Hi, this is my first post and I am new to Linux, meaning I have never used Linux or any CLI before. I almost never post in forums because I usually solve my problem within a week of working at it but this has taken well over a week (40+ hours) so I'll try to make this post as detailed as possible, even though some of the things I say may be incorrect from lack of knowledge.

The goal is to install (multiboot, I'm not sure what the correct term is) Ubuntu, Kali, Mountain Lion, and Windows 7 on my Macbook Pro 9,2 (2012, 500gb hd, 2.5ghz, 8gb RAM)

In fact, I'm okay with leaving Mountain Lion and Windows 7 out of the equation. But I do want to use video-editing and music-producing programs that are widely used (Sony Vegas, Cubase, Ableton). I understand that Linux may have equivalents, but I would rather use something that is widely used so that if I want to learn how to use it better, there is more information online to show me how to use it (ie type in Sony Vegas on YouTube: 765,000 results. Cinelerra: 12,200 results)

I know WINE exists but I have heard that it runs great for some programs and horribly for others, I'm not too sure what to think about that because I haven't found too much supporting evidence either way, but then again, I haven't used it myself.

So I have downloaded all four operating systems onto DVD-R's. Originally, I used rEFIt to dual-boot Mountain Lion and Ubuntu. The problem I had here was that I could not create more "free space" to install the other operating systems. I have tried both Disk Utility in Mac OS X and GParted in Ubuntu. Both show a fixed partition?(lump of hard drive space that I cannot adjust) I was able to delete it on MAC OS X but not on Ubuntu using the respective disk utility program things.

I read on a tutorial that I should make Ubuntu my "primary partition" by doing a complete install. So I decided to do so thereby deleting my Mac OS X off of my computer completely. Now I am only using Ubuntu. The problem is, I am still not able to adjust my partitions in GParted so I cannot install any other operating systems.

I have read multiple times that multibooting is a very easy task so there must be something I am doing wrong.

Also, since I know very little about using a command line, I would appreciate it if you explained it in a very basic way. I also know very little about partitions and how to do this whole process even though I have been reading about it for weeks. I guess what I am saying is that VERY specific directions will help. If I read, "just make a four new partitions and boot the DVD's to install them" I won't understand how to follow that.

I hope that I have made sense in this post. If there is anything that I can do to explain myself better, please let me know. I will continue to try to solve my dilemma I am having with myself.

Thanks for your help!

Greetings and welcome to Linux and LQ as well
This may take a few posts to get it all as my approach is to get each step completed before worrying too much about the next one, given that you already know where the goal ends. One disclaimer - I know very little about MacOSX other than it is BSD based and a power user freaked out when I opened a terminal in it, "What is THAT!?!"

It seems to me that you first need to understand partitioning. If I am mistaken this is not meant as any slight and you can ignore this paragraph. It used to be that Primary partitions were exceptionally important but thankfully they are less important now because you can only have 4 of them on one HDD and that includes the Extended Partition in which numerous partitions can be created and used. This change came about due to the way in which partitions are described (and found) by systems, many of which still use drive lettering ( C, D, E, etc.). The problem was/is that drive letters are only persistent on Primary partitions or if the LVM (or what passes for it) has some means of hard assigning through some translation table eg- Drive1 Partition 3 = F . In Linux drives are not lettered. They are identified by order of drives and partitions by either device numbers (ie- /dev/sda3 or /dev/sdb3 where "a" or "b" are the entire drive and the numbers are the partitions on each respective one).

So, you will need at least one partition for each operating system (there are some advantages to separating out a few but that can wait). IIRC Windows no longer requires a Primary partition to boot but Win7 will create it's own hidden Boot partition. The easiest way to get started is to use a bootable Live CD with partitioning tools capable of creating the partitions/file systems you need. I am unaware of any Mac version of these but Windows has BartPE derivatives and Linux many GParted derivatives. I recommend Hirens Boot CD because it has Dos, Windows and Linux tools and both a Windows XP-like as well as a Linux bootable GUI and many awesome tools. I would boot to the Linux GUI and either use Clonezilla to make an image of your Ubuntu install (assuming you wish to keep it) or just wipe the whole drive and start fresh. That's easiest. Here is a tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW8qQ9-k7yo

With a completely clean drive you can then begin creating partitions. Their size will depend a lot on how big your HDD is or how many you have. On the first drive I would create at least one primary partition of at least 30 GB and leave 2-4GB of Free Space before it for Windows Boot partition (or if Mac requires something similar). Then create an Extended partition for the rest of the entire disk. Within this you can create as many as you like, just not Primaries. It is probably a good idea to make the first partition within the Extended one a Linux/BSD like Boot Partition where your boot loader can store it's configs. This only needs to be a GB or 2. It's a good idea with 4 OpSys to write down somewhere which partition you wish to use for which OpSys. Which is unimportant but you knowing them apart, is.

I don't know Mac requirements but I will assume for now that they are basically Unix-like so I would install Windows first since it sometimes does not "play nice" when installed on systems with competitors already present. Then you can install the rest. It is possible with some 3rd Party Windows bootloaders to boot *Nixes, but it is considerable easier to either chainload or boot all systems from one Linux bootloader whether that is Lilo or Grub. If there is a Mac bootloader that can do this and with which you are more familiar, go for it.

One note - You can eliminate one OpSys in Kali because it is just a distro that gathers together a lot of so-called "penetration tools" all of which are either present or available to any distro. Backtrack, Kali, Artemis, etc etc... all of this ilk, are routinely short-lived and not well or long supported. The advantages are nil and the hassle is not. Furthermore it will get you labelled as a "script kiddie" since this is who flocks to them in general. If you are serious about learning Security get a Pro product or just a good Linux Security book, like from O'Reilly.

I'll try to keep watch of this thread to answer any questions and see how you're doing. Good luck.

So I just wanted to make sure that I understand this first step correctly. I am willing to erase the entire drive but I don't know how to do that. The video you'd sent me shows how to download, burn, and run Hiren's from the CD. That video in particular does not show how to erase the entire drive or repartition the drive.

So should I continue watching the Part 2 and Part 3 videos of the series or should I look up how to erase and repartition the drive on another video? I only have one computer so if I erase the drive completely, I won't be able to access the internet if I'm not mistaken. Which will mean that I cannot watch the video you'd sent or follow your instructions.

And once the drive is completely erased, I am to repartition the drive and then install Windows 7? I've heard that Windows 7 doesn't install correctly on Mac computers because of the difference between BIOS and UEFI. I don't know much more beyond this, but I would just want to make sure that erasing the drive completely and installing only Windows will be possible, being that I only have one computer.

Also, I will follow your suggestion about Kali. I don't really need it if I already have Ubuntu and I can install "penetration tools" onto Ubuntu.

To summarize my next few steps:
Step 1: Clean drive completely using? ... Hiren's boot CD? Linux? I'm running on Ubuntu now as I have mentioned.
Step 2: Repartion the drive using? ... Hiren's boot CD?
Step 3: Install Windows 7 using Windows 7 boot CD

Again, thank you for the help.

Hello Again
Glad to see you're still motivated. Let me first erase your worries. The Hirens Live CD, like most Live distros, has full internet capability on both the MiniXP and the Linux systems so you won't be at all isolated. Depending on your hardware you may have to work with the Network Managers and/or graphics drivers to feel comfortable and have it all working but odds are good it will all "just work". Hirens 15.2 is an exceptionally good Live Distro.

It is definitely worthwhile to watch all 4 videos but Hirens and You Part IV is the one of immediate concern as it shows how to boot into the Linux Parted Magic environment. He also demonstrates the ease of it's use. His first job is resizing but you can either do that and try to keep what you have while freeing up hdd space, or just use the menuitem for "delete". Once you have sufficient space you can begin creating new partitions. Easiest for Linux is going to be ext3 or ext4 file system. It doesn't matter much which one. They are both very good. After you're more familiar with Linux you may choose to switch to optimize more for the type of work you do but this will be quite easy as the Linux system has excellent backup/restore imaging tools, so you don't have to reinstall unless you wish to.

The reason I am recommending the use of a Live CD is manifold. First and foremost, truly deep level hardware work is best done from outside any installed system as there are often safeguards that will prevent you from such things as deleting partitions, and because the CD can't be written to once it is burned, it is a guaranteed clean environment. You could choose to use GParted from within Ubuntu but I think you will be better served in many ways by employing a LiveCD like Hirens, not the least of which is the focus on learning to use build and recovery tools in an environment that can be used on any PC, anywhere, anytime.

Regarding legacy BIOS and UEFI - I find it easiest and advisable to put any UEFI hardware into Legacy Mode. UEFI has fantastic potential but presently is used for mostly useless OEM-specific utilities that just get in the way. One of those is Secure Boot which iirc is only supported so far on Win8. I'm not sure because I don't use it and don't recommend it especially on any multi-boot system. It will just get in your way, often preventing you from doing what you want to do with your own PC. Furthermore using UEFI requires specialty partitioning and bootloaders. If UEFI ever lives up to it's potential; you can always change but for now it's just a pita for multi-booters. Why take on extra complexity for little or no advantage to you?

Your 1,2,3 summary is correct unless you wish to save something of what you have on your hdd, assuming you have a spacious enough drive to accommodate it and also if existing partitions are not of the GPT variety. There are some minor advantages to GPT under UEFI, but IMHO, as I've said, presently "the juice isn't worth the squeeze". It's just simpler to use Legacy BIOS mode and MBR type partitioning and you have bitten off a large chunk already with a triple booter. There are guides out there if you choose this, but my help will be limited since I have yet to see any compelling reason for UEFI and GPT. FTR I have many PCs, some Desktops some Servers, and my main Desktop is a Z77 Extreme with 4 TB storage and 8GB Ram and an nVidia GTX 760, so I'm not a Luddite I just prefer the KISS method unless the added complexity and learning curve seem worth it.

The only other caveat bears repeating and that is I am unfamiliar with installing OSX so I am assuming you don't need to install it first rather than Win7. You probably know of this better than I.

Incidentally if you find you have painted yourself into a corner in some way, the Hirens CD supports eSATA, USB, and FireWire external drives so if you have one of these you can easily save your work for transfer later. Obviously since it also has Internet capability if you have some sort of Cloud-based backup/file service you can use that instead or as well.

This should get you started and I will keep checking back.

So when I restart my computer with Hiren's boot CD in the CD drive, my keyboard does not respond. I'm assuming that it has something to do with the keyboard patch. If so, how would I do that? I read the instructions and it says that I should end with another .iso file so would I download that .iso file onto another CD or the same as the one with Hiren's on it? Lastly, I am using Ubuntu so I don't know how to run the majority of the files on the Hiren's downloaded file because they are Windows, which I do know how to use, but again since it's Linux, it's not as simple as one click.
Thanks again for your help.

At what point does your keyboard not respond?

It is unclear to me yet if you simply copied the iso onto a CD or actually "burned image". The CD should have many files on it, not just one iso file. Depending on what DE you have in Ubuntu you have disc burning tools, probably Brasero. Whichever app you have look for "Burn Image to Disc" and do that.

Hirens has both Windows and Linux tools. You can use either but I recommend you start learning Linux since it is apparently the newest for you, or seems so. Mac OSX is, after all, underneath the glitz, still a *nix system, so you're not all that far away.

I should stop here until I hear how your keyboard is dropping out. Sometimes USB keyboards will drop out on UEFI systems, requiring a cold boot - ie: all power off for a few seconds then back on. A workaround is to use a PS/2 keyboard if you have one but cold boot should solve it. Also legacy usb support should be "On" in Bios/UEFI.

I believe that I have successfully burned the image onto the disc because when I put the disc into the drive and open it to view the files, I see multiple files and folders including HBCD, Boot, Programs, etc.

I looked up how to enable legacy USB support and apparently, because I am using a Mac, it is always enabled.

The process I follow to try to run Hirens goes like this:
I turn on my computer thus running on Ubuntu (keyboard is working)
I put the Hirens disc into the drive while running on Ubuntu (keyboard is working)
I wait until my computer recognized that there is a disc in the drive (keyboard is working)
I shutdown my computer with the disc still inside the drive (keyboard is working)
I turn on my computer. Then, Hirens boots up (keyboard is not working)

Since the keyboard is unresponsive and I am in Hirens, I have to shutdown my computer by holding the power button.
If I try again after the "cold boot" (holding the power button down to shutdown), I am still able to boot in Hirens and the keyboard is still unresponsive.

I am able to eject the disc before Hirens boots up by pressing the eject button which is a part of the keyboard, not a little plastic button on the side. So I guess the keyboard works all the way up to the point when Hiren's boots up.

If there is any other information that I can provide, please let me know.
Thank you.

Here is my recommendation

clean install OSX

Second install refit/refind

third install Windows 7 using bootcamp

boot into Windows install Ubuntu next to Windows in it's own Partition when you reboot as Ubuntu is installing select the penguin that will be displayed in the refit menu.

What ever tools you need from Kali will be in the Ubuntu repos forgo the Kali install it's a pen test distro and from the sound of your posts you're not a pentester unfamiliarity with the terminal will make most of the console based tools unusable to you anyway.

Firstly, let me recommend that you follow Germany Chris's plan since I know he understands Macs. Even though the side-by-side Linux install on the same partition as Windows is far less than ideal, I know he knows this too, so maybe this is another Mac BIOS/UEFI idiosyncracy.

That said, and if you have time, I am still curious about the keyboard. The very first page in Hirens is not technically "booted up" since it is simply a bootloader menu where you can select DOS, Windows, or Linux systems and tools. This is common to most LiveCDs so I'm wondering if your Mac has some sort of "lockout" as it should not be affected by a mere menu, assuming USB support at BIOS level. It is possible, even likely, that some DOS system tools will not function without a USB driver, but Windows, Linux, and the Boot Menu should all function. I'm curious if any LiveCDs work in your system.

FYI, I would be extremely surprised if your optical drive did not have the emergency extraction feature built in. This is a small hole just under the tray cover allowing access to a manual override to open the tray. There are special tools for this but a simple large paper clip straightened out works fine. Best wishes Mate.

Hello again guys,
I've decided to give up on the Mac and sell it.
I have now bought a HP Envy running on Windows 8.
I have also decided to not install Kali or any Mac operating system.

So essentially I want to dual-boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu. I understand that I need to wipe the drive, repartition it, and then install each operating system on separate drives. But this computer does come with a "Recovery" drive. There is the ":C" drive which is HDD and then there is the "" drive which is labeled "Recovery" (by default). I'm assuming that it is an SSD drive.

Should I erase both drives?

Also, DBAN is not working for me because it reads that it is unsuccessful with non-fatal errors, usually caused by a disk with bad sectors. I'm sure it's because DBAN is reading the SD Card Reader so it can't get to the drive that it needs to erase. I have also read that I can physically disconnect the card reader which will allow DBAN to run, I would like to not do that if at all possible.

Lastly, Parted Magic does not work on the disk on which I have downloaded it. It simply doesn't run from Hiren's, it just brings me back to the Hiren's Main Screen. So I wouldn't want to erase my drive and then realize that I can't run Parted Magic. I have also tried to run Parted Magic on its own from another disk and my computer doesn't recognize it in BIOS even though it does recognize it in Windows 8.

I will try both taking apart my computer tonight and re-burning all of the .iso files that I have downloaded onto a USB flash drive, maybe that will help.

Again, thank you everyone for the help, I haven't given up yet.

My advice to you is very simple: use virtual machines. Period.

Modern microprocessors have built-in hardware support for virtualization, and thus run guest operating systems at nearly native speed. They rely upon the host OS for certain things, but seamlessly. Therefore, use your untouched computer as the host, and install ... I frankly suggest that you buy ... a virtual machine monitor to run on it. Now, using the VMs thereby created, install whatever environments you like.

I absolutely would not monkey around with dual-booting ... I would not touch the main disk drive. I'd use FireWire or USB 2.0+ external disk drives for everything. "Done!"

Note that some systems, such as OS/X, do have restrictions concerning the types of hardware and software environments that can be used to run them.

Why are you so obsessed with wiping your drives?