How Do I Run Linux On My Mac Book?

[Smallwheels]

I've read a couple of threads that relate to what I want to do but they are incomplete. They aren't geared for a first timer.

Bodhi Linux 2.0 is coming out in July and I want to add it to my OS collection of four (XP, Vista, OS X, Ubuntu 10.04). This time I want to run Bodhi using my Mac Book via an external hard drive. I don't want to put it on my Mac Book's 160 GB drive because I've got a new need for the remainder of the space on that drive.

What do I need to accomplish this? I intend to get another external hard drive. How should it be formatted?

I know how to download the OS and create a disc image.

What will I need from this point to get the OS on the external HDD and working via USB or Firewire 400?

I'm asking these questions now just so I can be ready for the July release. I should be able to do it all in an hour or two when the time comes if I learn all that I need to know now.

Shouldn't this be just like having a computer tower with two internal hard drives? I'll just select which one I want at the boot screen or in the start-up preferences.

I'm hoping it works out well enough that I'll make the switch to using Linux as my primary OS. I'll keep the others for Netflix and perhaps Sony Vegas if Kden Live (video editing program) doesn't work as well.

Thank you.

Smallwheels

[macmanmacman]

boot camp only works on your internal drive on the macbook no external support.

and if you create a partition for it on your macbooks hard drive you will be greeted with the lovely this drive cannot be read do you want to format error in mac os x because it cannot read the linux file system

[dungeon92]

Cannot be done from an external unless that's your boot drive, also to install it you MUST use rEFIt, if you don;t know how to use it it's not worth trying. Also be aware that because of the use of EFI instead of BIOS a good deal of features can be broken, in particular graphics run into issues, not so much simple things but 3D gets affected.
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[Smallwheels]

So how is the Apple hardware different from other brands that use Windows or Linux?

If I load Linux on an external hard drive using a Windows machine and then attach it to my Mac and select that drive as the boot drive what should I expect to happen?

I know that I can load a CD into the HP computer and select it as the boot disc. Then it will ask me if I want to install it and then where to install it. That is how it will get onto the external drive. After following the instructions for partitioning it will work on the HP as my OS location.

What is the difference between BIOS and EFI?


Smallwheels