Re: [gentoo-user] Mac Mini with Grub booting Mac OSX and Windows?!

[Tamer Higazi]

Okay, I meanwhile got that even the most new Mac Mini Servers make use
of the earliest implementations of EFI that Windows doesn't understand.
The only way to get Windows booted propperly is in BIOS emulation mode,
but that Partitions wouldn't be recognized (according it's emulation).....


Questions:


Am 30.05.2013 10:04, schrieb Andrea Conti:

> No. :)

Please tell me the order which way I have to install the OS's (having 2
x 1TB Disks available). Is there a way for me to get
OSX, Win and Gentoo on 1 disk ?!


> While Intel Macs are EFI platforms, they have an early and quirky
> implementation that cannot properly boot Windows in EFI mode, so you're
> stuck with booting in BIOS emulation mode,

Do I have to activate the emulation mode somewhere?!


 which in turn means that
> Windows will not use the GPT table. This is a really stupid Windows
> limitation, but we can't do anything about it.

hmmmmm....

>
> The Linux kernel can use GPT with no restrictions, however booting is
> another story.
> Booting directly from GPT requires a GPT-aware bootloader such as GRUB

Intel Mac's are EFI Platforms that cannot boot Windows and that we would
have to deal with BIOS Emulation that wouldn't make us of the GPT Table.

fine, and wonderfull....

Now I have Grub2 with GPT support available, we can boot Gentoo and OsX
but what about Windows which runs in BIOS emulation mode, and won't make
use of the GPT table....



> 2. Alternatively you can use GRUB legacy,


Now how do we mix with GRUB Legacy?!
after there is Mac OSX installed.

as I red about GUID (GPT) appears in the system as a full reserved MBR
entry. How do you plan to make after installing OSX one other MBR record
with Grub legacy without breaking afterwards the GUID partition entry?!


but you need an entry in the
> MBR for the boot partition. The root partition (and any other
> partitions) need not appear in the MBR, as they are mounted by the kernel.
>
> OSX uses GPT natively and does not need MBR entries for its
> partition(s). The only exception is if you want read-only access to an
> HFS+ partition in Windows through the driver provided by BootCamp; in
> that case you need to ensure that the first entry in the hybrid MBR
> covers the HFS+ partition you want to access.

I don't need access from Windows to read a HFS+ partition. I would
propably make myself a small ext3/4 partition (or if possible making use
of the 2nd disk as ext4 and that would it be), that would be the entry
point for the OS's to access the FS, and I believe that OSX system has
the ability to mount ext3 types.... Or no drivers from the opensource
world available ?!



>
> andrea
>
>


Thanks for your time Andrea!

I know, you must really hate me right now, but I want to jump in the Mac
world, but without loosing Windows and Gentoo :(

If you say, that it is shitt difficult and it's better for me to keep
the fingers away of it, then I do what you want from me.

If you tell me, it is it worth, then I would kindly thank you providing
me as much infos as possible, because in max 2 weeks my new mac server
(max built) would be there to be misused by my keyboard fingers.


Tamer