Industry guru Dave Taylor offers tech support on technical and business topics, including iPhone, iPod, Microsoft Windows, Sony PSP, cellphones, online advertising, CSS, Web design, business, Unix, Linux, SEO, Mac OS X, and shell script programming.     


Tweak yaboot so Mac OS X is my default OS, not Ubuntu or Yellow Dog Linux?

I've been working on installing some different Linux operating systems on my G4-based Apple PowerBook as alternative operating systems to the (elegant) Mac OS X. Why? Because they're there. :-)

Once installed, Ubuntu Linux and Yellow Dog Linux both add something called yaboot which then controls the boot-up sequence. This boot control application that lets you pick which operating system you want to have run gives you about 15 seconds to pick between Linux and Mac OS X then defaults to launching Ubuntu. Not what I wanted at all.


Dave's Answer:

The first thing I needed to do once Ubuntu was installed, therefore, was to change the default operating system to Mac OS X, not Linux.

Fortunately, 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 I simply needed to add defaultos=macosx).

The second - and critical - step is to actually install the updated bootstrap loader configuration file, and that�s done with

/sbin/ybin -v
which figures out where the new configuration file should be moved and does it. Perhaps 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!

If you haven't read my other article on customizing yaboot, it's a nice adjunct to this piece: Can Yaboot Support Three OS Choices for Linux and Mac OS X?

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/iPhone
If 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!
    Enter your name: and your email addr:  








Reader Comments To Date:

Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!
Rather amazingly, there are no comments on this article yet.

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











I will never send you any unsolicited email. Ever.






Check This Out Too...

 
Look for Answers
Need Help? Ask Dave Taylor!
Powered By
Linux Journal: Free Issue!


Follow Me on Pinterest

Find Me on Google+
ADT on G+
© 2002 - 2013 by Dave Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to my terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. My lawyer says "Thanks".
"Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.