Running linux on my Mac book pro

[V6Pony]

I need to run linux on my mac. Need to do it as cheaply as possible as I don't have a lot of cash. Is there some way I can do this at low cost?

Thanks

 

[cwa107]

Download VirtualBox.

It's not quite as refined as VMWare or Parallels, but it works just as well. Once you've got your virtual machine up and running, boot from the ISO of the Linux distro you choose and the rest should be self-explanatory. Have fun - Linux is a great toy.

 

[V6Pony]

Thanks cwa107. I'll give it a try.

 

[V6Pony]

Have another question. Should I run 32bit or 64 bit linux? I have a Mac Book Pro with intel I-7 processor. I think this is a 64 bit machine.

 

[cwa107]

Have another question. Should I run 32bit or 64 bit linux? I have a Mac Book Pro with intel I-7 processor. I think this is a 64 bit machine.

It doesn't really matter. The only time I would bother with 64-bit is if you plan to run the VM with more than 4GB of RAM (Linux in general is not all that memory hungry - most flavors should run very comfortably in 1GB).

 

[V6Pony]

It doesn't really matter. The only time I would bother with 64-bit is if you plan to run the VM with more than 4GB of RAM (Linux in general is not all that memory hungry - most flavors should run very comfortably in 1GB).

I'm going to install Ubuntu. It recommends 32 bit so I'll go with that. This all seems to easy? I must be doing something wrong. LOL

Thanks

 

[vansmith]

Run a 32bit version - you'll only run into issues with the 64bit version. Many drivers and plugins (including Flash up until recently) require(d) compatibility layers such that 32bit drivers can/could run properly.

Trust me, to save yourself some headaches, stick with the 32bit one.

EDIT: Looks like you beat me to it. It also looks like the Ubuntu devs agree with me.

 

[V6Pony]

I'm assuming that when it say there is no operating system on the computer. It ask to erase disk and install. It is referring to a partition on the virtual disk. Not the main disk?

 

[V6Pony]

I'm assuming that when it say there is no operating system on the computer. It ask to erase disk and install. It is referring to a partition on the virtual disk. Not the main disk?

The answer is yes. It was referring to the Virtual disk. No guts no glory right? How many times has this jumped up to bite me.

 

[chscag]

Running any flavor of Linux in a virtual machine is much less apt to get you in trouble than running it dual boot. I can't even start to tell you how many folks we get questions from in our forums that have botched up their OS X partition attempting to install Linux. Ubuntu is a great choice as it's well supported, has a large community, and good forums for information.

 

[V6Pony]

Thanks to all. Have Ubuntu up and running in full screen mode. Have to say with some help and a little work was not to hard to. I'm really surprised about how well it runs speed wise. Running in a virtual environment.