imac (2007) osx 10.6.8 installing mint18.1, unable to get to find keyboard or mousepad

Hello Grandpa319,

You probably need a usb (plugged-in) keyboard and mouse to set up the bluetooth ones...or at least a keyboard and mouse using a dongle plugin. Then once you're in Linux Mint you can pair the two, after which you can use the Apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse exclusively.

Feel free to post again if you have any specific questions during the process.

HTH,
Dave

got usb keyboard and mouse, everything working on mint, just need to figure how to get max osx to boot at startup on dual boot, thanks

Dual booting Linux with OS X isn't trivial. I've never done it, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but from what I've skimmed over it takes a little more know-how than dual booting a couple Linux distros, or even a Linux with Windows.

This link should give you an idea of what's involved: http://lifehacker.com/5934942/how-to...apple-hardware (Linux Mint is close enough to Ubuntu that the instructions shouldn't make much difference.)

Glad to hear the usb keyboard and mouse worked out. Hopefully you were able to pair the Mac bluetooth ones...you just need to go Menu --> Control Center --> Bluetooth, turn on bluetooth if it isn't already, wait (for example) the keyboard to show, double-click on it, and type in the pairing number.

HTH,
Dave