VNC & Dual-Boot Windows Box Question

[micvog]

I have an iMac G5 and an old Windows box (the Windows box has no monitor, keyboard or mouse). I am using VNC to remote-control the Windows box.

I have set up the Windows box to dual boot between Ubuntu and Windows. Does anyone have a recommendation on how to, from my Mac, select between Windows and Ubuntu? AFAIK I would need to connect a keyboard and select the OS I want to use during the boot sequence (since, obviously, VNC is not loaded so I can't do that from my Mac).

Thanks.

 

[joshysquashy]

Ubuntu works on macs last i heard, i downloaded the ppc version and it works fine, perhaps thats a much better solution!

that way the windows box can do what its good at, and the ubuntu will b faster cause it will be local.

 

[micvog]

Ubuntu works on macs last i heard, i downloaded the ppc version and it works fine, perhaps thats a much better solution!

that way the windows box can do what its good at, and the ubuntu will b faster cause it will be local.

Thanks for the idea joshysquashy. Last version of Ubuntu I tried on my iMac G5 was 5.04 and it didn't work (as I recall it was something to do with the SATA interface which caused Ubuntu not to see my hard drive). I haven't tried it with 5.10... I will look into that.

However, I would still rather get Ubuntu on the Windows box. I am more likely to need the Mac and Ubuntu desktops up at the same time than the Ubuntu and Windows desktops.

 

[topgunn]

What bootloader are you using?

if you are looking for the equivilent of "Startup Disk" in Macs control panel, I think you are out of luck.

 

[joshysquashy]

You will never be able to remote control a computer before the os starts. Unless you can create a method of "restarting in ubuntu" or visa versa you will have to add a keyboard, and probably a monitor if you want to see what you are doing...

 

[micvog]

What bootloader are you using?

if you are looking for the equivilent of "Startup Disk" in Macs control panel, I think you are out of luck.

GRUB

 

[micvog]

You will never be able to remote control a computer before the os starts. Unless you can create a method of "restarting in ubuntu" or visa versa you will have to add a keyboard, and probably a monitor if you want to see what you are doing...

That's what I was afraid of. I will research GRUB some more; perhaps it is possible to select the default OS from either Windows or Ubuntu by editing a text file. So, for example, if I am in Windows and I want to reboot into Ubuntu, I could write a script that edits the text file appropriately and then re-boots Windows. Conversely, if I am in Ubuntu, and want to re-boot to Windows I would edit the text file to select Windows.