| Introducing the Triple Boot Mac |
Apr. 20, 2006
It was only a matter of time. First, Linux hacker, Edgar "Gimli" Hucek, got Gentoo Linux running on a Mactel system, an iMac Core Duo.
Then, as Windows hackers, spurred on by a cash reward from Colin Nederkoorn of Houston, had just completed their efforts to get the far more troublesome Windows XP to run on Intel-powered Macs, Apple took the wind out of their sails by releasing a public beta of Boot Camp -- software that allows Intel-processor Macs, such as the iMac and Mac Mini desktops and MacBook Pro notebook, to boot either Mac OS X or Windows XP.
You know what's coming next, right?
Yes, now Nederkoorn and friends have blazed a trail for adventuresome Mac owners to boot not only OS X and XP on their systems, but Linux as well.
This Triple Boot method is not for the faint of heart.
First, you must manually partition the hard drive. The Intel Macs use the EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) GPT (GUID Partition Table) for partitioning. Now, OSX 10.4.6 and most Linuxes with 2.6 or higher kernels have no trouble with EFI GPT. Windows, however, is another matter.
Windows still needs a drive with the old-style MBR (master boot record) partitioning. Microsoft has already said that it won't be supporting EFI, so you're pretty much stuck with having at least two incompatible partitions on a drive.
Since Apple recommends that users stick with the FAT32 (File Allocation Table) system instead of NTFS (New Technology File System), that also means you're limited to 32GB for your Windows drives.
Now, with Mac OS X 10.4.6's diskutil, you can create dual GPT/MBR partitioned drives. However, GPT doesn't support MBR's extended partitions, and MBR will only support four primary partitions.
That's still enough, you think? Think again.
Apple reserves the first primary partition for its bootloader. That leaves one for each operating system, but Linux needs two partitions -- one for the operating system itself, the other for the swap partition. You can get around this by using a swap file instead. This is a tried and true way of getting around this kind of problem. Unfortunately, swap files tend to run slower than do swap partitions, so if you're running multiple Linux applications on a Triple Boot Mac, you can expect to see a performance hit.
Then, there are other problems. You can't use grub (a popular Linux bootloader), for example, because it conflicts with Apple's firmware.
The trick that Nederkoorn and his buddies came up with was to chainload Linux's lilo bootloader from the XP ntldr bootloader.
See what I mean about this not being for the faint of heart?
If you've made it this far without your eyes glazing over, you're probably able to give this a try.
There are, however, other methods of pulling off this stunt on their way, using virtualization programs such as Parallels Workstation 2.1.
While still in beta, with Parallels Workstation, you could, in theory, also run FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2, and MS-DOS simultaneously on your OS X desktop, as well as XP and Linux. Of course, you'd need far more than the 2GB of RAM you can stuff into a 2GHz Intel Core Duo Mac.
The heart of the matter is that, if you really want to run all three of the most popular desktop operating systems on one Mactel, you can.
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Do you have comments on this story?
Talkback here
NOTE: Please post your comments regarding our articles using the above link. Be sure to use this article's title as the "Subject" in your posts. Before you create a new thread, please check to see if a discussion thread is already running on the article you plan to comment on. Thanks!
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
4 Legal Reasons to Control Internet Access
The Internet is obviously a valuable resource for many organizations. However, many are exposed to legal liability concerns because they fail to control Internet access. Learn if you're safe in this white paper.
Rapidly Resolve J2EE Application Problems
Whether you are in the process of building J2EE applications or have J2EE applications already running in production, you must ensure that they deliver the expected ROI. Learn how in this white paper.
Load Testing 2.0 for Web 2.0
There are many unknowns in stress testing Web 2.0 applications. Find out how to test the performance of Web 2.0 in this white paper.
Build Better Games Online
For the game infrastructure providers, life is complex. Making money from games has become more complicated. Why? Find out in this white paper.
Building a Virtual Infrastructure from Servers to Storage
This white paper discusses the virtual storage solutions that reduce cost, increase storage utilization, and address the challenges of backing up and restoring Server environments.
Gaining Faster Wireless Connections with WiMAX
Welcome to what is quickly becoming the hyperconnected world where anything that would benefit from being connected to the network will be connected. Learn more in this white paper.
Is Your Desktop a Security Threat?
The new wave of sophisticated crimeware not only targets specific companies, but also targets desktops and laptops as backdoor entryways into those business’ operations and resources. Learn how to stay safe in this white paper.
Increasing SAN Reliability by 100 Percent
Storage area networks (SAN) are a strong part of storage plans. Learn how to increase your reliability and uptime by 100 percent in this case study.
|
|
news feed