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I just bought a cheap iMac 2015 27" 5K ( iMac17,1 ) with an Apple Fusion Drive.

This drive has only 24 GB NVME and 1 TB HDD. I tried Ubuntu live (23.10), it works good (sometimes only the Bluetooth doesn't work but I must double check it).

When I start the installation I need to select the NVME or the HDD but I think the NVME is too small and the HDD is too slow.

What should I do?

How can I partition it in the best way?

Is there a simple way to make it work as on Mac OS (basically an hybrid disk)?

I read about bcache, but is it a good solution in this case?

I do not want to change the drive for a bigger full SSD because it is very difficult to open this PC (glue between the screen and the chassis) and I do not want to damage it.

And I do not need encryption or anything special, I just would like to easily install Ubuntu and use the PC with Firefox, Libreoffice and Steam.

Thank you all very much !!

robolob
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1 Answers1

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Here is what I recommend based on my experience:

1. Enter recovery mode by holding SuperKey + r during boot. 
2. Open the Disk Utility.
3. Unmount the drive(s).
4. Delete the APFS volume group.
5. Erase the disks.
6. Shutdown the system.
7. Insert your linux USB (Ubuntu etc)
8. Turn on iMac.
9. Install linux system as desired.

Here is the narrative version:
We can’t alter the APFS (apple file system) disks or partition with any Ubuntu live disk tools, so we have to boot into the Mac recovery mode and use the Disk Utility found there to prepare the drives. (This process is not intended for installing alongside MacOS – we are deleting that. It’s probably obsolete anyway and it is the world’s most advanced personal data harvesting system. ) Once the drives are prepared, shut it down. Insert your Ubuntu thumb drive. Since MacOS is gone, when you turn it on it should boot directly to your thumb drive since it will be the only bootable option.

hoatzin
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