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I have tried to install XUbuntu, Lubuntu or Kubuntu on a MacBook Pro 2007 but failed. Indeed, it cannot boot from bootable USB stick or a live bootable DVD. the machine is: MacBook Pro - processor 2.16Ghz Intel core2 Duo with almost 4GB RAM.

So I have tried to boot from a USB stick and a livd DVD, but:

  • Bootable USB does not show up on Mac EFI boot nor on rEFInd as a bootable device. Details - USB stick is recognized, selecting it drives to this message:

Starting Legacy Loader Using load options USB The firmware refused to boot from the selected volume. Note that external hard drives are not well-supported by Apple's firmware for legacy OS booting.

  • bootable DVD appears on both Mac EFI boot and `rEFInd, but it is not recognized as a bootable device, while the macbook burned the iso on DVD! Details - selecting DVD, I get the following message:

Select CD-ROM Boot Type:

(Note that USB stick works on other computer, DVD too.)

Summary: I cannot boot [LBX]ubuntu from an external device.

Is there an alternative? I was thinking booting in Ubuntu from Mac OSX, or havinf an iso partition on the disk where i could boot from...

A suggestion? Anything I could do before i trash my old MacBook Pro laptop?

Thank you

Jay Gee
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1 Answers1

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The EFI boot of this MBP is 32 bits. While the machine is 64 bit. a bootable USB with a 64 bit Ubuntu will provide a 64 EFI boot. This wont work, the EFI boot 64 bit is not seen by the MBP.

The solution that worked for me:

  • installing rEFInd from OSX
  • create a bootable USB to install a 32 bits linux kernel such as Debian 10.6 (Ubuntu 18.04 has also a 32 bit version).
  • Then from rEFInd, the system can boot from the bootable USB and proceed to installation.

Side-Note that, rEFInd 32 bits can boot a 32 bit bootable USB with a 64 bit linux kernel for installation. However, since installed, rEFInd is not able to load a 64-bit kernel. That is why GRUB replaces rEFInd for booting and loading.

Jay Gee
  • 19