Dual-boot: Mac OSX and Ubuntu (Part I)

OK, I admit it…I was bored. And a bit envious of those Intel-macs that can dual boot to Windows (or run Parallels). So, I figured that I would have some fun with my 12″ Powerbook and set it up to dual boot with my favorite Linux flavor (next to OSX, of course) Ubuntu. Yes, don’t forget, OSX is unix ((Please see this comment for some clarification)) with a lot of great eye candy.

So, with Google as my friend, I quickly embarked on this journey this afternoon. I had already installed many different versions of Ubuntu on another machine that I had (as well as other versions of linux including Scientific Linux, RedHat and others), so I knew what I was getting into. But dual-boot on a Powerbook? What’s the point?

I did it because I hadn’t done it before. It’s sort of the same reason that climbers climb mountains, “because they are there.” It’s also a nice way to learn Linux/Unix and still be able to “relax” with a quick booting to OSX.

So, on with the show. I started out by deciding that I really didn’t care about what was installed on my Powerbook. This is an important step because it is a lot easier to just wipe the disk and do a clean install with a couple of partitions. I’m just going to list out what I did (with some warnings)…I am not an expert at this by any means.

Step 1 – Erase and Partition your drive

Well, I did this a couple of times. I always did a few partitions (2, to be precise). Basically, I allocated about 20 gigs to Ubuntu, and the rest (the majority) to OSX. Now the secret here is to format the partitions correctly. So, I formatted the partition for the OSX side, as the usual recommended “Mac OS Extended (journaled)”. Best thing to do this with is the Disk Utility that comes on the OSX Installation Disk. Now, the secret, for the partition that you want to put Ubuntu on, be sure that you just format the partition as “free space” as when you are installing Ubuntu, you can just select the automated installation option of “choose largest available space.”

Step 2 – Install OSX

Well, this is probably the easiest part. After you quit the Disk Utility, you can install OSX. That is what I did.

Step 3 – Install Ubuntu

I used the latest version of Ubuntu (6.10 – “Edgy Eft”). There is an ISO out there for the PowerPC architecture. So, after I finished installing OSX, I booted the Powerbook off of the LiveCD from Ubuntu. On the desktop, there is an Install shortcut that launches the installer. From there, I went through 7 screens, I believe, where I answered a few questions about my setup. When installing, I chose the option listed before of choosing the the largest free space. After selecting this, I let the installer run its course.

Step 4 – Selecting the OS

After both have been installed, I am now presented with the option of what I want to boot to, 1) a CD, 2) OSX or 3) Ubuntu. So far…all is working well! I can boot in both.
PART II…coming next, getting wireless to work.