zlim Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 My knowledge about Apple computers ended in 1989. I know that when Motorola processors were used and maybe even today, Apple computers are formatted differently.Someone asked about putting linux on an iMac. I was curious myself. What file system? Is it possible to dual boot the Apples OS (I'm not sure what the person is running) and a linux distro?How about just linux? Do you re-format the hd and install? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Here's one guide: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Intel_iMac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjf123 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I'm not sure, but I don't think you can simply reformat the drive and install another OS. You'll need some virtual machine setup, unless you want to run a flavor of Windows, in which case you can use Apple's Boot Camp. I'm using VM Ware's Fusion to run XP on my iMac. I believe Fusion also supports running Linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 You'll need some virtual machine setup, unless you want to run a flavor of Windows...Err... nope. The link in reply #1 is for "real life" dual boot system:This guide will assume that you want to dual-boot OS X with Ubuntu. It is recommended that you keep an install of OS X, even if you do not plan to use it in order to install firmware updates in the future that may be required for your Mac to operate properly. There are many other guides available for Triple (and more) booting with various operating systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjf123 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Err... nope. The link in reply #1 is for "real life" dual boot system:That's why I started off with "I'm not sure, but I don't think..." I've never looked into dual booting a flavor of Linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 I'm not sure the person is running OSX but I will point them to the link. Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urmas Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I'm not sure the person is running OSX...Not a prerequisite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted March 14, 2009 Author Share Posted March 14, 2009 That's good to know - thanks Urmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted March 15, 2009 Author Share Posted March 15, 2009 (edited) I have more info. The person is running a G3 iMac with OS 9.2. I don't think that is an Intel chip. I think that was Motorola but I'll do some searching.The iMac had a Powerpc processor which was either IBM or Motorola but not Intel so the article about installing Ubuntu on an Intel processor would not apply. Thanks anyway guys. Sometimes you just can't get to point B from point A. Edited March 15, 2009 by zlim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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