[Guide] Mac OS X Lion: How To Boot A Linux Live System From An USB Drive

[KazilTV]

nice one! :)

[dmzsfx]

Is there anyway to do this where you can save files and not have them erased after reboot?

[computergeek123ism]

will osx lion still work after this?

[studyblast]

@computergeek123ism yes

[pradyumnag]

Thanks for the video. I tried this and I was kind of stucked at black screen which says "OK,fasten your......this may take a while...." I waited for 15min but I got nothing.. does it take more time or is there something wrong?

[studyblast]

@pradyumnag It shouldn't take more than a few minutes on a new Mac. Try a different Thumb Drive (or even an external HDD) - verify your ISO's integrity and of course double check the partitioning of your external drive.

[pradyumnag]

@studyblast I partitioned the Linux as Mac OS Extended(Journaled) and flash drive as MS-Dos. Mine is a new Mac and I downloaded 64-bit Ubuntu from ubuntu site. I do not know if there is anything to do with the partitioning I did, but wanted to share with you. I will try with external hdd too and let you know. Thanks !!

[studyblast]

@pradyumnag What does I partitioned the Linux as Mac OS Extended(Journaled) mean?

This tutorial is about booting Ubuntu from an USB flash-drive without touching your Mac's configuration (in order to update an internal SSD's firmware).

In general you should fit with one of these cases:

I have one drive in my Mac and an external USB drive:

1 Partition HFS+/Mac OS X Journaled on your Mac

1 Partition MS-DOS MBR on your external drive (this is where your EFI loader and ISO goes)

[studyblast]

@studyblast

OR you share my configuration: A Mac with two internal drives (SSD or HDD, DVD doesn't count here):

2 Partitions HFS+/Mac OS X Journaled (divided onto two different, physical, internal drives)

1 Partition MS-DOS MBR on your external drive (this is where your EFI loader and ISO goes)

[pradyumnag]

@studyblast

I tried with new flash drive and re-downloaded a new ISO file, still faced the same issue. The last option is trying with my portable HDD.

[aaronjohnleonard]

Will this work with Fedora 16 too?

[studyblast]

@aaronjohnleonard I'm pretty sure it works but I've never tried.

The .EFI File should tell your Mac to load any ISO file called boot.iso - no matter what distribution/os.

[aaronjohnleonard]

@studyblast I tried it, but it brings up a GNU Grub command line prompt. I tried all the commands I could think of with no success.

[TheExtinctSpecie]

Hey man, thanks a ton for the video!

Is there a way to make the default OS Linux over OS X?

[TheExtinctSpecie]

Hey man, thanks a ton for the video!

Is there a way to make the default OS Linux over OS X?

[DemiAps]

I never got past the "fasten your seat belt" It just showed a white screen after that... What could be the problem?

[studyblast]

@DemiAps I'm pretty sure your USB drive (including partitioning) or the ISO Image had to be blamed here.

Try redownloading the image and/or reformatting/changing the USB drive. I had the same "error" when my first ISO was damaged.

[ultimusmaximum]

thanks, now i can show my friends at school what i call mini-booting is really like :D

also im going to dual partition my flashdrive so i can save files to it and still use it as a Ubunu comp. i'll just install my programs manually. if you know a better way of doing this please tell me.

[Alex0VAIF3]

downloading it now, i'll let you know if it works. Great ideo, exactly what i was looking for!

[Alex0VAIF3]

@Alex0VAIF3 Video*

[studyblast]

@Alex0VAIF3 Yeah, plaese report any issues you ran into :)