Early 2008 Macbook Pro won't boot linux

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Sep 12, 2009
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I'm trying to dual boot osx and some linux distro (probably xubuntu or ubuntu since I'm new to linux), but I can't get my macbook pro to boot from the install disk. Using rEFIt, I boot up the computer and choose to boot from the linux cd. Then I just get a black screen with a white cursor. The disc drive spins for a bit, and then it shuts off and nothing happens. I can install and run xubuntu/ubuntu/anything-I-want in a Virtual Box machine, but I can't get my computer to boot from the media. It shouldn't matter if its' on DVD or CD should it? Has anybody else had this problem? I've googled the tar out of this problem and can't find any answers. Also, does anybody have a good guide to doing this? I've read a dozens of them, and they're all different, I don't know which one to go off.
 
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Sep 12, 2009
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Location
Upstate NY
Your Mac's Specs
15" unibody MBP, Core Duo 2.66, NIVIDEA 9400 graphics, 4GB DDR3
I haven't experimented with other OS's on the Mac yet, but I can can say from experience that it sounds like you have a graphics driver problem. It's a common thing with new graphics hardware and Linux distros. I could never install my favorite 'Nix on my desktop as long I had a Radeon video card, for example; NVIDEA was a lot more friendly.
To answer your question: which version of 'buntu are you trying to install? I know that on Hardy (8.04) and up, you should have the option of installing using the "vesa" drivers. They're very basic and will look horrible, but will get you to a point where you can do a manual hardware detection to see if there are Linux supported drivers for your graphics chipset.
If I may make a suggestion, though, 'buntu is what I have on my desktop, which is great for the most part, but what I've found works better on a laptop is PCLinuxOS (at least for my Toshiba lappy this was the case.) If you don't have any particular reason for using 'buntu I'd definitely give that a go.
Lemme know how everything goes; I've been a Linux guy for 3 years and so should be able to help.
 
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Jul 19, 2008
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Your Mac's Specs
17" early 2006 iMac 1,5GB RAM & 1TB HDD
I'm pretty sure you have the penry (my dad has one too), and I've used ubuntu (9.04) on it extensively, the one big problem is the video drivers, which makes your whole system look like crap untill you install the nvidia ones (which do exist for the penry). Check out this page: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBookPro
 

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