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I have no experience with Linux, nor with installing any OS in any other way then just putting a CD-ROM in a computer and following instructions. To get some more insight into how operating systems work, I'm planning to install a Linux distro. Vinux seamed the best option for visually impaired people so that's the one I chose. The problem I'm having is that on the vinux site they only mention installing on windows. How would I install vinux on a mac?

I would prefer it if it would be possible to just install it on a partition on my hard drive, or even better, on an external hard drive, so I can use it on multiple computers, but again, I have no idea if this is possible.

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The problem with installing another OS on a Mac is compatibility. There are ways to get something other than OSX running on Mac hardware, but it would be too much trouble.

I recommend you try virtualizing Vinux using a VM (virtual machine). You use a piece of software (VirtualBox, for example) and install it in OSX. The software allows you to create a virtual computer within OSX. From here you can take the Vimux image and instead of burning it to a CD/DVD, you can mount it in the virtual computer and make it think you've inserted it into the virtual CD/DVD drive.

This sounds complicated, but there are several tutorials that makes setting up a virtual environment quite easy.

Once everything is set up, all you have to do is boot up you Mac (into OSX) and launch the virtual machine software. The software will have a list of the virtual machines you've set up. You'll then be able to launch you Vimux "computer" and a window will appear and your computer will "boot up". At that point you will be running both OSX AND Vimux at the same time. The only downfall to this is that your hardware (the real hardware, your Mac) is running 2 OS's, which might slow them down.

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  • Could I use a bootcamp-like sollution for this, so that I only have 1 OS running at a time?
    – bigblind
    Jan 25, 2012 at 21:13
  • I believe bootcamp is only used to install copies of Windows alongside OSX. Like I said though, you CAN get a copy of Linux install on your harddrive with OSX, but it can take some work.
    – n0pe
    Jan 25, 2012 at 23:37
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It is possible to install a GNU/Linux distro on a Mac. Please see this answer, which I gave to a slightly different question (wherein the OP was attempting to achieve the same end result).

In summary:

  1. Install ReFit
  2. From within OS X, use Disk Utility to shrink your HFS partition, freeing up space for GNU/Linux
  3. Place your Distro disc in your CD/DVD drive and reboot
  4. Install GNU/Linux as you would for a PC.

Source: Lifehacker

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