Refit Install Linux From Usb
Tags:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Posted under,, by on May 30th, 2011 I, like millions of others, use Mac OS X as my main operating system. It’s fast, reliable and secure, and the computers it runs on are undeniably the best designed and built machines available on the market.
There are many options available to users who need the added flexibility of running Linux or Windows alongside OS X, perhaps through SSH or by using a Virtual Machine. Sometimes, though, you need a full, non-virtualised OS environment to work in, and while Boot Camp is great it’s not ideal for someone like me who rolls with a very fast, but very small, SSD boot drive. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to install Linux to any external USB device and boot your Apple computer from it. I’ll be working with Ubuntu 11.04 32-bit and a MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Guides elsewhere online seem to only help you if you happen to already have a Linux box to work with – my tutorial only requires one Macintosh computer. All the software used herein is open source and free of charge.
All three binary distributions can be used to install rEFIt on a USB memory stick or other disk drives. I can’t boot Windows/Linux from a USB hard disk. You’ll have to get your hands a bit dirtier to install and dual-boot a Linux. Tamil actor vikram hd video songs download. Problems with rEFIt. From your Linux USB media and use the GParted.
Ingredients • A Macintosh computer with an Intel CPU • Oracle Virtualbox (available for download ) • Ubuntu Linux () • USB storage device • rEFIt Bootloader () Before beginning this process, you should make sure you have all the appropriate tools to hand. There are a couple of restrictions you should be aware of when assembling this kit: • While using 64-bit Linux is technically possible, I used a 32-bit ISO to minimise any compatibility issues. • Your storage device can be of any type – as long as it’s USB and >=4GB in size you can use it.
Bear in mind that the device you choose will be wiped as part of this process. Step 1: Prepare the USB Device in OS X The USB storage device needs to be blanked in preparation for Linux installation. To do this, first plug the drive into your Mac and open Disk Utility. Select the relevant disk in the left hand column and press the ‘Partition’ tab. The disk needs to be partitioned as per the screenshot below – a single partition of free space. Select ‘1 Partition’ and ‘Free Space’ from the dropdown menus.
Before applying the changes, click the ‘Options’ button and select ‘Master Boot Record’. Now press apply. Once the partitioning process has completed, you need to eject the disk. Right click it in the left hand column and press eject – but leave it plugged in. We just need Mac OS X to remove its hooks from the drive so we can use it elsewhere later.
Step 2: Create a VirtualBox VM If you haven’t already, install VirtualBox onto your Macintosh host system and launch it. We need to create a virtual machine from which we can install Linux to the external device. Press ‘New’ and name your VM ‘Ubuntu’ (VBox should automatically select Linux/Ubuntu from the ‘OS Type’ fields).
The virtual machine needs to have a boot hard drive of size 5GB and 512MB of RAM. We’re not actually going to use the hard drive, but it needs to be present to satisfy the installer later on if you’re using a relatively small USB device. Step 3: Boot to Ubuntu Once the VM has been specified, fire it up with the ‘Start’ button. VBox will ask you to select an OS disc – in this dialog, navigate to and select the Ubuntu ISO image you downloaded earlier. Next, we need to attach the USB device to the virtual machine.