Its interface looks horrid, but it works. For this you will need a software utility called rEFInd. This presumes that you want to be able to boot your Mac in either Mac OS or Ubuntu, and to be able to switch between them.

Step 2 – Install rEFInd to allow dual booting Simply copy and paste the relevant commands into Terminal. Note that step 3 is not very well described – you will end up with a file called “” that you will need to rename “ubuntu.img” by just renaming the file in the Mac OS finder. This is simple – follow the instructions here. Step 1 – Make a Ubuntu bootable USB stick while running Mac OS Second, the solution to more or less any Ubuntu on a Mac problem can be found by Googling around (probably the way you found this blog entry!) Third, you’re going to need an empty USB stick (at least 2Gb capacity) to make this work. Command line is needed very seldom once Ubuntu is running, but is required for the setup. It is a matter of copying and pasting the right commands – there is rather little need to fully understand what is going on.

First there is no way to do this without using the command line – accessible through the Terminal app in both Mac OS and Ubuntu. So here’s the guide as to how to get Ubuntu up and running.įirst, third prerequisities. The Mac is now on its last legs, and Mac OS does not run very swiftly on it – my aim is to run Ubuntu on it, and use it as a computer for watching TV and DVDs, and for web browsing for guests. I’ve been experimenting with running Linux on Macs for some time and – for a variety of reasons – needed to make a clean install of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS on my early 2008 24″ iMac.

Download ubuntu 14.04 drivers