Install Linux but retain OSX?

[pizzafordinna]

So after some long soul searching I've decided that it would be to my advantage to put a distro of Linux on my MBP. I'm looking for general advice and tips on how to go about this.

I'm running OSX Lion
I would like to completely remove lion and boot straight into linux
I also want to preserve OSX on either my external or burned to a disc.


Thanks for the advice

 

[ScoobyMcDoo]

I sure you could partition your drive and use bootcamp, or you could copy your OSX to an external using carbon copy cloner, then just blow away your current OS X.

Personally, I run VMWare fusion on OSX, then have several linux distros running as virtual machines. Works great for me that way.

 

[pizzafordinna]

thanks for mentioning carbon copy cloner. I hadn't heard of it before. That's definitely put me in the right direction. Any tips on wiping the hard drive and/or re-installing OSX at a later date would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Weaselboy]

You are going to need rEFIt.

 

[pizzafordinna]

You are going to need rEFIt.

Thanks for the tip! I'm using it already for bootcamp/osx but it's good to know i'll still need it