Problem installing Linux on iBook G3

Discussion in 'PowerPC Macs' started by BrianMayFan123, Apr 16, 2012.

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  1. BrianMayFan123, Apr 16, 2012

    BrianMayFan123 macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2012
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    West Midlands, UK
    #1
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    I have an iBook G3 (500Mhz, 384mb RAM with an upgraded DVD RW) which I have recently decided would be much better put to use as a Linux Lappy.

    I have used Linux before on Intel based machines with little or no difficulty
    However I have tried multiple times to install PPC linux distros on my iBook and all have failed for one reason or another.

    I have attempted Ubuntu 6.04/7.04, Mint PPC, Debian and Yellow Dog
    Once or twice I have failed to even boot from CD/DVD, but the majority of the time I go through the installation routine which completes seemingly fine, but when the iBook reboots I'm given a corrupted, black screen which is unusable.

    My iBook meets the minimum spec for the above distros so I'm a bit lost on where I've gone wrong

    My question is, has anyone here tried something similar on an iBook G3 and had the same issue?

    I'm sorry if I sound like a complete spiv but I'm much more confident with hardware rather than software
     
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  2. charlieegan3, Apr 16, 2012

    charlieegan3 macrumors 68020

    charlieegan3

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    Feb 16, 2012
    Location:
    U.K
    #2
    I have a iBook G4 that had PPC Fedora at one point, it was so slow, unusable in fact.

    Not to put you off but i don't think its worth it on a machine that old.
     
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  3. crewkid89, Apr 16, 2012

    crewkid89 macrumors regular

    crewkid89

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    Location:
    United States
    #3
    It's so tough to nail down specifics unless you know what distro you will be using. I would heavily recommend against using older versions because they are no longer supported. GNU/Linux distros don't necessarily get slower as they get newer. There are plenty of low resources distros out there to try out. I would recommend looking into whichever one you are already most comfortable with and seeking out documentation and advice through that distro's channels. Ubuntu has a pretty active sub forum for apple products and specific documentation for ppc macs. If you are comfortable with ubuntu I would start there.

    www.ubuntuforums.org

    Edit: PS as for anything else max out the ram and you will see significant performance improvement. Avoid 3D graphics and use lightweight versions of everything.
     
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  4. MacinDan, Apr 16, 2012

    MacinDan macrumors regular

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2010
    #4
    It sounds like you might have to manually edit your xorg.conf file to give you a working screen. Default horizontal sync and vertical refresh rates can sometimes be off. There's a little more here for MintPPC users:

    http://www.mintppc.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=504
     
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