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tijs/Ubuntu-on-mac-mini.md

Created January 1, 2014 16:43
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Installing Ubuntu on my Mac Mini (2009). Dual boot installation of Mac OS X Mavericks and Ubuntu 13.10
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Ubuntu-on-mac-mini.md

  1. Install rEFIt: http://refit.sourceforge.net/doc/c1s1_install.html

  2. Create a new FAT/DOS partition for the linux install (dual boot setup)

  3. Download the linux ISO, in this case: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/

  4. Convert the iso to a bootable img format:

    cd ~/Downloads hdiutil convert -format UDRW -o ubuntu-13.10-desktop-amd64.img ubuntu-13.10-desktop-amd64.iso

  5. Partition your USB stick as 'Free space' using Disk Uility

  6. Find the name of your USB 'disk' with diskutil:

    diskutil list

This will list all mounted disks. The size of the disk should allow you to tell which one is your USB stick. In my case /dev/disk3.

  1. Copy the new img to your USB stick:

    sudo dd if=./ubuntu-13.10-desktop-amd64.img.dmg of=/dev/rdisk3 bs=1m

This will copy the image to the stick. I'm using /dev/rdisk3 instead of /dev/disk3 to use the 'raw' copy mode which should be faster than using the name listed with diskutil.

  1. Restart the mini with the USB stick plugged in. The USB should show up as a boot option in rEFIt (restarting again might help if it's not).
  2. Install Ubuntu (or another distro of your choosing) to the empty partition.
  3. You have may have to restart and select partition tool in the rEFIt boot loader for it to recognize the new partition you created with the linux installer.
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