I'm new to this forum, but I've been a Ubuntu user since 12.04.
My problem I'm having is that I have a first generation Mac Pro that I would like to set up as a Ubuntu server to host various services for myself. It is a Mac Pro 1,1; 2x 2.66GHz Inel Xeon 5150s. I'm aware of the problems involved in booting 64-bit Ubuntu images on these machines because of the 32-bit EFI ROM on board, and I am trying to decide the best work around for my case.
I know this question has been asked before on this forum and many others, but I haven't seemed to be able to come up with a straight enough answer in my research. I've managed to boil things down to a few possible solutions:
- Following the tutorial found here: http://blog.sergem.net/how-to-install-ubuntu-14-04-on-macpro-11-efi-boot-mode/ or something similar.
- Flashing the newer 2,1 EFI firmware to my board as described in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MHptEXRyb8
- Using an image that has been modified to be bootable by my system as described here: https://mattgadient.com/2016/07/11/linux-dvd-images-and-how-to-for-32-bit-efi-macs-late-2006-models/ (such as previous images that used to be available for older versions of Ubuntu for users on similar Macintosh systems)
I've also read that it's best to avoid the Mac's BIOS emulation mode whenever possible, but I'm not sure I fully understand this or its implications.
So, all this being said, does anyone have any experience with such a thing using one or more of these methods? Any other methods I should consider?
Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!
Best Answer
This answer involves installing Ubuntu Server 14.04.5 from a DVD, then using the internet to upgrade to Ubuntu Server 16.04.3. From my understanding, your Mac is one of the early models that can not install Ubuntu from DVDs created from standard Ubuntu ISO file releases. Ubuntu used to release special ISO files for these early Mac models. The latest version releases of Ubuntu no longer contain these types of special ISO files. The last Ubuntu server special ISO file released is named
ubuntu-14.04.5-server-amd64+mac.iso
, which can be used to install Ubuntu server 14.04.5. This ISO file needs to be burned to a DVD. Once Ubuntu Server is installed from this DVD, you can immediately upgrade to Ubuntu Server 16.04.3, by issuing a single command.Below are the steps you need to follow.
ubuntu-14.04.5-server-amd64+mac.iso
file. I downloaded from this Ubuntu 14.04.5 LTS (Trusty Tahr) website.ubuntu-14.04.5-server-amd64+mac.iso
file to a DVD. I prefer to use a rewritable DVD. This type of DVD takes longer to burn, but is reusable.Create free space at the end of your internal drive for use by Ubuntu server. After doing on my Mac, the output from the command
diskutil list disk0
shows the following.The output from the command
sudo gpt -r show /dev/disk0
is shown below. This output reveals there is77482191
sectors of free space. Since a sector is512
bytes, this translates to approximately 40 GB of free space.Boot from the DVD. You have not done so already, insert the burned DVD in the optical drive and restart the Mac. Immediately, hold down the option key until the Startup Manager icons appear. Select the DVD icon labeled "Windows", then select the arrow under this icon.
(Optional) I installed using the default installation mode. If you want more installation options, you can enable the Expert mode. When you see the image shown below, you can select the Expert mode by entering the key sequence F6, space, esc, before pressing the return key.
Proceed until you reach the partitioning part of the installation. When I reached the image shown below, I chose
Guided - use the largest continuous free space
.In the next image, I chose the default
<No>
.In the image shown below, I chose the default
Finish partitioning and write changes to disk
.In the next image, I chose
<Yes>
.When the following image appears, enter
/dev/sda
, then select<Continue>
.In the next image, I chose the default
<Yes>
.When the installation is complete, boot to Ubuntu server. If you boot back to OS X, then enter the command below to set the default to BIOS booting.
Next, restart the Mac to boot to Ubuntu server.
Upgrade to Ubuntu Server 16.04.3. Start by entering the command given below.
Next, enter the command given below to display the contents of the
update-manager/release-upgrades
file.The last line of this file should appear as shown below. If not, edit the file and make the correction.
Finally, enter the command given below to upgrade to Ubuntu Server 16.04.3.
While the upgrade takes place, several prompts will appear. Below is how I answered these prompts.
When the following prompt occurred, I entered
y
followed the the return key.You may not see this next image. When I did, I chose to install GRUB in
/dev/sda
, as shown below.When an image similar to what is shown below appeared, I chose the default
keep the local version currently installed
.When the following prompt occurred, I enter
y
followed the the return key.When the following prompt occurred, I enter
y
followed the the return key.At this point, you will have finished installing Ubuntu Server 16.04.3.
FYI, if I boot back to OS X and run the
diskutil list disk0
command, I would get what is shown below. You can compare this will the output from step 3.Similarly, if I run the
sudo gpt -r show /dev/disk0
command under OS X, I would get what is shown below. Again, you can compare this will the output from step 3.Below are some references. You do not need to read these. I put them here for my use.
ReleaseNotes
How do I switch from Ubuntu desktop to Ubuntu server?
Can I convert Ubuntu Desktop 14.04 to Server?