Mac Pro: The QuadBoot Machine

par Gui92 - 23/10/2006

How to setup your Mac Pro to run OSX, Linux, Windows Vista and windows XP

Installing Linux
You remember that we copied the LiveCD Linux on the first partition of the volume "Others".
This was necessary due to the lack support in LiveCD for the optical drive found in the Mac Pro. After booting from the CD, the Linux kernel will be uncompressed on-the-fly, but without driver for the optical drive it will start scanning the HD and finally find LiveCD on the MBR volume "Others". Booting will then continue (this booting procedure might be specific to Gentoo, I do not know if it is true for other Linux distributions).
As already reported for Vista booting, you might experience some lag phase during LiveCD Linux booting, as usual be patient. Once in Linux environment, you can install Linux on the second partition of the volume "Others" (be careful not to overwrite existing Windows partitions). This operation is extensively described on the web, so I will not give any further details.
At the end you have to compile the kernel with the last vanilla source (2.6.19-rc1). Why this version? Because it includes an Intel driver supporting the optical drive sitting in the Mac Pro.
To help you, hereafter is my kernel configuration file .
Last but not least, when working on the LiveCD environment, the USB port on my keyboard was not powered nor connected from time to time; simply be patient ; or reboot.
Installing Linux Bootloader
Before quitting the LiveCD environment, you will have to setup the bootloard.
Be patient, it is the last step.
I have chose GRUB, so you must install it. Once it is done, go the directory /boot in your Linux partition, and edit the file grub.conf to boot Linux from the partition (hd0,1) and Windows from the partition (hd0,2).
Hereafter is my grub.conf file .
Warning, when running LiveCD or later on Linux, your HD will probably not get any id, even though it will be hd0 for GRUB, it is required to mention hd0 in the config file.
Once your config file completed, you will have to install GRUB on the MBP volume "Others", and things will start to be a bit more complicated as the HD does not get labeled hd0 anymore; so we will have to determine the right id.
I have been using the command "root" in GRUB till the type of partition (reiserfs) will correspond to my Linux partition (hd3 in my case), then on can install GRUB on the MBR volume:
$grub > root (hd3,1) $grub > setup (hd3)
As you might notice, the second partition of the volume "Others" (Linux root) is labeled as id1 in GRUB because it starts counting from 0. So do not make mistake here!
Once GRUB installed, switch off the Mac Pro, install back all the HDs you might have removed before performing the preparation of the volume "Others", then reboot from Windows partition:

Conclusion
If everything went fine, the EFI should allow you boot from the volume "OSX", or from any other HD labeled Windows.
Once Windows selected, GRUC should ne launched. Then in GRUB, you can choose either Linux or Windows. Once Windows selected, Vista bootloader should allow you to select either Vista or XP.
That's it, it is done!
This video illustrate the transition from Linux to Vista , then Mac OSX, with the usual lag phase when booting and shunting down Vista.
Once it is done, you can recycle the first partition of the volume "Others" into a swap partition for Linux; or format it in FAT32 to create a "share" volume that we be recognized by all OS. I personally prefer a USB drive.

[translation by Linathael]