|
|
Can yaboot support three OS choices for Linuxes and Mac OS X?If you've been reading my entries, you already know that I've been working on installing different Linuxes on my Mac OS X PowerBook system, with success. All works well until you actually have more than one Linux installed on the system, creating a tri-boot, rather than dual-boot Apple computer. The problem is that, by default, each Linux installs its own version of yaboot which only knows about Mac OS X or itself. So I needed to figure out how to significantly modify the yaboot configuration file to support both Ubuntu and Yellow Dog Linux simultaneously.
If you haven't read my other article on customizing yaboot, your best bet is actually to start here: Tweak yaboot so Mac OS X is my default OS, not Ubuntu or Yellow Dog Linux. Having installed Yellow Dog, I suddenly couldn�t see Ubuntu any more. If I hadn�t previously written down the partition number that I used to install Ubuntu, I would have suspected that it had just vanished. A quick query to Ethan Benson, developer of yaboot, and I had my answer: I needed to move the individual Linux partition specifier (it says partition=2) into the YDL section and add another section for Ubuntu that specified the partition of the Ubuntu installation (partition=9). I ended up with two image blocks: image=/boot/vmlinux-2.6.8-1.ydl.7 partition=2 label=yellowdog read-only initrd=/boot/initrd-2.6.8-1.ydl.7.img root=/dev/hda2 append=�rhgb quiet� image=/boot/vmlinux partition=9 root=/dev/hda9 label=ubuntu read-only initrd=/boot/initrd.imgWhen the Mac boots, I still see the standard yaboot options of linux, macosx or cdrom, but selecting linux now gives me the option of typing in either �yellowdog� or �ubuntu� to specify which I wanted to actually start. Works like a charm! Learn more about Ubuntu Linux for Apple Macs, or learn more about Yellow Dog Linux. Both are very cool alternatives...
Related Unix and Linux Help articles:
✔ Copy and Paste from the Mac OS X Command Line?
I am constantly running commands in Terminal.app on my MacBook and then copying and pasting the results into email messages or documents. Yes,...
✔ Shell script to convert lowercase to title case?As part of a project I'm working on, I find myself deep in a Linux shell script, needing to have a subroutine that...
✔ Can I script renaming files based on an XML data map?I have a folder full of files which are named with four digits and a file extension e.g. 0312.file and an XML-file describing...
✔ Test for valid numbers in a Bash shell script?In a different discussion on this site [see Redirecting input in a shell script] a visitor commented that "I was too busy trying...
✔ Review: iSSH for the iPad/iPhoneIf you're running an online business like I am, there are times when you need to connect and log in to the server...
Let's stay in touch!
Sign up for my weekly AskDaveTaylor Newsletter and you'll receive even more tech and gadget help
right to your inbox, along with exclusive news and industry updates. It's good stuff. I promise!
Categorized:
Mac OS X Help
,
Unix and Linux Help
(Article 3767,
Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: Previous: Tweak yaboot so Mac OS X is my default OS, not Ubuntu or Yellow Dog Linux? Next: How can I delete Movable Type (MT) blog comment spam easily? Reader Comments To Date: 1
I do have a comment, now that you mention it!Check This Out Too... |
Recent Entries
Look for Answers
Recommended
All Our Categories
Apple iPad Help
Articles and Reviews Auctions and Online Shopping Blogs and Blogging Building Web Site Traffic Business and Management Computer and Internet Basics d) None of the Above Facebook Help Google Gmail Help Google Plus Help HTML, JavaScript and Web Site Programming Industry News and Trade Shows iPhone and Cell Phone Help iPod, Sony PSP and MP3 Player Help Kindle Fire Help Mac OS X Help Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising Pinterest Help Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Shell Script Programming Tech Support Video Help The Writing Business Twitter, LinkedIn and Social Network Help Unix and Linux Help Video Game Tips and Help Windows PC Help Find Me on Google+ ADT on G+ |
Hi Dave,
Thanks for being out there! I have a PowerBook and a G4 tower that I've struggled to configure with a dual boot OS X/Ubuntu and finally got on G4. (I had to get free space designated, installl Kubuntu first, then OS X. It finally worked. Figuring out the partition stuff for someone beginning from square one is a tough go. Anyway, with that drive set up, Kubuntu started by default unless I chose "X" from the options screen right at startup. But when I used the OS X preference menu to select OS X as the startup default, I lost the options screen (Yaboot?) so I can't choose Linux now—and it's not recognized in the OS X Startup menu. So, how can I get the startup choice screen back?
Thanks
Jim