# Installing onto an Apple TV 1g / 1st Gen / White / Silver?



## qops1981 (Jan 16, 2015)

Greetings all,

I am new to the forum and hope I am posting in the correct forum/thread. I have spent A LOT of time researching this to find no answers. I am trying to install FreeBSD onto an old Apple TV (1st Generation). I have tried the USB image but it will not boot from it. I have found a bunch of instructions for booting a couple different prebuilt Linux distros with XBMC, but I don't want those. I want use the Apple TV as a single purpose server that doesn't require a whole lot of power.

I have given up on trying to install it via the USB drive and now I have the HD out and I am willing to install it directly to the drive but I can still find no reasonable instructions.

If anyone is willing or knows of a place to direct me. Could you help me either find out how to boot the USB drive OR find out how to install the OS directly to the drive and have it boot in an Apple TV 1st Generation.

Thank you for you time,
-Bill


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## qops1981 (Jan 18, 2015)

UPDATE:

No Success Yet :-\

I have tried using Virtual Box + a USB -> IDE adapter + the FreeBSD DVD ISO and installed FreeBSD to the attached Drive. The install went fine but when I connected it to the physical Apple TV, the unit just booted to a ? <Image:AppleTV> and that was it.

My theory is that I need to install the OS with an EFI volume. SO my next step will be trying to find instructions on how to install FreeBSD with an EFI volume that correctly instructs the hardware on what and how to boot (I assume).

Thanks,
-Bill


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## wblock@ (Jan 18, 2015)

This might help: https://www.glenbarber.us/2011/11/12/Dual-Booting-OS-X-and-FreeBSD-9.html


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## Denis Kropotov (Mar 13, 2018)

qops1981 said:


> UPDATE:
> 
> No Success Yet :-\
> 
> ...



Hello qops1981!
Your attempts to install FreeBSD on Apple TV (silver) are successful? If successful, could share the instructions?


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