Operating Systems for PowerPC Macs

[retta283]

Tks for your prompt reply. Which alternate OS can I install which runs smooth and I can watch Youtube better and browse the net faster. I see many guides on various OS but nothing seems perfect. Linux has its own hassles of sound etc not working.

Leopard is the newest Mac OS X for PPC, but in terms of browser support it's nearly identical to Tiger, iirc. Not much of a point in installing it, and if you have a 12" PowerBook I've found that Leopard messes the color profiles up so bad that the screen looks sepia-tone.

Linux is probably the best option, MorphOS and OpenBSD might be decent but I've never tinkered with them much. I'm pretty sure Linux performs great once set up, but be sure to max out your RAM.

 

[1042686]

I have my PowerBook G4 1.33Ghz in immaculate condition running Tiger. The only upgrade I did is switch the mechanical IDE drive to SSD IDE drive of 120GB. All works well except can't watch Youtube or stream videos.

Could anyone tell me if I can retain my existing OS partition and install another good OS . I don't want to throw this Mercedes of laptop.

Hi Dilli, another option would be to sell your powerbook and use the proceeds for a newer unit like a aluminum 08 unibody MacBook for example - will run up to elcap, has current browsers, YT is fine, can be firmware updated to receive & use 8gb ram, SSD upgrade is Dead simple and they’re are cheap @ around 100-150 shipped US.

Heck they’re Intel so linux is much easier to get going if that’s what you’re looking into. Only downside I can see is battery management could be better on these.

anyhow best of luck to you. Lotsa folks on here would buy that powerbook For a fair price tho I’m pretty sure.

 

[eyoungren]

Leopard is the newest Mac OS X for PPC, but in terms of browser support it's nearly identical to Tiger, iirc. Not much of a point in installing it, and if you have a 12" PowerBook I've found that Leopard messes the color profiles up so bad that the screen looks sepia-tone.

My wife used to use a 12" PowerBook. I got it for her off eBay and Leopard was the first thing that went on it, once I had all the parts it needed replaced.

Not once have I ever noticed a sepia-tone to the Mac. The color profiles appear to be identical to other Macs I own running Leopard. Perhaps there was something that went wrong with your install?

As to browser support being nearly identical to Tiger, I agree. I'd just add, that in the case of T4Fx there is a reason for that. The developer has a preference for Tiger and consequently he builds the browser to support that OS. There was a branch specifically for Leopard at one point (Aurora Fox) by someone who worked with the dev, but as of version 20 of FF it was abandoned. I still use the Aurora Fox icon for my T4Fx browsers.

 

[Dilli]

Hi Dilli, another option would be to sell your powerbook and use the proceeds for a newer unit like a aluminum 08 unibody MacBook for example - will run up to elcap, has current browsers, YT is fine, can be firmware updated to receive & use 8gb ram, SSD upgrade is Dead simple and they’re are cheap @ around 100-150 shipped US.

Heck they’re Intel so linux is much easier to get going if that’s what you’re looking into. Only downside I can see is battery management could be better on these.

anyhow best of luck to you. Lotsa folks on here would buy that powerbook For a fair price tho I’m pretty sure.

I know but I like my 17" Powerbook and have retained it for its quality and performance during old times. It was my first Mac at cost of $3000 almost. I want to keep it and use it for light work. I have the MacBook Air as well as iMac which servers my purpose now.
Since the Powerbook 17" G4 1.33Ghz is having its max Ram of 2GB as well as SSd of 120Gb which I upgraded to I read this thread and see many people still using it with various other OS that work.
However, I dont want to take any chances of tweaking it and having it operating in half working manner I am willing to spend for the License software and zeroed to MorphOS which is still supported by developers.

I just want you good people to guide me as to Can I install this MorphOS simultaneously without hindering my Original OS Tiger partition. I am willing to partition the drive. I just need the steps as to how I proceed.

I want to try the MorphOS and then maybe if all goes well, will buy the license. Anyone familiar with this OS can guide me perhaps.

 

[retta283]

I know but I like my 17" Powerbook and have retained it for its quality and performance during old times. It was my first Mac at cost of $3000 almost. I want to keep it and use it for light work. I have the MacBook Air as well as iMac which servers my purpose now.
Since the Powerbook 17" G4 1.33Ghz is having its max Ram of 2GB as well as SSd of 120Gb which I upgraded to I read this thread and see many people still using it with various other OS that work.
However, I dont want to take any chances of tweaking it and having it operating in half working manner I am willing to spend for the License software and zeroed to MorphOS which is still supported by developers.

I just want you good people to guide me as to Can I install this MorphOS simultaneously without hindering my Original OS Tiger partition. I am willing to partition the drive. I just need the steps as to how I proceed.

I want to try the MorphOS and then maybe if all goes well, will buy the license. Anyone familiar with this OS can guide me perhaps.

It's also worth noting the screen on the 2008 MacBook will be of a much poorer quality than the 17", in size, viewing angles, and contrast.

Open Disk Utility, and you should see your startup drive in the list. Click on it, and there will be a box in the right side of the window. You should see a bunch of options, click on Partition. From here you can add more partitions with the Plus arrow. Don't mess with the box that says Current and shows numbers of partitions.

Once you have the second partition, you can resize it. You might need to change the format option to work with MorphOS. I have never used it but I'm sure their site would have a bit of info on this.

 

[Dronecatcher]

I want to try the MorphOS and then maybe if all goes well, will buy the license. Anyone familiar with this OS can guide me perhaps.

Personally, I had no success dual booting with Morphos although according to online feedback it should be possible.
Regarding Leopard, this does give you enhanced browser capability as it allows you to use Leopard Webkit and Roccat in addition to the Tiger browsers and because Leopard can use QuickTime 7.7 this hugely improves HTML5 video playback in browser.
Search the forum for Youtube - there's so many solutions now, some easier than others and some more powerful - even 720P playback is within reach of your Powerbook.

Couple of my videos for reference:

 

[Dilli]

Personally, I had no success dual booting with Morphos although according to online feedback it should be possible.
Regarding Leopard, this does give you enhanced browser capability as it allows you to use Leopard Webkit and Roccat in addition to the Tiger browsers and because Leopard can use QuickTime 7.7 this hugely improves HTML5 video playback in browser.
Search the forum for Youtube - there's so many solutions now, some easier than others and some more powerful - even 720P playback is within reach of your Powerbook.

Couple of my videos for reference:

Tks. I shall look into your videos and surely get better know how as to how to proceed. I will back here for more if I need and share my experiences. Thanks again.

 

[Bug-Creator]

I just want you good people to guide me as to Can I install this MorphOS simultaneously without hindering my Original OS Tiger partition. I am willing to partition the drive. I just need the steps as to how I proceed.

This should explain everything, but mind you the only PPC-OSX install left over here is on my PB5.9, hasn't been booted in >2 years and was installed some 10 years ago....

 

[Dilli]

This should explain everything, but mind you the only PPC-OSX install left over here is on my PB5.9, hasn't been booted in >2 years and was installed some 10 years ago....

Thanks for the guide. You mean to say you never went back mac os in 10 years after installing morphOS. That means the new OS is good. Do you suggest a clean install or do I need to keep the Tiger OS which is already working. Perhaps I should clone the existing Mac OS and do a clean install. This will make meretain the apps as well as my existing setup incase anything goes wrong. Which app can I use to clone the drive and how do I get it.

 

[Macbookprodude]

Does MorphOS run on a Quad yet ? Also, I am about to re-hook up my Quad. Since moving to my own apartment, will the Quad raise my electric bill ?

 

[Dronecatcher]

Does MorphOS run on a Quad yet ? Also, I am about to re-hook up my Quad. Since moving to my own apartment, will the Quad raise my electric bill ?

MorphOS isn't available for the later Powermac G5s and yes, it definitely will raise your bill, a Quad uses around 160W on idle and around 300W when hard at work - you'll get better economy if you set the CPU speed preference lower.

 

[Macbookprodude]

MorphOS isn't available for the later Powermac G5s and yes, it definitely will raise your bill, a Quad uses around 160W on idle and around 300W when hard at work - you'll get better economy if you set the CPU speed preference lower.

Thanks, I am just trying to keep my electric bill at reasonable price. Any way to tell when MorphOS will be available for G5 Quads ? Also, I have the Nvidia 6800 256MB in my system and everytime I install Ubuntu it gives me a blank screen.

 

[eyoungren]

MorphOS isn't available for the later Powermac G5s and yes, it definitely will raise your bill, a Quad uses around 160W on idle and around 300W when hard at work - you'll get better economy if you set the CPU speed preference lower.

Not to deny this, because it does indeed raise your bill. But, idle or operating the most it's ever raised my electric bill is by $20 a momth - and as you have probably heard more than once from me, my Quad (and all my Macs) are on 24/7 at full power.

I have a 300W torchiere lamp in the garage that I worry about costing me more whenever I use it.

Then there's central air/heat. We have a 5 ton unit. Pulls around ~3500W an hour. I am much less concerned about my Macs.

 

[PowerPcboi]

Lubuntu is not on here but it is also amazing.

 

[Amethyst1]

Lubuntu is not on here but it is also amazing.

You're right - I think the reason Lubuntu isn't listed as a separate OS here is @z970mp discovered the Lubuntu PPC images are buggy. You can get a more up-to-date and polished Lubuntu by installing Ubuntu Server first and subsequently installing the lubuntu-desktop metapackage.
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Not to deny this, because it does indeed raise your bill.

It's also a matter of perspective. If your monthly electricity bill were $100 without the Quad, a $20 increase would raise the bill by a fifth. I'm just making up some random numbers, but personally I'd think twice about a 20% increase in my electricity bill if I didn't deem it a necessity.

 

[wellander1]

OS X and slackintosh Linux (Slackware based).

 

[PowerPcboi]

What Linux OS would be the best for a low end 500mhz G3? I tried Lubuntu before but the rage 128 graphics drivers seem to be buggy.

 

[ks23]

VoidLinux (Xfce)

 

[christiann]

For future reference, I thought it would be a good idea to have a list of all of the operating systems that we can put on our PowerPC Macs. This is a WikiPost, so add what you know of to the list below, along with the URL. Thanks!

Mac OS X and Classic Mac OS​

• Mac OS X 10.x (Leopard/10.5 requires a 867MHz G4 and 512MB of RAM, Tiger/10.4 requires G3 and 256MB of RAM) The Puma Thread , the Jaguar Thread , the Panther Thread , The Tiger Thread , The Leopard Thread .​
• Mac OS X Server 1.x "Rhapsody" (Only for compatible Macs), The Rhapsody Thread .​
• Mac OS 9 http://bit.do/macos9lives (Only for compatible Macs, Classic Environment only for OS X 10.4 and below)​
• Mac OS 8 (Only for compatible Macs, not compatible with OS X's Classic environment)​
• Mac OS 7.1.2, 7.5.x, 7.6.x (Only for compatible Macs, not compatible with OS X's Classic environment)​

Linux Distributions

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Debian 10

More info can be found at The PowerPC Linux Wiki, your one-stop shop for everything Linux on PowerPC.

Berkeley Software Distributions

FreeBSD
NetBSD
OpenBSD

Visit The OpenBSD Wiki for installation help, software catalogs, and configuration guides.

MorphOS​

• MorphOS http://www.morphos-team.net (Trial version, slows down after 30 minutes unless a license is purchased and activated)​

OS X Leopard.

 

[Macbookprodude]

OS X Leopard.

leopard while nice has no future - maybe now,yes, but when the new ARM Macs come out that will be the new PowerPC on the block, sadly..

 

[christiann]

leopard while nice has no future - maybe now,yes, but when the new ARM Macs come out that will be the new PowerPC on the block, sadly..

Yeah. The new chips are SO fast..

 

[C.D.Burner]

Yellow Dog Linux and Xubuntu 10.04. They run pretty smoothly even with the browser on, however being rather old only about half of net pages even load (many sites just show a cypher or some other error), including only half of simple pages like forums and webshops.

Debian 6 seems about the same as the above. Debian 7.11 seems to run smoothly offline, online it acts like Debian 8. Debian 8 is like going to war in a war chariot pulled by a donkey, extremely slow even offline.

Out of the newer distros I like the 12.04 Lubuntu remix, however it's not perfect in that it doesn't have all the audio visual stuff on the net working without a few hacks. (edit: just installed that greasemonkey/viewtube thing and video playback is much faster and smoother than on much more powerful computers, it rips)

 

[ks23]

There are a few new Distributions:

Ataraxia Linux (PPC64 / PPC64le)

Ataraxia GNU/Linux

Simple and lightweight source-based multi-platform Linux distribution with musl libc.

ataraxialinux.github.io

Release tech preview 2 · ataraxialinux/ataraxia

He comes. We pleased to announce that Ataraxia Linux tech preview 2 is RELEASED! This is very huge release since tech preview 1. This release was under development about 7 months! Since that time o...

github.com

ArchLinux (PPC32 / PPC64le)

Index of /iso/

Github: https://github.com/kth5/archpower

Already known, CruxPPC 3.5 (2nd alpha) released:

Release cruxppc-ng 3.5 alpha #2 release 093020 · cruxppc/cruxppc-ng-3.5

This is alpha release #2 of crux ppc 3.5 for 32bit Apple PowerPC computers (new world only). Changes since the previous alpha release includes updated package versions, kernel updated to 4.19.145, ...

github.com

And a new version of T2 SDE is available. Version 20.3(4) from 2020 for PPC32 / PPC64
http://t2sde.org
http://dl.t2-project.org/binary/2020/

 

[Macbookprodude]

Amazing to see Linux being supported on PowerPC. Sadly, my G4 Titanum does not run it.

 

[Jeroen Diederen]

I can run MintPPC on most of my PowerPC Macs....The latest was an A1106.