GeekLimit

I’ve just verified that this procedure works.  It was created through the combination of a few threads out there on the topic that were missing pieces of the puzzle in one way or another.

This procedure will set up your Macbook Pro in such a way that a menu will appear on boot that will require the selection of Mac OS (tested with 10.5.3), Windows (tested with Vista 64-bit), or Linux (tested with Ubuntu 8.04 64-bit – Alternate Install CD). This procedure assumes that you want the drive divided evenly between all operating systems, and can take up to 5 hours to complete, not including burning OS install disks. Most of this time will be spent waiting for progress bars, and the laptop will be unusable for work.  (So you can plan accordingly)

Install Mac OS X

(Assumes Mac OS X 10.5.3)

1. Back up all documents, including Notes files, browser bookmarks, etc. to the network or USB thumbdrive.
2. Install OS X to the Macbook Pro, using the entire hard drive.
3. Use the Boot Camp Assistant to partition the drive.
   1. Start the Boot Camp Assistant, located at /Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant
   2. The “Windows” partition shown will eventually become both the Windows and Linux partitions. Therefore, if you wish for the drive to be divided equally across all operating systems, slide the divider until the Windows partition takes up two-thirds of the disk.
   3. Click ‘Partition’ and wait for the process to complete.
   4. When the partitioning process completes, click ‘Quit and Install Later’. Do not use the Bootcamp installer.

Install Windows

(Assumes Windows Vista 64-bit)

1. Insert the Windows install CD or DVD and reboot the machine. Hold down the ‘c’ key to boot from the CD. (note: at this time, the Windows XP 64-bit install DVD does not recognize the keyboard or USB keyboards when booting from DVD)
2. Once the Windows installer loads, proceed as normal through the installation. When asked where to install Windows, select the partition that is approximately two-thirds of the disk. In testing, this was ‘Disk 0 Partition 3 BOOTCAMP 126.1GB’.
3. Highlight the partition and click ‘Drive Options (advanced)’.
4. Click ‘Format’ and ‘OK’.
5. Now that the drive is formatted, click ‘Next’. Windows will install.
   1. During the Windows install process, the machine may reboot on its own several times.
   2. Windows is rebooting and expecting to boot back into the installation process. You need to help it do so by holding down the ‘Option (Alt)’ key when the machine reboots, and manually selecting the ‘Windows’ hard drive. (not the ‘Windows’ CD)
   3. If you miss the chance to reboot into the Windows install process, the machine will boot into OS X. Just reboot the machine, hold down the option key, select the ‘Windows’ hard drive (not the CD) and continue from there.
6. Once installation is complete, the machine will boot into Vista and have the user complete the setup procedure.
7. Eject the CD from within Vista by clicking the drive once in ‘Computer’ and selecting ‘Eject’ on the title bar. Vista now needs drivers for the Macbook Pro hardware.
   1. If you want to be able to have greater control over the fans in the Macbook Pro cooling system, you need to install the ‘inputremapper’ application (tested version 1.0.04) first. This is recommended, as the Macbook Pro can run quite hot at times, dependent on the ambient air temperature.
      1. Download and install inputremapper. You will need to use a USB key, as the networking drivers for the Macbook Pro have not yet been installed.
      2. Reboot the machine, holding down the ‘option’ key and choosing the Windows drive.
   2. Install the Windows drivers for the Macbook pro hardware by inserting the ‘Macbook Pro Install CD 1′ in the drive. If the Bootcamp Drivers application doesn’t start automatically, double-click on the CD in ‘Computer’ and run WindowsSupport/setup.exe.
   3. Once the drivers are installed, eject the CD and reboot the machine into the Mac OS partition.

Install rEFIt

1. Boot into the Mac OS partition and install rEFIt. This is our boot menu application.
   1. Download and install rEFIt (tested version 0.11)
2. To set rEFIt to always be the boot menu, open a terminal window and give the command:

   /efi/refit/enable-always.sh

3. rEFIt has a default timeout of 20 seconds, then will boot into OS X. If you would like to disable the timeout:
   1. Open /efi/refit/refit.conf in Text Editor
   2. Change ‘timeout 20′ to ‘timeout 0′.
   3. Save and close.

Install Linux

1. Enter the Linux install CD (tested Ubuntu Linux 8.04 Desktop 64-bit Alternate Install) and reboot the machine. Hold down the ‘c’ key to boot from the CD. You might need to use an external USB keyboard, as sometimes the Linux install CD doesn’t recognize the built-in keyboard correctly.
2. Install as usual, until you get to the partitioning section.
   1. When Linux installs, it will corrupt the portion of the Master Boot Record on the current Windows partition. In order for Windows to be usable, the MBR installed on this partition must be backed up.
   2. When the installation procedure asks about partitioning disks, exit to a command line and make a backup of the MBR of the Windows partition.
      1. In Ubuntu, this is done by pressing Alt-F2 to get a command line.
      2. Enter

         dd if=/dev/sda of=/tmp/sda.mbr bs=512 count=1

         and hit the ‘Enter’ key.

      3. Press Alt-F1 to return to the Ubuntu installation.
   3. Choose the ‘Guided – Resize…’ option. (in testing, this was ‘Guided – Resize SCSI3 (0,0,0), partition #3 (sda) and use freed s’)
   4. Make the Linux partition 50% of the resized space (one-third of the overall drive, if the Windows partition was two-thirds…)
   5. Continue the installation process.
   6. After the base Linux OS files are installed, but before installing a Linux bootloader, the MBR must be restored from the backup that was created earlier.
      1. In Ubuntu, this is done by pressing Alt-F2 to get a command line.
      2. Enter

         dd if=/tmp/sda.mbr of=/dev/sda

         and hit the ‘Enter’ key.

      3. Press Alt-F1 to return to the Ubuntu installation.
3. Continue the installation process until reaching the bootloader installation screen. (in testing, this was the ‘GRUB installation’ page.)
   1. In Ubuntu, do not install GRUB to the MBR. Windows needs the MBR as it is.
   2. When asked where to install GRUB, choose the Linux installation partition (not the swap). In testing, this was /dev/sda4. (Note that this partition is one greater than the partition specified on the ‘Guided – Resize…’ line of the ‘Partition disks’ screen.
4. When the installation is complete, eject the CD (if it is not done for you) and reboot the machine.

Update rEFIt

At this point, rEFIt will see all three operating systems and can load Mac OS and Windows, but needs to have its own partition records updated to be able to properly allow Linux to load.

1. Once the machine is rebooted and on the rEFIt screen, press the arrow keys until you reach the ‘Partitioning Tool’ icon. Press the ‘Enter’ key.
2. When it asks “May I update the MBR as printed above?” press the ‘y’ key. rEFIt’s partiton records will update.
3. You should now be able to boot into any Operating System.

Notes and Observations

General

• To disable the Apple ‘bong’ noise when the machine starts, install and configure StartupSound.prefPane.

Windows

• Windows will check (CHKDSK) its partition the first time it boots. It notices the difference in partition size. This is fine, let it check it. Windows still loads afterwards.
• The right-click behavior in Mac OS (Control-click) can be replicated in Windows by using inputremapper.

Linux

• To reduce the amount of time the GRUB menu appears when booting Linux (tested Ubuntu), edit the file /boot/grub/menu.lst where it says ‘timeout 10′ to say ‘timeout 3′ or whatever your preference is.
• To replicate the right-click (and middle-click) functionality in Mac OS by using Control-click,
  • Go to System > Preferences > Keyboard > Accessibility tab > General – and enable “Allow to turn accessibility features on and off from the keyboard”
  • Go to System > Preferences > Keyboard > Mouse Keys tab > and enable “Allow to control the pointer using the keyboard”
  • From the terminal, type

    gedit ~/.xmodmap

  • Type:

keycode 116 = Pointer_Button3

keycode 108 = ISO_Level3_Shift

• • Save and close the file.
  • Go to System > Preferences > Sessions and click ‘Add’.
    • Name: xmodmap
    • Command: xmodmap /home/fuz2y/.xmodmap
    • Comment: Add middle- and right-click functionality
    • Click ‘OK’.
  • Restart X to use the changes (Ctrl-Alt-Backspace).

The GRUB bootloader sometimes doesn’t survive imaging with Symantec Ghost.

After applying an image of Ubuntu Linux to a target machine, GRUB may need to be repaired before the machine will boot properly. To repair GRUB, do the following:

1. Load the Live CD, boot from it until you reach the desktop.
2. Open a terminal window.
3. Type “sudo grub”
4. Type “root (hd0,0)”, or whatever your harddisk + boot partition numbers are.
5. You can easily look up the boot partition for the version of Ubuntu on the hard drive by browsing to the hard disk from the LiveCD desktop.
6. Open /boot/grub/menu.lst in a text editor.Scroll to the bottom and look up which partition the menu choice for Ubuntu points to. (hd0,0 by default)
7. Type “setup (hd0)”, or whatever your harddisk number is.
8. Quit grub by typing “quit”.
9. Reboot the machine.

(tested with 64-bit Ubuntu Linux 8.04)

The “‘Lobster Eye’ X-ray focusing optics” device is a hand-held optical device able to see through walls, even shipping containers.  Their target market is law enforcement.  Great.  I love how they list “contraband hidden behind walls” as a use for this device.

“Anything behind walls” sounds too invasive…

Physicists at the Bhavnagar University in Gujarat, India, have discovered a way to trap, store, and release laser light in a fluid on command.  The fluid operates at room temperature, and is controlled with magnetic fields.

[The scientists] coated micron-size magnetite spheres with oleic acid and dispersed them through a ferrofluid, which is a suspension of much smaller magnetic nanoparticles (in this case held in kerosene). When an external magnetic field was applied to the fluid, which was held in a glass cell, laser light passing through the medium was trapped inside. Photons escaped when the field was switched off.

Could this be a solution for an optical storage medium, to complement an optical processor?

“SCiB” touted to be safer than today’s Lithium Ion, lasts 10 years, charges in minutes (@ up to 50 amps).

1/3 pound (150 gram) cell is
- the size of a mobile phone
- provides 4.2 aH @ 2.4 volts. (devices)

4.4 pound (2 kg) cell is
- the size of a small paperback novel
- provides 42 aH @ 24 volts. (vehicles)

If they are able to deliver in mass production at a profit, this could be a major new development in both transportation and electronic devices.

Toshiba Press Release

  After I upgraded my dual-boot laptop’s Ubuntu from 7.04 to 7.10, I’ve noticed that the upgrade overwrote my GRUB settings, so when I boot my machine, I no longer have a choice for booting into WinXP. I know the partition is still there, because Ubuntu 7.10 comes with NTFS read/write capability, and automatically shows a ‘Windows XP’ drive in my devices.

So how do I restore my pretty GRUB menu, and give myself the option to boot into either WinXP or Ubuntu 7.10? Every once in a while, I have to write an install script for a Windows app, so I do need to set this up…

First of all, let’s have a look at the grub menu file. I click on ‘Places’ in my menu, and go to:

Filesystem/boot/grub/menu.lst

I see the file that gives me my menu when I boot! Now there are a lot of helpful comments here, but if I strip the comments out, I essentially see these basic options:

default 2
timeout 5
color cyan/blue white/blue
### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=d403f712-7e72-4bc4-af12-0549fbc1624f ro

## Setup crashdump menu entries
## e.g. crashdump=1
# crashdump=0

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd0,2)

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=d403f712-7e72-4bc4-af12-0549fbc1624f ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=d403f712-7e72-4bc4-af12-0549fbc1624f ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.20-15-generic
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.20-15-generic root=UUID=d403f712-7e72-4bc4-af12-0549fbc1624f ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.20-15-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.20-15-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.20-15-generic root=UUID=d403f712-7e72-4bc4-af12-0549fbc1624f ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.20-15-generic

title Ubuntu 7.10, memtest86+
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

Now that your eyes are glazed over, the important parts are at the top and the bottom. On the bottom of this list, we see the 5 entries that I’m seeing now when my machine boots.

On the top of the list, ‘Default’ says which of the 5 entries will be selected automatically. The entries are always numbered 0, 1, 2, 3, 4… etc. It starts with zero. So the defualt of 2 means that the third choice will be my default. I know, confusing, but that’s how it is.

So no entry here for Windows XP! You can see that the entries have a fairly standard layout though, so let’s put it back in. the grub file already has a helpful guide listed:

# examples
#
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
#
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro

You can look up more info on GRUB works here, but what I’m most interested in is the ‘root (hd0,0)’ line. What this line says is that the root of whatever entry I’m doing is located on (drivenumber/partition). Since I only have one hard drive, I know my entry has to be something like this:

title Windows XP Professional SP2

root (myharddrive,somenumber)

makeactive

chainloader +1

(That last entry lets GRUB pass off the boot process to Windows’ native booter.)

So if I want to list all the partitions on my hard drive, I can give the console a: sudo fdisk -l

And I get this:

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 3823 30708216 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 3824 4119 2377620 f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
/dev/sda3 4120 4864 5984212+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda5 3824 4078 2048256 b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda6 4079 4119 329301 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Well this makes sense… I have my first partition as NTFS, that’s Windows XP. I can see I have a few other partitions, mainly a 2GB FAT32 partition that I use as a play area, and my Linux partitions. I only have one hard drive, so my ‘root’ listing has to be (hd0,xxx). Since I want the first partition, I’ll make it root (hd0,0)

So my entry will be:

title Windows XP Professional SP2

root (hd0,0)

makeactive

chainloader +1

I’ll add that entry in, as well as partition out some of the other entries I don’t use. I’ll also name the Ubuntu menu choice something nicer than ‘Ubuntu 7.10, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic’. Now my choices read:

title        Please choose an Operating System
makeactive

title        ———————————
makeactive

title        Windows XP Professional SP2
root        (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader     +1

title        Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon
root        (hd0,2)
kernel        /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=d403f712-7e72-4bc4-af12-0549fbc1624f ro quiet splash
initrd        /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic
quiet

Now one very important thing: my default is still set to ‘2′, which means the title = 0, dotted line = 1, WinXP = 2, and Ubuntu = 3.  I changed my default to 3, so Ubuntu automatically boots up.  You might want to have WinXP boot, it’s your choice, just get the number right.
Also, if you want a shorter boot time, you can change ‘timeout’ to 5 like me, or leave it on 15 seconds or whatever grub’s default time is.

…and that’s it!  When I boot my machine, I get a nice, clean menu that looks like this (except the dotted line is exactly the same width as the ‘Please choose…’ line:

Please choose an Operating System
———————————
Windows XP Professional SP2
Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon

Ubuntu is selected by default, and if I don’t do anything for five seconds, Ubuntu boots.

I switched to Ubuntu about 8 months ago or so, and really started using it full-time about 6 months ago. As the sole IT person for an organization of 1200 users, 420+ WinXP machines, and three server centers, I can easily say that administrating everything out of 7.04 has been a breeze. I’ve been reading up on 7.10, and can say that Ubuntu is easily rivalling Windows and OSX in terms of average-user functionality.

Whoa, whoa! I said average-user. Yes, I still have a WinXP gaming machine at my house for Team Fortress 2, Portal and Battlefield 2. However, reports are already coming out that Steam (Portal and Team Fortress 2) successfully runs under WINE. With the eye candy like Compiz Fusion, 7.10 now looks as good, or better than, Windows Vista, with a fraction of the overhead. What will be interesting to see is the gaming performance on 7.10 under WINE vs. on Vista with its inherent resource demands.

The features I see as the most valuable happen to be the most boring, but they’re:

• Ease of use in finding drivers for your hardware
• One-click server setup for common sevrer roles like File/Print servers, DNS, Web server, etc.
• NTFS support, which will GREATLY help introduce 7.10 machines to Windows-based networks.

All in all, you can try out 7.10 without having to erase anythimg. Simple burn a CD, but it in the drive, and restart your machine. You can check it out before you take the plunge. Perhaps the next time you’re going to consider re-installing Windows 2000 on that old machine you’ll consider 7.10, or when you’re re-installing WinXP, go for a dual-boot setup. or maybe even just go for it and order an Ubuntu machine direct from Dell!

Check this link out for a tour of the full features of 7.10:

So this Saturday I have to have my final capstone presentation done to get my Master’s Degree in Info. Sys. Mgmt. The Saturday after that the 50-80 page paper is due. I’m going a bit nutty getting it all done. I took a StumbleUpon break and came across this… video? Let me know what you think. I like it!

This is great – for those of you who have had the life-changing experience of owning a TiVo, things just got a lot better. TiVo has added bolean search to their wishlist management.

What this means is that while in the past, you were stuck choosing either to record:

• Any show named ‘Mythbusters’, or
• Any showing that listed ‘Adam Savage’, or
• Any showing that listed ‘Jaime Hyneman’, or
• Any showing on channel 48 at 9pm…
• (etc)

You can now use AND, OR or XOR…which TiVo calls ‘This and that’, ‘This or that’, and ‘This but not that’. So if you’re a big fan of the Mythbusters, and want to see where they pop up elsewhere other than on the show, you can record Mythbusters Wednesday nights, but you can also make a WishList to record shows where the title has the keywords ‘Jaime Hyneman’ AND ‘Adam Savage’.

Other uses for this might be if you’re a NASCAR fan and want just the races. You could choose keyword = ‘NASCAR’ AND category = ‘Auto Racing’. That way, you get the races and none of the NASCAR talk shows.

Or maybe you want all showings where title = ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ and keyword = ‘Andy Richter’, and nostalgicize about the old days.

A few notes, however: (TiVo this is your homework)

1. I could add multiple items, but had no way to select ‘AND’ or ‘OR’. It just shows a dot between the keywords, so I’m at a loss as to what that means. No idea where I can choose the ‘This but not that’. I have a pretty non-standard TiVo unit (Toshiba TiVo/DVD player), but that seems like a major voyage of the failboat on TiVo’s fault. Too difficult to have a lab with all the models in it to test feature rollouts?
2. TiVo’s database is terrible. It seems that I can only choose from actor’s names that will be on shows in the next few weeks. How hard could it be to give imdb.com a ring and work out a linkup? For example, I put in ‘Carolla’, and no listing for Adam. So no luck for people who want to catch Adam on any rare rerun of the Man Show? I realize his other shows aren’t in the rotation these days, but at least give people the capability to toss that net out there just on the offchance that they’re reshown at 3am some day.

OK, so most IT people I know would rather visit a dentist every day than have to deal with Windows-related issues. There was a time when you could always go to Mac – but am I alone in feeling like the Mac vs. PC commercials are bad for the Macs? I was seriously considering one, but now feel like I don’t want to sign on for fear that I’ll be cast into the iSmug crowd.

There has to be a better way to present the differences between PC and MAc, and I think I’ve found it. So here it is, the barebones facts of Mac vs. PC…presented in awesome 80’s rap-style. Nice.