[orca-list] installing linux on the mac

[michael weaver <weavermicha googlemail com>]

here is the information i found before on installing ubuntu on 
the mac while i was trying to learn about doing it.
hope i have copied enough of the information but here it is.
 oufor AppleIntelInstallation



Contents


1.  Introduction
 1.  Note on encrypted disksstpartitions


2.  BACKUP YOUR DATA
 3.  Single-Boot: Ubuntu Only
 1.  Avoid long EFI wait before GRUB


4.  Dual-Boot: Mac OSX and Ubuntu
 1.  Quick Steps
 2.  Detailed How-To


5.  Other Partitioning Options Multi-booting
 1.  Triple Boot: Mac OSX, Windows, and Ubuntu
 2.  Multi linux
 3.  Mac OSX and multi Linux
 4.  Manual partitioning using Disk Utility GUI
 5.  Mac OSX, Vista, and Ubuntu
 6.  Mac OSX, XP, and Ubuntu
 7.  Mac OSX, Vista, XP, and Ubuntu
 8.  Shared storage partitons
 9.  Installing ubuntu using wubi in vista and other complex 
systems


6.  Other Info
 1.  Multiple Hard Drives (Mac Pro)
 2.  GRUB2 still GRUBEFI


7.  Example Ubuntu Installation after Mac OSX and Vista
 1.  You have already installed Mac OSX and Windows Vista, now 
to install Ubuntu.


8.  Troubleshooting
 9.  Obtaining Help
 10.  External Links





As with all wiki documentation, this page continues to be 
updated.
 The partitioning options require additional testing.
 This information will not work for iMac (11'1) users installing 
recent versions of Ubuntu (e.g., Maverick).  The presence of the 
bios-grub partition that the Ubuntu installer creates by default 
(e.g., sda3) causes a conflict that prevents syncing the GPT and 
MBR partition tables.  Deleting sda3 does not help since grub2 
requires that bios-grub partition, nor will it use either sda or 
sdabled aborting with the error: "This GPT partition table has no 
BIOS boot partition; embedding won't be possible!".  So 
installing Ubuntu with the bios-grub partition fails and 
installing without it fails.  See "Single-Boot".

Introduction

Slightly adventurous Intel-based Mac ("Mactel") owners seem to 
often be afraid or confused about installing Ubuntu alongside OS 
X, but it is not very difficult.  There are some oddities (see 
NOTE) that make installation on Mactel different from 
installation on a PC (but if it were the same, it wouldn't be a 
Mac, now would it?).  Guidelines for different configurations are 
detailed here.

If your computer does not have a CD-ROM drive, such as the 
MacBook Air, this document may not have enough information.  See 
the "Install Ubuntu on MacBook from USB" guide.

In Ubuntu do not try COMPIZ, this will completely mess around 
Unity and make it necessary to reinstall Ubuntu.  Be aware that 
it keeps being tricky running Linux on a Macintosh



Note on encrypted disksstpartitions

This guide does not mention how to use e.g.  diskutility to 
resize an encrypted mac partition.



BACKUP YOUR DATA

You may laugh now, but when you make a mistake and wipe out your 
disk, you will be sorry! Time Machine comes with Leopard, and it 
is so easy to use that it isn't funny, so most people have no 
excuse for not backing up their data.  Better even, a backup to 
another system, external disk or cloud (e.g., Mozy) are not 
subject to partition configuration errors.  When Bootcamp fails 
or you have strange faults maybe you want to clean up your 
harddrive.  When erasing the hard drive choose "Security Options 
.."--"Zero Out Data".



Single-Boot: Ubuntu Only

 It is recommended that you keep an install of OS X, even if you 
do not plan to use it, so that you can install firmware updates 
in the future.  (Such updates may be required for your Mac to 
continue to operate properly.) One way to avoid using space for 
OS X on your internal hard drive, is to install it to an external 
USB or Firewire hard drive; if a firmware update is released, you 
can boot from the external drive to upgrade.


Many users would like to make Ubuntu their only operating system.  
If this is what you plan to do, there are some changes that you 
can make to your system that will make its operation closer to 
that of a PC, avoiding some of the special partition 
considerations detailed in the other installation situations 
below.
 Intel Macs have an EFI instead of a BIOS as in an 'Ibm 
compatible' system.  A different partition table scheme, GPT, is 
used on the hard drive.
 The EFI is capable of using MBR partition table format.  Since 
the recommended Ubuntu installation methods use the "legacy mode" 
of the EFI, it make sense for a single-booter to convert their 
hard drive to the MBR format.


oufor As an Ubuntu installer developer, I recommend against 
making this change.  --greater-than GPT is a fundamentally better 
partition table format, and is expected to be used more generally 
in the future MBR partition tables can't cope with disks over 
2TB).



I recommend staying with GPT.  Perhaps the author of this 
recommendation could contact me (cjwatson AT ubuntuddcom) to 
discuss it.  --ColinWatson qqq I didn't want to loose this in 
case Colin wants it back in DG-ERMAN qqq


You can convert your hard drive partition format with gparted on 
the Ubuntu LiveCD.


1.  Insert the Ubuntu LiveCD into your Mac and Shutdown.  
Restart the Mac and hold the Option Key.  When the boot selector 
screen comes up, choose to boot from the CD.
 2.  Choose you language and and select "Try Ubuntu".  This 
won't make any changes to your Mac.
 3.  Once you get to the Ubuntu desktop, go to System 
greater-than Administration greater-than Partition Editor


4.  gParted will start.  From gParted's menu, choose Device 
greater-than Create Partition Table...


5.  In the Dialog Box that comes up, heed the large, bold 
warning at the top, and click the "Advanced" triangle to enable 
the option to create a new partition table format.
 6.  Make sure to choose "msdos" for the type of partition table 
and click "Create".
 7.  Once your disk has been converted there should be no 
partitions in gParted.  You can create your custom partition 
layout here or exit gParted and start the Ubuntu Installer and 
use it's partitioner to do the dirty work.  Proceed through the 
install as normal
 8.  Proceed to the documentation for your specific mac version 
to configure additional drivers and fix any issues.

Avoid long EFI wait before GRUB

If your Macbook spends 30 seconds with "white screen" before GRUB 
shows, try booting from your Mac OS X install disc, select 
language, then click Utilities-greater-than Terminal, and enter:

bless --device stdev/disk0ness1 --setBoot --legacy

Assuming that the bootloader is on sda1, otherwise 
stdev/disk0ness2 if it's on sda2, etc.

 oufor 
httpsccwikiddarchlinuxddorgstindexddphpstMacbookbleAvoidlongEFIWA
ITBBFGRUB

Dual-Boot: Mac OSX and Ubuntu



Quick Steps

 1.  Install rEFI-THAT and make sure it is working (you should 
get a boot chooser on startup)
 2.  Use Bootcamp or Disk Utility to create a partition at the 
end of the disc.  Don't worry about what format, just make it the 
size you want for Ubuntu and your swap partition.  If you you are 
using OS X Lion which comes with Bootcamp 4,0 you will need to 
use the Disk Utility.  Boot Camp 4,0 will only allow you to 
resize to install Windows 7.
 3.  Boot the Ubuntu desktop CD, and select "Try Ubuntu.  Start 
the partition editor (gparted) under System greater-than 
Adminstration.  Use gparted to delete the partition you just made 
in OS X.  It should be the last partition on the disc and follows 
after the HFS ;to partition (OS X).  Deleting it will leave an 
area called unallocated.  This is free space, and exactly what 
you want.  Use gparted to manually partition the space on your 
drive for Ubuntu.  First create a SWAP area of about 1GB.  Then 
the rest of the unallocated area format as EXTBLED.  Apply 
changes and take note the label of the EXTBLED partition such as 
stdevstsda3.


4.  Start the Ubuntu Installer from the desktop icon.  When 
prompted, choose to manually partition.  Select the EXTBLED 
partition and click change.  Select to use the space as EXTBLED 
and root (still) as the mount point.  You will also want to check 
the box to format the partition.
 5.  Reboot when done with the install, and in the rEFI-THAT 
menu, choose the partition tool.  It will attempt to sync the 
partition tables on your disk.  Then SHUTDOWN the computer (not 
reboot), and start it again.  You should be able to boot to 
Ubuntu now.  If it seems to freeze on the tux logo, completely 
shutdown again and try one more time.

Detailed How-To



Installing rEFI-THAT

INSTALL rEFI-THAT! You don't HAVE to use it once you get Ubuntu 
up and running, but until then, INSTALL rEFI-THAT! You will need 
it after installing to sync partitions, once you have done that 
and Ubuntu works, then you can uninstall it.  You can even burn a 
rEFI-THAT CD if you prefer.  If you do not see the rEFI-THAT boot 
menu when starting your Mac on the second reboot (It takes two 
reboots to apear after using the package installer), it is not 
installed properly!



Partitioning

The first thing we need to do is repartition your Mac's hard 
drive.  Of course, we would like to do this non-destructively 
(without wiping out the partition you have already).  With 
Leopard, this is quite easy as Apple has provided a nifty little 
tool that will shrink your OSX partition and create a Windows 
partition in the freed space (which we can convert to Linux 
partitions later).  BootCamp is probably the easiest way to 
accomplish what you need.

 Leopard's DiskUtility can also shrink the OS X partition and 
add partitions in a single step.  It cannot create Linux format 
partitions though, so if you choose this route, you should create 
"free space" or an "msdos" format partition, which can be 
modified later.



At this point, we are really just allocating the space you want 
for Ubuntu.  The actual Linux partitions will be created later 
during the installation.
 For pre-Leopard OS X, there are no such tools.  BootCamp does 
not run, and DiskUtility will only allow you to create more 
partitions if you wipe out all the current partitions.  However, 
the underlying commandline utility still exists.
 Here's a usage example.  Let's say you want to resize your OS X 
partition to 200GB and leave the rest of the disk free (for 
Ubuntu of course).  You would open a terminal and type the 
following, followed by the "Return" key.
 sudo diskutil resizeVolume disk0ness2 200G
You can read more on diskutil by typing 'diskutil help' in your 
OS X terminal.

The Ubuntu LiveCD

You can download the Ubuntu Desktop Edition ISO from ubuntuddcom.  
(You can choose 32-29t or 64-29t, the choice is yours.  If you 
want to see the pros and cons, you can check out the sticky.)

NOTE: Core Duo machines (early Mactels) are 32-29t only! Core 2 
Duo machines can use 32-29t or 64-29t ISO's.

An ISO is an "image" of a CD-ROM.  You do not burn an ISO onto a 
CD like you do with pictures or music.  Instead, you burn the 
image onto a disc.  It's kind of like mixing Cool-Aid.  You don't 
just drop the packet (ISO) into the water (disc), you must open 
the packet and dump the contents into the water.

ISO images can be burned with Apple's Disk Utility or other 
burning apps.  You should burn the CD as slow as you can to 
increase its "bootableness".



Boot your Mac from the CD

Put the Ubuntu LiveCD in your Mac and reboot.

When the rEFI-THAT menu comes up You should get the option to 
boot from the Ubuntu CD.  If you do not see this option, try 
pressing the Option key when your computer starts.  On a Mac, the 
c key will instruct the Mac to attempt booting off of a CDSTDVD.

On the Ubuntu CD's boot menu, select your keyboard language, then 
choose to "Try Ubuntu".  This will start a LiveCD Ubuntu session, 
which makes no changes to your Mac.

Booting into Ubuntu this way takes many minutes, including a 
minutes-long period where Ubuntu appears to have locked up on the 
boot menu.  Most likely it has not.  Just wait! note I had to set 
the boot option to nomodeset.  If you press function f6 at the 
boot options screen you can choose that option.  Note 2: I had to 
press function f6 when I saw a man and keyboard.

Once booted, you have a Ubuntu desktop.  Start gparted 
(partitioning tool) by navigating to System greater-than 
Adminstration greater-than Partition Editor.

If you previously created an "msdos" style partition used Boot 
Camp, you should use gparted to delete this partition.  It will 
be located after an EFI partition (hidden in OSX) and an HFS ;to 
partition (HFS ;to is OS It's filesystem).  Deleting the new 
partition leaves "free space" on the disk for the Ubuntu install.  
Use gparted to manually partition the space on your drive for 
Ubuntu.  First create a SWAP area of about 1GB.  Then the rest of 
the unallocated area format as EXTBLED.  Apply changes and take 
note the label of the EXTBLED partition such as stdevstsda3.



Start Installing

Back on the Ubuntu LiveCD desktop, start the Ubuntu Installer 
from the desktop icon.  When prompted, choose to manually 
partition.  Select the EXTBLED partition and click change.  
Select to use the space as the EXTBLED filesystem and root 
(still) as the mount point.  You will also want to check the box 
to format the partition.  On the last dialog of the installer, be 
sure to click the "Advanced" button and choose to install the 
boot loader (grub) to your root Ubuntu partition, for example 
stdevstsda3.  This will be the only partition with the EXTBLED 
file system.

When the installer is finished, reboot.





Fix the Partition Tables

There is a bug in the installer that causes a problem on Macs.  
FIXME: Describe problem? It can be fixed with rEFI-THAT.

Reboot to the rEFI-THAT menu and select the "partition tool".  
rEFI-THAT will ask if you would like to sync your partition 
tables.  Say Yes and let it do it's magic.  (If you don't have an 
English keyboard, note that the keys Z and Y are swapped in the 
partition tool.) If you see the error "GPT partition of type 
'Unknown' found, will not touch this disk" instead of the 'yes' 
prompt, follow the instructions in comment #6 of this thread and 
make sure to install gptsync0,13-10 or higher.

 oufor rEFI-THAT may not offer to sync your partition tables, 
but just show the error and leave no option but a return to the 
main menu.  For suggestions on other ways to fix the table, see 
the discussion at Ubuntu on MacBookPro--difficulties w partition 
tables.


oufor if you have errors such as "GPT partition of type 
'Unknown' found, will not touch this disk." or "analysis 
inconclusive" as explained in this thread, then you have to use 
gdisk to rebuild the partition table.  This is best explained in 
this post--boot a live Ubuntu CD (the instructions say this is 
also possible from an OS X terminal), install and run the gdisk 
tool as the instructions say.



After it is done, SHUTDOWN your Mac (not reboot) and startup 
again.  You should now be able to boot into Ubuntu.  If you 
select the Linux Icon in rEFI-THAT, and it freezes on the grey 
Tux logo, shutdown again and try one more time.

Other Partitioning Options Multi-booting

Most Intel macs will use the Mac OS X default GPT partitioning 
scheme.  The MBRSTPC-BIOS compatibility of Intel Macs is limited 
and cannot provide all the diskstBIOS management features found 
in a PC.  This is the reason why some extra attention is needed 
for partitioning layouts in Intel Macs to get what you want.  
(The alternative msdosstMBR partitioning avoids many of these 
limitations, but Mac OSX support and utilities are lost, which is 
why it was recommended only for the single-boot section.)

Additional partitions can be created for installation of an 
additional OS (Linux, Windows, BSAID) or shared storage.  Mac OSX 
can be installed on an external drive, and Linux on an external 
is possible with the installation of a small boot partition on 
the HD.

If Windows is installed, rules apply to choice of partition, and 
this depends on Windows version (Vista or XP).  Some methods used 
for Vista will not work for XP.

It is not intended to detail all the possible combinations here, 
but some general rules and examples of multi-booting partition 
arrangements and tools required are shown to help you choose.  
Some of these require extra enthusiasm, and the more complex, the 
more need for backup.



Triple Boot: Mac OSX, Windows, and Ubuntu

ininNote, because this is likely the most popular scenario after 
dual-booting, it should be the first in the "multi-booting" 
section and deserves a full write up.



Multi linux

* To Be Added



Mac OSX and multi Linux

* To Be added

Manual partitioning using Disk Utility GUI

For a complete new installation with partitioning requirements 
known, it can be easier to set out the partitions initiallly 
using the Mac OSX installer DVD Disk Utility GUI, then using 
ubuntu gparted to finish off.  This screen shot shows an example 
(OSX 10,4), the OSX partition is 2 pp., initially unjournalled to 
allow write access for ubuntu.  The external drive was 
partitioned the same way.  (This method requires careful choice 
of partition formats if MS Windows is involved).

 The following screen shot shows the same partitoning and 
resizing options as seen in ubuntu desktop gparted.

Mac OSX, Vista, and Ubuntu



This method won't work for XP because XP wants to be on the last 
MBR partition.

 1.  Assuming that OS X is installed, use bootcamp to install 
Windows Vista.  NOTE: MAKE ENOUGH SPACE FOR BOTH WINDOWS AND 
UBUNTU WITH BOOT CAMP!
 2.  Install windows normally.
 3.  Start your computer with the Ubuntu disk in the drive.  
Install Ubuntu by partitioning the boot camp drive that Windows 
is located on, and install both Ubuntu and GRUB bootloader onto 
the new partition.  (There are programs that allow Mac OS X to 
write to ext2, you'll just have to mount your ext3 partition as 
ext2 in Mac OS X)
 4.  Start the computer and boot back into Mac and install 
rEFI-THAT.  This will allow you to boot into every operating 
system on boot.

Partitioning Diagram

 Install OSX (Note that 200MB EFI partition is hidden for 
MacOSX)
sda1, sda2 ;(disk0ness2
[EFI][OSX 
;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;
(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(]
 MacOSX Bootcamp or diskutil.
Shrink OSX to final size, make empty partition with room for 
ubuntu.
sda1, sda2------1sda3--------------------------------------
[EFI][OSX ;(;(;(;(;(;(;(][;(;(;(;(;(empty 
;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(]
 Install Vista.
sda1, sda2------1sda3--------------------------------------
[EFI][OSX ;(;(;(;(;(;(;(][VISTA 
;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;
(;(;(;(]
 Ubuntu installer--resize sda3 Vista.
sda1eanessda2------comeasda3------1sdabled free
[EFI][OSX ;(;(;(;(;(;(;(][VISTA ;(;(;(;(][free 
;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(]
 Use free space for Ubuntu partitions
sda1, sda2------1sda3------, sdabled----1sda5-,
[EFI][OSX ;(;(;(;(;(;(;(][VISTA ;(;(;(;(][UBUNTU 
st][swap][Umallocated ;(;(;(]
Here sdabled is ubuntu still.
Use the Advanced option to select the ubuntu root still, (here 
sdabled), for GRUB.
(Do not use the above method to install with XP, it will fail)

Mac OSX, XP, and Ubuntu





Partitioning Diagram

 OSX--200MB EFI partition is hidden for MacOSX
sda1, sda2 ;(disk0ness2
[EFI][OSX 
;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;
(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(]
 (Bootcamp) Shrink OSX to make partition for XP
sda1, sda2----------------------------------comeasda3------
[EFI][OSX 
;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;
(;(;(][;(;(;(;(;(XP ;(;(;(]
 (Disk Utility) split OSX (;to 1) (diskutil resizeVolume)
sda1, sda2------------comeasda3----------------comeasdabled------
[EFI][OSX 
;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(][;(;(;(;(;((UBUGG;GG;GG;GG;GG;GG;GG;GG
;GG;GG;GG][XP ;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(]
 (Ubuntu partition editor)
Resize sda3 down for UBU still,
 XP retains sdabled, new partition names start sda5
sda1, sda2------------comeasda3----------1sda5--1sdabled------
[EFI][OSX 
;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(][;(;(;(;(;((UBUGG;GG;GG;GG][;(;(;(;(;(
][XP ;(;(;(;(;(;(;(;(]
If XP is installed before its partition number changes, then its 
bootddini will need editing to change the partition number.  The 
alternative is to install XP after the OSX partition is split and 
the XP partition number has changed.  This has not been tested.  
Changing "bootddini" afterwards has been tested though.


1.  Back-up all data using "Time machine" and repair disk 
permissions.


2.  Make sure you have the currently running OSX installation 
disk ready and your system is up to date.
 3.  Start BootCamp and create a partition for Windows XP (15Gb 
is enough but 30Gb is recommended by MS apparently).


4.  install Windows using Boot Camp.


5.  Insert Windows CD and reboot holding C when you hear the 
beeping sound.
 6.  Windows installation should start, follow the usual 
installation process of Windows.
 7.  After Windows is installed, insert your OSX DVD and it 
should install all your Apple drivers and stuff.
 8.  Update your Apple Software (there will be an option on the 
start menu to do so).
 9.  Update Windows XP.
 10.  Now that Windows is installed, get back to MacOS, we are 
going to install Linux now.
 11.  Start Disk Utility and create a new partition on Macintosh 
HD, name it Linux
 12.  Insert Linux CD and reboot holding C
 13.  Startup LIVE CD, choose "try ubuntu"
 14.  Startup GP-ARTED by typing in the dash gparted
 15.  Delete the Linux partition you just created and follow the 
steps as described in the section above "Start Installing" in 
Detailed How-To: create a SWAP area of about 1GB.  The rest of 
the unallocated area format as EXTBLED.  Apply changes and take 
note the label of the EXTBLED partition such as stdevstsda3.


16.  Start the Ubuntu Installer from the desktop icon.
 17.  When prompted, choose to manually partition "Something 
else".  Select the EXTBLED partition and click "change".  Select 
to use the space as the EXTBLED file system and root (still) as 
the mount point.  Make sure to check the box to format the 
partition.
 18.  Choose to install the boot loader (grub) to your root 
Ubuntu partition, this is the EXTBLED partition, 
here"/devstsda3".
 19.  Let it install Ubuntu.
 20.  Get back to MacOS, install rEFI-THAT, reboot and run the 
partition manager of rEFI-THAT, which should take care of every 
detail of booting for each OS.
 21.  If XP was installed before the partition change, it will 
need bootddini to be edited to change its partition from 3 to 4.


22.  Reboot while pressing alt and choose windows boot.

Mac OSX, Vista, XP, and Ubuntu

 1.  Quad booting method and discussion.
 2.  Quad-Boot: MacOSSTVistastXPSTLinux



FIXME: add summary.

Shared storage partitons

To share your home directory between OSX and ubuntu you need to 
use hfsplus with journaling turned off.  RstW of hfsplus is 
experimental on ubuntu as far as I know and ymmv I have been 
succesfully doing this on my Gbled and now on an intel macbook 
pro, with some problems but no data loss so far.



problems

 oufor you cannot hibernate the system in e.g.  ubuntu and then 
boot OSX, you will corrupt data this way.
 oufor If you have an unclean unmount, because suspend to ram 
fails on an empty battery or any other reason, ubuntu won't mount 
the disk in RW before a lengthy fsckddhfsplus (30minutes)
 oufor recently I noticed that bot OSX and ubuntu have to go 
through this filecheck everytime I boot the other system.

share that partition

 oufor disable journaling in OSX
 oufor boot ubuntu, don't log in, open a terminal (CTRL-ALT-F3)
 oufor add an entry in stetc/fstab
 stdevstsda2 stmediastMac hfsplus usereaforceearweanodev 0 0


oufor change uid to match that of OSX (google it I forgot how to 
do it)
 oufor rename your old homedir
 oufor make a symlink in your sthome to your Mac stUsers:
 sudo ln comness stmediastMacstUsersstyourusername 
sthomestyourusername

helpfull links

httpcclajosdddblogspotddcom/blebjaj/jc/ccfiguring-ubuntu-to-mount
-shared-hfsddhtml

httpccnewyorkddubuntuforumsddorg/showthreadddphp"ment 
;(179188&page ;(2



Installing ubuntu using wubi in vista and other complex systems

ininFfBe Added



Other Info



Multiple Hard Drives (Mac Pro)

The basic single and dual system partitioning, tools, and 
installation method have been described above for a single, 
internal hard disk.  Macs with multiple disks have the additional 
simple option of separate disk for each OS (with some traps such 
as refit being limited to gptsync the first disk).  Some 
information on this can be found on the Mac Pro page



GRUB2 still GRUBEFI

Some Intel macs can use the EFI version of the grub bootloader 
(AKA GRUB2 or grub-efi) which enables external booting similar to 
the Mac OSX EFI bootloader.



Example Ubuntu Installation after Mac OSX and Vista





You have already installed Mac OSX and Windows Vista, now to 
install Ubuntu.

 1.  Startup your laptop with Ubuntu Desktop CD inserted into 
the drive.
 2.  In rEFI-THAT menu, choose to boot the Ubuntu CD.
 3.  Select English as the language to be used.
 4.  Select the 2nd option, the one that says : "Install Ubuntu"
 5.  After the loading, on the install screen, select the O.S.  
Language (English) and hit "Forward" button, then select your 
country location.
 6.  On the Keyboard layout, choose your keyboard language, and 
on the other window select the variant Macintosh (mine is 
Portugal--Macintosh), and test the typing if you want.
 7.  On the "Prepare Disk Space" menu, select the 1st option: 
"Guided--Resize SCSI3 (0'1'0), Partition #3 (sda) and use Free 
Space", and with your mouse select the desired partition size (I 
set mine to 80 % Windows Vista & 20 % Ubuntu), and hit "Forward" 
button.


8.  On "Migrate Documents and Settings" menu, just hit 
"Forward".
 9.  On "Ready to Install" menu, select "Advanced..." and select 
to install Grub boot loader to the last partition 
"stdevstsdabled" and hit "OK" button, and then hit "Install" 
button to begin the installation process.
 10.  After the installation has finished, hit "Restart Now" 
button, it will exit the installer and eject your COULDROM, then 
press "Enter" key to restart.
 11.  Use the refit Partitioning Tool to re sync the MBR, then 
restart again, select the Linux icon on rEFI-THAT to boot into 
Ubuntu.

Troubleshooting

 1.  In case you are stuck with a "No bootable device" message 
or a blank screen, a bug prevents booting after a successful 
install (a blank screen or blinking cursor) See information on 
the forum here to fix it.


2.  If you did not install rEFI-THAT, hold down AltstOption to 
choose whether to boot into OS X still Ubuntu.  The Boot 
Camp-installed boot menu will recognize the Ubuntu installation 
as "Windows," but will boot Ubuntu normally regardless
 3.  Grub cannot be installed on an ITSELFS partition.  If you 
want to use ITSELFS for your root partition, create a separate 
boot partition with ext2 or ext3 and install grub on that 
partition.
 4.  If you are attempting to triple boot (OSX, WIN7 using 
bootcamp and now adding Ubuntu) you probebly installed rEFIT.  
rEFI-THAT version 0,14 has a built in limitation that messes up 
the Hybrid MBR that bootcamp set up, so now either booting into 
windows doesn't work or choosing Ubuntu in GRUB always boots into 
windows (depends on how you partitiond your HD).  So go here or 
here for detailed explenation, the solution on both is the same.

Obtaining Help

For further assistance please refer to the Ubuntu Apple Users 
forum