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Boot an Intel Mac into Ubuntu Linux from iPod

So you want to explore Linux, or create a LAMP environment for web development without having to re-partition your internal drive or try some flakey Boot Camp hack to triple-boot your Mac? Can it be done? I decided to find out...

Limited for time? Read Installing Ubuntu step 10 first.

Ubuntupod

The ingredients

  • 1 x good-for-nothing first generation 5 GB iPod with a dud battery;
  • 1 x Ubuntu 5.10 for PC install CD-ROM;
  • 1 x Intel Mac mini with Tiger 10.4.6 and Windows XP (via Boot Camp) installed;
  • 1 x Firewire cable.

Preparing the iPod

  1. Connect the iPod via Firewire.
  2. Enter Disk Mode: hold down the Menu and Play keys and, when the Apple icon has appeared, immediately hold down the Rewind and Forward buttons.
  3. Open Disk Utility, select the iPod and choose Partition.
  4. Choose 1 Partition as the Volume Scheme; name the volume; choose UNIX File System and then Partition.

    Diskutility

Installing Ubuntu

Ubuntu

  1. Insert the Ubuntu install CD into the Mac.
  2. Restart the Mac, holding down the letter "C" to boot from the CD.
  3. At the boot prompt press Return for a default installation.
  4. Work through the standard Ubuntu installation screens.
  5. When you get to the "Partition Disks" screen, make sure your iPod is selected and press Return.

    Partition

  6. At the warning hit the left arrow key then Return.
  7. Sit back and enjoy the creeping progress bar, then work through user configuration. A few more progress bars later the Mac will spit out the CD.
  8. Hit Return to "Continue" and hold down the Option (Alt) key as your Mac restarts.
  9. You should see a Firewire disk icon, oddly labelled "Windows". Select it with the arrow key and press Return.

    Startchoice

  10. Bugger! You'll boot into XP. Weird.

So close, yet so far: we have an installation onto the iPod, but can't boot from it. Does anyone know exactly why this doesn't work? I know there probably needs to be some kind of Mac partition on the iPod (or other external Firewire disk, for that matter). Someone must know how to make it work...

Meanwhile, in a Parallel universe...

There is an alternative—Parallels Desktop (free trial key available) will let you load Ubuntu onto its virtual machine. In use it seems no different to the Ubuntu installation running on my aging Dell laptop. Getting this working is a snap:

  1. First, restore your iPod to factory settings using Apple's iPod Software Updater.
  2. Install the Intel-only app on the iPod then open it.
  3. Create a new virtual machine.
  4. Choose Guest OS Type; Linux and Guest OS Version: Debian Linux, then Next.

    Parallels

  5. Point the Configuration file to your iPod (e.g. /Volumes/LinuxPod/debian.pvs).

    Ubuntu2Ipod

  6. If you have a 5 GB iPod, you'll see a warning advising you that the specified size of the virtual hard disk exceeds free space available on the target host disk. You can either go back and create a custom VM (e.g. 4 GB in size), or just click Yes.
  7. Click the "Play" button (well, that's what it looks like) and after the message about no boot device, load the Ubuntu CD then hit Return for a default installation

    Defaultinstall

  8. Work through the standard Ubuntu installation.

It may not boot your Mac, but you should end up with a working installation of Ubuntu that you can carry around with you and run just by plugging into a receptive Intel Mac. And that old iPod now has a purpose in life.

Ubunturunning

9 responses to “Boot an Intel Mac into Ubuntu Linux from iPod”


  1. Comment 1 Ken

    Been messing around with Ubuntu myself. 6.06 is looking really good.

  2. Comment 2 Bruce

    Version 6. That would be "Dapper Drake" then, a name that makes "MacBook Pro" sound OK by comparison ;-)

    I'm impressed enough with 5.10 Ken... isn't 6 still pre-release? I'd be interested to know what you particularly like in 6.x

    Linux has come a long way since I last looked at it (LinuxPPC, unsupported since 2000 I think). It's so much more usable to non-geeks and it sure is a weird feeling booting a Mac with a Linux for PC CD-ROM! (although that probably says more about how far Mac has come...)

  3. Comment 3 Ken

    The beta version of 6.06 is quite stable Bruce and perfectly usable. The UI is a lot more "polished" than 5.10 with icons that are less Windows and more Mac-like (think Aqua).

  4. Comment 4 Bruce

    Thanks Ken, I see it is now a Release Candidate. It's mighty good of them to ship the distro free on CD-ROMs.

  5. Comment 5 Justin

    Wait, so step 10 is "it doesn't work"? Lame!

  6. Comment 6 Bruce

    That's right Justin. So now you know to read first then leap :-)

  7. Comment 7 Dr.choc

    Hello Everyone I knew that this would not work although I did have my doubts until i got to step ten were i read it would obviously not work. Let me explain why Ubuntu boots off a boot loader called grub which is loaded through the MBR as most of you know the Mac (any) does not have MBR so it will not boot grub therefore not booting Ubuntu, and last time i checke the ipod does not have an MBR. Regards Dr. Choc

  8. Comment 8 jkiv

    I've been looking to make my dead 5G iPod into a disk that I can keep a Linux install on. I followed the steps in order until the last one, where it says it doesn't work! Ha!

    Thanks anyway :)

  9. Comment 9 jasonbuechler

    Has anyone tried to use rEFIt as the boot manager, to point to the ipod???

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