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...

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Categorized: Mac OS X Help , Unix and Linux Help (Article 3766, Written by Dave Taylor)
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Reader Comments To Date:

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!

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

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

Reader Comments To Date:

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

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