Think quadratic.

            The Compendium

Table of Contents

Table of Contents. 1

Introduction.. 1

Why “Think quadratic.”?. 1

What’s next?. 1

How to Use this Compendium.. 1

Use-Case Scenarios. 1

In General. 1

Corporations/Universities. 1

Software Developers/Testers. 1

Network Administrators. 1

List of Mac Models. 1

Best Options. 1

Runners-up. 1

Desktop Options. 1

Highest Priority Test Candidates. 1

Planned Improvements. 1

ThinkQuadratic.com.. 1

This Guide. 1

Videos. 1

rEFInd. 1

macOS. 1

Windows. 1

Linux. 1

chromeOS Flex. 1

Brunch/chromeOS.. 1

Hardware. 1

Prepare Mac for Quad-booting.. 1

Step 0 (for T1 and T2 Macs only): 1

Install rEFInd.. 1

Step 1: Boot into admin-level account. 1

Optional Step A: Reinstalling rEFInd.. 1

Install Windows. 1

Step 2: Install Windows 10 via Boot Camp. 1

Optional Step B: Adjust size of Windows Partition.. 1

Reblessing rEFInd.. 1

Step 3: Rebless rEFInd. 1

Installing Linux. 1

Step 4 & 4a: Preinstallation of Linux – Create bootable USB.. 1

Step 4b: Preinstallation of Linux – Prepare WiFi and Bluetooth Drivers. 1

Step 5 & 5a: Install Linux. 1

Step 5b: Install WiFi and Bluetooth drivers for T1 and T2 Macs. 1

Step 5c: Install Snapd Store. 1

Step 5d: Configure Updates for T1 and T2 Macs’ kernel. 1

Step 5e - Setting up the Touch Bar. 1

Step 6: Convert GPT. 1

Optional Step C: If Windows Boots into Grub. 1

Optional Step D: If Ubuntu won’t Boot Automatically. 1

Installing chromeOS Flex. 1

Step 7: Create chromeOS Flex Installer USB.. 1

Step 7 Continued: Install chromeOS Flex to SD card or flash drive. 1

Installing Brunch/chromeOS. 1

Step 7a: Prepare Brunch/chromeOS and the partition. 1

Step 7a Continued: Boot Brunch/chromeOS Directly from rEFInd.. 1

Quick Recap of Possible Boot Loader Issues. 1

Theming rEFInd.. 1

Step 8: Configure rEFInd with the QuadBook_Pro theme. 1

Virtualizing Windows & Linux. 1

Step 9: Virtualize Windows. 1

Step 10: Virtualize Linux. 1

Miscellaneous. 1

Fix macOS Launchpad.. 1

Full Disk Backup & Recovery. 1

Non-T-Chip Macs. 1

T-Chip Macs. 1

Major Contributors. 1

rEFInd. 1

Linux on T2 Macs. 1

Brunch/chromeOS.. 1

TBD.. 1

Affiliates. 1

BackMarket. 1

Reebelo.. 1

EveryMac.com.. 1

TBD.. 1

 

 

                                                            ToC               Next -> Use-Case Scenarios

Introduction

Why “Think quadratic.”?

“Think quadratic.” is obviously a reference to Apple’s classic “Think Different” marketing campaign from 1997, but with a twist.  A derisive homage, ultimately, the idea behind “Think quadratic.” says Apple didn’t think different enough, or they’ve simply fallen into the same trap they railed against all those years ago.  Clearly, they have been “big brothering” the user experience more than Microsoft ever dreamed of doing since 1984.

A controlled experience might not be such a bad thing, except when you also take note of the fact: over the last 30 or so years, they’ve made needless market segmentation and forced device obsolescence the norms.  Even those aspects of Apple’s business approach might not seem so bad, until you factor in how they’ve got the FCC in their back pocket, enabling their shady practices and ensuring there’s never a true “all-in-one” device.

We get it, vertical market segmentation – desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, watches, and now goggles – guarantees everyone can choose the form-factor that works best for them, but omitting features just to push users to purchase more than one device . . .year-after-year . . . that’s ridiculous.  And it’s not even a hardware omission.  The hardware is present in all these devices; it’s just locked down via the software that’s running on it.

Think about it, if an iPad Pro could make calls, professional users could probably get away with just that single device.  They would need earbuds, while the iPad was packed away, but otherwise, there’d certainly be no need for a desktop, laptop, smartphone, watch, or goggles.  Or what if their watches could make calls and/or take photos, which would be easily possible.  Even casual consumers would probably just opt for that watch alone.

Hyper-control over market segmentation is also happening horizontally, but rather than create several needless segments, Apple’s clumping very distinct segments together, and focusing on satisfying the most common needs.  Apple wants everyone to believe they can achieve their goals within the ecosystem Apple has created, but that’s only true for those within the “bell-curve,” and not the “misfits” they’ve traditionally exploited in their advertising.

Most superusers not only have to buy multiple devices in order to maximize their productivity, but they also have to buy multiple devices from different manufacturers in order to have access to a wide array of software tools.  Apple has the most complete ecosystem, but it’s not without its gaps.  And the other manufacturers have even bigger holes, such as Microsoft’s lack of a mobile OS and Google’s lack of business class products.

In short, superuser should refuse to abide by Apple’s (and all the other manufacturers’) nefarious tactics and instead use THE device that best balances power, efficiency, versatility, and stability, while configuring it to access the complete suite of tools within each ecosystem – Apple’s, Microsoft’s, Linux’s, and Google’s.  In this way, these “Quadratic Thinkers” will express their demands and demonstrate where our tech should be headed.

What’s next?

If all that seems a bit far-fetched for you and you’re just here to toy around with your Mac and see if you can get it to quad-boot, that’s fine.  Taking on the tech giants is a bit unrealistic, but showing solidarity as consumers isn’t, so why not see just how far we can go?  Maybe they’ll listen or maybe this could turn into something bigger.  Point is, there’s no utility in thinking small and even less in sticking with the status quo.

That being said, if you found any portion of this Compendium or the thinkquadratic.com website useful, please let us know one way or another.  Donating to one of the contributors certainly helps the most, but just signing up for the “Think quadratic.” newsletter, subscribing on YouTube, or joining in on chats anywhere goes a long way too.  The aim really is to establish a community of “quad-minded thinkers,” so if you partake, please consider giving back.

If you wish to get involved in a bigger way, please reach out.  We have a list of planned improvements you could help tackle to immediately improve the “Think quadratic.” experience.  Or, if you’re thinking even bigger, like, “Let’s take on the tech giants!”, that works even better!  Let’s!  How awesome would it be to revive the Ultra Mobile PC market??  At the very least, it would be amazing to have an ultra slim USB-C device.  Let’s talk!

How to Use this Compendium

This document started in Word and because the ToC, headers, and links were already in place, it stayed in Word once thinkquadratic.com went live.  It will eventually be ported over into a better technical authoring tool, but it’s sufficient for now.  The fact it’s in HTML allows you to easily view it on any device or readily print it.  The logo at the top will take you back to thinkquadratic.com and the headers in the purple bars are navigation buttons.

Pictures will eventually replace all of the “/” marks.  If you would prefer not to have the pictures, let us know and maybe we’ll create a separate Compendium without pictures.  Do take note of warnings in RED TEXT.  Orange text is subject to change with further testing and green highlight indicates planned improvements for whatever drawback or hassle is being mentioned.  Other than that, please excuse typos, as this is still a WIP.

Introduction <- Back              ToC               Next -> List of Mac Models

Use-Case Scenarios

In General

·           Unable to set PDF Converter as the default printer in macOS

o   Incredibly important with very large spreadsheets that will be printed in sections

·           Need to utilize all productivity/creativity suites to minimize downtime

o   Especially in instances where a client has files in a less popularly or outdated file format

·           Mail merge features?

o   Someone mentioned this, but needs to be tested

Corporations/Universities

·           Issuing computers that allow employees/students to choose their preferred OS

Software Developers/Testers

·           Ability to test software in multiple OS’s on the same hardware natively

Network Administrators

·           Troubleshooting network issues from different angles

Use-Case Scenarios <- Back                    ToC               Next -> Planned Improvements

List of Mac Models

Best Options

·           Maxed out 2020 13” MacBook Pro for overall performance and versatility

·           Maxed out 2017 13” MacBook Air for overall efficiency and stability

Runners-up

·           Maxed out 2019 13” MacBook Pro for performance and versatility

·           Maxed out 2015 13" MacBook Air for efficiency and stability

·           Maxed out 2014 15” MacBook Pro for overall efficiency and stability

Desktop Options

·           Maxed out 2014 Mac mini for overall performance, versatility, efficiency, and stability

Highest Priority Test Candidates

·           Maxed out 2018 Mac mini for potential performance boost

 

MacBook Air

QuadBook Air

MacBook

QuadBook

MacBook Pro

QuadBook Pro

Mac mini

QuadTop Mini

iMac

QuadTop

Mac Pro

QuadTop Pro

Legend

E 2005

X

X

X

PM10,1 P G4

ATI 9200

1.2 / 1.4

10.5.8 | WXP | ? | B/C

 

X

E

Early that year

M 2005

X

PM8,2 P G5

ATI 9600

17” (1.8) / 20” (2.0)

10.5.8 | WXP | ? | B/C

M

Middle of that year

L 2005

PM10,2 P G4

ATI 9200

1.3 / 1.5

10.5.8 | WXP | ? | B/C

PM12,1 P G5

ATI X600P

17” (1.9) / 20” (2.1)

10.5.8 | WXP | ? | B/C

L

Late that year

E 2006

X

X

1,1 A 15” CD EC

AMD X1600

1.6 / 1.8 / 2.0 / 2.1

10.6.8 | WV(32) | ? | B/?

1,1 P

CS (1.5) / CD (1.6)

10.6.8 | WV(32) | ? | B/C?

4,1 P CD

AMD X1600

17” (1.8) / 20” (2.0)

10.6.8 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

X

X

Nothing released

1,2 A 17” CD EC

AMD X1600

2.1

10.6.8 | WV(32) | ? | B/?

 

Probably not 4-bootable,

but maybe 3-bootable

M 2006

1,1 C2D

1.8 PW / 2.0 PW/B

10.6.8 | W7(32) | ? | B/C?

X

X

4,2 P 17” CD

1.8

10.6.8 | WV(32) | ? | B/C?

1,1 X 4-C

2.0 / 2.6 / 3.0

10.5.8 | WXP | ? | B/C

 

Might be 4-bootable,

but likely limitations,

and needs testing

L 2006

2,1 C2D

1.8 PW / 2.0 PW/B

10.7.5 | W7(32) | ? | B/C?

2,2 A 15” C2D EC

AMD X1600

2.1 / 2.3

10.7.5 | WV(32) | ? | B/?

1,1 P CD

1.6 / 1.8

10.6.8 | WV(32) | ? | B/C?

5,1 P 17” C2D

AMD X1600

2.0 / 2.1

10.7.5 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

X

 

Probably 4-bootable

5,1 P 20” C2D

AMD X1600

2.1 / 2.3

10.7.5 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

 

Tested and proven 4-bootable

2,1 A 17” C2D EC AMD X1600

2.3

10.7.5 | WV(32) | ? | B/?

5,2 P 17” C2D

1.8

10.7.5 | W7(32) | ? | B/C?

Aa

The most recommended Macs

6,1 P 24” C2D

Nv 7300GT

2.1 / 2.3

10.7.5 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

#,#

Apple ID

E 2007

X

X

X

X

X

2,1 X 8-C

3.0

10.7.5 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

P

Polycarbonate

M 2007

2,1 C2D

2.0 PW / 2.1 PW/B

10.7.5 | W7(32) | ? | B/C?

3,1 A 15” C2D EC

Nv 8600M GT

2.2 / 2.4

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

2,1 P C2D

1.8 / 2.0

10.7.5 | WV(32) | ? | B/C?

7,1 A 20” C2D

AMD 2400XT

2.0 / 2.4

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

X

W

White

3,1 A 17” EC

Nv 8600M GT

2.4

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

7,1 A 24” C2D AMD 2600P

2.4 / 2.8

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

B

Black

L 2007

3,1 C2D

2.0 PW / 2.2 PW/B

10.7.5 | W7(32) | ? | B/C?

3,1 A 15” C2D EC

Nv 8600M GT

2.6

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

X

X

A

Aluminum

3,1 A 17” EC

Nv 8600M GT

2.6

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

U

Unibody

E 2008

1,1 A 13” C2D

1.6 / 1.8

10.7.5 | W7(32) | ? | B/C?

4,1 C2D

2.1 PW / 2.4 PW/B

10.7.5 | W7(32) | ? | B/C?

4,1 A 15” C2D EC

Nv 8600M GT

2.4 / 2.5 / 2.6

10.11.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C

X

8,1 A C2

 AMD 2400XT/2600P

20” (2.4) / 20” (2.6)

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

3,1 X

4-C (2.8) / 8-C (2.8 / 3.0 / 3.2)

10.11.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C

##”

Screen Size

4,1 A 17” C2D EC

Nv 8600M GT

2.5 / 2.6

10.11.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C

8,1 C2D

AMD 2600P / Nv 8800GS

24” (2.8) / 24” (3.0)

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

X

CS

Core Solo

M 2008

X

X

X

X

CD

Core Duo

L 2008

2,1 A 13” C2D

Nv 9400M

1.6 / 1.8

10.11.6 | W7(32)  | ? | B/C

5,1 AU C2D

Nv 9400M

2.0 / 2.4

10.11.6 | W7(32)  | ? | B/C

5,1 AU 15” C2D EC

Nv 94/9600M GT

2.4 / 2.5 / 2.8

10.11.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C

C2D

Core 2 Duo

E 2009

X

5,2 PW C2D

Nv 9400M

2.0

10.11.6 | W7(32)  | ? | B/C

5,2 AU 17” C2D EC

Nv 94/9600M GT

2.6 / 2.9

10.11.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C

3,1 P C2D

2.0 / 2.2

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C?

9,1 A C2D

Nv 9400M

2.6

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

4,1 X

4-C (2.6 / 2.9)

8-C (2.2 / 2.6 / 2.9)

10.11.6 | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C

CM

Core Mobile processors

5,1 AU 15” C2D EC

Nv 94/9600M GT

2.6 / 2.9

10.11.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C

9,1 A 24” C2D

Nv GT120/130

2.6 / 2.9 / 3.0

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

i#

Modern Intel Core processors

M 2009

2,1 A 13” C2D

Nv 9400M

1.8 / 2.1

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

5,2 PW C2D

Nv 9400M

2.1

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

5,2 AU 17” C2D EC

Nv 94/9600M GT

2.8 / 3.0

10.11.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C

X

9,1 A 20” C2D

Nv 9400M

2.0 / 2.2

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

X

X

Xeon

5,3 AU 15” C2D SD

Nv 94/9600M GT

2.6 / 2.8 / 3.0

10.11.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C

#-C

Number of cores in Xeon processor

5,4 AU 15” C2D SD

Nv 9400M

2.5

10.11.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C

#.#

Processor speed (hyperlinked)

5,5 AU 13” C2D SD

Nv 9400M

2.2 / 2.5

10.11.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C

EC

Express Card

L 2009

X

6,1: PUW C2D

Nv 9400M

2.2

10.13.x | W7(64) | ? | B/C

X

3,1 P C2D

Nv 9400M

2.2 / 2.5 / 2.6

10.11.6 | W7(32) | ? | B/C

10.1 A 21.5” C2D SD

Nv 9400M

3.0 / 3.3

10.13.x | W7(64) | ? | B/C

SD

Secure Digital Card

10,1 A 27” C2D SD

AMD HD4670

3.0 / 3.3

10.13.x | W7(64) | ? | B/C

SDXC

Secure Digital Extended Capacity

11,1 A 27” SD

AMD HD4850

i5 / i7

10.13.x | W7(64) | ? | B/C

4,1 X 4-C

3.3

10.11.6 | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C

R

Retina Display

E 2010

X

X

6,1 AU 17” EC

Nv 330M

i5 / i7 (2.6)

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C

X

X

X

TB

Touchbar

6,2 AU 15” SD

Nv 330M

i5 (2.4) / i5 (2.5) / i7 (?.?)

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C

T1

T1 Chip

7,1 AU 13” C2D SD

Nv 320M

2.4 / 2.6

10.13.x | W7(64) | ? | B/C?

T2

T2 Chip

M 2010

7,1 PUW C2D

Nv 320M

2.4

10.13.x | W7(64) | ? | G

X

4,1 P C2D SD

Nv 320M

2.4 / 2.6

10.13.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C?

11,2 A 21.5” SDXC

AMD HD4670/5670

i3 (3.0) / i3 (3.2) / i5

10.13.6 | W7(64) | ? | G

5,1 X

4-C (2.8 / 3.2)

6-C (3.3)

8-C (2.4)

12-C (2.6)

12-C (2.9)

10.14.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C

AMD

Dedicated AMD graphics card

11,3 A 27” SDXC

AMD HD5670/5750

i3 / i5 (2.8) / i5 (3.6) / i7

10.13.6 | W7(64) | ? | B/C?

Nv

Dedicated Nvidia graphics card

L 2010

3,1 A 11” C2D

Nv 320M

1.4 / 1.6

10.13.x | W7(64) | ? | B/C?

X

6,1 AU 17” EC

Nv 330M

i7 (2.8)

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C

X

X

X

/

or

3,2 A 13” C2D SD

Nv 320M

1.8 / 2.1

10.13.x | W7(64) | ? | B/C?

6,2 AU 15” SD

Nv 330M

i7 (2.8)

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C

10.6.x

Snow Leopard

E 2011

X

X

8,1 AU 13” SDXC

i5 / i7

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C?

X

X

X

10.7.x

Lion

8,2 AU 15” SDXC

AMD 6490M/6750M

i7 (2.0) / i7 (2.2) / i7 (2.3)

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C?

10.8.x

Mountain Lion

8,3 AU 17” EC

AMD 6750M

i7 (2.2) / i7 (2.3)

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C?

10.9.x

Mavericks

M 2011

4,1 A 11”

i5/i7

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C?

X

5,1 A SDXC

AMD 6630M

i5 (2.3) / i7 (2.7)

10.13.6 | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C?

12,1 A 21.5” SDXC

AMD HD6750/70M

i5 (2.5) / i5 (2.8) / i7

10.13.6 | W8.1(64) | ? | G

10.10.x

Yosemite

4,2 A 13” SD

i5 / i7

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C?

12,2 A 27” SDXC

AMD HD67/6970M

i5 (2.7) / i5 (3.1) / i7 (3.4)

10.13.6 | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C?

10.11.6

El Capitan

L 2011

X

8,1 AU 13” SDXC

i5 / i7

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C?

X

X

10.12.x

Sierra

8,2 AU 15” SDXC

AMD 6750M/6770M

i7 (2.2) / i7(2.4) / i7(2.5)

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C?

10.13.x

High Sierra

8,3 AU 17” EC

AMD 6750M

i7 (2.4) / i7 (2.5)

10.13.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C?

10.14.x

Mojave

E 2012

X

X

X

X

X

X

10.15.x

Catalina

M 2012

5,1 A 11”

i5 / i7

10.15.x | W10(64) | ? | G?

9,1 AU 15” SDXC

Nv 650M

i7 (2.3) / i7 (2.6) / i7 (2.7)

10.15.x | W10(64) | ? | B/C?

5,1 X

4-C (3.2)

6-C (3.3)

8-C (2.4)

12-C (2.6)

12-C (3.0)

10.14.x | W8.1(64) | ? | B/C

11.x

Big Sur

9,2 AU 13” SDXC

i5 / i7

10.15.x | W10(64) | ? | G

12.x

Monterey

5,2 A 13” SD

i5 / i7

10.15.x | W10(64) | ? | B/C?

10,1 AU 15” R SDXC

Nv 650M

i7 (2.3) / i7 (2.6) / i7 (2.7)

10.15.x | W10(64) | ? | B/C?

13.x

Ventura

10,2 AU 13” R SDXC

i5 / i7

10.15.x | W10(64) | ? | B/C?

14.x

Sonoma

L 2012

X

X

6,1 A SDXC

i5 (2.5)

 i7 (2.3) / i7 (2.6)

10.15.7 | W10(64) | ? | B/C?

13,1 A 21.5” SDXC

Nv 640M/650M

i5 (2.7) / i5 (2.9) / i7 (3.1)

10.15.7 | W10(64) | ? | B/C

X

15.x

TBD

13,2 A 27” SDXC

Nv 660M/675MX

i5 (2.9) / i5 (3.2) / i7 (3.4)

10.15.7 | W10(64) | ? | B/C

16.x

TBD

E 2013

X

X

10,1 AU 15” R SDXC

Nv 650M

i7 (2.4) / i7 (2.7) / i7 (2.8)

10.15.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

X

X

X

WXP

Windows XP

10,2 AU 13” R SDXC

i5 / i7

10.15.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

WV

Windows Vista

M 2013

6,1 A 11”

i5 / i7

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | G?

X

W7

Windows 7

6,2 A 13” SD

i5 / i7

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

W8.1

Windows 8.1

L 2013

X

11,1 AU 13” R SDXC

i5 (2.4) / i5 (2.6) / i7 (2.8)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

14,1 A 21.5” SDXC

i5 (2.7)

10.15.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

6,1 X

AMD D300x2

4-C (3.7)

6-C (3.5)

8-C (3.0)

12-C (2.7)

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

W10

Windows 10

11,2 AU 15” R SDXC

i7 (2.0) / i7 (2.3) / i7 (2.6)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | G

14,2 A 27” SDXC

Nv 755M

i5 (3.2) / i5 (3.4) / i7 (3.5)

10.15.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

W11

Windows 11

11,3 AU 15” R SDXC

Nv 750M

i7 (2.3) / i7 (2.6)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

14,3 A 21.5” SDXC

Nv 750M

i5 (2.9) / i7 (3.1)

10.15.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

W12

Windows 12

E 2014

X

X

X

X

X

X

(32)

32-bit version

M 2014

6,1 A 11”

i5 / i7

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | G?

11,1 AU 13” R SDXC

i5 (2.6) / i5 (2.8) / i7 (3.0)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

14,4 A 21.5” 5K SDXC

i5 (1.4)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

(64)

64-bit version

11,2 AU 15” R SDXC

i7 (2.2) / i7 (2.5) / i7 (2.8)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | G

L(A(##)

Ideal Linux version

6,2 A 13” SD

i5 / i7

11.x | W10(64) | 23 | B/C?

11,3 AU 15” R SDXC

Nv 750M

i7 (2.5) / i7 (2.8)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

U(##)

Ubuntu

L 2014

X

X

7,1 A SDXC

i5 (1.4) / i5 (2.6) / i5 (2.8)

 i7 (3.0)

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | G

15,1 A 27” 5K SDXC

AMD M290/5X

i5 (3.5) / i7 (4.0)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

A(##)

Arch

E 2015

X

8,1 A CM

1.1 / 1.2 / 1.3

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B?/C?

X

X

X

X

E(##)

EndeavorOS

M 2015

7,1 A 11”

i5 / i7

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

X

12,1 AU 13” R SDXC

i5 (2.7) / i5 (2.9) / i7 (3.1)

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

15,1 A 27” 5K SDXC

AMD M290

i5 (3.3)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

G(##)

Gentoo

 

11,4 AU 15” R SDXC

i7 (2.2) / i7 (2.5) / i7 (2.8)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

Ma(##)

Manjaro

7,2 A 13” SD

i5 / i7

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | G

11,5 AU 15” R SDXC

AMD R9 M370X

i7 (2.5) / i7 (2.8)

11.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

T(##)

Tails

L 2015

X

X

16,1 A 21.5” SDXC

i5 (1.6)

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

C(##)

Centos

16,2 A 21.5” SDXC

i5 (2.8) / 4K i5 (3.1) / 4K i7 (3.3)

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

F(##)

Fedora

17,1 A 27” 5K SDXC

AMD M380/90

i5 (3.2) / i5 (3.3) / i7 (4.0)

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

D(##)

Debian

E 2016

X

9,1 A CM

m3 / m5 / m7

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | B?/C?

X

X

X

X

R(##)

Red Hat

M 2016

X

M(##)

Mint

L 2016

13,1 AU 13” R

i5 (2.0) / i7 (2.4)

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

K(##)

Kubuntu

13,2 AU 13” R TB T1

i5 (2.9) / i5 (3.1) / i7 (3.3)

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | B?/C?

B

Brunch will likely work

13,3 AU 15” R TB T1

AMD 450/455/460

i7 (2.6) / i7 (2.7) / i7 (2.9)

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

B

Brunch won’t work on:

1.     Older intel CPUs

2.     dGPUs

E 2017

X

X

X

X

X

X

B?

Brunch might work, but needs testing

M 2017

7,2 A 13” SD

i5 / i7

12.x | W10(64) | U23 | G

10,1 A CM

m3 / i5 / i7

13.x | W10(64) | U23 | B?/C?

14,1 AU 13” R

i5 (2.3) / i7 (2.5)

13.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

18,1 A 21.5” SDXC

i5 (2.3)

13.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

C

chromeOS Flex likely works

14,2 AU 13” R TB T1

i5 (3.1) / i5 (3.3) / i7 (3.5)

13.x | W10(64) | U23 | B?/C?

18,2 A 21.5” 4K SDXC

AMD P555/560

i5 (3.0) / i5 (3.4) / i7 (3.6)

13.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

C

chromeOS Flex isn’t expected to work

on most dGPUS, especially from Nvidia

14,3 AU 15” R TB T1

AMD RP555/560

i7 (2.8) / i7 (2.9) / i7 (3.1)

13.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

18,3 A 27” 5K SDXC

AMD P570/75/80

i5 (3.4) / i5 (3.5) / i5 (3.8) / i7 (4.2)

13.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

C?

chromeOS Flex might work,

but limitations may exist and/or

pointless without SDXC

or ultra-small USB

L 2017

X

X

X

 

iMacPro 1,1 (‘till 2021)

AB 27” 5K X SDXC T2

AMD V56

8-C / 10-C / 14-C / 18-C

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

G

chromeOS Flex supported,

E 2018

X

X

X

X

X

X

G

chromesOS Flex decertified

M 2018

15,1 AU 15” R TB T2

AMD RP555X

i7 (2.2) / i7 (2.6) / i7 (2.9)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

G?

chromeOS Flex supported,

but pointless without SD slot

or ultra-small USB/USB-C

15,2 AU 13” R TB T2

i5 (2.3) / i7 (2.7)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

 

 

L 2018

8,1 A 13” T2

i5

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

15,3 AU 15” R TB t2

AMD Vega

i7 (2.6) / i7 (2.9)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

8,1 A T2

i3 (3.6) / i5 (3.0) / i7 (3.2)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

 

 

E 2019

X

X

X

X

19,1 A 27” 5K SDXC

AMD P570/75/80X

i5 (3.0) / i5 (3.1) / i5 (3.7) / i9 (3.6)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

X

 

 

19,2 A 21.5” 4K SDXC

AMD P555/560X

i3 (3.6) / i5 (3.0) / i7 (3.2)

13.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

 

 

M 2019

8,2 A 13” T2

i5

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

15,1 AU 15” R TB T2

AMD RP555X

i7 (2.6) / i9 (2.3) / i7 (2.4)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

X

7,1 X T2

8-C (3.5)

12-C (3.3)

16-C (3.2)

24-C (2.7)

28-C (2.5)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

 

 

15,2 AU 13” R TB T2

i5 (2.4) / i7 (2.8)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

 

 

15,3 AU 15” R TB

AMD Vega T2

i7 (2.3) / i7 (2.4)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

 

 

15,4 AU 13” R TB T2

i5 (1.4) / i7 (1.7)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

 

 

L 2019

X

16,1 AU 16” R TB T2

AMD 53/5500M

I7 (2.6) / i9 (2.3) / i9 (2.4)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

X

 

 

E 2020

9,1 A 13” T2

i3 / i5 / i7

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

X

X

X

X

X

 

 

M 2020

X

16,2 AU 13” R TB T2

i5 (2.0) / i7 (2.3)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

20,1 A 27” 5K SDXC T2

AMD P53/5500XT

i5 (3.1 / 3.3) / i7 (3.8) / i9 (3.6)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

 

 

16,3 AU 13” R TB T2

i5 (1.4) / i7 (1.7)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C?

 

 

 

16,4 AU 16” R TB T2

AMD 5600M

I7 (2.6) / i9 (2.3) / i9 (2.4)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

20,2 A 27” 5K SDXC T2

AMD P5700XT

i7 (3.8) / i9 (3.6)

14.x | W10(64) | U23 | B/C

 

 

L 2020

10,1 M1

X

9,1 M1

X

 

 

 

List of Mac Models <-Back             ToC               Next -> Prepare Mac for Quad-Booting

Planned Improvements

Below are the items we are focused on improving in order to optimize your Think quadratic. experience.  While “Find a tiny USB-C flash drive” is at the bottom of the list, it is actually the most important improvement, as this would significantly improve the efficiency while using chromeOS, regardless of version – Brunch or Flex.

ThinkQuadratic.com

·           Transfer all of this content

This Guide

·           More appealing design with lots of pictures using something like madcap

Videos

·           Step-by-step videos – forthcoming

rEFInd

·           Boot time script to always rebless rEFInd

·           Sort rEFInd icons accordingly – macOS, Windows, Linux, then chromeOS

·           Allow for same customizations in Think quadratic. theme as with standard version

·           Model-dependent temes

macOS

·           Endless updates (perhaps using OpenCore) even after Apple limits

Windows

·           Windows 11 upgrade

·           Reactivation when virtualizing

Linux

·           Less hassle with T-chip Macs

·           Bypass the timer and emergency mode when virtualizing

chromeOS Flex

·           Rapid cloning of installation on SD card or flashdrive

·           Customize installer to include hardware-specific firmware

o   On 2020 13” MacBook Pro (16,2):

§  Wifi

§  Keyboard

§  Touchpad

§  Audio output/Microphone input

§  Camera

§  Touchbar

Brunch/chromeOS

·           Include direct boot through rEFInd in installer or create script

·           Customize installer to include hardware-specific firmware

o   On 2020 13” MacBook Pro (16,2):

§  Audio output/Microphone input

§  Touchpad sensitivity

Hardware

·           Full disk backup and recovery for T-chip Macs

·           Find an ultra-tiny USB-C flash drive

Planned Improvements <- Back                         ToC               Next -> Install rEFInd

Prepare Mac for Quad-booting

This guide assumes you have one of the models above with: 1) a working macOS install and recovery drive, and 2) an admin level account already set up.  If you need to wipe the drive, and reinstall macOS and the recovery drive, you can do this by rebooting and holding down “Option + Command + R” and then following the prompts.

After reinstalling macOS, ensure there is a recovery drive by rebooting and holding down “Command + R”.  (Sometimes the macOS installer just refuses to create the recovery drive during reinstallation.)  If there is one, carry-on with the guide.  If there is no recovery drive, you will need to create a macOS USB installer.  Here’s a guide to do so in macOS and here’s one for Windows.

If you have a T1 or T2 Mac, you’ll need to enable USB booting (Step 0 below) just to reinstall macOS from a USB, but Step 0 is required for all T1 and T2 Macs anyway.  Use the USB installer to wipe and reinstall macOS.  If a recovery drive never shows up, you’ll need to take the Mac into an Apple Service Provider in your area and see if they can resolve the issue.

It is NOT recommended to restore from a Time Machine backup, as this can restore some unwanted settings.  It is better to use Migration Assistant once done with the entire quadruple-booting process.  Just create your account with the basics (iCloud, updates, and a few settings customizations), but don’t fully set up your profile, just in case something goes wrong and you have to start from scratch.

Step 0 (for T1 and T2 Macs only):

·           Power on Mac while holding “Command” + ”R” keys until you see the Apple logo and/or hear the startup chime

·           Once the Recovery Mode as fully loaded, you should see user accounts; select an admin level account and click “Next”

o   Type password and hit “Enter”

·           Select “Utilities” in top menu

o   Select “Startup Security Utility” in submenu

/

o   Type password and hit “Enter” in popup

·           In next popup window

o   Set “Secure Boot” to “No Security”

§  This process is impossible on any other setting

§  And if you change it after this process is done, you will be forced to reinstall rEFInd – See Optional Step A

o   Set “Allowed Boot Media” to “Allow”

/

·           Close popup window

·           Select “Utilities” in top menu again

o   Select “Terminal” in submenu

o   Turn off System Integrated Protection (SIP) by typing:

§  “csrutil disable” and hit “Enter”

§  Type password and hit “Enter”

/

·           Restart

Prepare Mac for Quad-Booting <- Back                     ToC               Next -> Install Windows

Install rEFInd

Quadruple-booting would not be possible without incredible bootloaders like rEFInd.  rEFInd is a favorite of Think quadratic. because its developer (Rod Smith) is a great guy.  You should definitely thank him for his work!)

Step 1: Boot into admin-level account

·           For ease, go into Finder -> Settings and check “External disks” and “CDs, DVDs, and iPods” under “Show these items on the desktop’

/

·           Download the rEFInd CD-R image file from here

·           Mount iso by double clicking it in the “Downloads” folder

/

·           Open Terminal and type “cd ” (include the space after “cd”)

·           Drag the mounted iso from the Desktop into Terminal and hit “Enter”

o   The command should read something like “cd /Volumes/rEFInd_0.14.0.2”

·           In Terminal, type “sudo ./refind-install” and hit “Enter”

o   Enter your password and hit “Enter”

o   Terminal should say, “Installation has completed successfully.”

o   If it does not, it may be that SIP is still on, in which case, you’ll need to redo the Terminal command in Step 0 for T1 and T2 Macs

/

·           Reboot to test rEFInd

There should only be one option – macOS – go ahead and select it to boot back into macOS in order to begin the Windows installation process.

/

Optional Step A: Reinstalling rEFInd

You can skip this step, unless you had a functioning rEFInd, but did something to break it, and reblessing it (Step 3) doesn’t work.  The fix is to simply reinstall rEFInd.

NOTE: resetting the NVRAM won’t help, so don’t bother trying, but if that’s what brought you here, go ahead and do Step 0 first, then Step 3, and this step only if it’s still not fixed..

·           From off state, press the power button and immediately hold down “Option” key

o   Choose the internal “macOS” drive (typically “MacHD”) to boot into macOS

o   NOTE: IF YOU’VE ALREADY INSTALLED WINDOWS AND ARE COMING BACK HERE, NEVER SELECT THE WINDOWS OPTION FROM THIS MENU; IT COULD DESTROY YOUR PARTITION TABLE AND FORCE YOU TO START OVER

·           Login, open Terminal, and type in the following commands:

o   Type “sudo mkdir /Volumes/ESP” then your password and hit “Enter”

o   Type “sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/ESP” and hit “Enter”

·           Open the EFI partition from the desktop

o   Copy the EFI folder to an external location

·           If you deleted the rEFInd iso you originally used to install rEFInd, that’s fine, just download it again; there may be an update anyway

·           Mount the rEFInd iso by double clicking it from wherever it is

·           Open Terminal and type “cd ” (include the space after “cd”)

·           Drag the mounted iso from the Desktop into Terminal and hit “Enter”

o   The command should read something like “cd /Volumes/rEFInd_0.14.0.2”

·           In Terminal, type “sudo ./refind-install” and hit “Enter”

o   Enter your password and hit “Enter”

o   Terminal should say, “Installation has completed successfully.”

o   If it does not, it may be that SIP is still on, in which case, you’ll need to redo the Terminal command in Step 0 for T1 and T2 Macs

·           Reboot to test rEFInd

If rEFInd shows up, but only macOS boots, you can try simply dragging and dropping all the folders from the “EFI” folder you set aside, EXCEPT for the “refind” folder, since it was just freshly reinstalled there.  If that doesn’t work, you may need to start this entire quad-booting process over because your partition table may just be too whacked to recover it.  Note the possible full disk recovery option as an alternative, though this would only work on non-T-chip Macs and has yet to be tested.

Install rEFInd <- Back                        ToC               Next -> Reblessing rEFInd

Install Windows

The next step assumes you have a Windows Installation iso.  If not, go here.  The link defaults to Windows 10, but you can select the other options in the drop down at the top of the page.  Keep in mind, as of now, Windows 11 is not supported on machines without security features enabled and Boot Camp will immediately refuse to install Windows 11 if you try.  It may be possible to upgrade to Windows 11 once the entire quadruple-booting process is completed, but testing will need to be conducted before recommending going that route.

Step 2: Install Windows 10 via Boot Camp

·           Log into admin level account and open the Boot Camp app

/

o   Ignore “Secure Boot is not enabled” warning and hit “OK”

/

o   Select your Windows iso (best stored on internal drive) file from dropdown menu

/

o   Reposition size of macOS / Windows (half is generally the best option)

/

o   Click “Install” (be sure battery can hold a charge and is over 50% or plug it in)

/

o   Process will reboot automatically into the Windows installation menu

/

·           If you have a product key, put it in, but…

/

o   …you can bypass this, choose version of Windows to install, then purchase a key later

/

o   Obligatory Licensing Agreement…

/

o   Start the install; it’s surprisingly fast!

/

o   Windows will reboot automatically a few times

/

o   Go thru setup steps and create admin-level account with outlook.com ID – no way around this…sorry

·           Once Windows installation is finished and you’re at the desktop, Boot Camp support installation will popup automatically; start process

/

o   Another obligatory License Agreement…

/

·           Once logged back in, update Apple Software first, restart again

o   There will be two small updates and then two big updates to Boot Camp

/

·           Once logged back in, update Windows as much as possible

o   This could take a while, but important that all drivers are installed

o   Don’t restart while updates are still downloading or installing – be patient.

/

Optional Step B: Adjust size of Windows Partition

If, while installing Linux in Step 4, you are unable to adjust the size of the Windows partition, stop that process and come back here.

·           Go into Windows’ Disk Partitioner app

/

o   Resize Windows to your desired size and leave the remainder unformatted

/

·           Go back to Step 4; you won’t need to resize Windows; just install Linux

Now, there is a hidden partition at the start of the hard drive named “EFI.”  This is where the boot files for all “Guid Partition Table” or “GPT-based” operating systems are store.  After installation, Windows will take over the EFI partition, bypassing rEFInd, and only allow Windows to boot, but the steps to resolve this are as follows…

Install Windows <- Back                 ToC               Next-> Install Linux

Reblessing rEFInd

Step 3: Rebless rEFInd

·           From off state, press the power button and immediately hold down “Option” key

o   Choose the internal “macOS” drive (typically “MacHD”) to boot into macOS

o   NOTE: NEVER SELECT THE WINDOWS OPTION FROM THIS MENU; IT COULD DESTROY YOUR PARTITION TABLE AND FORCE YOU TO START OVER

·           Login, open Terminal, and type in the following commands:

o   Type “sudo mkdir /Volumes/ESP” then your password and hit “Enter”

/

o   Type “sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/ESP” and hit “Enter”

/

o   Type “sudo bless --mount /Volumes/ESP --setBoot –file /Volumes/ESP/efi/refind/refind_x64.efi” and hit “Enter”

/

o   It will seem like nothing happened, but it worked

·           Reboot

·           Both the Windows and Apple logos should be options to boot in rEFInd

o   But there will also be a third option with a Windows logo - “Legacy from NTFS volume” – which can be deleted

/

§  Arrow over to that option and hit the “-“ key

/

§  Arrow up to “Yes” and hit “Enter”

/

And just like that, you have a dual-booting Mac.  Unfortunately, it only gets more complicated the further you go into this process, but that’s to be expected when four different operating systems are all using the same area to boot from.  Don’t worry, this guide will walk you through each step, explaining the importance, and offer suggestions fixes on issues that may arise, none of which as detrimental as selecting the Windows icon from the “Option” menu!  Don’t do it!

Reblessing rEFInd <- Back             ToC               Next -> If Windows Boots to Grub

Installing Linux

If you’re on a non T1 or T2 Mac, then you can download the Linux distro of your liking.  If you do have a T1 or T2 Mac, then you must download a distro from t2linux.org.  The process is mostly the same either way; T-chip-specific steps will have a letter designator after the step number and will be emboldened below.  Also note, the instructions will vary depending on your chosen flavor of Linux, especially Arch or Kali Linux.  The guidance below is for Ubuntu, which is the preferred flavor of Think quadratic..

Step 4 & 4a: Preinstallation of Linux – Create bootable USB

·           In macOS, download your preferred flavor of Linux; T-chips from here

o   Don’t try standard downloads on T-chips; they won’t work

/

o   Use the iso.sh method to make this process easier

§  Download the “iso.sh” file

/

§  Open Terminal and type “bash “ including the space

§  Drag and drop the iso.sh file into Terminal

¨     The command should look something like “bash ~/Downloads/iso.sh”

§  Hit “Enter” and answer the questions in Terminal

/

¨     Keep in mind, future maintenance will depend on which version you choose:

-       ##.04 versions are long term support (LTS)

-       ##.10 are preview versions of the next major release

/

·           You’ll end up with an Ubuntu iso image in “Downloads”

·           Download balenaEtcher from here

·           Install balenaEtcher

·           Plug in an 8GB or higher USB

/

·           Open balenaEtcher

·           Follow prompts to turn the Linux distro you downloaded into a live USB

Step 4b: Preinstallation of Linux – Prepare WiFi and Bluetooth Drivers

·           Download the necessary script here, be sure it stays in the “Downloads” folder

·           Open Terminal, type “bash ~/Downloads/firmware.sh” and hit “Enter”

o   Enter Password and hit “Enter”

o   Don’t worry about the commands that appear, We have them rewritten for you in the next section

/

·           Leave Linux Live USB plugged in and reboot

Step 5 & 5a: Install Linux

·           rEFInd should see the Live USB and show a logo with three circles, select it

o   If not, hit the “Escape” key

o   If it still does not show, the creation of the live USB did not work

/

·           Choose to install Linux, not try it

o   Go through the installation process

§  Select to install third party software and hit “Next”

/

§  On next screen, click “Something else”

/

¨     In the new popup window, select the Windows partition (typically the third one, with NTFS in “type” column

-       Click the “Change” button, popup window appears

/

-       Shrink the Windows partition to the size of your liking (half the size is ideal)

-       IF THIS POPUP DOES NOT ALLOW YOU TO CHANGE THE PARTITION, GO TO OPTIONAL STEP B

-       Leave “do not use the partition” as is; just hit “OK”

/

-       Click “Continue” on the warning that appears

/

¨     Select the remaining free space and click the “+” sign

-       START BACK HERE IF YOU HAD TO FOLLOW OPTIONAL STEP B

/

-       In the popup, set its size to half the free space (see sub-item) and format it to EXT4

-       If <32GB RAM, reserve at least 1GB for Swap partition out of the Linux partition

-       Choose the “/” option for the “Mount point”

-       Unless you need to add a Swap partition, leave the remaining free space alone

1.    If Swap needed, select free space, click “+” sign, add 1GB of Swap

/

¨     Choose the newly created partition (typical fourth in list) for boot loader installation; DO NOT INSTALL BOOT LOADER TO FIRST PARTITION OR YOU WILL HAVE ONLY A LINUX MACHINE

/

¨     Click “Install Now”

-       Click “Continue” to write changes to disk

/

o   Finish installation setup, including admin-level account creation

·           Remove the USB drive and reboot when prompted

The EFI drive will be a wreck now, and it will boot into Linux automatically, but don’t bother following Step 3 to rebless rEFInd just yet.  Let your Mac automatically boot into Linux until it is completely set up.  For those without a T1 or T2 Mac, this is mostly a simple matter of getting the additional drivers and software updates through the usual means, but for those with a T1 or T2 Mac, there are several more steps you’ll need to follow before Linux will be usable.  Don’t worry, it will be worth it in the end though!

Step 5b: Install WiFi and Bluetooth drivers for T1 and T2 Macs

·           Log into the admin-level account in Linux

·           Open Terminal and execute each of the following:

o   “sudo umount /dev/nvme0n1p1”

o   “sudo mkdir -p /tmp/apple-wifi-efi”

o   “sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /tmp/apple-wifi-efi”

o   “bash /tmp/apple-wifi-efi/firmware.sh”

·           No need to restart, you can now connect to WiFi

/

·           Complete all updates

The Ubuntu version of the T1 and T2 installer does not come loaded with the Snapd Store; if you want it, follow these steps:

Step 5c: Install Snapd Store

·           Open Terminal and type

o   “sudo apt update”

o   “sudo apt install snapd”

o   “sudo snap install snap-store”

/

·           Install “snaps” (apps) to your heart’s content

·           Reboot when done

The T1 and T2 versions of Ubuntu won’t receive kernel updates in the usual way (from Canonical), until you add this trusted repository maintained by Aditya; be sure to thank them!

Step 5d: Configure Updates for T1 and T2 Macs’ kernel

·           Open Terminal and paste in command below; if you installed Ubuntu 22.04 then the “Codename” is “jammy” (as seen below), but if you installed Ubuntu 23.10, then the “Codename” is “mantic.”  And commands for future releases will also match the Codename:

o   “CODENAME=jammy

curl -s --compressed "https://adityagarg8.github.io/t2-ubuntu-repo/KEY.gpg" | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/t2-ubuntu-repo.gpg >/dev/null

sudo curl -s --compressed -o /etc/apt/sources.list.d/t2.list https://adityagarg8.github.io/t2-ubuntu-repo/t2.list

echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/t2-ubuntu-repo.gpg] https://github.com/AdityaGarg8/t2-ubuntu-repo/releases/download/${CODENAME} ./" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/t2.list

sudo apt update”

·           Hit “Enter” then type:

o   “sudo apt install linux-t2-lts” if using 22.04

o   “sudo apt install linux-t2” if using 23.10

·           Don’t close Terminal; need it for next step

Now, whenever you use the built-in Software Updater app, it will update as normal.  But we’re not quite done setting up our T1 or T2 Macs yet because they all came with that pesky Touchbar, which requires special coding to configure.

Step 5e - Setting up the Touch Bar

·           No matter if you are using an Ubuntu or Debian based distro, add the apt repository for T1 and T2 Macs by typing:

o   “curl -s --compressed "https://adityagarg8.github.io/t2-ubuntu-repo/KEY.gpg" | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/t2-ubuntu-repo.gpg >/dev/null

sudo curl -s --compressed -o /etc/apt/sources.list.d/t2.list "https://adityagarg8.github.io/t2-ubuntu-repo/t2.list"

sudo apt update”

·           Then type the following; if you installed Ubuntu 22.04 then the “Codename” is “jammy” (as seen below), but if you installed Ubuntu 23.10, then the “Codename” is “mantic”:

o   “CODENAME=jammy

echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/t2-ubuntu-repo.gpg] https://github.com/AdityaGarg8/t2-ubuntu-repo/releases/download/${CODENAME} ./" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/t2.list

sudo apt update”

·           Hit “Enter” and then type:

o   “sudo apt install tiny-dfr”

·           Hit “Enter” and Touchbar should activate

·           If not, it will after restarting

·           Restart

After restarting, you can run “sudo touchbar” to get a list of options for configuring the Touchbar. Simply follow the on-screen instructions. Note this command is only for Ubuntu or Debian based distros.

Before we can rebless rEFInd, we have to “repair” the Guid Partition Table, otherwise, Windows won’t boot until we do.  This step is the same regardless of the presence of a T-chip.

Step 6: Convert GPT

·           Reboot into admin-level account in Linux

·           Open Terminal and type:

o   “sudo apt-get update -y”

/

·           Hit “Enter” then type:

o   “sudo apt-get install -y gdisk”

/

·           Hit “Enter” then type:

o   “lsblk” and hit “Enter” (this gives you a clear name for the entire disk)

o   Most guides say the disk is “/dev/sdX” but on later Macs it’s “/dev/nvmeXnX”

o   More than likely, it’s going to be “/dev/nvme0n1”

/

·           Type “sudo gdisk /dev/nvme0n1” and hit “Enter”

o   Should see four lines with “MBR: hybrid” at the top

/

o   Type “x” and hit Enter

o   Type “n” and hit Enter

o   Type “m” and hit Enter

o   Type “w” and hit Enter

/

o   Type “y” and hit Enter

·           Type “sudo gdisk /dev/nvme0n1” again and hit Enter

o   Verify the MBR line now reads “protective” in stead of “hybrid”

/

o   Immediately type “q” and hit “Enter” (to avoid messing anything up)

·           Close Terminal and reboot

As mentioned, the Linux installation will break rEFInd again…follow Step 3 again.  Note: you don’t need to retype the commands, just arrow up to scroll through history of commands.

All three OS logos should now be visible when you reboot, along with another three circles logo (backup kernel for Linux), which can be removed, simply by arrowing over to it and hitting the “-“ sign, then “Yes”

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Installing Linux <- Back                    ToC               Next -> If Ubuntu Won’t Auto-boot

Optional Step C: If Windows Boots into Grub

·           Insert the Windows 10 Installation Media (USB) and restart, ensuring the machine (native or virtual) can boot from the media

·           Once media is loaded, select “Repair Your Computer”

o   Select “Troubleshoot”

§  Choose “Command Prompt” from the menu

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¨     Type in the command:

-       “Diskpart”

¨     Type in the command:

-       “List disk” and note which is the primary disk, probably “0”

¨     Type in the command:

-       “Sel disk 0” if the primary disk is in fact “0”

¨     Type in the command:

-       “List vol” and note which volume is the EFI partition, probably 3

¨     Type in the command:

-       “Sel vol 3” if the EFI partition is in fact “3”

¨     Type in the command:

-       “assign letter=V:” or any other letter starting at “Z” and going up

¨     Type in the command:

-       “Exit”

¨     Type in the command:

-       “V:”

¨     Type in the command:

-       “bcdboot C:\windows /s V: /f UEFI”

This will likely cause rEFInd to become unblessed, so follow Step 3 to rebless rEFInd.

If Windows Boots to Grub <- Back                    ToC               Next -> Installing chromeOS Flex

Optional Step D: If Ubuntu won’t Boot Automatically

·           Boot into Linux and log into admin level account

·           Open Terminal and type the following in order to install and run Boot Repair:

o   “sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair && sudo apt update

sudo apt install -y boot-repair && boot-repair”

§  Follow prompts to reinstall grub to the partition where your Linux OS is installed – probably the fourth (nvme0n1p4)

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/

/

/

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·           Close out Terminal and open a new console and type:

o   “sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer”

o   Hit “Enter” and type:

§  “sudo apt-get update”

o   Hit “Enter” and type:

§  “sudo apt install grub-customizer”

·           A new "Grub-Customizer" snap will appear in your “Activities” menu; open it

o   Configure grub to bypass the menu and to boot Ubuntu automatically

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o   Be sure to click “Save” when done

·           Go back to Terminal and type:

o   “sudo gdisk /dev/nvme0n1” and hit “Enter”

o   Verify the MBR is set to “protective;” if not, follow Step 6

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NOTE: Any time you change grub, you should determine whether your GPT has been converted back to a “hybrid” MBR; if so, complete Step 6 again, but you don’t need to reinstall gdisk.

ALSO NOTE: If you have chromeOS installed already, this step may rename the “boot” folder on the chromeOS partition to “boot_rm”.  Just rename it back to “boot” to fix chromeOS boot loader.

Bingo!  You know have a triple-booting Mac, but it’s not a Think quadratic. Mac until it can boot chromeOS as well!  The installation process depends on the Mac model you have.

If Ubuntu won’t Auto-Boot <- Back                  ToC               Next -> Installing Brunch/chromeOS

Installing chromeOS Flex

In order to get the most from chromeOS’ minimal resource utilization features, it’s best to install chromeOS onto an SD card or flash drive, but it has to be chromeOS Flex – Google’s official build for non-ChromeBooks.  Note: those models notated with “G” are the only ones fully supported by Google, so if you attempt to use chromeOS Flex on an unsupported model, you’re likely to face issues.  You’ve been warned.

Also, you could use a SD card on Macs without an SDXC slot using an adapter (or a USB flash drive in any case), but not only will you have potential compatibility issues, you’ll also have the added difficulty of not losing it and/or keeping it plugged in without breaking it.  We’re interested in testing chromeOS Flex on non SDXC Macs, but there aren’t any USB-C adapters or flash drives that would be flush to the sides of the Mac, effectively avoiding the added difficulties.  Compatibility issues might remain though; we’ll see.

Those who do have Macs with an SDXC slot are best off getting a microSD card and adapter that allows the microSD card to be completely flush to the sides.  That way you can just leave the microSD card in there all the time.  In this vein, the 2014 MacBook Pro is the most ideal option.  It is fully supported by Google and offers the best experience as a “Think quadratic.” machine.  However, due to the 2020 MacBook Pro’s lighter weight and stronger processor, it is the best overall option though.  Whatever your plans, set aside the SD card and adapter because you first have to create an installer USB.

Fair warning now, INSTALLING CHROMEOS FLEX WIPES OUT WHATEVER DRIVES IT DETECTS.  You should only perform this step if you have a Mac with a removable HD, so that the SD card or USB is the only “HD” detected by the chromeOS Flex installer.  The other option is to see if a friend, who’s already done this method, can use cloneZilla or similar to clone their SD card or flash drive to another and then give it to you.  If this option works, we’ll eventually make them available at thinkquadratic.com.  You’ll only need to provide shipping and handling and we’ll get one out to you.

The other option is to use a Linux-based framework called Brunch to install chromeOS (not Flex) directly to a partition on the internal disk.  It’s feasible to say Brunch/chromeOS could also be installed to an external device, but this is really only worth pursuing on T-chip Macs; plus, more testing will have to be done on this. If you’d like to skip to the Brunch/chromeOS method, just jump over Step 7 to Step 7a.

Step 7: Create chromeOS Flex Installer USB

·           Boot into Windows (or macOS if you can format drives as NTFS)

·           Install the Chrome web browser and open it

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o   Go to the Chrome web store and download the “Chromebook Recovery Utility”

/

o   At the top right, click “Add to Chrome”

/

o   When prompted, click “Add Extension”

/

o   At the top right of your Chrome browser window, click “Extensions //Manage extensions”

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o   Next to “Chromebook Recovery Utility,” toggle the switch to the right

/

o   Launch the “Chrome Recovery Utility” extension

/

o   With USB inserted, click “Get started”

/

·           In new popup window, click “Select a model from a list”

/

o   Choose “Google chromeOS Flex” for the “Manufacturer” field

/

o   Choose “chromeOS Flex” for the “Product” field

o   Click “Continue”

/

o   From the dropdown menu, select the USB drive

o   Click “Continue”

/

o   Click “Create now”
Note: During the process, it is normal for “Chrome Recovery Utility” to show unusual percentages

/

o   Wait for a message that your recovery media is ready

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·           Plug in the SD card or flash drive onto which you will install chromeOS Flex

·           Open Disk Partitioner (or Disk Utility on Mac)

o   Ensure you have the SD card or flash drive selected/highlighted

o   Format the SD card or flash drive to NTFS with a GUID partition table

o   Wait for the operation to complete

·           Shutdown

Again, Step 7 only created the installer; the only way to install chromeOS Flex to the microSD card or flash drive (so that it is natively bootable) is to do so with the internal hard drive removed; this is because the installer will wipe whatever it sees as the primary drive; so, OPEN YOUR MAC AND REMOVE THE HARDRIVE BEFORE CONTINUING.  IFIXIT HAS TONS OF GUIDES ON HOW TO DO THIS.  WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS OF DATA!

Step 7 Continued: Install chromeOS Flex to SD card or flash drive

·           With all internal HDs removed…This is the last warning…Plug in the chromeOS Flex installer USB

·           Boot into the chromeOS Flex installer USB by holding down “Option,” since rEFInd is on the EFI partition, which is on the internal drive, which should be REMOVED...last warning for real this time!

o   Go through the prompts to install chromeOS Flex to the SD card or flash drive

·           When finished, shutdown and remove the installer USB, but not the chromeOS Flex SD card or flash drive

Reinstall your internal drive into Mac and power up.  rEFInd should now see chromeOS as an option (which is another as of yet unmentioned benefit in going this route; if you use the Brunch method instead, there’s a boatload of trickery involved to get it booting directly from rEFInd).  If it doesn’t show up right away, just hit “Escape” and it will appear.  Once visible, select it to test and configure chromeOS Flex to your liking.  Again, there will likely be compatibility issues if you are using any Mac other than those supported by Google.  For instance, if your Mac has a dGPU, it may just hang on the chromeOS logo…not much you can do in that case, other than use the Brunch/chromeOS method.

Installing chromeOS Flex <- Back                     ToC               Next -> Quick Recap of Boot Issues

Installing Brunch/chromeOS

Later MacBook Pros do not have an SD card slot and while there are multiple USB-C ports on most models, there aren’t any ultra small USB drives on the market, especially not ones that are flush with the sides, ideally about this size, but with actual storage capability . . . not just a crypto key.  This is the closest thing we can find, but it’s not totally flush, and we’re in the process of testing it.  Therefore, the optimal way to get chromeOS running is through a special framework called “Brunch,” which was developed by someone going by the name Sebanc and then fine-tuned for T-chip Macs by ZProLegend007.  Be sure to thank them both!

The process involves first installing the framework and then installing chromeOS, all within Linux.  Though it can also be done with Windows, we just think it’s easier with Linux, especially because of the post-installation process during which we configure the bootloader to but directly in rEFInd.  Much of the Brunch/chromeOS installation guidance was pulled from here, but it’s cleaned up below for ease of following.

Step 7a: Prepare Brunch/chromeOS and the partition

·           Boot into Linux

·           If on non-T-chip Macs, go to the Brunch Releases Tab and download the latest tar.gz file

o   There should be a note as to which chromeOS image is required

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·           If on a T-chip Mac, go to the ZProLegend007’s T2 fork here

o   Download the last stable release - 120.2 (as of 05/01/24)

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·           Regardless of the T-chip, go to a chromeOS image repository and find the appropriate build

o   Cros.tech has them linked in a dropdown here

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o   Or you can go straight to the source and search for “jinlon”

o   Then find the latest stable build that corresponds with the Brunch build number or close thereto

§  Note: the numbers might not match up, but will be close – Brunch 117 and chromeOS 118, for instance.

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·           Prepare Linux Terminal by installing the pv, cgpt, tar and unzip protocols

o   Type “sudo apt update && sudo apt -y install pv cgpt tar unzip” and hit “Enter”

o   The above uses apt, a package manager for Debian and Ubuntu based distros. If you use Arch, you will need vboot-utils for access to cgpt and a different package manager may be needed to install the rest

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o   Some Linux releases (such as Ubuntu 23.04) may require the universe repo to install some of the above dependencies. If you get any errors about a dependency being unavailable, add the universe repo with this command, and then try the previous step again afterwards

§  Type “sudo add-apt-repository universe” and hit “Enter”

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·           After all protocol dependencies have been installed, “cd” into the directory where your files were downloaded; for most users this will be “Downloads”.

o   Type “cd ~/Downloads” and hit “Enter”

·           Extract the Brunch archive using tar

o   (In Ubuntu you can just double click the file)

o   Type “tar zxvf ” including the space

·           Select and drag the “brunch_filename.tar.gz” file into Terminal

o   Delete everything before the “brunch_filename.tar.gz” file and hit “Enter”

o   Once completed, there will be 4 new files from the brunch archive and a recovery bin from the chromeOS image in your Downloads folder.  Create a folder named “Brunch” and drag these files into it.

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·           Extract the chromeOS recovery using unzip

o   Type “unzip ” including the space

·           Select and drag the “chromeos_filename.bin.zip” into Terminal

o   Delete everything before “chromeos_filename.bin.zip” file and hit “Enter”

o   Move the chromeOS bn file to the “Brunch” folder as well

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·           Open the Snapd store (if you installed it) or type “sudo apt-get install gparted” in Terminal and install gParted

·           Open gParted and select the area of your internal disk to the right of your Linux partition, which should be free, unformatted space

o   Add a new partition, size it according to your preference (keeping space constraints in mind (you’ll want space for a shared storage partition as well, where you’ll store virtual machines among other things)), and format it as ext4

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·           Open Terminal and type:

o   “lsblk -e7” and hit “Enter”

·           You should see your newly created partition (nvme0n1p5) appear (in the sidebar in Ubuntu)

·           Then type:

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o   “mkdir -p ~/tmpmount” and hit “Enter”

·           Then type:

o   “sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p5 ~/tmpmount” and hit “Enter”

NOTE: simply clicking on the partition that shows up in the sidebar after creating nvme0n1p5 will not suffice; it has to be mounted in this fashion

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·           Then type:

o   “cd ” including the space

·           Select and drag the “Brunch” folder from your Downloads into Terminal; the command should read something like:

o   “cd ‘/home/username/Downloads/Brunch’”

·           Then type:

o   “sudo bash chromeos-install.sh -src ” including the space

·           Select and drag the “chromeos_filename.bin” from the Brunch folder into Terminal

o   Delete the filepath before the “chromeos_filename.bin” file and type “-dst ” including the space

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·           Select and drag the tmpmount folder from you Home folder into Terminal, so that it completes the “/path/to/chromeos.img ” including the space

o   Then type “/chromeos.img -s ###” (the “###” indicates the size of the img file; keep in mind it has to be a whole number and smaller than the fifth partition; for example, if you want a 128GB chromeOS img file, you can put “128,” but you better have made the partition at least 135GB in the steps above, otherwise the install will fail with a sizing error

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·           The final command should look something like this:

o   “sudo bash chromeos-install.sh -src chromeos_filename.bin -dst /home/username/tmpmount/chromeos.img -s ###”

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·           Hit “Enter”

o   If you get an error regarding limited space, lower size by one and try again

·           If space is not an issue, the script will ask for confirmation; if you're ready to install, type “Yes” into the prompt and hit “Enter”

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The installation may take some time depending on the speed of your target disk, please be patient.  There may be a couple of GPT Header errors, which can be safely ignored.  The installation will report that chromeOS was installed when it is finished. Before continuing, make sure that there are no additional errors in the terminal. If there are no errors, then you are good to continue by following the instructions in Terminal.

These next set of instructions may not be needed, as we will be setting Brunch/chromeOS to boot directly from rEFInd.  These instructions may actually be what causes Linux’s grub to not work as before.

·           Copy the lines of code looking something like this:

o   “sudo cat /etc/grub.d/40_custom /home/startsquad/tmpmount//chromeos.img.grub.txt | sudo tee /etc/grub.d/99_brunch; sudo chmod 0755 /etc/grub.d/99_brunch; sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg”

·           Paste them into Terminal and hit “Enter”

o   Type “sudo update-grub” and hit “Enter”

/

You now have Brunch/chromeOS installed; however, it won’t look that way in rEFInd – there will still only be three icons – Windows, Linux, and Apple.  The only way to boot Brunch/chromeOS at this point is to select the Linux icon, then arrow down to “Brunch” in a new grub menu and hit “Enter.”  Sometimes, rEFInd is configured in a way to where you won’t even see the grub menu though.  Thankfully, there is a fix.

This is the only part of this guide that comes purely from Think quadratic. and honestly, while this process could probably be turned into a script, which could run during Brunch/chromeOS’ installation, we haven’t the expertise to make that happen.  It is on the list of improvements for the future though and we’d be grateful for any assistance.  In the meantime, this may be the most difficult part of this guide, but it is worth it to be able to boot all four OS’s directly from rEFInd and have a Quadruple-Booting machine.

Step 7a Continued: Boot Brunch/chromeOS Directly from rEFInd

Open up the Brunch/chromeOS partition and double click the “chromeos.img” file to mount it. Linux should notify you when each partition within the image is mounted; chromeOS has multiple partitions of its own, four or five of which will mount. Now, we’re going to create and/or move files on four different partitions, some visible and some not. For those who don't need the step-by-step, take a Quick Look at the image below for an overview of what needs to be done.

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That's main disk EFI in top left, chromeos.img efi in top right, Brunch/chromeOS partition in bottom left, and Root-C from chromeos.img in bottom right, with most of the files being created or moved pointing to the Brunch/Chromeos partition. For the more kinesthetic people out there, or if you just like the nitty gritty details, no worries, a thorough step-by-step is below. It still helps to organize your Files windows in a visually methodical way, like above. To better understand the process, let's start by listing all the partitions on your disk, including the invisible ones. So…

·           Open Terminal and type:

o   “lsblk” and hit “Enter”

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You’re going to see “loop” followed by a sequential number a lot. How many times depends on how many apps you've installed on Linux and/or how many other images you have open. But the last "loop" will repeat a number and have a “p” followed by another set of sequential numbers. This is the chromeos.img file as a virtually mounted disk.

The 12th one (loop##p12) is the chromeos.img's EFI partition. Files on that partition tell the system to go to “Root-C” (loop##p7) to find the kernel for chromeOS. Further down the list, you’ll see nvme0n1 or sda0 – the primary drive. We’re going to mimic how your Linux OS boots off of the primary EFI (nvme0n1p1 or sda1) and Linux partition (nvme0n1p4 or sdaX; the "X" being the nth partition where you installed Brunch/chromeOS) on the primary drive. To begin...

o   Type “sudo mkdir ~/ESP” and hit "Enter"

o   Type your password and hit “Enter”

o   Type “sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 ~/ESP” (or sda1 instead of nvme0n1p1)

You won’t receive any messages about the drive successfully mounting; and in Ubuntu, if you open a Files window and simply click on the mounted partition in the sidebar, you’ll get an error. But if you click on “+ Other Locations,” “ESP” will appear at the bottom of another list of mounted partitions.

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·           Double click on the “ESP” folder in “+ Other Locations”

o   You will have to enter your password at least once, maybe twice, and you may have to again when you actually move/create files.

o   Keep this Files window (ESP) in the top left corner of the screen

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·           Open the EFI folder inside ESP

o   Create a new folder and call it “chromeos”

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o   Open the folder of your Linux OS (Ubuntu creates an “ubuntu” folder, for instance)

§  Right click on and copy the “grub.cfg” file

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o   Back out of that folder and go into the “chromeos” folder you just created

§  Paste in the “grub.cfg” file and then open it

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First thing we need to change is the long chain of letters and numbers making up the “uuid,” but first we have to find the correct uuid of the target partition, the one with Brunch/chromeOS.

·           Go back to Terminal

o   Type “sudo blkid /dev/nvme0n1p5” (or sdaX) and hit “Enter”

o   Type your password and hit “Enter”

You’ll see two possible uuids. We want the one with “UUID” before it, not “PARTUUID” before it. Should be the first one.

o   Copy that first UUID

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·           Go back the “grub,cfg” file

o   Paste the UUID in place of the existing uuid in the "grub-cfg" file (be careful to paste correctly)

o   Remove “/grub” on the next line (be sure to leave the apostrophes)

o   Close the file (entering password to save it)

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Now you need to mount the virtual EFI partition from the mounted chromeos.img file.

·           Go back to Terminal

o   Type “sudo mkdir ~/ESP2” and hit "Enter"

o   Type your password and hit “Enter”

o   Type “sudo mount /dev/loopXXp12 ~/ESP2” (the “XX” depends on what you determined from "lsblk" command earlier)

Unlike before, you’ll get a message that the partition was mounted, but as “read-only.” That’s OK. Like before, you will have to open the mounted partition from the “+ Other Locations” section of the Files window. From the first Files window (in the top left corner), click the “hamburger” icon and select the “New Window” option.

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·           Find “ESP2” in “+ Other Locations,” double click it

o   Put in your password once, maybe twice

o   Place the window in the top right corner of the screen.

·           Open the “EFI” folder inside ESP2

o   Open the “boot” folder

o   Select everything EXCEPT the “grub.cfg” file and drag it into the “chromeos” folder you created in “ESP/EFI” earlier (top left window)

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We are finished with creating/moving files on the EFI partitions, but don’t close the Files windows yet. We still need to open two more windows, but we won’t need Terminal to do so.

·           Open a new Files window and navigate to the Brunch/chromeOS partition (accessible from the sidebar in Ubuntu)

o   Drag this window to the bottom left of your screen

o   Create a folder named “boot and then open it

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·           Open another Files window and navigate to the virtually mounted “Root-C” partition (easier to find from “+ Other Locations” in Ubuntu)

o   Drag this window to the bottom right of your screen

o   Select and drag everything from “Root-C” (bottom right window) into that newly created “boot” folder (bottom left window)

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·           Select and drag the “grub.cfg” file from the chromeos.img efi partition (top right window) into that same “boot” folder (bottom left window)

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·           Open the “boot” folder and then open that “grub.cfg” file

o   Leave the top four lines alone for now (you can change the timeout later; see note at end)

·           Go back to the Files window for the Brunch/chromeOS partition (bottom left window), where the “boot” folder should still be open, and navigate up one level

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o   Open the file named “chromeos.img.grub.txt”

§  Copy everything

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·           Go back to editing the “grub.cfg” file and paste over everything starting from “menuentry” down to the end

o   Remove the lines that read “rmmod tpm” from the menu entries (second line for both entries)

Note: The 2 second timeout in the "grub.cfg" file just above is necessary on the first boot so that you can select the “Brunch settings” option. This is required to patch the Brunch framework according to your hardware before first boot into Brunch/chromeOS. Once you’ve done this, you can edit the "grub.cfg" file to boot Brunch/chromeOS right away by setting that number to “0”.

/

·           Close both files, being sure to save the “grub.cfg” file

That’s it. No need to unmount any of the partitions.  However, you may wish to clean up your Linux’s grub menu, removing the “Brunch” and “Brunch settings” menu entries, since you can now boot Brunch/chromeOS directly.

·           If you have Grub Customizer installed already, simply open it; if not:

o   Open Terminal and type

§  “sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer” and hit “Enter”

o   Then type “sudo apt-get update” and hit “Enter”

o   Type “sudo apt install grub-customizer” and hit “Enter”

·           A new "Grub-Customizer" snap will appear in your “Activities” menu; open it

o   Remove the "Brunch" and “Brunch settings” options

o   On the next tab, set the default bootloader to your Linux OS

o   Set the time to “0” and turn off “Look for other OS’s”

o   Click the “Save” button in the upper left

o   Wait for the progress bar to complete

·           Close Grub-Customizer

You can simply reboot and test out your directly booting Brunch/chromeOS partition.  Be sure to select the “Brunch Settings” option for your first boot, as this allows you to implement important features, particularly the ability for chromeOS to read the other internal partitions and external drives.

/

/

/

Installing Brunch/chromeOS <- Back             ToC               Next -> Theming rEFInd

Quick Recap of Possible Boot Loader Issues

·           If rEFInd doesn’t load, and the Mac boots into the Recovery Mode – reinstall rEFInd with Optional Step A

·           If rEFInd doesn’t load, but macOS does boot (such as would happen after NVRAM reset) – rebless rEFInd with Step 3

·           If rEFInd doesn’t load, and the Mac boots into any other OS instead – rebless rEFInd with Step 3

·           If rEFInd loads, but macOS doesn’t boot (stuck on white screen), which tends to happen when the machine shuts down abruptly, just hold down “Option” and select your MacHD partition – it should be able to boot from rEFInd no problem…until the next abrupt shutdown; AGAIN, NEVER SELECT WINDOWS FROM THE BUILT-IN MAC BOOT LOADER

·           If rEFInd loads, but Windows won’t boot at all – convert GPT to “protective” MBR with Step 6

·           If rEFInd loads, but Windows boots to the grub menu – complete Optional Step C

·           If rEFInd loads, but Ubuntu won’t boot automatically – complete Optional Step D

·           If nothing but macOS works, but only by holding down “Option,” then you may have destroyed your GPT (possibly after selecting Windows from the built-in Mac boot loader, which we warned you not to do!) and will likely have to start over; we’ll look into alternatives to recover from this in future improvements

o   A full disk recovery may be the solution, but this only works on non-T-chip Macs as of now

o   RescaTux might have some tools that can help rebuild the GPT, but we haven’t a tutorial on this yet

Quick Recap on Boot Issues <- Back               ToC               Next -> Virtualizing Windows & Linux

Theming rEFInd

If you reboot and each OS boots as expected, then congrats!  You now have a quadruple-booting MacBook Pro, but it’s STILL not a Think quadratic. Mac, until it has the “Think quadratic.” theme. In rEFInd

Step 8: Configure rEFInd with the QuadBook_Pro theme

·           Boot into admin-level account on macOS

·           Open Terminal

o   Type “sudo mkdir /Volumes/ESP” and hit “Enter”

o   Enter your password and hit “Enter”

o   Then type “sudo mount -t msdos /dev/disk0s1 /Volumes/ESP” and hit “Enter”

·           In Finder, go to the “refind” folder inside the “EFI” folder inside the “ESP” partition

o   If there isn’t a folder in the “refind” folder titled “themes,” create one

o   Double click on the “refind.conf” file (it should open in the default text editor)

§  Scroll to bottom and add the line “include themes/Think_Quadratic/theme.conf”

o   Close the “refind.conf” file, saving changes

·           Download the appropriate version of the theme from below (depending on which Mac you have just gotten to quadruple-boot)

o   QuadBook Air

o   QuadBook

o   QuadBook Pro

o   QuadTop Mini

o   QuadTop

o   QuadTop Pro

·           Move the newly downloaded “Think_Quadratic” folder to the “themes” folder

·           Restart and ensure rEFInd looks like this:

Theming rEFInd <- Back                   ToC               Next -> Miscellaneous

Virtualizing Windows & Linux

Step 9: Virtualize Windows

·           Install and license Parallels

·           Start Parallels and follow prompts to virtualize Boot Camp

·           Customize settings before starting VM

·           Once Windows is running, allow Parallels Tools to install

·           Be amazed, ‘cause yeah, it’s that easy

Step 10: Virtualize Linux

·           Download SuperGrub2.iso

·           Move the iso to the same place as the VMDK as it just makes things easier

·           Download and license VMWare

·           Open Terminal and type:

o   “cd /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/Library” and hit “Enter”

·           Then type:

o   “diskutil list” to ensure you’re creating a VMDK of the correct partition, should be disk0s4

·           Then type:

o   “sudo ./vmware-rawdiskCreator create /dev/disk0 # /path/to/file/filename scsi” and hit “Enter”

§  Notice: there’s no “s” in “disk0s4” – just space over it – and type the partition number in place of “#”

§  And you have to replace “/path/to/file” with the actual path; we recommend the shared storage location

§  You can replace “filename” with whatever name you want, but leave off the extension

·           Right click on newly created .vmdk file at “/path/to/file” and open with VMWare (this auto-detects an SCSI disk, making process easier)

o   Set the appropriate Operating System

o   Leave “Create a new virtual disk” as is

o   DO NOT CLICK FINISH; Click “Customize Settings”

o   Choose the location for the VM and name it

o   Settings window pops up

§  Open the “Hard Disk” option

¨     Drop the file size down to the absolute minimum

¨     Open the “advanced” options

-       Uncheck the “Split into multiple” option

¨     Click “Apply”

¨     Click “Show All”

§  Open the “CD/DVD” options window

¨     Check the “CD/DVD” option

¨     Navigate to that iso within the dropdown menu

¨     Click “Show All”

§  Click the “Advanced” option

¨     Check “Pass power status to VM”

¨     Select “None” under “Troubleshooting” dropdown

¨     Check “Disable Side Channel Mitigations”

¨     Click “Show All”

§  Click “Startup Disk”

¨     Select “DC/DVD”

¨     Click “Show All”

§  Change other things like display, as you’d like

o   Close “Settings” window (everything automatically saves)

·           Close VMWare completely

·           In finder, right click on the newly created VMWare file (it may or may not have an extension on it; if it does, it will be “.vmwarevm”) and click “Show Package Contents”

o   Right click on and open the .vmx file in preferred text editor

§  Find “scsi0:0.fileName = “filename.vmdk”” line and replace “filename.vmdk” with “/path/to/filename.vmdk” – it should look something like:

¨     “/Volumes/STORE PAR/Virtual Machine Stuff/MBPro1622UbuV.vmdk”

o   Save .vmx file by just closing it

·           Open VMWare and start VM

o   First few boots take some time

o   Eventually, grub boot screen appears; select first option

o   Errors will appear as it searches the Linux partition, but can be ignored

o   Select the same option used to boot in natively, probably first entry after the found Operating Systems list

o   Wait the requisite 1min 30secs – planned improvement to bypass this

o   Other entries may boot into emergency mode

§  Just click “Control + D” or type “exit” as directed

o   Install “VMWare Tools”

§  Open Terminal and type:

¨     “sudo apt-get update” and hit “Enter”

§  Then type:

¨     “sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools-desktop” and hit “Enter”

·           Reboot

Note: VMWare’s built in “VMWare Tools” installer (via virtual CD/DVD) is way more complicates and doesn’t work very well, so the Terminal method is highly recommended.

Virtualizing Windows & Linux <- Back            ToC               Next -> Full Disk Backup & Recovery

Miscellaneous

Fix macOS Launchpad

·           On an old macOS with correct LaunchPad, open Terminal

o   Type: “getconf DARWIN_USER_DIR”

o   Copy the path that command output

·           Go to Finder and Click on “Go” in the Menu Bar, then “Go to Folder”

o   Paste in the path and hit “Enter”

o   Find the folder named “com.apple.dock.launchpad” and copy it to a storage drive

·           On the new macOS, open Terminal

o   Type: “getconf DARWIN_USER_DIR”

o   Copy the path that command output

·           Go to Finder and Click on “Go” in the Menu Bar, then “Go to Folder”

o   Paste in the path and hit “Enter”

o   Drag and drop the “com.apple.dock.launchpad” folder from the storage drive to this folder

·           Restart

Miscellaneous <- Back                     ToC               Next -> Major Contributors

Full Disk Backup & Recovery

The great thing about macOS as the foundation for Quadruple-booting Macs is Time Machine because of its power to backup and restore; however, it will only do so with the macOS partition.  The only way to get that kind of recovery power is through a live bootable tool like Clonezilla.  Thing is, such software only works on none T-chip Macs. 

Non-T-Chip Macs

·           Boot into an admin level account in any OS

·           Download UNetBootIn

T-Chip Macs

·           Boot into admin

Full Disk Backup & Recovery <- Back             ToC               Next -> Affiliates                     

Major Contributors

rEFInd

·           Rod Smith

Linux on T2 Macs

·           T2Linux Community

·           Aditya Garg in particular for regular kernel updates

Brunch/chromeOS

·           Sebanc

·           ZProLegend007

TBD

·           TBD

·           TBD

 

Major Contributors <- Back                       ToC               Next -> Bottom of Document

Affiliates

BackMarket

·           TBD

Reebelo

·           TBD

EveryMac.com

·           TBD

TBD

·           TBD

Affiliates <- Back                     ToC