Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

burgertime · 2014-12-21 01:38:11

I am trying so desperately to install Arch and dual-boot on my Macbook Air. I'm not an Arch noob - I promise. I've installed and loved arch on my old laptop a couple years back but that was not a mac.

I've been here but all it says is that this "works out of the box". Unfortunately, I can't get that far.

I flashed Archboot to my USB thumb stick using DD and booted into it using ReFind. I can't remember what the first option was, but I believe it was Arch-something with EFI. I chose that and I got an error message:
Failed to open file: boot\intel-ucode.img
Trying to load files to higher address
Failed to open file: boot\intel-ucode.img

So, I chose the second option which says (I'm sorry, I'm in my OSX right now so I'mg telling this from memory) something like Arch-something without EFI. Then I got to the actual install console. I created some partitions using cgdisk and chose my packages but they all failed to install due to a dependency missing. I'm really sorry I don't know what that error was. After I post this I will go back and try again and see if I Can get a screen shot.

Anyhow - This is nothing like my install was on my old PC laptop and I feel like I'm not even sure if I'm going down the right path. Does anyone know of a youtube video which shows this process? Honestly, as much as I've used Arch in the past, I truly feel like a dumbass right now but I'm willing to risk my reputation for a rig that runs the sweetest Linux there is.

Thanks -

Whatever you need, logs, etc... no problem - but tell me where to get them because I'm not sure how to with my system in limbo like this.

jasonwryan · 2014-12-21 01:52:37

burgertime wrote:

Does anyone know of a youtube video which shows this process?

That isn't going to help you: even if it does work, it will just move your sense of helplessness to post-, as opposed to pre-, install.

Read the wiki documentation: the Beginners' Guide should have everything you need in terms of the necessary steps. For context around EFI, read this:
https://www.happyassassin.net/2014/01/2 … work-then/ Once you grok that, the rest is straightforward.

burgertime · 2014-12-21 02:07:51

Alright, only problem is that the beginner's guide talks about entering things at a prompt - like "# sgdisk --zap-all /dev/sda". i'm not at a prompt. I'm in the GUI Archboot console. Also, I don't see instructions on which partitions to create, what size to make them, etc.. and, I still don't know why the original option in Archboot failed - the one that prompted me that it could not find boot/intel-ucode/img. It's not that I haven't read the documentation and it's also not that I'm too stupid to figure it out - I feel like I'm on the wrong track. For example, the Beginner's Guide doesn't even mention instructions for Archboot - which is what I'm using. By the way, thank you for your response. I don't want to sound ungrateful

Last edited by burgertime (2014-12-21 02:08:22)

burgertime · 2014-12-21 02:12:32

I found this about the intel-ucode problem but again, the instructions are not verbose enough for me to execute. Where is "/boot/refind_linux.conf" and how do I get to it from where I am right now which is in OSX?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2014-12-21 02:19:08

Why are you using Archboot?

ArchWiki wrote:

Archboot is a set of scripts to generate bootable media for CD/USB/PXE.

You need to download the current Arch .iso and burn that to a memory stick.
https://www.archlinux.org/download/

burgertime · 2014-12-21 02:21:34

Because the wiki said to - see here

"Mid 2011 — version 4,x
Works out-of-the-box since kernel 3.2. It is recommended to use Archboot, install GRUB and use EFI."

Last edited by burgertime (2014-12-21 02:24:19)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2014-12-21 02:39:45

Ooops -- sorry!

jasonwryan · 2014-12-21 03:56:00

Archboot or the ISO are just live Arch images; you boot into them and complete your install from there.

In terms of partitoning, essentially it is up to you. There are some recommendations in the wiki articles, but it is your call depending on what you will need.
Without exact error messages, it is impossible to tell what is going wrong. You can post those from the install media using sprunge: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pa … in_clients

burgertime · 2014-12-21 12:10:10

Thanks for the input. So then what log file am trying to output to spunge? I'm guess the following syntax will get me the sprunge link I need:

cat <path/logfilename> | curl -F 'sprunge=<-' http://sprunge.us

correct?

If so, in the case I was originally talking about where I got the 3 line error message:

Failed to open file:  boot\intel-ucode.img
Trying to load files to higher address
Failed to open file: boot\intel-ucode.img

Once this is displayed, the machine hangs (or appears to anyhow) at which point I just restart it manually and choose the non-EFIstub option. When the machine hangs, how do I get to a prompt so that I can type my cat command?

burgertime · 2014-12-22 00:12:02

Pretty sure all these problems have to do with an old OSX installation. I remember reading that you should have a fresh installation. I just don't remember having any problems installing this on that old crumby PC laptop I had. I'm going to perform a clean, ground up OSX install and go from there.

blackrat · 2014-12-23 23:03:47

Hey! Try to install archlinux with Archbang CD. When I try to install archlinux in my school i have big problems with Arch Multi architecture iso. Anytime when I tried to boot up OS from CD. I've got some errors or black screen. In old iMac ( I know you have Macbook Air) Apple connect 32 bits EFI with 64 bits CPU, finally you can install only 32 bit OS. EFI is a usually "problem" in a way to install archlinux. Try boots archbang. If you can do this, it's simple way to install clear archlinux installation on your disk

jasonwryan · 2014-12-23 23:35:14

Archbang isn't Arch: please don't recommend it here.

blackrat · 2014-12-28 12:49:55

Yep, but Apple computers usually have problems with dualboot cd's when ix86 and x86_64 is on the same ISO (multi architecture). I don't recommend any other distribution, but if you can boot archbang ISO on apple computer and change the mirror list in /etc/pacman.d/ AND install "arch-install-scripts" you can get a clear archlinux without a archbang packages. I hope you understand my "English". I try help and I try to learn this language but I know this - my english is hard to understand Sorry for this and thanks for any suggestions

Arch Linux

#1 2014-12-21 01:38:11

Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#2 2014-12-21 01:52:37

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#3 2014-12-21 02:07:51

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#4 2014-12-21 02:12:32

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#5 2014-12-21 02:19:08

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#6 2014-12-21 02:21:34

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#7 2014-12-21 02:39:45

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#8 2014-12-21 03:56:00

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#9 2014-12-21 12:10:10

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#10 2014-12-22 00:12:02

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#11 2014-12-23 23:03:47

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#12 2014-12-23 23:35:14

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

#13 2014-12-28 12:49:55

Re: Installing on Macbook Air 4,2 - why can I not get this done?

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