Issues installing linux on Catalina 10.15.7

[straw hat matt]

My error: when booting off the drive in the boot menu, it says I need a software update to use the 'disk'

My steps: 

• I used disk utility to create a partition on my SSD, (MS-DOS, FAT32), 110gb
• I used disk utility to erase my flash drive and reformat it as above (ms-dos, fat32).
• I downloaded ubuntu as .iso, and used etcher to flash it onto my USB.
• I reboot, enter boot menu. Even though I only have one flash plugged in, two identical usb drives pop in the boot menu. They are titled the same and both produce the same error. 

Other steps I have attempted:

• I gave clearance for my computer to boot off an external boot drive.
• I removed all security features from my computer's drive and any boot drive. 
• My laptop is fully updated.

After clicking the boot drive in the boot menu, it reads : "A software update is required to use this startup disk"

If I click update, it goes through a 'downloading update' phase for a few minutes, then automatically boots back into Catalina on the other partition.

 

Please let me know what other details I can offer

Thanks!

[mahyar]

you have to format it in ext3 or ext4

[straw hat matt]

Just now, mahyar said:

you have to format it in ext3 or ext4

my ssd or usb drive?

[mahyar]

Just now, straw hat matt said:

my ssd or usb drive?

ssd

[Electronics Wizardy]

what mac do you ave?

 

 

[mahyar]

btw how did you flash ubuntu on usb?

[straw hat matt]

1 minute ago, mahyar said:

ssd

No option appears in Disk Utility for ext4 (or 3).

sorry this is reaching the limit of my knowledge

[straw hat matt]

Just now, mahyar said:

btw how did you flash ubuntu on usb?

using balenaEtcher. I tried another one but it didn't work at all. 

[straw hat matt]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

what mac do you ave?

 

 

2018 MBP

[mahyar]

https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/create-a-usb-stick-on-macos#1-overview

its the official guide on how to install ubuntu on mac fallow this

[straw hat matt]

8 minutes ago, mahyar said:

https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/create-a-usb-stick-on-macos#1-overview

its the official guide on how to install ubuntu on mac fallow this

That's what I followed. Has no mention of my software update error. 

[mahyar]

try downloading iso file again 

[maplepants]

The error you're getting is the boot manager's standard "I don't understand this file system" error. If you've installed ubuntu onto the partition, then it's already formatted as ext4 but that still won't help the standard macOS boot manager because it can only boot macOS and Windows. The reason why this message says "A software update is required to use this startup disk" is because it's meant for a situation where you're on HFS+ or some older version of APFS and trying to boot from a newer APFS volume.

 

What you're trying to do here is actually pretty tricky. Especially if you're trying to do this on a single hard drive. If it's possible, I'd recommend either getting an external drive to run Ubuntu off of, or running it in a VM in macOS. Personally, I use Parallels, but Virtual Box should also work fine.

 

If you're really committed to running on bare metal; here's a good tutorial: https://www.lifewire.com/dual-boot-linux-and-mac-os-4125733.

 

As you can see from the tutorial you'll need to both turn off System Integrity Protection, install your own boot manager and update GRUB on the USB stick before installing Ubuntu.

 

I run a Ubuntu VM most of the day on my mac and it works very well. I would suggest that you try running as a VM for a day or two and if you're really hurting for performance then follow the lifewire tutorial and it should work.