<div>Jake, </div><div><br></div><div>Maybe this helps... </div><div><br></div><div>Here's the boot order:</div><div><br></div><div>1. EFI-native/rEFIt/etc:</div><div><br></div><div>The native/similar bootloader on the Mac checks for supported devices to boot...</div>
Your media must be formatted with a GUID partition table (GPT) to boot on the Mac. If it is, it will probably show up on this screen. If it isn't, it probably won't. (that goes for both rEFIt or the native hold-down-C-when-booting menu)<div>
<br></div><div>Yours is probably good in the GPT department since you could select it before getting errors.<div><br></div><div>Once a boot device has been selected at that stage, the computer proceeds to the device for further boot instructions...<br>
<div><div><br></div><div>2. Boot loader on the media. </div><div><br></div><div>Usually included with Linux distros. It looks like you've got a lilo (linux loader) variant called elilo, for systems with EFI. Grub is an alternative with the same function. These boot loaders require configuration files that list locations and options for the available operating system kernels to boot. From the vague description of errors, it sounds like you might want to have a look at that file, and make sure it lists the appropriate location to boot the kernel from. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Specifically, probably a line like "image=..." or "root=/dev/sdxx" in elilo.conf has the wrong kernel image or device location listed. </div><div><br></div><div>If you have some error like "elilo.conf not found", and yet it's obviously there, then you might have a filesystem access issue instead.</div>
<div><br></div><div>If it's any consolation, I had similar (and worse) hair-pulling boot issues getting Ubuntu to install on my MacBook Pro, despite my decade of professional linux systems experience. I eventually got it installed, and when it reared the same problems again randomly at a random later time... I decided to get a ThinkPad.</div>
<div><br></div><div>This[1] is a pretty good resource for elilo, though even that author acknowledges mysterious problems with getting his Mac to boot.</div><div><br></div><div>- Brink.</div><div><br></div><div>[0] <a href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343">http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343</a></div>
<div>[1] <a href="http://www.rodsbooks.com/efi-bootloaders/elilo.html">http://www.rodsbooks.com/efi-bootloaders/elilo.html</a></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 3:31 AM, Taylor Alexander <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tlalexander@gmail.com" target="_blank">tlalexander@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">I'm not sure if this helps, but I do know you get a different boot menu (before rEFIit) if you hold down the option key (at least with current macs, no idea on older ones). Have you tried booting from that menu instead of rEFIit? I'm not sure how that deals with USB sticks though.<div class="HOEnZb">
<div class="h5"><div class="gmail_extra">
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Nov 19, 2012 at 6:11 PM, miloh <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:froggytoad@gmail.com" target="_blank">froggytoad@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<p>Oh jake, duh I forgot when helping you that I have a usb optical drive ill pick it up and bring it to you at chm tonight.</p><div><div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Nov 19, 2012 5:44 PM, "Jake" <<a href="mailto:jake@spaz.org" target="_blank">jake@spaz.org</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
I have been trying for days to get my black macbook 2.1 (whatever that means) to boot linux from a USB stick. My preferred installation is Linux Mint Cinnamon and i have a Core 2 Duo CPU so i have been trying to do 64-bit installation.<br>
<br>
It hasn't worked. My computer has rEFIt already installed on it so it totally recognizes USB sticks when it boots, but if i choose them it fails with various messages. The farthest i got had something to do with /boot/efi/elilo.efi and elilo.conf but i couldn't figure out what to put in elilo.conf and it shouldn't be this hard anyway should it?<br>
<br>
i don't have an internal optical disc right now but i tried a stock linux boot DVD in an external (firewire) drive and the same thing happened as with the USB stick - rEFIt sees it but if i choose that volume to boot from, it errors out with some crap.<br>
<br>
If you have any experience with this process please let me know. I'm trying to re-up my computer getting nowhere.<br>
<br>
-jake<br>
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