On Mon, 2006-07-03 at 08:03 -0400, Curt Purdy wrote:
I was hoping 10.1 32-bit would run on my new Mac OSX 17" Duo Core laptop. After running BootCamp to install XP (only to repartition so I could install SuSE), I tried to boot from the live-cd version to test before installing and it would load to the boot choice screen, sit for a while, and then die.
Is anyone able to make it run on Duo Core?
In Issue 63 of Linux User&Developer magazine (www.linuxuser.co.uk) there is an article explaining why it does not work (yet). I only skimmed over it, so my understanding is sketchy at best, but it basically comes down to this.
The new Apples don't have a traditional PC bios, but instead uses EFI. Windows (and most, if not all operating systems built for PC hardware) don't support EFI, and expect to be able to make calls to the BIOS. With Bootcamp you also get a firmware update for your Mac which adds a classic BIOS interface of sorts to the Mac. Also, drivers to deal with the slightly funky hardware.
Now I assume ordinary SUSE also expects to see a BIOS on your PC. There's also an issue with the hard discs, as the Macs don't use an ordinary mbr style partition table like we're used to.
I think there are only a few things to fix for normal linux distros to cope with the new Macs, but the current ones won't work.
Hans