What available methods are there to boot a Macbook Pro I have a macbook pro 15" early 2011 model, which I would like to install linux on (dual boot setup). However, I don't have an optical drive for it since I replaced it with an SSD. I need some way to boot the linux installer. I have tried booting from a USB flash drive, from a partition on an external HDD connected over firewire, and even using a virtual machine (which surprisingly was the most successful attempt).

Should my computer be able to boot from some of these media I listed above, if so, are there any good resources that might show me what I was doing wrong?

I have an external optical drive that connects over USB if that helps.

Is there a way I could set up a network-boot solution? I have a mac mini running mountain lion that I can use.
I would follow these steps to get Ubuntu on a freshly erased USB drive.


http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/create-a-usb-stick-on-mac-osx


No need for rEFIt or other hybrid boot tools so you can get your feet wet booting with the option key held down and choosing the USB drive. Once you have a working linux, you can easily bootstrap to other OS if they don't have instructions that are as Mac friendly as Ubuntu.