How to boot and install Linux or BSD on a 2007 MacBook White via USB? I have an old MacBook white (Model 2,1 mid-late 2007) which won't upgrade beyond Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6). I have previously installed Debian with a dual boot by using rEFIt and booting from a DVD disk, but the DVD drive doesn't seem to reliably read disks anymore

I would like to install Debian or BSD on this MacBook, either as a dual boot, or as the single OS -- alternatively, any current linux distro or even Windows 10 would do.

I have tried a few things, all without success. For the record:


Burn .iso (or .cdr) image to DVD (Mac won't read disk)
Create a live Debian USB (with MBR partition) with rEFIt
Create live Debian USB with Mac Linux USB Loader (will boot on newer Macs, but not on MacBook2,1)


I've seen something about manually putting a GPT table on the USB drive, or creating a separate EFI partition, but since it's more technical and time consuming I didn't get around to it.

Main question: is there a reliable way to boot and install Linux, BSD, Windows (anything not OS X)?

Bonus points for running the OS live from the USB -- since after 10 years HD may fail some time soon.

Thanks for helping with recycling an old friend and protecting the environment.

EDIT: both replies, as well as all HOWTOs I could find operate under the assumption that I should be able to hold 'opt' on boot and choose the USB stick. That's not what happens when I have BSD or Linux there, but I am able to choose a USB stick with Mac OS X and install from it.
So the question becomes, what is the difference that prevents that from being done with Linux/BSD?
I personally installed FreeBSD on a G4 machine via USB, so I don't see why you can't do that with a 2007 MacBook.

But going back to the original question


  is there a reliable way to boot and install Linux, BSD, Windows (anything not OS X)?


Yes.  There is a site called Linux on Laptops (I linked the Apple section) that outlines what laptops are compatible with Linux.    Specifically for Debian, they have a Wiki that describes exactly how to install it on a Mac.

As mentioned before, I am partial to BSD.  FreeBSD has USB images specific to UEFI machines available for download.  

There is also excellent HOWTOs available to assist you in this process.

As for your "Bonus Question"...


  Bonus points for running the OS live from the USB -- since after 10
  years HD may fail some time soon.


Why would you do this and not replace the hard drive? 

A SATA1 interface is 1.5Gb/s

A USB2.0 port is 480Mb/s

Rough math tells us USB is 1/3 the speed of a drive.  A brand new SanDisk SSD is less than $50 online.  It doesn't make sense to sacrifice that much performance for that small price.