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I am going to buy a mac mini (mid 2010 no server edition) and use it as linux server (i think i will use ubuntu server as distribution on it).

I never had any mac so sorry if i ask some newbie/dummy questions but just to make sure before buy it:

  • can it boot from usb key (for the installation) ?

  • can it boot without keyboard/mouse/monitor ?

  • the bios is a standard bios like a pc ?

Thanks for the help

res1
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2 Answers2

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  • Yes it can boot from a usb
  • Yes it can boot without a keyboard/mouse/monitor
  • No there is no normal pc type bios on a mac.
Mike
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  • About the bios, how can i setup it to "boot from cd" or "boot from usb" ? on pc i setup this on bios, it has a custom bios from apple or similar? – res1 Mar 29 '13 at 16:18
  • Booting from [USB storage](http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1948) is tricky. Booting from a CD is pretty easy. Just put in a disk and hold down **C** [during startup](http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1533). – Zoredache Mar 29 '13 at 16:25
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can it boot from usb key (for the installation) ?

Yes, hold Alt key on boot until the chime and choose boot medium.

can it boot without keyboard/mouse/monitor ?

Yes, but it conflicts with usb boot ;) - But theres no "Press F1 for continue" dialogue on Mac

the bios is a standard bios like a pc ?

No, its a special EFI. You'll also need a special bootloader.

Henrik
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