
How do I dual boot Ubuntu Linux & Mac OS X?
A reader who is rather quite technically inclined writes to me saying:
I'm experimenting with installing Ubuntu Linux on my Macintosh, and it's working great except now the default operating system upon boot is Linux, not Mac OS X. How do I fix that?? For Ubuntu, which is based on Debian Linux, the bootstrap loader - the program that decides which OS you want to boot - the program that controls that first few seconds of your computer startup is called yaboot and it's actually a project that lives at http://penguinppc.org/bootloaders/yaboot/. To modify yaboot so that the default operating system is actually Mac OS X isn't too hard. There’s a great yaboot reference document online at the yaboot site. It turns out that the change is trivially simple: in the file /etc/yaboot.conf on the Linux side of things, you simply needed to add the line defaultos=macosx. The second - and critical - step is to actually install the new bootstrap loader configuration file, and that’s done with ybin -v which figures out where the new configuration file should be moved and does it. And keep your eyes open as you go along: the most amusing line in the entire process is the output statement “Blessing /dev/hda6 with Holy Penguin Pee”. Only in the world of Linux!
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Never miss another useful Q&A article again! Subscribe to AskDaveTaylor with Google Reader. i found something interesting dualbooting Ubuntu with a Mac on http://www.ubuntux.org, but I can't recall the exact URL. but i could solve my problem there. Posted by: Ubuntu at December 8, 2005 7:36 PMHi, Thanks for the articles on dual-booting PPCs. I'm new to the Mac community (but loving it) and am trying to get Fedora Core 4 working on my G4 PowerBook. When you describe editing /etc/yaboot.conf to add "defaultos=macosx." it sounds easy. My question belies my ignorance: how do you edit /etc/yaboot.conf ? Do you have to use a special program? Do you do it from within the Linux OS or the Mac OS ? Last question: when you mention the critical step of installing the new bootstrap loader configuration file with "ybin -v" - is that a program? Where do you get it (or is it already installed in either FC4 for Tiger) / where do you run it? Thanks a bunch, sorry to ask what probably seem like basic/obvious questions! Posted by: Curran Bishop at January 18, 2006 9:19 AMHere is a howto from the ubuntu forums on getting the airport extreme card working on Linux. Haven't tried it as I don't own a Mac (possibly looking to get one) Posted by: Harry Mills at June 19, 2006 6:34 AMhttp://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=185174 Sorry - there it is... Posted by: Harry Mills at June 19, 2006 6:35 AMHello, I've a problem. I had been trying so hard to install Ubuntu 5.10 on my Powerbook G4, with no luck. Finally I came up with a solution. When I partitioned my HD, I decided to first install Ubuntu insted of Mac OS X. I worked. Finally I could install Ubuntu, it went all perfect. So I only had Ubuntu running on my mac. You'd shut it down and Ubuntu would start. It was almost perfect, so the second thing I did was to reinstall Mac OS X. My problem is the following: When I turn back on my mac, Mac OS X starts. I don't know how to run Ubuntu again, i know it's there, but I just can't run it. How can I access Ubuntu and still be able to access Mac OS X? Can I have my mac ask me what OS I want to work on? Any help would be apreciated Posted by: Maurits at September 23, 2006 3:15 PMHey Maurits, try this and have a look. cheers !! V Posted by: V at October 4, 2006 12:28 AMHello, I have a lot to say, but ...
I do have a comment, now that you mention it!
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