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A good Linux distro for iBook Clamshell?

Jessica Lares

Jessica Lares

macrumors G3
Original poster
Oct 31, 2009
9,612
1,062
Near Dallas, Texas, USA
I want something lightweight as I just threw out 10 DVDs with Gentoo, Debian, and Ubuntu that made the system choke (or it's my dodgy MBP SuperDrive that has broken for not once, twice, three times a lady, but four). I need something's that's updated too.

And I can't compile because the MBP's keyboard is broken, otherwise I would. And I don't have an ethernet cord...

So suggestions please and thank you!
 
I've been going through the same thing with my iBook. Looking, but not finding, a decent distro. Most have system requirements of 512Mb of memory (got it) and a 1Ghz processor or better (definitely don't got it).

I think Ubuntu is definitely the way to go, in terms of how the distro works, how it manages packages, etc. Have you tried Xubuntu? It's Ubuntu's core but using XFCE as the window manager instead of GNOME, which lowers your system requirements considerably. Here's the link:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/ports/releases/10.04/release/
 
Jessica Lares said:
Nope same error, bye bye DVD #11.
Click to expand...

If you have been having problems with your superdrive it could be the problem with the installation failure. I would think that XUbuntu would install fine. Maybe try burning a disk with another computer.
 
Jessica Lares said:
I'm trying out the BIG DVD version of Debian tomorrow. Is there anyway to boot off a USB on a PPC? I could do that.
Click to expand...
Nope, FireWire only. Other than the ones you tried already, there would be Fedora or SuSE, but I don't remember if they had PPC ports.
The fastest however would be Gentoo once installed, but Ubuntu makes less hazzle.

You could also try PureDarwin, which is the bottom-layer of Mac OS X, but with OpenSource technology build on top.

Install something lightweight like Fluxbox instead of Gnome on top, and your iBook will be fine.

Also, doesn't the iBook have a CD-only drive? Try CDs.
 
Giuly said:
Nope, FireWire only. Other than the ones you tried already, there would be Fedora or SuSE, but I don't remember if they had PPC ports.
The fastest however would be Gentoo once installed, but Ubuntu makes less hazzle.

You could also try PureDarwin, which is the bottom-layer of Mac OS X, but with OpenSource technology build on top.

Install something lightweight like Fluxbox instead of Gnome on top, and your iBook will be fine.

Also, doesn't the iBook have a CD-only drive? Try CDs.
Click to expand...

Mine is the 466 with the DVD. I want something that's still maintained, I know there's very little though.
 
here is a list for you lots to choose from

http://penguinppc.org/about/distributions.php


with some kernel mods (change Kernel to one that is already made for ppc and some KEXT files and the like and not as difficult as its sounds you find everything really in various forums and sites all over the world , maybe some language skills needed )you can get nearly every linux to work, i did that just for fun on my mini , but nothing is as good as OSX tiger really , the various distros come close but ....
OSX tiger is just plug and play as it just works
 
pure Darvin is really good , but darvin PPC support stopped in 2009 as far as i know , so only older versions will work on his iBook clamshell G3 unless you know something i do not Giuly

i mean ubuntu is not supporting ppc's either ,but there is a strong community support to get even the latest version working



but i cant promise that it will speed up a clamshell ibook as i never tried it on a G3 clamshell , but i know it works on G3 iMac's
even xubuntu does work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzfa4_P9d1o&feature=related
 
I'm running Ubuntu 8.04 on an iMac G3 400 MHz and although not particularly fast it is more then useable, your machine should be even quicker. 8.04 is long term maintained and will give you access to the latest browsers such as Firefox 3.
 
just a question as i got confused a bit now after reading again your posts
you got a ibook G3 clamshell 466mhz where you want to install debian on
got confused because of the powerbook mentioned in first post

but i hope you got the full 320mb ram and a updated open firmware
 
Rodus said:
I'm running Ubuntu 8.04 on an iMac G3 400 MHz and although not particularly fast it is more then useable, your machine should be even quicker. 8.04 is long term maintained and will give you access to the latest browsers such as Firefox 3.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the newest long-term release is 10.04 but 8.10 was the previous one IIRC.
 
MacHamster68 said:
pure Darvin is really good , but darvin PPC support stopped in 2009 as far as i know , so only older versions will work on his iBook clamshell G3 unless you know something i do not Giuly

i mean ubuntu is not supporting ppc's either ,but there is a strong community support to get even the latest version working



but i cant promise that it will speed up a clamshell ibook as i never tried it on a G3 clamshell , but i know it works on G3 iMac's
even xubuntu does work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzfa4_P9d1o&feature=related
Click to expand...
As stated, PureDarwin currently is based on Darwin 9 - which equals Leopard, which works on PPCs.
SnowLeopard is Darwin 10, PureDarwin is currently ported to that while maintaining the PPC compatibility.

It ran fine in 2009, so it still runs fine in 2010. It's the original code from Apple, can anything run better on Macs?
 
true giuly it should just run like osx itself , and i use OSX tiger on my G3/G4/G5 Mac's despite its not the newest version of OSX but runs perfect and fast and i dont mind not to have the latest App's , as only because the app is 5 years old does not make the app rubbish and unusable
so for someone who is not willing or just cant spend the money for OSX dvd's/cd's
pure darvin should be a good alternative , and certainly easier to install then any linux distro i suppose?and enable to use Apps made for osx ?



as i said its not that difficult to install linux if you follow all the tips ,tricks, hints around the WWW, but i didn't say its easy , ok ubuntu and its siblings like xubuntu /kubuntu come close to easy , but sometimes you end up with a black screen (happened to me )and / or things like that , you find solutions for most problems ,but installing linux is still a learning curve up from just putting in a dvd and click install
 
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