Beginner Linux Distributor

Oldtatt

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My first post here; Linux beginner. I wonder if I could get advice about which Linux Distributor I should start with for hardware as follows: iMac 4,1 Intel Core Duo, Processor speed 2 GHz, 2GB Memory and 667 MHz Bus Speed. The original Mac HD ceased recently and I have installed a OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD in its place with a capacity of 120GB.

I don't think Etcher or Unetbootin are available for this Mac which is running OS 10.6.8 and Safari 5.1.10 and Firefox ESR 45.9.0 but I am happy to be wrong about this. Can I install Mint, say, without making a USB boot? Any help most gratefully received.
 


If you have a dvd player for your Mac you could make a bootable DVD. I've been playing with Linux for quite a few years now and have yet to make a bootable USB drive. I know, I'm lazy, but I have more DVD reader/writers than Carter has little liver pills. Every desktop I own has two, and all my laptops have one. :D

And edit for my bad manners. Welcome to Linux.org, Oldtatt! I hope we can help get you all the information on Linux that you need to have an enjoyable Linux experience.
 
Thank you both, Bayou Bengal and poorguy, for your advice. I'll post the results in a day or so. Thanks again.
 
In your Mac Snow Leopard, at command line, give us the output of

Code:
diskutil list

That will tell us whether the computer is using MBR or GPT in the partitioning tabling. GPT is the GUID Partition Table, so you may see “GUID” referenced interchangeably.



Articles on .iso burning which may apply to the OP (original poster, @Oldtatt ) -

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20060619181010389 – this from 2006, Snow Leopard dates from around 2009 – 10. Comments are worth noting on shortcuts.

http://osxdaily.com/2012/03/13/burn-an-iso-image-from-the-command-line/ - this from 2012, also features the command dd, which is common to Linux, Mac, and MS-DOS.

https://www.iclarified.com/11007/how-to-burn-an-iso-disc-image-using-mac-os-x-snow-leopard – this from 2010 specific to Snow Leopard

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-boot-a-linux-live-usb-stick-on-your-mac/ - 2017 article by Melbourne writer. MakeUseOf is a handy site. This references Etcher but note new address.

https://itsfoss.com/create-bootable-ubuntu-usb-drive-mac-os/ - 2014, from It’s FOSS. Another handy site for Linux matters. FOSS is Free and Open Source Software.

Finally (they all applaud), this from Ask Ubuntu, asked in 2010 but as recent as 2014.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/86/how-do-i-create-an-ubuntu-live-usb-using-a-mac - The first answer, with 77 votes is pretty complex. The 2nd answer features reference to Unetbootin.

A couple of the articles reference converting the Linux .iso to a .img (image) format, then going further. I am not convinced that that is necessary, but then I am not a Mac user :)

(Wizard disappears in a puff of smoke, but not before wishing @Oldtatt a warm welcome to linux.org :D:D)

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 

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