Booting iATKOS OSX86 Install from GRUB2

[ewhac]

I'm trying to get OSX running on a ThinkPad Z61t. Trouble is, there's already a Linux installation on it, and would prefer not to move it around or change the bootloader. The bootloader is GRUB2, which is a significant change from Legacy GRUB. One of GRUB2's advantages is that it can read HFS+ volumes. One disadvantage is that all the Web pages describing how to boot OSX from GRUB describe it using Legacy GRUB. As an example, GRUB2 no longer has the 'kernel' command, which is extensively used in the available examples.

 

After messing with this for far too long, I finally worked it out. Here's my working entry for grub.cfg:

 

menuentry "Think(Pad) Different" {
	set root=(hd0,1)
	multiboot /boot/efiboot_v9
}

Explanation:

• set root=(hd0,1)
  The root of my Linux partition. This is where I have the EFI bootloader stored. (It could just as easily be stored on the HFS+ partition, since GRUB2 can read it. In such a case, the root would need to be set to the HFS+ partition.)
  
• multiboot /boot/efiboot_v9
  Loads the EFI bootloader, which I have placed in a file named "/boot/efiboot_v9" on the Linux partition. This is v9 of Netkas' EFI bootloader. I've also used "boot_v8" successfully here. These files normally come named simply "boot", but I prefer more descriptive names, so I renamed them. (Neither GRUB2 nor the EFI bootloader itself appear to care how the file is named.)
  

When I reboot the machine, GRUB2 presents a menu entry named "Think(Pad) Different." When I select it, I see first one bootloader prompt, followed two seconds later by another bootloader prompt. After that, the white screen with the grey Apple logo appears, followed shortly by the desktop.

 

Sadly, the machine kernel-panics after only a couple minutes of use. So clearly I have more work to do. But getting this far was major step for me, and should simplify testing and getting rid of the kernel panics.

 

Hopefully it comes in handy for others.

 

Schwab

[e4789423]

After way too many hours of trying and failing at other methods to get Ubuntu and iPC 10.5.6 to dual boot successfully on my Dell, this one worked perfectly and unbelievably easily. I'm eternally grateful to you!