I'm wondering about potential issues with installing Ubuntu in EFI mode on a mid-2012 Macbook Air. From what I could gather from this page earlier Macbooks aren't UEFI compliant:
- 2012 and older models only support legacy BIOS Mode. There is varying degree of 'EFI'ness in these, but they are not UEFI-compliant.
- Late 2013-2014 models support both EFI and BIOS, and default is BIOS. These are the first models which are UEFI.
- 2015 and later models only support EFI and UEFI-compliant.
I don't know if that is accurate nor if it has any impact on an Ubuntu install.
Quick facts about this machine:
- macOS Mojave (i.e. APFS)
- GPT partitioned drive (a Samsung SSD)
- Windows 10 64-bit installed through BootCamp Assistant
- Windows 10 runs in Bios/legacy mode judging from that...
- Windows sees the drive as MBR
- Windows only installs to MBR drives in legacy mode
- The drive has a hybrid MBR
I'm trying to determine whether it's worth creating a GPT-only partition for Ubuntu and whether to install it in EFI or legacy mode (assuming I have a choice between the two), because regenerating a hybrid MBR would be moderately risky.