Member Avatar for lil_panda

Is there a live CD version of Ubuntu 8.10 for PowerPC's out there? Could someone please post a link? I've looked on google and ubuntu.com, and all the releases seem to be for intel processors. I could only find the alternate install CD for PowerPC, which always spits out an error saying it couldn't mount the CD.

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A short, practical checklist for the PowerMac G4 case in this thread (ties to , and without repeating their exact commands).

Start by verifying the download and the burned disc. Confirm the ISO hash locally (example) and compare it to the release hashes before burning:

sha256sum ubuntu-8.10-powerpc.iso
# or
md5sum ubuntu-8.10-powerpc.iso

Burn at the slowest reliable speed and enable “verify” (Mac: Disk Utility -> Burn -> Verify burned data). After burning, use the installer menu’s “Check disc for defects” option to validate the media. (help.ubuntu.com)

If the installer reports “cannot mount CD” even with a verified image, focus on two likely causes: the Mac’s firmware/boot path (external drives or odd device names), or the installer kernel missing a driver. On PowerPC Macs you can also boot the target machine from another Mac’s drive by using Target Disk Mode (or try an Open Firmware boot command if you get to the OF prompt). The Ubuntu PowerPC FAQ documents these boot/OF options and the common module-workarounds. (support.apple.com)

When the installer can drop to a shell, inspect kernel messages and device nodes (for example, use dmesg and ls /dev), then load the appropriate module or, if necessary, extract the matching .ko from a kernel package and insert it as described in the PowerPC documentation. If hardware detection improves with a newer kernel, trying a more recent ports/kernel build (as noted earlier in the thread) is a reasonable next step. (wiki.ubuntu.com)

Finally, with only 512 MB RAM, consider a minimal install (mini/alternate) and add a lightweight desktop or use a PPC-friendly derivative; set the installer mirror to the ports archive when needed. The PowerPC FAQ and Ubuntu hashes pages show the details and where to get older/ports images. (wiki.ubuntu.com)

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Member Avatar for jbennet

There isnt a liveCD. Only the alternate or server CDs.

If it has a problem mounting, try the bleeding edge (beta) edition, its prelease software so may be buggy but it has an up to date kernel so probably better hw support

Member Avatar for lil_panda

I'll just wait until a live CD comes out or the newest version of linux becomes stable. Thanks for the link though, it helps a lot.

Member Avatar for jbennet

i dont think they will release a ubuntu powerpc livecd...

why not maybe use another distribution?

OpenSuse supports PowerPC and i think they have a livecd version too.

the beta of ubuntu should be released as a final edition before the summer. hopefully the newer kernel version will detect your CD correctly.

Member Avatar for lil_panda

Thanks, opensuse looks great. They don't have a live CD for PowerPC but they do have an installation DVD with a GUI.

Member Avatar for jbennet

if you are just scared of text-based installers, dont be.

The ubuntu text based installer is dead easy. If you can manage to get through the first part of an xp install, for example, then you can probably manage it.

The opensuse installer is very nice though.

Member Avatar for lil_panda

Two things:

One, I am NOT afraid of text-base installers. I compile programs all the time from the command line. I'm guessing that the problem with mounting the CD is because I am using a third party DVD drive because the one that came with my mac died.

Two, I use a mac, not Windows. Windows is just about the ugliest OS on the planet. The only reason I would want to run Windows is because Java 1.6 runs on it (i know java 1.6 runs on mac, but only 64-bit intel ones), but thats what I'm trying to install linux for.

Member Avatar for John A

Without knowing the exact error message that you encountered, it's kind of hard to diagnose it. However, if you are having hardware issues with the alternate install CD, chances are that even if a LiveCD did exist for PowerPC it would still suffer from the same hardware detection issues. By the way, what kind of a Mac (at least I'm assuming that's what you're using) are you trying to install this on?

There's a plethora of PowerPC ports from many popular Linux distros, so don't feel like you need to be constrained to Ubuntu. (You could probably even install some sort of BSD on it, but I don't believe any of them support Java 1.6 on PowerPC, at least not natively.)

Member Avatar for lil_panda

I am using a PowerMac G4. 512MB ram. I read that java was supported for ubuntu and other linux platforms that are PowerPC.

The error spat out at me was very generic. It said that the CD could not be mounted, and that I could try mounting the CD again, or I could go to the main screen and skip mounting the CD, which I tried and abviously can't do.

Member Avatar for internalkernel

I am using a PowerMac G4. 512MB ram. The error spat out at me was very generic. It said that the CD could not be mounted

I ran into the same issue when installing Ubuntu on my macbook, I had to switch to another console - CTR+ALT+F2 - although you may have to play with this one as well there are reports of people needing to use FN+ALT and/or the Apple key. But, eventually... when you get to that other console... type:

modprobe ide-scsi

and the CD will be recognized... Full instructions are here:

I had some issues with video after installing as well, so this may not be the last hoop you have to go through... but, it's worth it. I suggest using LXDE for the desktop, lightweight and easy to use. My Macbook is only using about 70 megs of RAM when it gets to the desktop... ya gotta love Linux...

Member Avatar for lil_panda

Thanks, it sounds good, I'll try this out as soon as I can.

Member Avatar for jbennet

My Macbook is only using about 70 megs of RAM when it gets to the desktop... ya gotta love Linux

70mb with LXDE? Wow ubuntu has gotten very bloated

I can run Debian Etch with a full GNOME desktop which when idle uses under 50mb

Member Avatar for Junyah

hey J,

just checking out the thread "way to go linux master"

Member Avatar for lil_panda

I ran into the same issue when installing Ubuntu on my macbook, I had to switch to another console - CTR+ALT+F2 - although you may have to play with this one as well there are reports of people needing to use FN+ALT and/or the Apple key. But, eventually... when you get to that other console... type:

modprobe ide-scsi

and the CD will be recognized... Full instructions are here:

I had some issues with video after installing as well, so this may not be the last hoop you have to go through... but, it's worth it. I suggest using LXDE for the desktop, lightweight and easy to use. My Macbook is only using about 70 megs of RAM when it gets to the desktop... ya gotta love Linux...

Thanks, I got it working.

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