Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

blackrim · 2014-09-05 00:17:08

OK, posting, what seems to be a fairly regular post which is
I am looking for a new linux laptop and have been disappointed with the build qualities of HP and lenovo and so am looking into the macbook pro 15in. This would run linux full time and I develop on it so it would be nice if it performed at the speeds that it would in mac. Anyone really happy with the state of full time arch on the newer macbook pros?

baronmog · 2014-09-05 06:32:42

I'm generally quite happy with the state of Arch on my MBPr 11,2. The integrated graphics work quite well, for my purposes. I use it for dev work (mostly webdev in PHP/Javascript/Python/Perl), videos and casual gaming. The only speed issues I see are occasional disk IO hiccups, though they're infrequent enough that I can't quantify them. Battery life is quite good, though not as good as advertised with MacOS. I generally see battery life in the 5 hour range, when I have most of the powersaving features turned on (via powertop). I don't usually turn on powersaving for WiFi, as it causes problems with the ssh tunnels that I use for work.

Edited to add: As stated in the Wiki, the built-in webcam and microphone don't work with Linux. This can be a bit of a hassle, but isn't a deal breaker for me.

Last edited by baronmog (2014-09-05 07:01:31)

Sc0rian · 2014-09-05 09:00:04

microphone works, just not webcam.

blackrim · 2014-09-05 15:36:44

baronmog wrote:

I'm generally quite happy with the state of Arch on my MBPr 11,2....

So do you dual boot or just arch? No major wifi speed, bumping issues?
Thanks again

baronmog · 2014-09-05 18:22:51

blackrim wrote:

So do you dual boot or just arch? No major wifi speed, bumping issues?

Well, I still have a MacOS install on the disk, but haven't booted it in at least 6 months. Wifi speed has been ok, though I haven't attempted to push it.

The catch with wifi is that you'll need to download one of the broadcom-wl packages from aur.archlinux.org . I use the dkms variant, so that I don't have to manually recompile after every kernel update. However, there are occasional issues when the kernel changes in a way that requires driver changes. It's not too difficult to downgrade your kernel install (just point "pacman -U" at a previous kernel in /var/cache/pacman/pkg/) until the driver is updated.

hrod · 2014-09-08 08:09:57

aaronlevin wrote:

Sc0rian wrote:
I want to run 3 monitors... I can run 2 X on dp and 1 X laptop.
I cannot run 2 X dp 1 X hdmi.. For some reason one of the DP's get kicked off when I plugin HDMI, and it cannot be seen in xrandr.
Would this be a intel drive issue?
I was under the impression you couldn't (shouldn't?) do multi-monitor with the Intel gpu, so perhaps this is manifestation of those issues?

what? multi-monitor is fine on intel gpu.

ARK i7-4750HQ shows that it is capable of 3 concurrent displays only. (It seems like the number of displays is the issue, not the total number of pixels being pushed).

I have tested:
eDP1 + DP1 + DP2
eDP1 + HDMI1 + HDMI3
eDP1 + DP1 + HDMI3
DP1 + DP2 + HDMI3 if i turn off eDP before connecting the last monitor.

However eDP1 + DP1 + DP2 + HDMI3 does not work as that's four displays, i get the message "xrandr: cannot find crtc for output ____" for the fourth display when i try to enable it, however all four show up in xrandr as detected along with the list of their possible resolutions.

Last edited by hrod (2014-09-08 08:11:42)

Oulipopo · 2014-09-17 08:57:42

I'm strongly considering to buy a Macbook Pro Retina (I haven't decided between the 13" and 15" yet) and simultaneously taking the jump from Ubuntu to Arch. I have a couple of questions for you guys:

1. Is there any strong incentive to rather go with a small-form laptop designed for Windows? I've read in the wiki that the Macboook runs Arch fine, but are there others that run it far better? (This is important, as Arch will be the main OS on my system, together with some OSX tinkering.)

2. (Due to Nvidia being a major hassle on my current laptop, I've decided to go with one of the Intel versions.) Is there any big differences between the 13" and 15" versions as relates to Arch? (E.g., does the memorycard reader only work on one of the models?)

3. Does the scaling work satisfactorily? I'm all for ultra high resolution screens, however, I need to be able to read the text on them.

I'll mostly be using it for programming (and could have gotten away with a way cheaper windows machine, I'm just a sucker for Apple's way of putting hardware together).

zyghom · 2014-09-18 18:55:20

I cannot install Arch (although I'm Arch user for many years)
I only managed to install Ubuntu 14.04 on Macbook Pro 11,3
Although system settings shows nvidia but module is nouveau:

http://my.homonto.eu/pictures/2/ubu.jpg

Moderator edit [ewaller] converted image tags to over sized image to url tags

Last edited by ewaller (2014-09-19 15:27:29)

fixel · 2014-09-19 14:32:58

@zyghom: If you look on wiki-page, you'll see that you need to patch GRUB and use a graphic card switching application in OS X - here

EDIT: what I'm getting at is that you probably have a Macbook 11,3. As such you need to choose between the integrated and the dedicated graphics card. Where in the installation do you fail?

Last edited by fixel (2014-09-19 14:35:56)

zyghom · 2014-09-19 16:54:06

whatever I do regarding Arch on this machine (11,3) I'm getting then unusable machine - nothing works except recovery hd from mac
then in disk utility I have to delete linux partition and start again
I'm a bit pissed of because I'm Arch user for last ... 8 years so moving to Ubuntu is a drama for me
I would be very happy having Arch again - this time on mac - this is excellent piece of hardware

fixel · 2014-09-25 12:53:27

zyghom wrote:

whatever I do regarding Arch on this machine (11,3) I'm getting then unusable machine - nothing works except recovery hd from mac
then in disk utility I have to delete linux partition and start again
I'm a bit pissed of because I'm Arch user for last ... 8 years so moving to Ubuntu is a drama for me
I would be very happy having Arch again - this time on mac - this is excellent piece of hardware

I don't know if I've quite understood your issue. But a guess would be that you can perform the installation? But when you want to boot into you Linux partititon (post install) you can only get to the recovery partition. If this is the case and you have installed arch successfully using the native OSX bootloader, you will need to "bless" the Linux partition to mark it as bootable. This is detailed in the wiki - Here!

zyghom · 2014-09-25 12:57:40

you see: ubuntu installed and working, on Mac OS first I installed rEFInd and now, mac and ubu both start from refind
the trick on Ubu was: install ubu without installing grub
so I would expect on Arch - specially that Arch is so step-by-step so I just skipped Grub
but it still touched it?

regulament · 2014-09-25 14:04:41

Huh? refind was discussed back a few pages when I had problems installing: you first install refind in OS X, with the proper options enabled and copy the drivers, then you install arch with no bootloader, but you create and edit refind_linux.conf in /boot and done, proper booting using refind.

Seriously, the install process is super-documented and stable. Read the wiki, read the whole thread and you should have no problems.

Last edited by regulament (2014-09-25 14:06:39)

zyghom · 2014-09-27 03:53:28

just one question I have here:
rEFInd installed under Mac OS
so the partions look like this:

/dev/sda1 is created by MacOS
my Arch is on /dev/sda5
where should I install grub during Arch installation? /dev/sda5 ? or nowhere?

regulament · 2014-09-27 05:51:37

Nowhere. You do not need to install a bootloader. You just need a refind_linux.conf in /boot with

"Boot option name" "root=/dev/sdaX rw splash any_kernel_options_you_want_for_example_I_have nmi_watchdog=0 modprobe.blacklist=hci_usb,btusb,bluetooth,uvcvideo"

Basically the system starts, refind is searching for things to boot and boots them itself. No grub or anything needed.

I knew I explained it somewhere:
https://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comm … ng/ch154yr

Last edited by regulament (2014-09-27 05:52:07)

zyghom · 2014-09-27 06:20:54

fine, if no grub needed and so on let me rsync my partition from previous laptop, change /etc/fstab and crypttab and lets see where we are...

zyghom · 2014-09-27 06:26:02

no, something is wrong - refind sees only:
1-mac
2-ubuntu on sda4
while arch is on sda5 and in sda5 /boot/refind_linux.conf I put:

09:25:12 root@mb15papio:~# mount /dev/sda5 /mnt
09:25:16 root@mb15papio:~# cat /mnt/boot/refind_linux.conf 
"Boot option name" "root=/dev/sda5 rw nmi_watchdog=0 modprobe.blacklist=hci_usb,btusb,bluetooth,uvcvideo"
09:25:22 root@mb15papio:~#

my problem is: I don't get what is the mechanism of rEFInd to find kernel/boot partition (automatic one)
and or what is needed to be copied to EFI partition to have it working
as when I installed Ubuntu it has been somehow done automatically and now in Arch I'm a bit lost
is it the file special needed in EFI folder on EFI partition?
or what?

one tip: Ubu is 64b while copied Arch is 32 - does it have any meaning?

Last edited by zyghom (2014-09-27 07:19:07)

regulament · 2014-09-27 10:03:58

There is no need to copy anything in Arch. The boot process is explained on the refind website.

The fact that Arch is not found while Ubuntu is is indeed troubling. Could you also try with 64 bit Arch? From what I gather from the refind website there should be no problem with a x86 and x64 combination.

You did copy the drivers for both x86 and x64 to /EFI/refind in OS X? This is the only possible issue I can see happening.

Does anybody have more experience with this?

Last edited by regulament (2014-09-27 18:07:42)

zyghom · 2014-09-27 15:55:16

I did not copy anything anywhere - I just rsync my old Arch installation from another laptop to this one to partition sda5
but refind does not see it
what is also possible: when I reboot, choose Ubuntu from sda4 and modify boot process with F2 providing /dev/sda5 as root it starts... Ubuntu kernel from /dev/sda4 but / is mounted from /dev/sda5 - so total mess

it is simple: I need refind to see Arch installation (kernel, /boot etc)
and this seems to be main issue here
and yes, my old Arch is 32b

the details:
on /dev/sda1 is EFI partition but for some reasons it is not being read during start of computer
on MAC HD partition (/dev/sda2) there is /EFI folder and there in /EFI/refind/refind.conf there is:

menuentry "arki" {
	icon EFI/refind/icons/os_linux.png
	volume sda5
	ostype Linux
	loader /boot/vmlinuz-linux
	initrd /boot/initramfs-linux.img
	options "rw root=/dev/sda5 rootfstype=ext4 libata.force=noncq"
}

this is read and then during start it is like this:

although on /dev/sda5 I have /boot and there both vmlinux-linux and initramfs-linux.img

20:15:57 papio@mb15papio:/media/papio$ ls -la sda5/boot/*linux*
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 17990499 Aug 14 22:02 sda5/boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  5372006 Aug 14 22:02 sda5/boot/initramfs-linux.img
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 18025403 Aug 27 08:45 sda5/boot/initramfs-linux-pae-fallback.img
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  5393067 Aug 27 08:45 sda5/boot/initramfs-linux-pae.img
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root      106 Sep 27 09:19 sda5/boot/refind_linux.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  3774240 Aug 14 08:49 sda5/boot/vmlinuz-linux
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  3942336 Aug 25 05:35 sda5/boot/vmlinuz-linux-pae
20:16:07 papio@mb15papio:/media/papio$

I'm lost - help please
isn't it shame that Ubuntu came out of the box while Archlinux is killing me for a week now?
;-)
no, it is a shame I know so little

Last edited by zyghom (2014-09-27 17:19:06)

regulament · 2014-09-27 18:06:34

Just stick to using Ubuntu.

zyghom · 2014-09-27 18:52:53

regulament wrote:

Just stick to using Ubuntu.

bad answer ;-(

hrod · 2014-09-28 07:33:07

@zyghom

Arch linux is not aimed to be user friendly, see user-centric here. Sometimes you may need to give up restoring an old image and start again with a fresh install. To get your system working you just need to keep trying stuff out, reading the wiki, reading man pages, and following different tutorials until you build an understanding of how things work.

If you can't get refined to work then try one of the many other methods listed on the internet, of which there are many, see this discussion a few pages back:

hrod wrote:

Vighi wrote:
Anyone here successfully running OS X, Arch Linux and Windows 8 on the late 2013 retina 13"? I wanna try to run all three on it, but I have no clue where to start. Anyone done it and can help me out?
Resetting the laptop, should I install Windows First or Arch first? Does it work to use the MacBook's native EFI bootloader for all three? I did run Arch Linux on my previous laptop and really missing it now.
hey, i've done this a few too many ways:
grub2) at first what i did and wrote into the MacbookPro11,x wiki page, was to use grub and put the standalone into the EFI partition
refit) i had trouble getting refind to work so i used refit (as i had used it a few years ago on my mbair), i didn't use bootcamp, refit showed usbs and so i installed windows and linux from usb (use refit menu on boot to pick)
windows bootmenu) i installed osx, then installed windows using bootcamp, and then linux with grub, and then used EasyBCD in windows to add linux to the windows boot loader (old option to pick osx or windows (then to linux))
gumiboot) windows installed via efi (pick it by holding option at boot), and then linux using gumiboot bootloader (minimaistic , and easy config) which i put into the EFI partition '/EFI/gumiboot/' (supposedly gumiboot should detect windows but for me it didn't, but that's fine, i just hold option on boot to pick it anyways)

Last edited by hrod (2014-09-28 07:34:54)

hrod · 2014-09-28 07:55:23

Oulipopo wrote:

I'm strongly considering to buy a Macbook Pro Retina (I haven't decided between the 13" and 15" yet) and simultaneously taking the jump from Ubuntu to Arch. I have a couple of questions for you guys:
1. Is there any strong incentive to rather go with a small-form laptop designed for Windows? I've read in the wiki that the Macboook runs Arch fine, but are there others that run it far better? (This is important, as Arch will be the main OS on my system, together with some OSX tinkering.)

I run arch linux full time and i love it. Wifi is mostly fine, though occasionally i have problems, and the broadcom driver is closed source, so you could avoid that by choosing a different laptop. The resolution is epic and battery life on this machine is a beast!

Oulipopo wrote:

2. (Due to Nvidia being a major hassle on my current laptop, I've decided to go with one of the Intel versions.) Is there any big differences between the 13" and 15" versions as relates to Arch? (E.g., does the memorycard reader only work on one of the models?)

I'm not aware of any real differences between the 13" and 15" though you should search around, read all of this thread, and see the wiki to see if the individual elements of the computer that you would like to use are working, i.e. memorycard reader, webcam, optical audio...

Personally i love the 15" as i can have three columns of code side-by-side, and still able to read everything, and you can really enjoy 4k video.

Oulipopo wrote:

3. Does the scaling work satisfactorily? I'm all for ultra high resolution screens, however, I need to be able to read the text on them.

Text is fine as you can just bump up the font sizes if you need to. It's more the gui applications that have issues, some support scaling while others do not. For example chrome with webpage scaling to 175% is good, however the user interface (url bar, buttons) is still small (canary / dev has proper scaling but i have not tried it).

I think this depends on how you use the system, if you only use the terminal it will be fantastic, but when you use heaps of gui apps you encounter some without HiDPI support. You can also see the desktop environment support for HiDPI on this wiki page.

Oulipopo wrote:

I'll mostly be using it for programming (and could have gotten away with a way cheaper windows machine, I'm just a sucker for Apple's way of putting hardware together).

Yeah, the metal construction is really nice!

Last edited by hrod (2014-09-28 07:58:49)

easyonthev · 2014-09-28 19:52:36

Like some people earlier in the thread my SD Card reader doesn't seem to be detected. Macbook pro retina 13" late 2013 (11,1 I think?)

This is the relevant output from "system_profiler SPUSBDataType" on OS X:

USB:

    USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Bus:

      Host Controller Location: Built-in USB
      Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBXHCI
      PCI Device ID: 0x9c31 
      PCI Revision ID: 0x0004 
      PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086 
      Bus Number: 0x0a 

        Internal Memory Card Reader:

          Product ID: 0x8406
          Vendor ID: 0x05ac  (Apple Inc.)
          Version:  8.20
          Serial Number: 000000000820
          Speed: Up to 5 Gb/sec
          Manufacturer: Apple
          Location ID: 0x15300000 / 5
          Current Available (mA): 900
          Current Required (mA): 224
          Capacity: 7.95 GB (7,948,206,080 bytes)
          Removable Media: Yes
          Detachable Drive: Yes
          BSD Name: disk1
          Partition Map Type: MBR (Master Boot Record)
          S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
          Volumes:
            SDCARD:
              Capacity: 7.94 GB (7,944,011,776 bytes)
              Available: 7.94 GB (7,939,489,792 bytes)
              Writable: Yes
              File System: MS-DOS FAT32
              BSD Name: disk1s1
              Mount Point: /Volumes/SDCARD
              Content: DOS_FAT_32

importantly:

Product ID: 0x8406
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

This matches the IDs from lsusb that people with working SD card readers in this thread have.
but when I run lsusb it does not show that device:

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 05ac:025a Apple, Inc. 
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 05ac:8289 Apple, Inc. 
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0a5c:4500 Broadcom Corp. BCM2046B1 USB 2.0 Hub (part of BCM2046 Bluetooth)
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

So for some reason my arch install cannot even find the sd card reader. Does anybody have any advice about how to continue debugging this? Thanks.

Last edited by easyonthev (2014-09-28 19:54:23)

zyghom · 2014-09-29 15:36:18

on 11,3 SD card is seen immediatelly:

dmesg:

[ 2457.520784] sd 0:0:0:0: [sdb] 7741440 512-byte logical blocks: (3.96 GB/3.69 GiB)
[ 2457.524148]  sdb: sdb1
[ 2457.918195] FAT-fs (sdb1): Volume was not properly unmounted. Some data may be corrupt. Please run fsck.

lsusb:

18:32:18 papio@mb15papio:~$ lsusb 
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 05ac:8406 Apple, Inc. 
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 05ac:8289 Apple, Inc. 
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0a5c:4500 Broadcom Corp. BCM2046B1 USB 2.0 Hub (part of BCM2046 Bluetooth)
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 05ac:0263 Apple, Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad (MacBook Retina)
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

lsusb -t:

18:35:04 papio@mb15papio:~$ lsusb -v -t 
/:  Bus 02.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/6p, 5000M
    |__ Port 4: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Mass Storage, Driver=usb-storage, 5000M
/:  Bus 01.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/14p, 480M
    |__ Port 8: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Hub, Driver=hub/3p, 12M
        |__ Port 3: Dev 6, If 0, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=btusb, 12M
        |__ Port 3: Dev 6, If 1, Class=Wireless, Driver=btusb, 12M
        |__ Port 3: Dev 6, If 2, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=, 12M
        |__ Port 3: Dev 6, If 3, Class=Application Specific Interface, Driver=, 12M
    |__ Port 12: Dev 3, If 0, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
    |__ Port 12: Dev 3, If 1, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=usbhid, 12M
    |__ Port 12: Dev 3, If 2, Class=Human Interface Device, Driver=bcm5974, 12M

Arch Linux

#276 2014-09-05 00:17:08

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#277 2014-09-05 06:32:42

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#278 2014-09-05 09:00:04

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#279 2014-09-05 15:36:44

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#280 2014-09-05 18:22:51

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#281 2014-09-08 08:09:57

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#282 2014-09-17 08:57:42

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#283 2014-09-18 18:55:20

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#284 2014-09-19 14:32:58

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#285 2014-09-19 16:54:06

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#286 2014-09-25 12:53:27

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#287 2014-09-25 12:57:40

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#288 2014-09-25 14:04:41

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#289 2014-09-27 03:53:28

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#290 2014-09-27 05:51:37

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#291 2014-09-27 06:20:54

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#292 2014-09-27 06:26:02

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#293 2014-09-27 10:03:58

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#294 2014-09-27 15:55:16

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#295 2014-09-27 18:06:34

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#296 2014-09-27 18:52:53

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#297 2014-09-28 07:33:07

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#298 2014-09-28 07:55:23

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#299 2014-09-28 19:52:36

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

#300 2014-09-29 15:36:18

Re: Macbook Pro Late 2013 Retina

Board footer