Re: Run Current on a MacBook

From: Arne Schwabe <schwabe_at_uni-paderborn.de>
Date: Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:01:21 +0100
Rui Paulo schrieb:
> Joe Marcus Clarke wrote:
>> On Fri, 2007-11-30 at 17:30 +0000, Rui Paulo wrote:
>>> eculp wrote:
>>>> I am a half step away from buying a MacBook based on the following
>>>> assumptions:
>>>>
>>>>   1. I should run current and it has the SMP problem fixed.
>>> The fix was not yet committed.
>>>
>>>>   2. It can be dual booted between OSX and FreeBSD?
>>>>      a. The handbook only mentions that it can be run as a guest OS.
>>> The handbook doesn't mention anything about running FreeBSD on a
>>> MacBook. You probably want to read http://wiki.freebsd.org/AppleMacbook
>>>
>>>>      b. Is there a short list to run both OS's I've done this with
>>>>         windows many times over the years but I have on idea where to
>>>>         start with Mac.  Example: Clean the disk and start with FBSD
>>>>         or somehow compress the MacOSX file system and use the rest
>>>>         for BSD, etc. etc.
>>> * Partition your drive witht Bootcamp
>>> * Install rEFIt. http://refit.sf.net/
>>> * Boot FreeBSD install CD and install it to the desired partition.
>>> Don't install an MBR boot manager.
>>> * Sync your MBR with the GPT by using the refit tool (available in
>>> the refit boot menu).
>>
>> I've tried this procedure twice now, and the results are the same: even
>> after selecting "None" for the boot manager, by GPT gets overridden with
>> an MBR.  Almost everything works fine after that.  rEFIt allows me to
>> boot into MacOS X or FreeBSD, but the gptsync tool does not work, and I
>> couldn't upgrade to Leopard until I re-partitioned my drive (which I
>> did, and ended up right back with an MBR after installing FreeBSD).
>>
>> If there's some trick to this I'm missing, I'd love to know before
>> "Puma" comes out.
>
Puma is 10.1 ;)
> Well, I think that if you restore your MBR to a PMBR* (a GPT MBR) you
> lose the ability to boot FreeBSD beecause rEFIt seems to expect a
> FreeBSD MBR, IIRC. But on the other hand, you probably need a PMBR
> (i.e. have your disk with operating systems that can boot from GPT) to
> upgrade Mac OS X.
>
> Yes, I know, it's horrible. :-(
>
I my case creating the "FreeBSD" parition with the disk utility and
simply use that parition for FreeBSD worked fine for me.

Arne
Received on Tue Dec 04 2007 - 07:01:28 UTC

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