SilverZero's Multi-Boot Guide (OSX+XP+7+Linux+Chameleon+MBR)

[SilverZero]

After many hours of research and testing, I have succeeded in multi-booting my S10 with OSX Retail, XP, Windows 7, and Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04, all tied together with the Chameleon bootloader, and all on an MBR partition scheme. I have attached my step-by-step guide (zipped PDF file) so anybody who's willing to wipe their hard drive and try the process is encouraged to do so. Please post your experiences here so I can make any updates or changes to the guide as necessary.

I accomplished most of this by standing on the shoulders of giants, including kitch, twiceover, tonygoodchild (at MyDellMini.com), the DellEFI developers, and many unsung heroes here at S10Lenovo.com and beyond. Some parts of my guide are copied from their work, and they are credited where applicable. Thanks to all of you!

Any updates to this guide will be noted here in this first post, so the rest of this discussion can be reserved for specific questions or comments. Don't worry about having to hunt through the entire topic to find something that should be included. It will be here.

Good luck!

UPDATES
06.15.09: Check this post for the short version of the next update - Installing OSX without an existing installation.
05.27.09: Fixed a typo in the "xar" command lines (removed space between "-" and "x" in flags), clarified the DellEFI options to select.

[nkls]

Nice guide!
I'm definitely going to try this when I get a bigger harddrive...

[kitch]

Nice work! I'm half tempted to make an image of my just now reinstalled osx partition an give this a try. How well do you think it will respond to new installs over each os? Specifically trying out new Linux flavors?

[SilverZero]

Nice guide!
I'm definitely going to try this when I get a bigger harddrive...

Mine's on the stock 160gb drive, but I wouldn't mind 500gb plus a few TB external.

Nice work! I'm half tempted to make an image of my just now reinstalled osx partition an give this a try. How well do you think it will respond to new installs over each os? Specifically trying out new Linux flavors?

Reinstalling new Linux distros should be no problem. Really, reinstalling any of the OSes should work, as long as you just re-do the applicable sections of the guide and take the right steps to get the bootloader working properly.

Reinstall OSX -> reinstall DellEFI extensions and Chameleon, delete Extensions folder, run UpdateExtra, and Chameleon should be back in place and recognize the other OSes.
Reinstall Windows XP -> Set OSX partition active again.
Reinstall Windows 7 -> Set OSX partition active again, probably run "fixmbr" or "bootrec.exe /fixmbr" to keep XP happy.
Reinstall Linux -> Install GRUB to the Linux root partition (not the MBR/sda).

Chameleon auto-recognizes OSes based on finding evidence of an OS on a partition, so just having it installed properly takes care of the boot process. My advice would just be to at least quick-format a partition before reinstalling something on it. This is usually an option when installing Linux, and it's the first step when installing Windows.

[mishok]

Great Work,

I just ordered a new s10 and should get it tomorrow. It will be my first netbook with OSX. I was wondering if you have tips on how to use this guide and do the following. Create a dual boot S10, with a retail OSX and and second partition for WinXP. I have a larger HD coming as well, and I was wondering if I can take the stock drive, drop it into a external exclosure, use Disk Utility (on my Macbook) to make a image of it with the original XP installation. Then proceed with your guide to install OSX on the first partion, and on the second partition, I would just restore WinXP to it.

This way, I you would have the legal Lenovo original XP (for me would only be a backup for windows tasks) that came with the Netbook.

What do you think?

Thanks again, and great guide.

[SilverZero]

Hi mishok,

So, your thought is to replace the hard drive without modifying it, put the original drive in an external enclosure, make an image of the original XP installation, and then restore it to the new hard drive on the 2nd partition, correct? I think it would work. There wouldn't be an MBR issue, since the MBR isn't involved in booting XP anymore (Chameleon takes that role), and all of the original higher-stage loading info (NTLDR) would be in the new restored partition . . . it would probably work just fine.

My only thought is that it might be more trouble than just making an install CD from the i386 folder like the guide says and doing a clean install with that. You can even do it from a USB key (see this guide, I used it and it worked just fine). This is totally legal as well, since you're using the original product key that you purchased with your system.

Definitely try your method if you think it will be easier, and report back with your experiences. But if it's just a legal issue you're worried about, don't.

[mishok]

SilverZero, thanks for your response. Your method makes the most sense, I thought about it, and it is probably a good idea to have a fresh install. Thank you for your response, and I'm looking forward to trying out this method tomorrow, and will post results.

[mishok]

SilverZero,
I have been following the installation exactly as you have had, and everything had worked perfectly. Until I installed the DellEFI installer, and had selected "dual finger" feature, and had made sure not to select PCEFIv9. I then installed Chameleon, but forgot to delete the extra files. I then rebooted, and realized I forgot to delete those files. Now, the resolution is very low, and the trackpad does not work. What do I do to fix this?

Also, doing a retail install, is it safe to do all of the "Software Updates"?

Thank you

[SilverZero]

SilverZero,
I have been following the installation exactly as you have had, and everything had worked perfectly. Until I installed the DellEFI installer, and had selected "dual finger" feature, and had made sure not to select PCEFIv9. I then installed Chameleon, but forgot to delete the extra files. I then rebooted, and realized I forgot to delete those files. Now, the resolution is very low, and the trackpad does not work. What do I do to fix this?

Also, doing a retail install, is it safe to do all of the "Software Updates"?

Thank you

Yeah, this is one of the things I encountered, too, which led me to add the steps about deleting the Chameleon "Extensions" folder. You can:

a) plug in a USB mouse,
b) boot up in safe boot mode by hitting Tab at the Chameleon device selection screen and typing in "-x" as a boot flag, then booting. (I had to actually hit Esc and then enter to get it to boot for some reason.) That will boot with minimal extensions, and you should be able to do the same thing, or
c) boot into OSX anytime using the DellMiniBoot CD/USB.

Then, delete the Extensions folder, run the UpdateExtra app, and reboot. I think that will reload the Extensions.mkext file in the Extra folder, which will cache the correct extensions. You should be good on reboot. I've never installed the two-finger scrolling, because I know there are issues and that there are better options - I just haven't tried them. I don't think that's the problem with the trackpad, I think that was another Chameleon issue. It was that way with me when I left the Extensions folder in place as well.

That should get you back on track. Oh, and yes, software update should work just fine, but be ready to reload those DellMini9 extensions anytime you do anything major, along with any special kexts you install from this point on. The /Extra folder is supposed to be safe from updates (mostly big ones like the .7 OS update) but there are still some kinks, for some reason. Updating things like iTunes and such should be no problem. As a safety, I keep all the kexts I load on my own copied in a folder somewhere, then I can drop them all back in at once if there's a problem. Something else I'm working on cleaning up.

[brain007]

I went out last night to get the Retail OSX and got the 10.5.6 version and I've noticed people having a lot of problems with it. Will this install guide work with 10.5.6 being installed straight out of the box, if not, what can I do to modify the procedure to make it work. I assume I would need some kext files.

Just wanting to get this straightened out before I try the install.

Thanks.