Emma Thorpe
b01fc13234
Add system/machine/{T400,MacPro31}/README.md covering the placeholder
hardware-configuration regeneration, partition labels, bootloader selection
(T400 boot variants; Mac Pro EFI quirks), and GPU notes. Link each from its
configuration.nix header, and refresh the top-level README host table (T400
replaces X1, Mac Pro 3,1 added) with links to both.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Mac Pro 3,1 (Early 2008) — install notes
Flake host: lyrathorpe-macpro31. Desktop (portable = false, imports
../../modules/desktop.nix). Files: configuration.nix,
hardware-configuration.nix.
Hardware configuration
hardware-configuration.nix here is a hand-written placeholder. On the real
machine, run nixos-generate-config, replace the file, and commit it. It assumes
by-label partitions — ESP ESP (vfat, mounted at /boot), root nixos (ext4),
and swap — so either label them at install time or swap in the generated UUIDs.
Bootloader
The Mac Pro 3,1 has 64-bit EFI, so it uses systemd-boot (no GRUB/CSM
shim). canTouchEfiVariables = false because Apple's firmware does not reliably
accept efibootmgr NVRAM writes.
Apple-EFI quirk: if the firmware boot picker does not show NixOS after install, either
- uncomment
boot.loader.efi.efiInstallAsRemovable = true;inconfiguration.nix(installs the fallback\EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64.EFI), and/or - "bless" the ESP from macOS.
Partition the disk GPT with an ESP (vfat).
Graphics
The stock card varies between units — ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT or NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT. No proprietary driver is hardcoded; Sway relies on in-tree KMS:
- ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT →
radeon(oramdgpu) KMS - NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT →
nouveauKMS
These come up automatically. If a card needs forcing, set
services.xserver.videoDrivers and/or add the module to
boot.initrd.kernelModules for early KMS (see the comment in
configuration.nix).
Networking
Wired Ethernet via NetworkManager (from desktop.nix) — the Mac Pro has two
gigabit ports.
Apply
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake .#lyrathorpe-macpro31