[Gllug] Installing Linux on a Mac Mini - boot sequence

[Richard Jones]

On Sun, Sep 06, 2009 at 09:32:08AM +0100, John Hearns wrote:
> 2009/9/5 Richard Jones <rich at annexia.org>:
> 
> > On Intel-based Macs, OpenFirmware is *not* used, and the "OF"
> > combination does *not* work.  Instead it uses EFI, which is some Intel
> > thing and in my experience quite obscure.  There doesn't seem to be
> > any command line.  This is also the system used on Itanic.  The best
> > thing I can say about EFI is it's newer than the BIOS system.
> 
> Rich, it is extremely unfair to colour people's perceptions like that,
> based on what you admit is little knowledge.
> EFI is indeed used on IA64 systems, and is superior to the BIOS system.
> It is not 'quite obscure' and is well documented. I use it every day.

I've not succeeded getting access to a command line yet on an
Intel-based Macbook Pro I have access to.  Reading here, it's not
clear if it's possible:

http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/EFI#EFI_in_the_Intel_Macs

("Holding Option key on boot" to get the graphical chooser doesn't
work, although as I mentioned earlier the "Option key" is non-existent
on any recent Mac -- I do wish the documentation would stop referring
to non-existent keys).

Rich.

-- 
Richard Jones
Red Hat
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