Macbook Pro, Windows 7, Mac OS X and openSuSE 11.3

Triple booting on a Macbook Pro always take ages to setup, but my new MacBook Pro proved to be especially challenging, mainly due to a bug (?) from the openSuSE 11.3 installer… Ubuntu worked fine, but I simply refuse to use it.

I’m a huge openSuSE fan, installing a different flavor is not an option! Below are the steps required:

1. Using Boot camp, create a partition for Windows
2. Install Windows 7 normally
3. Boot into Mac OS X, install reFIT
4. Restart, sync disk using the Partition Tool (on the refit boot menu)
5. Test that Windows 7 boots. The first time it will get stuck on the Windows logo, restart machine and try again. If it still doesnt work, restart machine and hold down Option, boot into Windows, restart, and use refit again
6. Boot into OS X, resize the Mac OS X partition and create a new partition for Linux
7. Boot into a Ubuntu LiveCD (I used 10.04), use GParted (System -> Administration -> GParted), format the linux partition to Ext3 (or whatever you want to use)
8. Boot into the openSuSE installer, chose to mount / into the formatted drive above, do not let the installer reformat anything, or touch anything. Do not install a bootloader (chose do not install bootloader)
9. Once installed, boot with the Ubuntu LiveCD again (My 10.04 came with Grub2, had to download a 9.04 LiveCD to get the original Grub), and open a console (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal), and type (assuming the linux is on sda3). Note that if you want to use the 10.04 LiveCD which has grub 2, then read grub-install (there is no grub command line)
   • sudo grub
   • grub > root (hd0,2)
   • grub > setup (hd0,2)
   • grub > quit
   • sudo mount /dev/sda3 /mnt
   • sudo vi /mnt/boot/grub/menu.lst

default 0
timeout 10

title    openSUSE
root     (hd0,2)
kernel   /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda3
initrd   /boot/initrd

10. Reboot, and sync the disk again using refit. OpenSuSE should be bootable now (You will have to restart the machine the first time refit tries because it will get stuck)
11. If you are happy with using the grub that you have now, then you can stop here. If you want the good looking openSuSE boot screen, keep going.
12. In openSuSE, goto YaST2, System -> Bootloader, chose to install GRUB, untick everything, including everything in Advanced, and install.
13. Everything should be running now!

Thanks for this post for most of the information: http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-help-here/install-boot-login/430718-macbook-pro-grub-2.html