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Nice post. Wondering if/when dependence on macOS will be eliminated? I don’t mind a small recovery partition on disk for… what, firmware updates? But otherwi

Nice post. Wondering if/when dependence on macOS will be eliminated? I don’t mind a small recovery partition on disk for… what, firmware updates? But otherwise would prefer macOS get completely out of the way. Is that a thing that is possible, or will we always be reliant on an “activated” macOS?

CharlesW 3y ago
If I understand it correctly, that partition is not loading macOS, and is necessary for loading any OS — Asahi Remix, macOS, etc. https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/M1-vs.-PC-Boot https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/M1-vs.-PC-Boot
pacifika 3y ago
You’ll need it for firmware updates.
- pxc 3y ago
  Can you not do that from recovery on external media, just like installing the OS?
  - Wowfunhappy 3y ago
    Nope. iBoot doesn't support USB at all (including for OS installation), presumably to reduce the vulnerability surface area. While annoying, this makes sense, as the USB stack is quite complex. Apple Silicon Macs can boot from USB, kind of, depending on your definition of "boot"--they have to first boot an OS from the internal hard drive and then boot the OS on the USB.
jasoneckert 3y ago
It is technically possible to remove macOS after installing Fedora Asahi Remix, leaving Linux as the sole OS, but this is not recommended to ensure that you can always update the firmware and recover the system. To install Fedora Asahi Remix, however, you must have macOS to run the installer script and prepare the system for use. So, the best solution is to shrink macOS to the minimum possible size during installation and use the remaining space for Fedora Asahi Remix should you wish to forget about macOS altogether.
- mixmastamyk 3y ago
  Thanks. How does Apple bootstrap the system in the first place when inserting a blank SSD? Or perhaps you bought a replacement part? I don't see how that could be done if it is true—that the system is bricked/unrecoverable if the macos partition is lost. Surely it can boot from USB or something? Perhaps not, this wiki page linked above implies the iboot can't handle usb or external storage: https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/M1-vs.-PC-Boot https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/M1-vs.-PC-Boot
  - nullindividual 3y ago
    Read further down. DFU prevents bricking.
    - mixmastamyk 3y ago
      Yes, just got to that part, thanks. Investigating DFU, apparently it needs a second laptop to bootstrap it, like a mobile device. I don't like the idea, but it won't happen often, hmm.
      - skydhash 3y ago
        Only happened once to me, when i wanted to get out of beta builds.

CharlesW 3y ago

If I understand it correctly, that partition is not loading macOS, and is necessary for loading any OS — Asahi Remix, macOS, etc. https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/M1-vs.-PC-Boot https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/M1-vs.-PC-Boot

pacifika 3y ago

You’ll need it for firmware updates.

pxc 3y ago
Can you not do that from recovery on external media, just like installing the OS?
- Wowfunhappy 3y ago
  Nope. iBoot doesn't support USB at all (including for OS installation), presumably to reduce the vulnerability surface area. While annoying, this makes sense, as the USB stack is quite complex. Apple Silicon Macs can boot from USB, kind of, depending on your definition of "boot"--they have to first boot an OS from the internal hard drive and then boot the OS on the USB.

jasoneckert 3y ago

It is technically possible to remove macOS after installing Fedora Asahi Remix, leaving Linux as the sole OS, but this is not recommended to ensure that you can always update the firmware and recover the system. To install Fedora Asahi Remix, however, you must have macOS to run the installer script and prepare the system for use. So, the best solution is to shrink macOS to the minimum possible size during installation and use the remaining space for Fedora Asahi Remix should you wish to forget about macOS altogether.

mixmastamyk 3y ago
Thanks. How does Apple bootstrap the system in the first place when inserting a blank SSD? Or perhaps you bought a replacement part? I don't see how that could be done if it is true—that the system is bricked/unrecoverable if the macos partition is lost. Surely it can boot from USB or something? Perhaps not, this wiki page linked above implies the iboot can't handle usb or external storage: https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/M1-vs.-PC-Boot https://github.com/AsahiLinux/docs/wiki/M1-vs.-PC-Boot
- nullindividual 3y ago
  Read further down. DFU prevents bricking.
  - mixmastamyk 3y ago
    Yes, just got to that part, thanks. Investigating DFU, apparently it needs a second laptop to bootstrap it, like a mobile device. I don't like the idea, but it won't happen often, hmm.
    - skydhash 3y ago
      Only happened once to me, when i wanted to get out of beta builds.