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Linux on imac

S

SuperMiguel

macrumors 6502
Original poster
I have a 27" iMac i7 cpu blach blah... I want to run linux on it natively (not virtual machine).. Whats the best way to acomplish this??

I done on the pass with i rEFIT but not sure if that still the best way around...

Also there was some cooling issues when i installed it are these issues fix?

Thanks
 
SuperMiguel said:
dont i need refit?
Click to expand...

I wrote: as far as I know, it should work with bootcamp - i remember reading that soem people had success with it. Honestly, I don't see why it wouldn't - bootcamp emulates BIOS and linux will install on BIAS-based computers. I have not tried it myself. Another bootloader would be required if you want to tripple-boot OS X, linux and windows, as bootcamp does not allow that.

Why don't you just try it out?
 
1) Launchpad -> Utilities -> Terminal
2) MacPorts
3) Tell yourself that it's Gentoo, if you do it often enough and in a sufficient forceful manner, it will be Gentoo and you have successfully created your own little 'reality distortion field'.

🙄
 
talmy said:
I can't speak for the OP, but I run Linux on two of my Macs for Linux software development. I use virtual machines (under VirtualBox) and don't boot directly into Linux.
Click to expand...

I wonder because isnt one of the great things about Apple is that they make the hardware and the software so the work perfectly? I thought you might have just built a pc and run Linux on that 🙂
 
slimjim.dj said:
I wonder because isnt one of the great things about Apple is that they make the hardware and the software so the work perfectly? I thought you might have just built a pc and run Linux on that 🙂
Click to expand...

Why bother with another computer when you can have one running all of the operating systems?
 
Interesting...

The iMac already has X-Windows and Unix...why Linux? Just curious.

I run Linux and FreeBSD on old PC boxes. Amazing speed.

Peace.
 
aaronvan said:
The iMac already has X-Windows and Unix...why Linux? Just curious.
Click to expand...

UNIX != LINUX. While close, there are APIs that are different, so I can't just write for X-Windows under OS X and have it expect to work in a Linux environment.

I run Linux and FreeBSD on old PC boxes. Amazing speed.

Peace.
Click to expand...

I used to do that as well, but VMs are so much more convenient. And Linux runs faster as a VM in a modern workstation than the old PCs and new Intel Atom boxes we use. At work I've got a Windows machine (HP workstation) and run Linux in a VM on that as well. In fact several people in my work group has ditched their separate Linux boxes to use virtual machines. As a bonus I copy the VM image between the Windows box and my Mac as it works identically on both. (I've even run the VM image virtualized on a Linux box.)
 
slimjim.dj said:
Why would you want to put linux on the mac?
Click to expand...

In my case, I take care of an Imac for my parents. It's a few years old and cannot upgrade to the latest browsers without paying for a new OS.

Solution? Linux. I just have to find the right distro. I don't know how old the Imac is but it's maybe a 21" wide screen. It's at least 6 years old.
 
talmy said:
I can't speak for the OP, but I run Linux on two of my Macs for Linux software development. I use virtual machines (under VirtualBox) and don't boot directly into Linux.
Click to expand...

I'm running XP, Ubuntu, and Mint in VirtualBox and I love it. I don't need any of the OSes for work or anything; I just like playing around with stuff and learnign and messing with terminal.

I, however, am running those on an external HDD that's bootable into OS X where I then run VB. It's not as fast as I would like it to be over a usb connection from a HDD docking station, but it is better than I expected.
 
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