MP 1,1-5,1 Adding my Linux Mint drive to MyBootMgr?

[eicca]

So I currently use MyBootMgr to chainload OpenCore to boot Mojave, and also to just boot Win10 legacy (without OpenCore). I have a drive that has Linux Mint on it, but said Linux was installed without grub cuz I didn’t want to nuke my MyBootMgr setup.

Question now is: how do I get MyBootMgr to see this Linux Mint drive and boot it?

In case it’s not obvious, I’m hugely inexperienced at this particular genre of tinkering, but I’m not inept. I just don’t know where to look or what to search for to find the answers.

 

[eicca]

Or, in simpler terms, I need to figure out how to install Linux Mint as if it’s on an external drive that would be booted by any other computer so MyBootMgr can pick it up and load it.

 

[Macschrauber]

I have Linux Mint (no Uefi) in my MP3.1 and RefindPlus loads it as a Linux variant without needing to configure.

 

[eicca]

I have Linux Mint (no Uefi) in my MP3.1 and RefindPlus loads it as a Linux variant without needing to configure.

Did you install the bootloader normally during the setup? I did not (ran ubiquity -b) out of fear of wiping out MyBootMgr.

 

[Dayo]

I just don’t know where to look or what to search for to find the answers.

Best place would be a Linux forum. Perhaps the Linux Mint forum: https://forums.linuxmint.com

One basic step you need to get around to sorting out is actually knowing what it is you are running. You are not running MyBootMgr and using it chainload OpenCore or need MyBootMgr to see Linux Mint drive and boot it etc. MyBootMgr does not and cannot boot anything.

MyBootMgr is for setting RefindPlus and OpenCore up to work together. You ran MyBootMgr at some point in the past to do this and afterwards, it has no involvement in your booting. When you start your Mac on the setup MyBootMgr creates, the name of what you are running, RefindPlus, is written in bold text on the screen. Not sure how it has been missed.

Relevance is that if you go somewhere like the Linux Mint forum to ask for help with MyBootMgr detecting Linux Mint, it is not likely anyone will be able to help you. However, I am sure you will get helpful answers if you instead (correctly) ask for help with installing Linux Mint when you have RefindPlus, a variant of rEFInd, already active.

 

[eicca]

Well I did manage to get it to work by pulling every drive except my Linux drive, doing a normal grub install, changing the boot priority to get back into macOS without a GPU, and installing RefindPlus or whatever the heck it is from there.

…Only to discover that Linux refuses to save my audio output preferences and borks RefindPlus if I “restart” instead of “shut down.” Among other irritations.

Many hours spent discovering that it totally wasn’t worth it. Oh well.

 

[Dayo]

I am pretty sure there are loads of people that use rEFInd with Mint. Whatever they do should work for you.
You just need to ask the right questions in the right places.

I am actually looking at installing Mint myself soon but will go with a legacy installation if I do.
Grub constantly triggers Boot Coups.

 

[garibaldo]

M

Did you install the bootloader normally during the setup? I did not (ran ubiquity -b) out of fear of wiping out MyBootMgr.

I'ḿ looking for the same answer, Maybe this could help us:

How to Install Linux Mint without a Bootloader

Linux Mint installer has no option to Install Linux Mint without a Bootloader by default. But you can change that. Symply start the installer with …

averagelinuxuser.com

 

[Dayo]

That's a good option for this case

 

[eicca]

So here's what I learned through some trial and error:

If you install Linux without the bootloader, then neither RefindPlus or the stock Apple bootloader will pick it up and you won't be able to get back into it.

So you have to install grub normally.

However, the installer will put grub in the same place as whatever bootloader was used to launch the install drive. I.e, if you use the Apple stock bootloader, the Linux installer will put grub in the same EFI partition. In my case, my RefindPlus is on a separate drive, and grub was installed on that particular EFI partition.

I wanted grub on the same physical drive as my Mint install so it could function like an external drive if I want to move it to another PC, allowing it to be booted with whatever existing bootloader is already in place.

So here's what I did:

I pulled every drive except my Linux drive, installed Mint again, and let it install grub in typical fashion. So now grub and the OS are on the one drive that I can move around at will.

Then because installing grub also changes the EFI boot priority, the system would only boot to Linux unless I held OPTION. But with my RX580 this didn't exactly work cuz I had no screen.

So after some reading I simply used the efibootmgr command in the Linux terminal to change the boot order back to Apple's first (see the Linux Boot Coup section in the RefindPlus thread for instructions on this part). This got me back into macOS, where I was able to install RefindPlus as normal using a secondary drive to host that EFI partition.

Now I have a boot screen that lets me choose macOS, Linux Mint, or Win10. Removing the Linux drive doesn't affect anything, and if my RefindPlus drive goes down too, the stock Apple bootloader is still in place.

Also, had I known about the efibootmgr command, I would've saved myself 16 hours of restoring my old MacBook Pro from backup after I accidentally borked the whole thing trying to get the Apple bootloader back to normal. It really is as simple as running that command from the Linux side to make it pick the Apple bootloader first.

 

[Dayo]

So here's what I learned through some trial and error:

If you install Linux without the bootloader, then neither RefindPlus or the stock Apple bootloader will pick it up and you won't be able to get back into it.

So you have to install grub normally.

You don't have to use Grub but yes, on reflection, installing without this with other default options means getting a UEFI setup without a loader. Apple's Startup Manager will therefore not be able to find what to load and RefindPlus may need to be pointed to what to load.

Options include using a Manual Stanza, creating a refind-linux.conf file etc.
The gory details can be found here: https://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/linux.html

If installed in Legacy/CSM mode, Startup Manager and RefindPlus should find the bootcode and be able to run stuff without further steps but I suppose the installer does not do Legacy/CSM by default these days though and that this will need to be explicitly set somewhere.

Had I known about the efibootmgr command, I would've saved myself 16 hours of restoring my old MacBook Pro

Tut, tut, tut!

 

[Dayo]

If you install Linux without the bootloader, then neither RefindPlus or the stock Apple bootloader will pick it up.

Thinking about this some more, RefindPlus should have been able to find the instance. Perhaps you did not have the required filesystem drivers that would have allowed it to scan the volume present.

Are you sure you indicated that you intend to install Linux when running ConfigFactory?

 

[eicca]

It had been years since I ran ConfigFactory so I didn't even remember that it had a Linux option.

I also tried to figure out how to install Linux in legacy mode but couldn't really get either a straight answer or anything that actually worked.

I also just forget to read the documentation on anything that I've been using for any length of time, so despite completely ignoring the instructions, I did manage to get it working.

 

[Dayo]

Understandable but explains why it didn't show up given that you most likely chose "No" on that option at the time.

I would probably go with this "no bootloader" option since installing in Legacy/CSM mode most likely needs jumping through a few hoops. On the other hand, curious about how it can/should be done. Will see when I get around to it.

Currently just boot Linux via a Ventoy USB setup without actually installing them after fixing RefindPlus to handle this properly. Need to settle on either Zorin (looks nice) or Mint (seems solid). Whittled the ISO files in Ventoy down to those two.

 

[Macschrauber]

The Linux Mint instance I have / had on my MP3,1 was no Uefi installation, btw.

 

[Dayo]

Yes, the option has been and is still there but is no longer in front so to speak.

 

[Dayo]

ran ubiquity -b

This worked nicely. No boot coup at any stage and no issues using "Restart" for me.

Legacy/CSM is possible if "Something Else" is selected at "Installation Type", after which you create a new partition table and then partition the disk yourself. Alternatively, the disk could have been set up beforehand. Too many hoops to jump through.

 

[garibaldo]

Yes, the option has been and is still there but is no longer in front so to speak.

This worked nicely. No boot coup at any stage and no issues using "Restart" for me.

The Legacy/CSM option is available if "Something Else" is selected at "Installation Type". You then need to create a new partition table and partition the disk yourself. Too many hoops to jump through.

This means you already installed Mint in you Mac? By the way, this Ventoy USB option you mentioned is really nice, thanks...