Linux is incredibly versatile (it’s used to run everything from smartphones to supercomputers), and you can install it on your MacBook Pro, iMac, or even your Mac mini.Īpple adding Boot Camp to macOS made it easy for people to dual boot Windows, but installing Linux is another matter entirely. Optionally with a Grub2 Boot Menu to Loopback Boot from the Ubuntu ISO copied to your USB.Whether you need a customizable operating system or a better environment for software development, you can get it by dual booting Linux on your Mac. If all goes well, you should now be booting into your Grub2 prepared USB Flash Drive. cd /mnt/USB/boot/grubĢ.) Next, to download an grub2 loopback configuration file, type wget /downloads/grub.cfgģ.) Then, to navigate back to the root of the USB, type cd /mnt/USBĤ.) Now to download the Ubuntu.iso, type wget "" -O ubuntu.isoĥ.) Reboot your PC, setting your BIOS or Boot Menu to boot from the USB device. And finally, reboot to test functionality.ġ.) First, type the following to change to the grub directory on your USB. Then you download an ubuntu.iso onto your USB drive. In these steps, you will add a simple example configuration file to your USB that enables you to directly boot from an Ubuntu ISO file using the loopback feature. The next steps are optional, but will compliment your efforts. Then install i386-pc, grub-install -d $PWD -force -no-floppy -target=i386-pc -boot-directory=/mnt/USB/boot /dev/sdx Loopback Boot an Ubuntu ISO from your Grub2 USB (Optional) Then install i386-efi, grub-install -d $PWD -force -removable -no-floppy -target=i386-efi -boot-directory=/mnt/USB/boot -efi-directory=/mnt/USBĪ.
Then install x86_64-efi, grub-install -d $PWD -force -removable -no-floppy -target=x86_64-efi -boot-directory=/mnt/USB/boot -efi-directory=/mnt/USBĢ.) Then to install Grub2 32 bit UEFI i386-efi,Ī.
In addition we’ll include the -force option to allow buggy BIOS systems to detect the USB as a Hard Disk.ġ.) To install Grub2 64 bit UEFI x86_64-efi,Ī. When using this, you must also specify -boot-directory and -efi-directory. This next section covers the Grub2 installation of all three architectures (64bit UEFI, 32bit UEFI, BIOS) to your USB flash drive.Īccording to the Grub manual, removable installs require the -removable option (with the exception of i386-pc). mount /dev/sdx1 /mnt/USB Grub2 USB Flash Drive Installation To do this, type the following (replacing x with your actual USB device). To do this type, fdisk -lĢ.) Note which device belongs to your USB.ģ.) Now, to make a directory to be used for the mount point type, mkdir /mnt/USBĤ.) Then you’ll need to mount your USB device, so that you can install Grub2 on it.
configure -target=i386 -with-platform=pc -disable-nls & make Locating and mounting your USB Deviceīefore going any further, you’ll need to find your USB device and then mount it.ġ.) First, you’ll need to find out which dev is your USB. Then to configure and make for BIOS systems. configure -target=i386 -with-platform=efi & makeĤ.) Finally to configure and build for Grub2 BIOSĪ. Then to configure and make Grub2 for 32bit UEFI. configure -target=x86_64 -with-platform=efi & makeģ.) Now to configure and then make for Grub2 32 bit UEFI,Ī. Then to configure and make Grub2 for 64Bit UEFI. First change to the EFI64 directory, cd EFI64ī.
To accomplish this, we will create separate containers for each build.ġ.) First create a separate working container for each platform, mkdir EFI64 EFI32 BIOSĢ.) Next to configure and then build for Grub2 64bit UEFI,Ī. In order to support BIOS or UEFI booting from both 32 and 64 bit platforms, Grub2 must be compiled for each architecture. bootstrap Compiling Grub2 for BIOS and UEFI support on 32/64bit platforms
Now change to the grub directory, cd grubĬ. To get the latest Grub2 source code, git clone git:///grub.gitī.
sudo suĢ.) Optional Step: To update before proceeding, type apt update & apt upgradeģ.) To install the required packages, apt install git bison libopts25 libselinux1-dev m4 help2man libopts25-dev flex libfont-freetype-perl automake make autotools-dev autopoint libfreetype6-dev texinfo python autogen autoconf libtool libfuse3-3 unifont gettext binutils pkg-config liblzma5 libdevmapper-devĪ.
How to use Linux to Install Grub2 on USB Get the latest Grub2 Source Code and Bootstrap itįirst we need to install required packages, grab the latest Grub2 source code from the repository, and then bootstrap it.ġ.) To gain admin (root) access, open a terminal ctrl+alt+t, then type the following and press Enter. Once running from your desktop, insert your Flash Drive. Be aware you will be overwriting any existing bootloader and grub.cfg.īefore proceeding, boot into your Linux desktop (Ubuntu was used here). Warning: This Guide assumes you are starting with a Fat32 formatted USB.