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I want to install Debian on my macbook air 13" from 2011. I'm following this tutorial: https://wiki.debian.org/MacBookAir4%2C2Testimonial

It starts by telling me to use bootcamp on OS X. I don't have OS X anymore, I'm using windows 8.1 on my macbook. I have 2 partitions: Bootcamp (C) and HD (D). I want to install it in the second partition (HD), but only in a piece of it. Then, I want to put the rest of HD together with Bootcamp, to form a greater partition.

So, this is the idea:

Bootcamp: 64Gb HD: 64Gb

I want to use 28Gb from HD to Debian and merge the another 28Gb with Bootcamp to form a partition with 100Gb.

First of all, can I just do it using the disk management tool from microsoft? I would Shrink the size of HD, to create a new partition. Then the idea was to install Debian in the new partition and merge the rest together. Is this easy to do?

The tutorial has this step:

I installed gdisk [1] and added a linux partition out of the free space, not creating any file system.

So I can't use the disk management tool from microsoft? How do I create a partition with gdisk? Is it before or after shrinking the volume of HD?

I also made sure the latest firmware update (2.2 at the time) and OS X update (10.7.2 at the time) were applied, which they were from the factory.

I think my firmware is 2.2, but I don't have OS X anymore. How do I verify it?

I also made sure the latest firmware update (2.2 at the time) and OS X update (10.7.2 at the time) were applied, which they were from the factory.

I don't have OS X, so I don't have this 'dd', I think. Can I just use a normal program to create a bootable pen drive?

I also prepared a second usb stick for firmware from [3], but in the end it did not work automatically (because of using double usb sticks?) and I copied the firmware in place manually. The files needed are brcm/bcm43xx-0.fw and brcm/bcm43xx_hdr-0.fw from the package firmware-brcm80211_0.28+squeeze1_all.deb

how will I extract the files from firmware-brcm80211_0.28+squeeze1_all.deb?

Also, what is this "GRUB installation", and where do I install it?

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    Things to beware of… 1) Don't touch the drive partitioning with Windows, you'll break Boot Camp. 2) Bootcamp cannot change its partition size, even done from the Mac side. You can only remove & re-add. You're going to have to use something like rEFind, but that's outside my expertise area.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Apr 17, 2015 at 17:36
  • Windows has no clue how Boot Camp builds the drive/volume structure to allow Windows to see MBR on a GUID drive
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Apr 17, 2015 at 20:38
  • @Tetsujin how do I learn this hard drive, volume and partition stuff? any recomendation?
    – ramnstein
    Commented Apr 17, 2015 at 22:36
  • tbh, I'm not really sure - most of it is beyond me if I can't do it from a GUI - it would be worth looking up posts by klanomath on Ask Different, as he seems to have a very good handle on this; perhaps even request this post to be migrated to Ask Different.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 7:10

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It's critical to determine two things:

  • How are you booting Windows (BIOS vs. EFI) -- Check here to determine your Windows boot mode. If you're booting in EFI mode, then you should follow EFI-mode Linux installation instructions, but keep in mind that the Mac is weird and you'll be on the "bleeding edge," with little or no support, when it comes to using tools like efibootmgr and bless. If Windows is booting in BIOS mode, things are likely to be simpler, since then you should do a BIOS-mode installation of Linux, which is well-documented on a gazillion Web sites. The main caveat has to do with the partition table....
  • How is your disk partitioned, (GPT, MBR, or a hybrid MBR) -- With Windows, GPT is used with EFI-mode booting and MBR with BIOS-mode booting. Macs ship with GPT, and to dual-boot Windows, Apple uses an ugly and dangerous hack known as a hybrid MBR. (This shows up in Windows as a regular MBR, but OS X treats it as GPT.) If you've got GPT or MBR, your situation is simple: Leave the partition table type as-is. If you've got a hybrid MBR, then Windows is almost certainly booting in BIOS mode. This combination is likely to lead to trouble, though. In this case, I recommend using the Windows version of gdisk to convert the disk to a conventional MBR setup, which should leave Windows still able to boot and make subsequent changes much safer. The conversion itself is not risk-free, though, so be sure to back up before doing it.

If I had to guess, I'd say that you're probably booting in BIOS mode with either an MBR or a hybrid MBR. If so, then you should first, if necessary, convert to a straight-up MBR, as just noted. Thereafter, treat the computer as a regular BIOS-based computer and follow regular Linux dual-boot installation instructions, which are littered about the Internet like sand on a beach.

One more caveat: Do not create partitions for Linux using Windows tools. It's (relatively) safe to shrink your Windows partition(s) to make room for Linux, but leave it to Linux to create its own partitions. Windows tends to convert MBR disks into its proprietary Logical Disk Manager (LDM) format if you repartition them to have more than four partitions, which you'll just have to undo (creating effort and risk of data loss).

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