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Void Linux for PowerPC

netsrot39 said:
If I can't get Linux Mint working, I might try Void Linux which seems to have great support for G4 hardware (from what I've read so far)
Click to expand...

As it eventually turned out I couldn't get Linux Mint to work on my PowerBook 5,6 so the next go to Linux version on my list was Void Linux. If I'd judge myself I'd say I only have a basic understanding of Linux but I'm eager to dive deeper and learn more about it which is why I run Linux on many of my PowerPC machines. I actually got Void Linux to run on my PowerBook 5,6 after thoroughly reading the documentation on how to install and what to do after the install (only kernel version 4 works for me, trying to boot into later kernel results in a black screen?). So far it runs great and I really like it. I've only encountered 3 issues so far. Sleep isn't working but I honestly don't care about that because the PowerBook has a CF card and boots actually pretty fast. The backlit keyboard does not work. Same thing with the media keys even though I set up "pbbuttonsd" according to the documentation but no avail. I have no audio but I think that has to do with a bug in alsamixer (it never saves the changes I've done so I can't get rid off the pulse audio option as a default or in other words whenever I type alsamixer my changes appear to be reverted)

wicknix said:
I didn't go that in depth. Instead i just adjusted the preferences of VLC, MPlayer, Audacious, etc to use alsa instead of pulse audio (which seems to be the default on most media players). Problem solved.

+1 for QasMixer. It solved the muted sound issue for me as well.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Excuse my ignorance but may I ask how do I install qasmixer on Void Linux? Xbps is something totally new to me and I'm only accustomed to the Debian Package Manager. Btw can .deb files be installed on Void Linux (I guess not since it has nothing to do with Debian but it can't hurt to ask).

Edit: I managed to get sound working by installing qastools and pnmixer (sudo xbps-install qastools; sudo xbps-install pnmixer). Also .deb files can be easily installed by adding dpkg (sudo xbps-install dpkg).

The only thing that still remains unsolved for me is the backlit keyboard but I guess I have to live without it since I do not want to bug anyone here by asking.
 
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Im at work and cant remember the details, but did you add (symlink) pbbuttonsd to your startup services?

Also install octoxbps (or is it octo-xbps) for a graphical package manager. Makes searching for software a lot easier.

Cheers
 
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wicknix said:
Im at work and cant remember the details, but did you add (symlink) pbbuttonsd to your startup services?

Also install octoxbps (or is it octo-xbps) for a graphical package manager. Makes searching for software a lot easier.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Thanks! Well I thought that I linked it to the startup services but I tried it again and now it works. I'm really impressed that pretty much all the hardware inside this machine is working now how it should. What I do find weird though is that when the backlit keyboard comes on the LCD gets darker and darker and eventually goes black. No big deal however since readjusting the brightness seems to keep the brightness level for some time again. Thanks also for the advice about managing packages, octoxbps seems really useful.

Since my PowerBook is so old neither my battery nor the CMOS battery keep a reasonable charge. So when I don't use the PowerBook for a day the clock resets to 1 January 1970. Now I've read pretty much everything about NTP, OpenNTPD and Chrony but after 2 hours of trying I couldn't get them configured properly (time never changes on the system even when the daemons are running). I even thought about writing a bash script that would fetch the time from the web and forward it to the "date -s" command but in the end I decided it would be easier to just quickly boot into a live system of Tiger and adjust the clock from there and then reboot (quick and dirty fix of course).

I'm amazed how good the OS works on my PowerBook G4 and I'd say it handles web browsing way better than any OS X. Since I'm a Linux newbie I didn't find the installation instructions too straight forward but not terrible difficult either. In the end it was worth it because now I have stable and usable system with even somewhat up-to-date software. Also since I now know how to set up "pbbuttonsd" I think I'm gonna try to get it working on Ubuntu 16.04 which is installed on one of my 17" PowerBooks.
 
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Just for fun and curiosity, I wonder what the lowest spec is that Arctic Fox should be able to run on... I'm incredibly curious to try to get it to run on my Lombard once I have the CF card adapter installed.​
 
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Today i have sucsessfully compiled OctoXBPS with my iMac G4 1,25 GHz on VoidPPC

Time to compile all 3 parts: around 2 hours
Time to find the packs I needed: 4 hours ^^

sourcecode (scroll down for the guide)
github.com

GitHub - aarnt/octoxbps: A Qt-based XBPS front end

A Qt-based XBPS front end. Contribute to aarnt/octoxbps development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com github.com

Packages i have installed before all was working:

qt5-qmake
make
gcc
gcc-objc++
qt5-devel
curl
qtermwidget
qtermwidget-devel

I'm sure i have missed something, but the error messages will help to find the missing packs.

In this version OctoXBPS Notifier Menu ist working correctly. The xbps package version always close the menu directly after open it and and was unusable.

FAIL: After 2 restarts i get the same flickering menu. But now i have a localized version and it is MY version :)

Bildschirmfoto_2022-01-22_03-52-18.png


Information for Xfce user with Nvidia FX5200

I have installed the window manager compiz-reloaded. on my iMac the window manager reduce the cpuload on moving windows an give me a smoother Gui.

Bash: 
sudo xbps-install -Su compiz-reloaded

To change the window manager on the fly
Bash: 
compiz --replace
you can ignore the error

Back to the Xfwm window manager
Bash: 
Xfwm4 --replace

I have tested around 10 window managers and nothing goes wrong, but you have to be aware that something could go wrong.
Bildschirmfoto_2022-01-22_04-22-17.png
 
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re: The backlit keyboard failing sometimes

I've found out that for me is has to do with if i have an USB-mouse connected or not when booting.
At least for me, if booting without my mouse, and connecting it afterwards, the problems start. It could be that pbbuttonsd has some kind of limit on connected USB "things".
I can not guarantee that it' s like this for everybody, but this is my case. It works perfect if i start with the mouse plugged in. Just thought i mention this if it helps somebody else using this great!! distribution
 
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i'd like to install the interwebppc on void linux ppc, but how do i install an ".app" ? Or is there another version?

Interwebppc is the only powerpc32-browser that can play audio from bandcamp.com...i think
 
Correct. There are separate builds for different platforms. The 32bit PowerPC Linux version is found here:
github.com

Download

Web Browser for PowerPC Linux and Mac OS X 10.6 and above - wicknix/SpiderWeb
github.com github.com
The Intel OSX version is found here:
github.com

Releases · wicknix/InterWebSnow

Web browser for OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard . Contribute to wicknix/InterWebSnow development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com github.com
The PPC 10.4/10.5 version is here:
github.com

Releases · wicknix/InterWebPPC

Mozilla for Power Macintosh. Contribute to wicknix/InterWebPPC development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com github.com

Cheers
 
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I kind of like how void ppc 32 work now, also the otter-browser is not crashing here, like it was on Open BSD
How can i get the battery-status to be shown in the tray?
Also, i got sound working, but nothing in the tray to change volume
 
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Install qas-tools. Qas-mixer (in the menu) will give you a taskbar icon when you close the main window. For battery monitor you may have to modorobe pmu_battery or install something like batt-mon. At work so cant look to see what i did at the moment.

Cheers
 
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wicknix said:
Install qas-tools. Qas-mixer (in the menu) will give you a taskbar icon when you close the main window. For battery monitor you may have to modorobe pmu_battery or install something like batt-mon. At work so cant look to see what i did at the moment.

Cheers
Click to expand...
qastools worked and also modprobe pmu_battery :)
Thank you very much, again!!
 
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Hello, I have a question.
I'm trying to install the void-live-ppc64-20210825-xfce.iso on my Quad G5.
I followed the tutorial on Void for partitioning the harddrive.
I can install but the latest step the installer always get stuck. The machine stays responsive.
Applying installer settings...
20220225_200106.jpg

This never finish. What am I doing wrong? I used a ssd and hdd and burned the iso to 2 different brands of DVD's.
 
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Firehawk86 said:
Hello, I have a question.
I'm trying to install the void-live-ppc64-20210825-xfce.iso on my Quad G5.
I followed the tutorial on Void for partitioning the harddrive.
I can install but the latest step the installer always get stuck. The machine stays responsive.
Applying installer settings...View attachment 1964926
This never finish. What am I doing wrong? I used a ssd and hdd and burned the iso to 2 different brands of DVD's.
Click to expand...
Did you try to press ctrl+alt+F8 (or ctrl+alt+fn+f8) to see where it is stuck?
 
I managed to install Void. I tried to create the apple bootstrap partition manually but that didn't seem to work. Now I have it working.
When void was installed I had no sound but I managed to fix it with the qasmixer Wicknix provided a few pages back.
Now I try to run Articfox because Firefox gives me weird colors. I extracted the Articfox to a folder. But every icon I try to open it can't. Can't excecute file articfox. File or folder doesn't exist. But I'm in the folder...
 
Sounds like you may have downloaded the wrong file. There are seperate 32 (void32/ubuntu/debian) and 64 bit (debian) versions and a void64 specific version. These are all for glibc. They wont work on musl.

The void64 version is also packaged in my browser bundle.
randommacstuff.blogspot.com

Browser package for Void Linux ppc64

A blog about Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard and PowerPC Linux.
randommacstuff.blogspot.com randommacstuff.blogspot.com

Cheers
 
Thanks I wil download your pack and have all the browsers. :)

Btw. What is the most powerfull gpu you can use for void?

I have tried so far:
The G5 nvidia Gefroce 6600LE, works great.
Ati radeon x1950xt flashed for mac, works great in macosx but doesn't in Void, no picture.
Evga nvida geforce GTS 250, doesn't work no picture
ati radeon hd3250, works great
Ati radeon hd5770 from the Mac Pro, works but very sluggish, I think it has no acceleration enabled in Void.
MSI Nvidia Geforce GTX 770ti, doesn't work no picture
 
Firehawk86 said:
Thanks I wil download your pack and have all the browsers. :)

Btw. What is the most powerfull gpu you can use for void?

I have tried so far:
The G5 nvidia Gefroce 6600LE, works great.
Ati radeon x1950xt flashed for mac, works great in macosx but doesn't in Void, no picture.
Evga nvida geforce GTS 250, doesn't work no picture
ati radeon hd3250, works great
Ati radeon hd5770 from the Mac Pro, works but very sluggish, I think it has no acceleration enabled in Void.
MSI Nvidia Geforce GTX 770ti, doesn't work no picture
Click to expand...
Hi. I use a Radeon 5770 and acceleration is working. You may need to edit xorg.conf to use it as your only display in X.
 
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