes":
http://www.freebsd.org/releases/8.2R/hardware.html

Here's a link to my computer's tech specs:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...010-specs.html

And here's a copy of my sudo lspci:

Code:

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP89 HOST Bridge (rev a1)
00:00.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP89 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:01.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Device 0d6d (rev a1)
00:01.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Device 0d6e (rev a1)
00:01.2 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Device 0d6f (rev a1)
00:01.3 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Device 0d70 (rev a1)
00:02.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Device 0d71 (rev a1)
00:02.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Device 0d72 (rev a1)
00:03.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP89 LPC Bridge (rev a2)
00:03.1 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP89 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:03.2 SMBus: nVidia Corporation MCP89 SMBus (rev a1)
00:03.3 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation MCP89 Memory Controller (rev a1)
00:03.4 Co-processor: nVidia Corporation MCP89 Co-Processor (rev a1)
00:04.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP89 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a1)
00:04.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP89 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a2)
00:06.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP89 OHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev a1)
00:06.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation MCP89 EHCI USB 2.0 Controller (rev a2)
00:08.0 Audio device: nVidia Corporation MCP89 High Definition Audio (rev a2)
00:09.0 Ethernet controller: nVidia Corporation MCP89 Ethernet (rev a1)
00:0a.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation MCP89 SATA Controller (rev a2)
00:0b.0 RAM memory: nVidia Corporation Device 0d75 (rev a1)
00:15.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation Device 0d9b (rev a1)
00:17.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation MCP89 PCI Express Bridge (rev a1)
01:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM43224 802.11a/b/g/n (rev 01)
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation Device 08a0 (rev a2)

**SirDice** · #2 July 25th, 2011, 07:31

Have a look here: http://wiki.freebsd.org/AppleMacbook

b7j0c · #3 July 25th, 2011, 20:09

I'm not sure if you went ahead with the install...do you have the Broadcom NIC working?

I put FreeBSD-CURRENT (9) on my 5,1 MacBookPro and was unable to get the Broadcom wireless NIC working with any of bwi, bwn, ndis, etc. I ended up going through the urtw man page and finding an external adapter to use, namely the Netgear WG111v2. Note that simply going out to the store and buying an external N adapter won't work, wireless-N support is still weak/broken in FreeBSD (even CURRENT). The adapter I cited is wireless-G, as are the other listed supported devices.

JoshuaBranson · #4 July 26th, 2011, 19:47

I've got a Broadcom 43224. According to the FreeBSD 8.2 hardware release notes, the bwi driver should support the Broadcom 43xx. Does that mean the bwi driver will support my broadcom card?

b7j0c · #5 July 27th, 2011, 05:47

At this point you should just try installing FreeBSD and see what happens. If it works, please report back here what specifically works. If not, you can always try linux (Broadcom has binary blobs for linux, so the NIC will almost certainly work with these) or just get a Snow Leopard install disc and put OSX back on the laptop (Lion eschews install discs, so you would have to go to Snow Leopard first).

JoshuaBranson · #6 July 27th, 2011, 18:32

The instructions on the link (http://wiki.freebsd.org/AppleMacbook) want me to set aside space for FreeBSD using bootcamp.The trouble is I already deleted everything on my Mac's hard drive with the intent to only use FreeBSD. So since I can't use bootcamp to set aside space for FreeBSD how can I do it? P.S. I've also got a Ubuntu live cd.

JoshuaBranson · #7 July 27th, 2011, 21:46

Scratch that last question. I just read that "You cannot install FreeBSD in an extended partition made by Linux (or DOS)." AKA I've gotta use FreeBSD's "fixit" program to do it.

b7j0c · #8 July 28th, 2011, 05:47

I was very frustrated with dealing with the GPT on the macbook so I used the install disk for FreeBSD9 (not 8.x) and used the fixit shell to get gpart to just blow it away.

JoshuaBranson · #9 July 28th, 2011, 19:13

Where can you find the install disc for FreeBSD 9? Can you post me a link or tell me where to find it on the FreeBSD website? Which FreeBSD install file did you burn to a cd: the LiveFS file or the disc file? And would you mind telling me how to use gpart on fixit? I'm not sure how to partition my hard drive using fixit.

b7j0c · #10 July 29th, 2011, 03:44

If I recall, I obtained the CURRENT (9) .iso from here:

ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/201105/

I think the "cautionary note" regarding the use of snapshots is already understood

And also, note that the following procedure is to make FreeBSD the *only* OS on the computer.

I downloaded the "dvd1" option and burned it. The dvd option has everything on it, including the liveCD (you have the option to launch the liveCD functionality when booting into the dvd)

After booting to the dvd on my MacBook (press "C" while booting), I entered "fixit" mode.

Instead of just trying to remember my exact commands, I thought I would point you to this page that has a lot of information about using gpart, which is available in fixit mode:

http://www.freebsdonline.com/content/view/732/531/

The part of that tutorial you are interested in using (at a minimum) is the destroy option. I never used gpart itself to make other partitions (maybe I should have).

Once again, remember we are talking about operations that will permanently erase important data from the drive. Anyway, once that is done, you should be able to exit the fixit shell and return to the installer. Now that the GPT is gone, the installer should have no problem.

One thing to note is that I had to manually partition the drive, since I only used gpart to blow away the drive contents. Should you need to do this, just remember to set aside a swap partition that is roughly 2x your RAM.

After all this is done you should have a FreeBSD installation ready to boot. Hold down the eject button during the next boot to get the dvd out.

JoshuaBranson · #11 July 30th, 2011, 00:57

I downloaded the FreeBSD 9 current dvd1.iso. I booted it and got this error.

Code:

Manual root filesystem specification: 
   <fstype>:<device> [options]
   Mount <device> using filesystem <fstype>
   and with the specified (optional) option list.

   eg.  ufs:/dev/da0s1a 
        zfs:tank
        ...

        ?  List valid disk boot devices

I pressed ? and it didn't list any GEOM managed disk devices. I just got a blank line.

I'm going to try to create a bootable usbstick and see if I can enter fixit from that.

ElectrumRay · #12 July 30th, 2011, 19:33

You should read this post: http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=12289 , i have the same issue in a 7,1 white macbook. Greetings!!

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