I'm trying to create a bootable USB key with Linux (debian) and that can be booted on Macintel hardware. I have read that MAC's EFI can only boot GPT GUID formatted disks. I'm desperately trying to find a good tutorial which explains how to create such a key.

Here what I have done so far:. create a GUID partition on te key using Linux GNU parted. create a HFS+ or ext3 partition on the key, with the boot flag on. install a Linux.iso with unetbootin While all steps were successfull and in some cases I could even boot on a PC, the step of booting on Macintel software failed (on a macbook). I need to precise that I holded the 'alt' key while booting the mac and the only visible bootable disk was the hard disk. PS: I have tried with rEFIt as well. In one case I had a 'Windows' icon but it then failed to boot with a message like 'no system found' Edit: This is a rather old question, I haven't tried for a while, maybe today it is just a matter of running dd to copy the iso, but it did not work 5 years ago.

I'm going to try with a recent macbook and linux iso. From: It works! Can now boot Linux on an unmodified MacBook Pro (5,2) from a single USB stick (or external hard drive).

I created a small 25MB partition as the first partition, formated it as Mac OS X Journaled and installed rEFIt to it, then followed that partition with a 100 MB boot partition, and then a root partition on a thumb drive (if using an external hard drive you could create swap as well, but I don’t do that on thumb drives so they don’t get worn out). Install linux normally (debootstrap is how I do it) onto the second and third partitions.

Make sure Grub is installed to the MBR of the drive and points to the /boot partition as the second partition. Then take the USB drive to a MacBook Pro and insert it. Turn on the MBP and hold down the Alt/Option key until you see a boot menu offering Mac OS X or rEFIt. Choose rEFIt. After that you’ll be give a menu to choose OS X again or Linux. Here, choose Linux. Tada, now comes the Grub boot screen and then on into the Linux of your choice.

Congrats and enjoy Some other useful articles that contain detailed instructions:. I have found that a standard Ubuntu/Fedora and even Debian install disc, live CD or USB key will boot fine on a Mac. With a CD you may need to hold down the c key to boot. But I have no problems with USB installs. I would warn that I only have Linux installed on my MacBook now.

I installed Ubuntu with a live CD a while ago, now rocking Fedora. Once there is no more OS X, any Linux distribution will boot without much trouble. I'm not sure what happens when you boot a USB key and OS X is still on the machine though. I would recommend looking up key combinations to hold down to boot from USB – c might be enough. Here is an easier alternative and also a more modern answer.

I do the following from macOS (assuming the USB was listed as disk4): diskutil list diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ Temp disk4 diskutil unmountDisk disk4 sudo dd if=/Users/Joe/name.iso of=/dev/disk4 bs=16m && sync With that ready, then do the following to prepare your Mac system. Download, unzip it, place it in Applications. Cd /Downloads unzip refind-bin-0.11.2 cp -R refind-bin-0.11.2/ /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Applications/ You should disable SIP first (optional but recommended), so restart your Mac, holding command + R, and once in recovery, open a Terminal up and disable SIP: csrutil disable Now that SIP is disabled, you can install refind without Recovery mode. Cd /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Applications/refind-bin-0.11.2/./refind-install Insert USB drive from Step 1 above reboot (Some users report trouble, even after disabling SIP, so the refind maintainer recommends installing refind in Recovery Mode if this happens.) You will be greeted by the refind bootloader now.

At this stage, select your Debian.iso that you made in Step 1. There will be an option to pick Grub or to pick the kernel directly (since refind is also an alternative to Grub). It will boot either way, but the Debian installer has a known glitch with the track pad, so use a USB mouse while installing, or use the optional n-curses installer.

Insert a second USB drive, and follow the instructions to install the Debian OS to that second USB drive. I agree with the other answer about not using SWAP.

I would not use refit, it has been deprecated and not maintained for quite some time. Refind is a modern fork that is maintained (see link above).

Using Mac To Create A Bootable Linux Mint Dvd

'If I have a SSD and am using CCC regularly, do I need to create a bootable USB drive with the Recovery Partition on it like in years past?' If you've created a bootable clone using CCC (which also has the ability to 'clone over' the recovery partition to your backup), you have a choice: a.

Boot from the recovery partition on the cloned backup, or b. Boot from the cloned backup itself. Actually, option b would always ALWAYS be my preferred method. Questions: - have you TRIED creating a bootable backup yet? - if so, have you TRIED booting from it? Click to expand.On my old MBP, which I am still on, in the past, the CCC clones I created included the Recovery Partition. And, yes, I have booted to both the CCC Clone and the CCC Recovery Partition.

But I am asking if I need to make a bootable USB drive which consists of just the Recovery Partition. When I bought my old Mac, a friend advised me that I should make the bootable USB drive in case my HDD ever crashed or I had some catastrophic issue with my Mac. I suppose the idea was that I could plug in the USB, bot up from it, and then try to fix things. Since I also bought an external SSD with my new 13' rMBP, and since I have CCC, I am unsure if the bootable USB serves any useful purpose? Click to expand.I run El Capitan on my old MBP and it does indeed have a Recovery Partition, and CCC allows you to clone that as well as your main volume. Since it has been maybe 4 years, I honestly don't remember how I created my bootable USB on this Mac or what exactly is on it.

It almost seems to me that I created one bootable USB with the Recovery Partition on it for, then, Mountain Lion, and then I took a second USB and possibly cloned my - at the time - new MBP with Mountain Lion on it. The logic being that if all hell broke lose, I could always get my MBP back to its original condition. Wouldn't that make sense when I open up my new MBP tomorrow? Click to expand.Sorry, but I am not following all of this.

(And I have researched a little online, and things are getting more confusing.) With my current 2012 MBP which came with Mountain Lion and now has El Capitan on it, my understandingw as that you have your main, bootable volume which holds the OS and all of your eprsonal data once you add it, and then you have a hidden Recovery Partition that apparently helps you restore things should your computer ever become corrupt, right? I bought CCC and started using it maybe 6 months after I bought this Mac, and I made clones of my HDD - including the Recovery Partition - every couple of months.

While I have booted up into the Recovery partition in the past to learn how to do it, I never used it for anything like rebuilding my laptop. It is unclear to me what the Recovery Partition on my current MBP running El Capitan does exactly?

'If I have a SSD and am using CCC regularly, do I need to create a bootable USB drive with the Recovery Partition on it like in years past?' If you've created a bootable clone using CCC (which also has the ability to 'clone over' the recovery partition to your backup), you have a choice: a. Boot from the recovery partition on the cloned backup, or b. Boot from the cloned backup itself. Actually, option b would always ALWAYS be my preferred method.

Questions: - have you TRIED creating a bootable backup yet? - if so, have you TRIED booting from it?

The recovery partition provides you with a way to boot and attempt a modicum of repairs if for some reason you can't boot from the 'main' partition. I never use it - well, almost never. However, with the coming of El Capitan and Sierra, there MUST be a recovery partition available if one needs to turn off SIP (System Integrity Protection).

I believe there are a few other things it's required for. So, yes, you DO want a recovery partition around. If you create and maintain a BOOTABLE CLONED BACKUP using CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper, you will almost never NEED the recovery partition. Because you can boot from your cloned backup instead, right 'into the finder', and then have ALL your tools available. The recovery partition provides you with a way to boot and attempt a modicum of repairs if for some reason you can't boot from the 'main' partition. I never use it - well, almost never.

However, with the coming of El Capitan and Sierra, there MUST be a recovery partition available if one needs to turn off SIP (System Integrity Protection). I believe there are a few other things it's required for. So, yes, you DO want a recovery partition around.

If you create and maintain a BOOTABLE CLONED BACKUP using CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper, you will almost never NEED the recovery partition. Because you can boot from your cloned backup instead, right 'into the finder', and then have ALL your tools available. Click to expand.I feel like there is a major disconnect between what I keep asking and people's responses. Let me try yet again. In the old days, you had a CD with the os on it, so if your HDD ever died, or you had viruses galore - think PCa - then you just popped in the CD, reinstalled your os, and you had a like new machine. That option no longer exists, and what I am unsure of is what the purpose of the hidden Recovery Partition is.

From what I can tell, it allows you to boot up your Mac when you have no OS, and then apparently there is some program in it that allows it to connect to Apple's servers and download a new version of the OS which came with your Mac. Is that correct? If so, it seems like it is crucial to have a copy of the Recovery Partition on an external and separate media device, should your SSD or HDD in your Mac become unusable, right? When I did this 4 years ago, and before I had CCC, a friend told me to buy an 8GB USB drive and do whatever he told me so I could use that to rebuild my machine in case of disaster.

I dom't know what we did to my USB, but I emember he stressed that I should create one the minute I turned on my new Mac. Fast forward 4 years, and I have it in my mind that I need another one of these bootable USB drives, but I don't know what should be on it, or what it is supposed to do. It would seem to me that if I create a bootable clone of my new Mac - including the Recover Partition - and keep that drive in a safe place, that is all I would need should my new Mac become corrupt. Because I could either roll back to the latest clone, OR I could use the Recovery Partition on the backup drive to fix whatever is wrong with my new Mac. Maybe I should create a bootable USB drive like I did 4 years ago?

If the latter is true, then I could use some help understanding how to create such a bootable USB drive and understanding what it does. For example, does the bootable USB drive. Contain El Capitan?

- Contain some program that just lets me download El Capitan? - Or does it hold my entire HDD? In the old days, you had a CD with the os on it, so if your HDD ever died, or you had viruses galore - think PCa - then you just popped in the CD, reinstalled your os, and you had a like new machine. That option no longer exists, and what I am unsure of is what the purpose of the hidden Recovery Partition is. From what I can tell, it allows you to boot up your Mac when you have no OS, and then apparently there is some program in it that allows it to connect to Apple's servers and download a new version of the OS which came with your Mac.

Is that correct? Click to expand.Yes. Theres is a hidden 650MB Recovery HD volume on your drive. If you boot holding command-r it will boot to that recovery utility. From there you can use Disk Utility to erase or check the rest of the drive if you want or you can reinstall the OS. If you click to reinstall the OS, you will be asked to enter the AppleID you used to 'purchase' El Capitan (in your case). Then the 6GB or so OS will download from Apple's servers and install on your drive.

If the recovery volume is from El Capitan this will get your El Capitan. If it is Yosemite you will get Yosemite and so on. Click to expand.Kinda. It is less an issue with newer models like yours because you always have Internet recovery to fall back on. In your case, let's say you have a total drive failure. You could pop in a new drive and command-option-r to Internet recovery. This is a firmware based process that downloads that 650MB recovery utility onto a RAM disk and then allows you to format the new drive and reinstall the OS by downloading it over the Internet.

Actually Create A Bootable Linux Usb Key For Mac Pro

Internet recovery will get you the OS version that came from the factory, in your case Mountain Lion. Then once you are up and running on Mountain Lion, you could update back to El Capitan or Sierra. Fast forward 4 years, and I have it in my mind that I need another one of these bootable USB drives, but I don't know what should be on it, or what it is supposed to do. It would seem to me that if I create a bootable clone of my new Mac - including the Recover Partition - and keep that drive in a safe place, that is all I would need should my new Mac become corrupt. Because I could either roll back to the latest clone, OR I could use the Recovery Partition on the backup drive to fix whatever is wrong with my new Mac.

Click to expand.If you download the El Capitan installer right now from the App Store, then follow to make a USB key installer, it will have the recovery utility and the entire OS on the USB key and iuf you used that to install to a new, blank drive, nothing would need to be downloaded at that time. All the installer contains is the OS. Not any data or anything else from your HDD. Like I said, IMO with a newer Mac there is not much need to keep these USB installers around, particularly if you have a clone available like you do. Theres is a hidden 650MB Recovery HD volume on your drive. If you boot holding command-r it will boot to that recovery utility. From there you can use Disk Utility to erase or check the rest of the drive if you want or you can reinstall the OS.

If you click to reinstall the OS, you will be asked to enter the AppleID you used to 'purchase' El Capitan (in your case). Then the 6GB or so OS will download from Apple's servers and install on your drive. If the recovery volume is from El Capitan this will get your El Capitan. If it is Yosemite you will get Yosemite and so on.

It is less an issue with newer models like yours because you always have Internet recovery to fall back on. In your case, let's say you have a total drive failure. You could pop in a new drive and command-option-r to Internet recovery. This is a firmware based process that downloads that 650MB recovery utility onto a RAM disk and then allows you to format the new drive and reinstall the OS by downloading it over the Internet. Internet recovery will get you the OS version that came from the factory, in your case Mountain Lion. Then once you are up and running on Mountain Lion, you could update back to El Capitan or Sierra.

Click to expand.Can I use CCC to make a bootable USB drive with the Recovery Partition on it? Even though you agreed with me here, if I ever wanted to install the base El Capitan OS on a separate SSD or HDD to play around with things, then it would be better to have a clone of my virgin machine before I started adding data. For instance, I would like to play around sometime and learn more about hardening my mac and playing with command-line, and it would be nice to have a copy of my new mac - without any data on it - so I could break things and not worry about impacting my main machine. So is it possible to do that using CCC? Click to expand.I read that link last night.

Okay, this is where I was getting really confused before. Questions: 1.) How do i download the El Capitan installer? I broke down and created an Apple ID when I bought my new rMBP, but I have never used it to buy anything other than on Apple.com. I have no clue of how to use iTunes or download music or apps aor the installer, and when I tried last night I got totally confused and lost!! 2.) I thought the 'Installer' was just the same program located on the Recovery Partition that talks to Apple's servers and allows you to download whatever OS? You make it sound like the 'Installer' is actually a full copy of OS-X?? 3.) How hard would it be to create a USB installer?

(My friend did it for me 4 years ago.). You have to methods to reinstall OS X (macOS) on your Mac. The Recovery system (the hidden partition already on your drive by a standard install of the system) Booting to that system will give you option to reinstall OS X. The recovery partition does not have the full install, so downloads it when a reinstall is needed. Internet Recovery system, which is not on your Mac at all. You can try it out! Restart, holding Option-Command-R.

You will see a rotating globe icon, and not an Apple icon. Your Mac connects to Apple's servers, and you are actually booted to Apple. You can use Internet Recovery if your internal drive failed, or you have completely erased the internal drive (so the Recovery partition will not be there in that case). Disadvantage with that - you get the system that your Mac originally shipped with. The Recovery system, if available on your drive, will download and install the system that is installed, not necessarily your original system. Creating a bootable USB installer (which boots to mostly the same 'look' as booting to either Recovery system, or Internet Recovery) is easy-peasy. All you need is to download the version of OS X (macOS) that you want, then use a couple of simple terminal commands to do the creation.

Easy to find, just search. Or, even easier, the good app DiskMakerX makes the task almost drag-n-drop easy. And the completed installer looks nice, too! (I would suggest that you get a brand-new USB flash drive, that you can dedicate to an installer. 8GB sticks are sometimes less than $3 - I just bought a 4-pack for under $12 - and are the ideal size for an OS X installer.). Even though you agreed with me here, if I ever wanted to install the base El Capitan OS on a separate SSD or HDD to play around with things, then it would be better to have a clone of my virgin machine before I started adding data.

For instance, I would like to play around sometime and learn more about hardening my mac and playing with command-line, and it would be nice to have a copy of my new mac - without any data on it - so I could break things and not worry about impacting my main machine. So is it possible to do that using CCC? Okay, this is where I was getting really confused before. Questions: 1.) How do i download the El Capitan installer? I broke down and created an Apple ID when I bought my new rMBP, but I have never used it to buy anything other than on Apple.com.

I have no clue of how to use iTunes or download music or apps aor the installer, and when I tried last night I got totally confused and lost!! 2.) I thought the 'Installer' was just the same program located on the Recovery Partition that talks to Apple's servers and allows you to download whatever OS? You make it sound like the 'Installer' is actually a full copy of OS-X??

3.) How hard would it be to create a USB installer? (My friend did it for me 4 years ago.). Click to expand.

Just go to the App Store app and look in the purchases tab and it should be there. Click to download and wait.

When the download is done, the installer will launch. Quit the installer and you will see the installer file 'Install OS X El Capitan.app' in your Applications folder. Use that and the directions I linked earlier to make the USB key installer. If you follow #1 you will have the full OS on the USB key and it can install the OS without downloading anything over the Internet. Click to expand.Is there a way to have a complete copy of a newly installed OS? After thinking about this some more, I am not as worried now with my new MBP because I will have more timely clones using CCC on my external SSD. However, it would nice to have the equivalent of a 'Installation CD' on a drive for the old MBP I am typing on.

I would like to use this old MBP as a test machine to learn more about command-line, Unix, and security. So it would be great to be able to totally trash this old MBP, and now that all I have to do is insert a USB drive or hook up an external drive, and in a few minutes install a clone of the original install to have a 'new' machine, if you follow me. If I have to download an 8GB files every time I would 'break' this old machine, that would be a PITA. It also might set off alarms at Apple and they might think I was stealing something!

Texas Toast, WHY do you always make things so difficult? Why not do it the easy way, like this: 1.

Initialize your to-be backup drive. Use CCC to clone your internal drive to the backup 3. CCC will ask if you wish to clone over the recovery partition as well. Let CCC do its thing. Just do this, and you will have BOTH a clone of the internal drive AND of the recovery partition as well. You'll now have FOUR WAYS to boot the Mac: 1.

Internal main drive 2. Internal recovery partition 3. External clone of main drive 4. External recovery partition. There's NOTHING involved or complicated to doing this. It's as simple as clicking a few buttons in CCC.

WHY make it so hard? Click to expand.You mean not just the installer, but a working version of the full OS?

Sure, just command-r boot to recovery and from there erase the internal drive with Disk Utility then quit Disk Utility and click reinstall OS. When that gets done it will restart and begin the system setup process. When that happens hold down the power button to force shutdown. Now command-r back to recovery. Now start Disk Utility and go to the restore tab.

Then 'restore' Macintosh HD to a formatted external drive. That will give you a clone of a fresh OS setup with nothing else on there. Texas Toast, WHY do you always make things so difficult? Why not do it the easy way, like this: 1.

Initialize your to-be backup drive. Use CCC to clone your internal drive to the backup 3. CCC will ask if you wish to clone over the recovery partition as well.

Let CCC do its thing. Just do this, and you will have BOTH a clone of the internal drive AND of the recovery partition as well. You'll now have FOUR WAYS to boot the Mac: 1. Internal main drive 2. Internal recovery partition 3. External clone of main drive 4.

External recovery partition. There's NOTHING involved or complicated to doing this. It's as simple as clicking a few buttons in CCC. WHY make it so hard? Click to expand.Why?

Because I posted a bunch of questions a few days ago and no one responded - not that anyone here owes me anything. Then I did some more research and got more confused. Then you all started responding at the same time, and I think my questions have passed people's answers today in the mail.

Also, when I asked Bombich about this I got a lame response which left me more confused. Finally, I was hoping to do what you described above, but on a USB drive so I am not sacrificing an entire SSD or HDD for possibly wanting to reinstall things. I am sorry this turned out to be such a difficult thread - not my intention.