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I would like to run linux as the primary operating system on my MacBook Pro to replace the OS X that was pre-installed with the MacBook.

I would then like to run OS X inside a virtualbox guest running on the MacBook.

  1. Is this configuration legal from a licensing perspective?
  2. My mac book was pre-installed and there wasn't an installation CD in the box. How can I get the OS X installation image for installing into Virtualbox?

UPDATE: I have NOT purchased a copy of OS X, and I do not wish to purchase one either :)

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    Why not use bootcamp to install linux and set that as your startupdrive? On newer macbooks there aren't any installation discs required, because they normally have a recovery partition.
    – Jules
    Commented Jan 14, 2015 at 19:29
  • I will probably need to regularly switch between Linux and OS X. It looks like bootcamp is a dualboot mechanism which will make switching between OS's a pain?
    – Chris Snow
    Commented Jan 14, 2015 at 19:43

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You could try to download the Yosemite installer (or another OSX version if your "purchased" it earlier) and try if you can install a virtual machine with it. You could also visit this link (it is for parallels, but maybe it will also work with virtual box): http://kb.parallels.com/en/118806

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  • Thanks for the response. However, I've updated the question to reflect that purchasing a copy of OS X is not something I want to do.
    – Chris Snow
    Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 8:04
  • By purchasing I mean that an os x version is linked to your apple id. OSX Maverics and OSX Yosemite are both free to download fron the appstore.
    – Jules
    Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 8:06
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You should be able to see the yosemite installer in the AppStore. Follow the instructions here to create a bootable disk for yosemite (os x 10.10). Similar instructions can be found for mavericks or older versions with a simple google search.

Then format the harddrive and install linux.

Then download vmware or your preferred vm client and set up the vm using your bootable disk.

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