Triple Boot / Quad Boot Guide XP/Ubuntu/Xandros/JaS OS X 10.4.8 with 4.9 update

[keepfrosty]

This is an edit to help people out more:

 

This is a triple boot setup: Windows XP / Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy / JaS OS X 10.4.8 with 10.4.9 Intel update

 

Also for those who want to a Quad boot setup: XP/Ubuntu/Xandros(doesn't have to be this but I do not suggest VISTA because I do not know the bootloader and how it works)/JaS 10.4.8 with 10.4.9 Intel update

 

Both setups were completed on an IBM ThinkPad R60 (Intel Centrino Duo, X1400 Mobility, 80GB Toshiba SATA HD)

 

Ok for the partitioning of the drive I used Gparted Live (latest).

 

This is the partitioning I used for my setup, sizes can vary based on your needs (partitions with be referred to as HD(0,x) where x is the partition location in the disc)

 

HD(0,0) - NTFS - 30GB: this will the for windows

HD(0,1) - EXT3 - 12GB: this is for Ubuntu

HD(0,2) - HFS+ - 12GB: this is for OS x *** Gparted cannot create HFS+ partitions so create a FAT32 partition the size you want for MAC

HD(0,3) - Logical Partition - 26GB: this is for file sharing between MAC, Linux and Windows. Plus Linux Swap

 

SWAP - 2GB: this is the swap drive for Linux

 

FAT32 - 24GB: for file sharing between OSes

 

***********************************************************

 

this is for those Quad booting:

 

HD(0,0) - NTFS - 30GB: this will the for windows

 

HD(0,1) - EXT3 - 12GB: this is for Ubuntu

 

HD(0,2) - HFS+ - 12GB: this is for OS x

 

HD(0,3) - Logical Partition - 26GB: this is for file sharing between MAC, Linux and Windows. Plus Linux Swap

 

Reiserfs - 7GB: this is for Xandros

 

SWAP - 2GB: this is the swap drive for Linux

 

FAT32 - 17GB: for file sharing between OSes

 

***********************************************************

 

Ok so go ahead and install Windows XP onto the NTFS partition.

 

Once XP is finished boot into XP to check to see if it works (if not then you might want to stop here,lol )

 

Ok so go ahead and install Ubuntu, by default Ubuntu can read NTFS partitions but writing is not 100% compatible.

 

Once Ubuntu is finished it should reboot and GRUB should have been installed as your bootloader and you should be able to boot either Ubuntu or XP (by default XP when detected will be installed to the GRUB boot menu)

 

Try a boot into Ubuntu then restart and boot into XP to make sure they work

 

***********************************************************

this is for Quad booting:

 

Ok so go ahead and install the next OS, I'm using Xandros but any other Linux or windows OS should work fine I do not suggest VISTA because I've never worked with VISTA yet.

 

Ok if you choose Xandros (or Linspire) because they are similar during install do not put a check into the write MBR option this defaults to the Xandros bootloader and you don't want that. As a side effect this does not allow us to make sure if Xandros was installed correctly but unless you received an error initially it should boot no problem when Mac is finished.

 

***********************************************************

 

Ok now we can Install the final OS. For this setup I am using JaS OS X 10.4.8 with ICH7-R patch integrated into the installer, this is need because the R60 sata controller is the Intel ICH7-M (similar to -R so works) if you do not want use the patch 10.4.6 will install without any patches need and will update to 10.4.7 but I have no luck upgrading 10.4.7 to 10.4.8

 

Ok hit enter to install MAC OS when the DVD tells you to. Once the install has completed its initial startup on the toolbar click utilities then disk utility. Once your disks are detected select the FAT32 partition you want to install OS X onto HD(0,2). Click the erase tab, from here you can rename the disk name to anything (I use OSX) or format the partition. Change the partition type from MS-DOS to HFS+ with Journaling, then click Erase. Close the disk utility and continue with the installation. Make sure you pick the proper Kext for you processor. The R60 has an Intel chip so the Intel option will be selected. Under the common supported hardware select the ICH7-R patch (do no select anything else unless you know that they 100% work) then click install.

 

Once the install is complete remove the MAC DVD and reboot, now @ this point in time the HFS+ partition will be the only drive that will boot but we are going to change that. Once you complete the MAC setup follow these steps:

 

1. Open the Terminal (go/utilities/terminal)

 

2. enter sudo -s

 

3. enter cd /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/

 

4. enter pico com.apple.boot.plist

 

5. under the <dict> section add this to bottom

 

<key>Quiet Boot</key>

 

<string>No</string>

 

<key>Timeout</key>

 

<string>x</string> *** x is whatever time you want I use 30 for 30 seconds

 

6. press ctrl + x

 

7. press y

 

8. press enter

 

9. enter exit

 

10. enter exit

 

what you just did was tell chain0 to allow you to select what partition to boot and how long till it defaults to OSX

 

Ok so now you can reboot.

 

Once the computer reboots you will get a message "Press any key to enter startup options" or something similar and it will count down from whatever you set

 

Press enter and you should see a list similar

 

HD(0,0) - NTFS Windows

 

HD(0,1) - Linux

 

HD(0,2) - <this will be the name you made your MAC partition>

 

HD(0,3) - there may be an option for this but this your SWAP and FAT32 partitions and will not boot

 

***********************************************************

 

For the Quadbooters:

 

HD(0,0) - NTFS Windows

 

HD(0,1) - Linux

 

HD(0,2) - <this will be the name you made your MAC partition>

 

HD(0,3) - Linux (this is Xandros because it is on a logical partition it appears after MAC)

 

Now you can try your Xandros install you boot Xandros, once you get into Xandros, reboot into Ubuntu continue with triple boot guide

***********************************************************

Ok now select HD(0,1) and boot Ubuntu:

 

Open the terminal and enter these commands

 

1. enter sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

 

2. enter the password you made during setup

 

this opens the GRUB boot list.

 

You want to now go the bottom of the menu.lst file and remove the XP data, you should have info similar to this (my Ubuntu is updated so Kernel might be different):

 

title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-11-generic

 

root (hd0,1)

 

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-11-generic root=/dev/sda2 ro quiet splash

 

initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-11-generic

 

quiet

 

savedefault

 

boot

 

 

title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-11-generic (recovery mode)

 

root (hd0,1)

 

kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-11-generic root=/dev/sda2 ro single

 

initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-11-generic

 

boot

 

 

title Ubuntu, memtest86+

 

root (hd0,1)

 

kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin

 

quiet

 

boot

 

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

 

This should be the bottom of the menu.lst file delete any info on XP here.

 

If you have inquiries to my boot.ini here it is:

 

[boot loader]

 

timeout=30

 

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

 

[operating systems]

 

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

 

Last but not least reboot into OS X and install your 10.4.9 JaS Intel Combo update (only if you have an Intel chip) to update to 10.4.9

 

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT.

 

Your system should now Triple or Quad boot using chain0 without problems.

 

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F.A.Q

 

***********************************************************

 

Q. I'm having problems with GRUB booting OS X what should do?

 

A. I know from personal experience and from others that GRUB and OS X on the same physical disc is a bad idea. You can try this at the bottom of your menu.lst file after the XP info (if any)

 

title OS X 10.4.8

 

root HD(0,2)

 

makeactive

 

chainloader +1 (or force+1) (or chain0 <if the chain0 file is located in the boot/grub folder>)

 

boot

 

Ok using force+1 makes no real difference than using +1, makeactive causes GRUB to only boot the selected OS so OS X would only boot even on restarts on OS X would boot

 

 

Q. Can I use XP's bootloader?

 

A. Yes, but it's not as simple boot selection as chain0 or if you got GRUB to work. You need to edit the com.apple.boot.plist to allow a longer timeout to boot chain0 (I'm not sure what a good time is so experiment). You boot.ini should read this

 

[boot loader]

 

timeout= <whatever you want>

 

default=chain0 <chain0 has to be on the root of the windows drive c:\>

 

[operating systems]

 

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

 

c:\chain0 "OS X 10.4.8"

 

Just to let you know that when you use NTLDR you get 2 options on boot Microsoft Windows XP Professional and OS X 10.4.8. When you select OS X you have to press F8 nearly @ the same time to get it to boot chain0. Once you get that over with you get the same menu as using chain0 by way of using this guide only Windows will not boot from this menu.

 

 

Q. Can I do a five way boot?

 

A. Theoretically you can have a 25 way boot but the problem with OS X is it has to be a primary partition, I suggest that it is installed last. Another issue is that you cannot boot multiple logical partitions unless the OS is installed on a partition right after your first logical partition.

 

Q. Do networking and sound work in OS x?

A. As of right now there are no drivers for the R60 so those options are not available. My suggestion is purchase a supported network card, even the I dunno if OS X will read a PCMCIA slot or not.

 

Q. You didn't select any graphics choices during the OS X install why not?

A. You need so have specific hardware in order to get a "fully" functioning OS X, if you have a Radeon x600 mobility or a Radeon x1000 then you can try those options or if you have a supported nvidia card then you can test those options.

If you have any other questions post here ( I will try to get back ASAP or PM me)

[/font]

[cbmkgd]

I found out that GRUB does not like OS X on the same physical disk

Thank you for your tutorial.

 

But I should point out that GRUB does like OSX on same physical disk, if you make it right:

 

title osx whatever you want to put here

root (hdx,y)

makeactive

chainloader +1

where x is the disk you're on (0-based) and y the partition (0-based).

Sometimes chainloader --force +1 works better; and/or rootnoverify.

That way you won't need the chain0 method and reduce the redundancy in boot menus.

 

Another tip: if you put osx on (hd0,2), you can put the swap on a logical partition, within an extended partition which could contain other logical partitions (data, etc).

[William the Conquerer]

I'm dual booting ubuntu linux and osx86 and I just can't get grub to boot os x. I've had ubuntu installed and I resized the ext3 partition to make room for os x. I then changed the type of the partition to "af" and installed os x. Unfortunately os x refuses to boot.

 

here's how my partitions are laid out:

 

Disk /dev/sda: 80.0GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End	 Size	Type	  File system  Flags
1	  32.3kB  66.3GB  66.3GB  primary   ext3			  
3	  66.3GB  76.9GB  10.6GB  primary   hfs+		 boot 
2	  76.9GB  80.0GB  3101MB  extended					
5	  76.9GB  80.0GB  3101MB  logical   linux-swap

 

and here is the important parts of grub:

# OSX86
title		   OSX86
rootnoverify	(hd0,2)
makeactive
chainloader	 +1

 

Whenever I do this I get the error:

Error 13: Invalid or unsupported executable format

from grub. I really have not been able to track anything down about this error.

 

Also, I've tried many different combinations of root/rootnoverify and trying to use the chain0 file on the DVD in the chainloader argument, which I usually get a chainloader error from. If anyone has any suggestions, I would really appreciate it.

[cbmkgd]

Did you try this:

# OSX86
title  OSX86
root (hd0,1)
makeactive
chainloader --force +1

I know it says partition #3 in your partition list, so your (hd0,2) should be correct, but it's something to try.

Get the partition list in the form hda1, hda2, etc to make sure you have the right numbering for grub's use.

 

[Another possible problem is if your partition tool didn't reorder the partition table: even if your osx partition is physically before your extended partition (2), in the partition table it is after (#3 rather than #2, as you've seen in your list). I've seen some cases where this coincided with problems... but can't be 100% sure about that (i grew weary of testing this kind of 'exotic' bugs!).

Note: this is somewhat related with the often seen problem of trying to install osx on a primary partition placed after the extended partition.]

[William the Conquerer]

yeah, I used the --force option and it didn't do anything different, or it might have given me a different error, I don't remember right now, but I have definitely tried it. And I'm sure that I'm using the right partition because I can use tab completion and it gives me a list and if I boot from root (hd0,2) it's formatted as "af" which means it's the HFS+ filesystem.... so, I'm all out of ideas and a little frustrated, but any suggestions would be appreciated.

[cbmkgd]

Well, ok, here's an idea to test if the problem is about the ordering in the partition table i mentioned above in my footnote: i see you have only the swap in the extended partition, so if you're knowledgeable enough about handling partitions under linux, you could (temporarily, as a test) put the swap on its own primary partition and then delete the extended.

(a way to do this: make enough space for a new primary for the swap, if need be; create the new primary and move the linux swap on it; delete the extended partition)

 

That way you'll have only primary partitions. Now, if grub can boot your osx, we'll know that was the problem.

(another way would have been to re-sort the partition table... if you know how, do it; but if you don't, i won't explain since the above is easier)

 

If the problem persists, at least we'll have put aside the "partition table sorting" theory (and it wouldn't have cost a lot of problems, since you could easily recreate your extended/logical swap if you like).

 

Good luck.

[keepfrosty]

Ok, with respect to using GRUB and the force+1 or the makeactive, force+1 is no different when to using +1 even tried chainloader chain0. Second if you use makeactive GRUB then defaults to the Mac partition. I found this out multiple times trying to fix this and also asked a few ppl who know their way quiet well around Linux. Either use NTLDR to boot your partitions (and boot mac requires hitting the F8 key really quickly) or use my method chain0 works no problems and will even boot windows.

 

With respect to William, I'm not using GRUB to boot my partitions if you read the what I posted I'm using chain0 so I can't help you with GRUB problems. And your error likely caused by your grub setup, mac is hd(0,2) which is correct but did you install grub onto OSx? the HFS+ partition is flagged as boot, you want your linux set as the boot partition also try adding boot to the bottom of your OSx grub statement, might want to throw the chain0 file from you OSx dvd into your /grub folder so it knows to look @ chain0 to boot the hfs+ partition.

 

To reiterate what I said in my initial post this is my partition layout"

 

HD(0,0) - NTFS windows

HD(0,1) - ETX3 linux

HD(0,2) - SWAP

HD(0,3) - HFS+ OSx

 

and all that was edited within my menu.lst file in linux was I removed windows from the list and removed the options for booting into the previous kernel (I'll post my menu.lst file so you can have a look tomorrow).

 

with regards to my com.apple.boot.plist

 

all I added to the <dict> section was:

 

<key>Quiet Boot</key>

<string>No</string>

<key>Timeout</key>

<string>x</string>

 

The boot.ini remained uneditted and strickly only boots windows

The menu.lst was altered to remove the XP option and previous kernel options

The com.apple.boot.plist was altered to allow me to select what partition I wanted to boot.

 

Like I said this is assuming XP/Ubuntu is booting fine and that your hardware works with 10.4.8 and that your fine with chain0 booting your partitions. If you want to use GRUB or NTLDR be my guest but I offer no help in only that GRUB does not play nice with OSx on the same physical disc, what cbmkgd said is all I could find on google and even the OSx 86 wiki, it either works for you or doesn't sorry. With NTLDR it's just a pain in the ass you can boot windows and you can boot chain0 thats kinda your options here, but getting to boot chain0 you need to mess with your boot.ini (I can post the required edits if you want) and you need to press F8 when selecting chain0 (Mac OSx) and u need to press it quickly then you can choose either Linux or Mac (which to me is a pain in the ass).

 

With this setup all you do is press a key when prompted for startup options and select your partition to boot (will post a screenshot of it) boots all 3 OSes just fine, when booting into linux unless you set the timeout to 0 you will be prompted with the GRUB menu.lst options until the timeout occurs

 

I'm going to edit the guide to makes things more clearer and provide screens of certain processes

[William the Conquerer]

woohoo!! it works now =). All I did was remove the swap partition and the os x partition, then recreate the os x partition, reinstall there, and make the swap again as a primary partition. Thanks for your help!

[keepfrosty]

Made an edit that goes more indepth and will hopefully help people out