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Alternative OS for G3'd 9600

M

MacPhreak

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 19, 2004
167
0
Lexington, KY
Ok, here's the deal: I have way too many Macs, and no PC's (aside from my gaming rig, of course). I'd like to slap another OS onto one of my machines just for giggles, and I figured the best candidate would be my fastest non-work machine, a 9600 G3/300, currently with 384mb RAM.

I'd like to play with Linux (or BeOS, or the original OS X Server, if I could find them), but I really, REALLY don't want to go putzing around with command line foolishness. I had my heart set on Ubuntu linux, but after reading someone's tutorial (more like a tome) on how to get it running on an 'old world' Mac, I have started to think that it's a pipe dream.

Are there any other simple-to-get-running OS's that will run on a pre-G3 rig?
 
MacPhreak said:
Ok, here's the deal: I have way too many Macs, and no PC's (aside from my gaming rig, of course). I'd like to slap another OS onto one of my machines just for giggles, and I figured the best candidate would be my fastest non-work machine, a 9600 G3/300, currently with 384mb RAM.

I'd like to play with Linux (or BeOS, or the original OS X Server, if I could find them), but I really, REALLY don't want to go putzing around with command line foolishness. I had my heart set on Ubuntu linux, but after reading someone's tutorial (more like a tome) on how to get it running on an 'old world' Mac, I have started to think that it's a pipe dream.

Are there any other simple-to-get-running OS's that will run on a pre-G3 rig?
Click to expand...
Why would you fixate on a single Linux distro that nobody ever heard tell of? There are other distros that support your computer. You can find them here.
 
I've heard/read several others mention Ubuntu on here, plus I've run the live CD on my PC, and it seems to do okay. I've checked out the the PenguinPPC link before, which is why I had settled on Ubuntu. Debian seems to require some skill to install, and Mandrake won't give you a full install (including the graphics card drivers) unless you pay a monthtly fee. None of the other distros are listed as compatible with old-world PPCs.

I just want something easy to install to fool around with. Linux probably isn't the best route, eh? Maybe I'll just find a copy of BeOS on ebay....
 
Rhapsody 5.3-5.6 (Mac OS X Server 1.0-1.2v3) should run fine on that system (though you may need to reinstall the original 604e daughter card for the installation).

I've been using Rhapsody for years (currently on a 7500 with a 604e and a ThinkPad). I can't remember the last time I opened up a terminal window in Rhapsody (other than to look at the uptime :D ).

As for finding a copy, they've been popping up on ebay about once every couple weeks and have been averaging about $40.00US (usually for 1.0). As you are just starting out, the 1.0 version may be the best choice as it came with a Third Party Applications CD (saves time hunting down the stuff on the internet).

I've been able to do quite a bit of graphic and web design on my systems. Of course I actually own licenses for a lot of Rhapsody software (always helps).

As for using Rhapsody, there is always my site (here) to help get you started.
 
Thanks, RacerX, I'll keep my eyes open.

Trainguy: Thanks for the link. I had 10.3 on it at one point via XPostFacto; I was using it as a file server for my boss, but a large data transfer would cause a kernel panic. If he was on my local network instead of in a different time zone, AppleTalk under OS 9 would have been fine. I may try it again at some ponit, since XPostFacto has been updated and there have been numerous updates to Panther since then.
 
Duff-Man says....definitely try out BeOS if you can - I used to play around with it and it was kinda cool. I should look around and see if I can find all my old BeOS stuff...maybe we can make a deal as I can't see ever using it again.....oh yeah!
 
I agree with Duff-man. If you've never tried out BeOS, give it a shot. You need to have a small Mac OS 8 partition to boot into BeOS (I think the smallest you can make is 16mb, and then you install a minimal Mac OS 8 on there), and then you boot up from a system extention that shutsdown OS 8 and starts up BeOS. Of course after a couple days and the amazement of the speed wears off you'll realize that there are hardly any apps for the PowerPC version of BeOS (check out http://www.bebits.com), and then you'll proably want to switch to Linux.
 
From what I recall, any flavor of Linux is going to be a pain on an old world mac. I've never had to install on one, but the manual sections are always at least twice as long as the new world installs.

I would just put BeOS on there and use it to play around occasionally. Then when you get really, really bored you can try to get Debian PPC or something on there. Who knows you might actually like the command line. You can do some neat stuff there ... like ... ascii art (j/k :) ).

Jim
 
MacPhreak said:
I've heard/read several others mention Ubuntu on here, plus I've run the live CD on my PC, and it seems to do okay. I've checked out the the PenguinPPC link before, which is why I had settled on Ubuntu. Debian seems to require some skill to install, and Mandrake won't give you a full install (including the graphics card drivers) unless you pay a monthtly fee. None of the other distros are listed as compatible with old-world PPCs.

I just want something easy to install to fool around with. Linux probably isn't the best route, eh? Maybe I'll just find a copy of BeOS on ebay....
Click to expand...
Debian explicitly supports your computer. The current release of Yellow Dog Linux requires bootx to support your computer. However, YDL 3.0 supports your computer out of the box.
 
Uhh, if I remember correctly, you won't be able to run BeOS on that machine if it's a G3. I used to use the x86 port of BeOS and I wanted to run it on a PowerBook, but the PPC port wouldn't run on a G3 chip. Apparently since Be were in competition with Apple to run an OS on Apple's hardware, Apple wouldn't give them they info they needed to use BeOS on a G3.
PPC chips before that- 603e or whatever- should be fine, though.
 
5300cs said:
Uhh, if I remember correctly, you won't be able to run BeOS on that machine if it's a G3. I used to use the x86 port of BeOS and I wanted to run it on a PowerBook, but the PPC port wouldn't run on a G3 chip. Apparently since Be were in competition with Apple to run an OS on Apple's hardware, Apple wouldn't give them they info they needed to use BeOS on a G3.
PPC chips before that- 603e or whatever- should be fine, though.
Click to expand...

The problem was not the G3 chips, but the underlying architecture changes that occoured in the transition from 604s to G3s. So an upgrade from 60x to G3 should run fine, likewise an upgrade to a G4 should too. BeOS just isn't optimized to take advantage of those processors.
 
Get Yellow Dog Linux 3.0.1 it will run on your machine, also Mandrake 8.2 and 9.1 will work.

Also if 10.3 was unstable try os 10.2 or 10.1, they seem to run more stable on pre-G3 macs
 
YDL it is. Is it possible to buy a copy someplace? I can't make heads or tails out of what's on the mirrors. Nothing is big enough to be a full install. Or is it a net install?

I apologize for my ignorance; I haven't used Linux/Unix for 10 years, not counting OS X, of course.
 
MacPhreak said:
YDL it is. Is it possible to buy a copy someplace? I can't make heads or tails out of what's on the mirrors. Nothing is big enough to be a full install. Or is it a net install?

I apologize for my ignorance; I haven't used Linux/Unix for 10 years, not counting OS X, of course.
Click to expand...
I have installed YDL before.
You go to: http://www.yellowdoglinux.com/resources/downloads.shtml

then you pick a ftp, then go to the ISO folder, then download:
yellowdog-3.0.1-sirius-20031118-install1.iso
yellowdog-3.0.1-sirius-20031118-install2.iso
yellowdog-3.0.1-sirius-20031118-install3.iso

You then can burn them each to there own CD
 
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