Ubuntu Linux on Macintosh

**SoBeLizard** · 03-06-2006

I've bben using Linux for a while now but I am new to the Ubuntu distro. I've been trying to dual boot Ubuntu with mac os x with no luck. I've been trying to first resize my Mac OSX partition witch right now is taking up the hoole hard drive. If anyone knows how to resize an HFS+ partition (witch is OSX) without losing any data please tell me, I would REALLY like to be able to dual boot my harddrive with Ubuntu but if there is another distro that would do this easier please tell me!! Thanks!

**DThor** · 03-06-2006

If it's been done, google has a link to it.

http://www.intuitive.com/blog/ubuntu...powerbook.html

DT

**SoBeLizard** · 03-06-2006

Thanks, this was really helpful! I tried this and it did not work for me, I have no idea why but it didn't. So, I'm still stuck with a full sized OSX partition and no room to install Ubuntu. Any ideas??

**daacosta** · 03-07-2006

When I told my brother, one of 'those MAC users',

that I wanted to install linux on the apple computer at our folks house he told me that if I ever tried to do such a thing that I was going to literally have to kill him or be killed in the process... I dropped the issue for good...

I know it is none of my business but why do you want to mix linux with OSX in your box when OSX is based on BSD and, if my brother is right, it is the sturdiest OS that exists...

**SoBeLizard** · 03-08-2006

I want to dual boot OSX with Linux because as an Architech I have the problem of not being able to find many programs and other things I need for Mac OSX but have been able to find a few places over the years to get these programs running on Linux. Also, some of the drafting equipment doesn't have drivers available for mac but most of their current ones will work in Linux with a little tweaking from a couple of my IT friends. I want to keep OSX because I prefer it to windows, but don't want to have to buy a new computer to install Linux on when I can dual boot it on my Mac.

**SoBeLizard** · 03-12-2006

Well, I got a little farther but still need to more advice. Any ideas?

**daacosta** · 03-12-2006

Originally Posted by SoBeLizard

Well, I got a little farther but still need to more advice. Any ideas?

Hmmm... If I were you I would ask for a free CD from Ubuntu

https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

and fill a custom request for Mac CD's [I ordered mine for a PC]. Also, why don't you check www.ubuntuforums.org? I have found the people over there very nice and helpfull and maybe you will run into someone that has solved a similar problem.

Regards,

**DThor** · 03-12-2006

It's also far more productive to get specific. Saying "it doesn't work" leaves anyone generous enough to want to devote their spare time to you rather at a loss. I'm not suggesting posting pages of log notes, but something that shows you've tried the standard things, where it failed, that you've tried to google the problems you've had...what you seem to be asking for is someone to write an article that walks you right through the whole process based on your specific setup(which you haven't indicated). Linux types are amongst the most helpful users out there - but you need to give and take.

This link is probably a little more hardcore and hacker oriented than it needs to be(many people here are far more generous), but I've found it a great thing to read. One of the most tolerated miscues on this forum are the poor subject titles("help ME!!!), but you got that right.

DT

**SoBeLizard** · 03-12-2006

Ok, you want specific, you'll get specific. What I want to do exactly is resize my single Mac OSX partition which takes up the whole 80GB hard drive to leave me with at least 5 or so GB to install Ubuntu on. I've tried parted from the install cd of Ubuntu by accessing it from a shell when I reach the partition step. Yes, I have tried the forums at Ubuntuforums.org and the nice folks there are the people who have helped me get this far. I have also booted from the Ubuntu breezy live cd and tried GParted from there but still nothing. I have turned off journaling and then tourned it back on and then off again to make sure it was off. I have tried everything that anyone has told me to do and have googled my problem but all the answers givin to me have not worked but they have got me further. The output of parted when I acces it from a shell looks like this:
First and before all I diabled Journaling on my Mac HFS+ partition. First I followed all the steps on the Ubuntu install disk up to the partitioner. When I was in the partitioner I selected "Go back" and then in the menu I selected "Exicute a shell". Once in the shell I typed

Code:

Parted

after this I typed

Code:

Print

This brought up the hard drive name and information. After this information I typed

Code:

resize 3 128.031 72319.081

this happens to be the resize information I want my 80GB hard drive to be resized to. Once I enter this information it comes up with a message sying this exactly

Warning: You have an HFS+ file system that has a feature that I haven't seen used anywhere. Parted can theorectically handle it, but the corresponding code has never been tested, so this might be risky. Please email me so I can see how it works <xilun666@libertysurf.fr>

Then I type I for ignore and it starts to resize the partition. After it starts it stops and these exact messages come up

Warning: An extent has not been relocated.

Error: Data relocation left some data in the end of the volume.

Error: Resizing the HFS+ volume has failed.

Also, in case you need to know:
The output of

Code:

sudo: fdisk -1

was

Code:

sudo: not found

The output of

Code:

dmesg | tail -n20

was

Code:

[ 43.467206] hdc: ATAPI 24X DVD-ROM CD-R/RW drive, 2048kB Cache
[ 43.473545] Uniform CD-ROM driver Revision: 3.20
[ 49.192505] usbcore: registered new driver usbserial
[ 49.201369] drivers/usb/serial/usb-serial.c: USB Serial support registered for Generic
[ 49.210174] usbcore: registered new driver usbserial generic
[ 49.210192] drivers/usb/serial/usb-serial.ci USB Serial Driver Core V2.0
[ 59.804086] SCSI subsystem initialized
[ 59.817030] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
[ 59.825881] usbcore: registered new driver usb-storage
[ 59.825898] USB storage support registered.
[ 60.885605] Sbp2: $Rev: 1219 $ Ben Collins <bcollins@debian.org>
[ 61.552935] ISO 9660 Extensions: RRIP_1991A
[ 80.786087] Sungem.C:V0.98 8/24/03 David S. Miller (davem@redhat.com)
[ 80.847776] PHY ID: 4061e4, addr: 0
[ 80.857160] eth0: Sun GEM (PCI) 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet 00:14:51:05:55:e0
[ 80.857183] eth0: Found BCM5221 PHY
[ 86.741347] NET: Registered protocol family 17
[ 134.195103] JFS: nTxBlock = 2000, nTxLook = 16005
[ 134.509670] SGI: XFS with ACLs, large block numbers, no debug enabled
[ 134. 510299] SGI: XFS Quota Management subsystem

**DThor** · 03-13-2006

I would be using Volumeworks for this, not the Linux tools. It's designed to do that. Yes, it costs money.

For further reference:

http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Install...k_Section_4.29

Look at the Resizing Partitions section. Talks about how it rarely, if ever, works. Just getting the OSX filesystem working at all in the Linux world is a pain enough, you're talking about doing just about the most spec-agressive operation you can(resizing and maintaining integrity).

DT

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