While Apple's main intention for releasing Boot Camp was to make it easier to install Windows XP on an Intel Mac alongside OS X, This really is the easiest way to install any second operating system alongside OS X. The main advantage of Boot Camp is that it will create a new partition on your hard drive without erasing it. However, before proceeding, I suggest backing up any important data because despite how easy this is going to be, you will be performing a major system overhaul with what is essentially beta software. With that in mind, here is what you'll need:
1. An install disc for the i386 version of your Linux distribution of choice. You can obtain this from the website of your chosen distro.
2. An Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.6 or later. This won't work if your Mac is a PowerPC (G3, G4, G5) or older.
3. Boot Camp (http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/)
Boot Camp was designed to walk you through an installation of Windows, so you won't be following it exactly. Instead, you're going to want to follow these steps:
1. Download and install Boot Camp. You can get it from the above link.
2. Run Boot Camp Assistant, which should appear in your Utilities Folder after the installation. Divide your Hard Drive into two parts, giving your "Windows XP" partition at least as much space as your Linux distro needs. Push the Partition button.
3. Since you won't be installing Windows, you don't need to push the "Start Installation" button. Instead, make sure your Linux install disc is in the drive and push the "Restart Mac OS X" button.
4. When you hear the Mac Booting sound (the "system bell"), hold down the alt (option) key until you see a booting menu. Click on the CD icon that says "Windows." You will boot up in your Linux install. (If the mouse doesn't work for this step, use the arrow keys to select the proper icon and hit return)
5. Run the installation as you normally would.
6. When you get to the partition manager, choose to do it manually. Find the "fat32" partition and delete it. This will be converted to free space.
7. Create two new partitions out of the free space: One should be about 600 MB and formatted as "swap" and the other one should take up the rest of your free space, formatted as "ext3" and assigned either "/" or "root". If you get an error message that you need a boot partition or a bootloader or something like that, ignore it, you already have it in the form of Boot Camp. Finish the installation and remove the install disc.
8. To boot into Linux, hold down the alt/option key at the system bell sound until you see two hard drive icons. One will say "Macintosh HD" and the other will say "Windows." Select the "Windows" icon and that's it!
9. (Optional) Drop Apple a line about how you would like that icon to say "Linux" instead of "Windows."
Please keep in mind that this article is pretty generic, just to get you started. Before you embark on the task of installing Linux, it is highly advisable to read the instructions provided for your chosen distro. With that in mind, good luck, and have an enjoyable Linux experience.
source: Chris Scott
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