Revive your old mac g3, g4, or g5 with linux ghacks tech news. There is an extensive discussion thread on the ubuntu forums here. For apple macintosh g3, g4, and g5 computers, including ibooks and powerbooks as well as ibm openpower machines. Linux is an option, of coursea number of the open source operating systems flavors, most notably ubuntu, support the powerpc platform, which has seen wide use in a number of other places, most famously the xbox. Playstation 3 desktop cd for sony playstation 3 systems. For apple macintosh g3, g4, and g5 computers, including ibooks and powerbooks as well as older ibm openpower 7xx machines. Hello r ubuntu, i am currently attempting to download ubuntu for an antique 20052006 mac mini i recently acquired. What you need to get started depends on what type of optical drive you have in your g4 or g5based powerbook or mac. Thankfully this was not the case with either my ibook g4 or my powerbook g4. Some people defend their favorite os to death and theyre so passionate that its hard to talk about it without offending someone. Oct 18, 2018 to celebrate the release of ubuntu 18. So i have been wanting another powerpc machine to some more testing of different linux distros on.
The only powerpc macs that can use a 64bit operating system are g5 imacs. Powerpc was an officially supported architecture for ubuntu between versions 4. I am trying to figure out the correct version of ubuntu to use, as well as the besteasiest way to boot on said machine. The combined installlive dvd allows you either to install ubuntu permanently on a computer, or by entering live at the boot prompt to try ubuntu without changing your computer at all. Topics relating to powerpcs, which were common in macs pre2006 before apple switched to intel processors. So far it looks like only a missing hard disk, so i will be fitting a spare one, and found a copy of osx for powerpc to burn to dvd or cd, and plan to try to get it working. How to install linux mint on a powerpc mac duration.
Ubuntu jaunty is also available for powerpc, with a graphical installer. The powerpc version of ubuntu, which is communitysupported rather than officially supported, should run on your mac that has a g4. You will need a mac os 9 install cd to correctly set up ubuntu on an. At the time the g4 was launched, motorola categorized all their powerpc models former, current and future according to what generation they adhered to, even renaming the older 603e core g2.
Les series suivantes, distribuees depuis 2006, sont. When you install ubuntu or any gnulinux onto your newworld apple macintosh powerpc g3, g4 or g5 computer you can choose to boot between two or more operating systems. As with many others releases of ubuntu, the powerpc distro requires an addition to etcmodules to load the sound. The desktop cd allows you to try xubuntu without changing your computer at all, and at your option to install it permanently later. Mac powerpc and ibmppc power5 desktop cd for apple macintosh g3, g4, and g5 computers, including ibooks and powerbooks as well. In this tutorial ill show how you can put ubuntu linux on a powerbook g4 and resurrect one of these durable old laptops from the dead. Ubuntu mate run on mac mini g4 at 1920x1080p full compositing accelerated the specs. Ubuntu for powerpc is now a community supported platform the announcement so you can no longer pay canonical to support your powerpc desktop machine. We wrote this article with it, so we know the answer. Powerpc and the closely related ibm power is the processor architecture used in computers such as. The powerpc version of ubuntu, which is communitysupported rather than officially supported, should run on your mac that has a g4 processor.
The ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of ubuntu to the software world. I have 3 systems i am thinking of installing ubuntu mate 16. My current build is running lubuntu, a lightweight flavor of ubuntu. So before you drag that polycarbclad ibook or powerpc mac mini to the trashcan, why not give ubuntu mate ppc a whirl. Installing ubuntu linux powerpc on an imac g4 krazy. Motorola and apple liked the moniker and used the term g4 for the 7400 family introduced in 1998 and the power mac g4 in 1999. Revive a powerpc mac running linux the mac observer. The machine itself isnt bad, but the support for drivers and applications dont cover the power pc platform anymore. Getting ubuntu linux up and running on a powerpc mac low. Mac powerpc and ibmppc power5 desktop image for apple macintosh g3, g4, and g5 computers, including ibooks and powerbooks as well as older ibm openpower 7xx machines.
Mac powerpc and ibmppc power5 alternate install cd for apple macintosh g3, g4, and g5 computers, including ibooks and powerbooks as well as ibm openpower machines. Jan 09, 2015 so before you drag that polycarbclad ibook or powerpc mac mini to the trashcan, why not give ubuntu mate ppc a whirl. Ubuntu installs by default a boot loader called yaboot yet another bootloader and this allows you to start linux or select which other os youd like to boot. Running an old version of osx leopard in 20 just doesnt make.
This also means that iso downloads have been moved to the ports section of the ubuntu sever, and are no longer on most mirrors. Rather than attempting to describe all the different hardware configurations which are supported for powerpc, this section. Ppcluddite has a step by step guide for manualy installing debian. My skill level with ubuntu linux is zero, but i figured this would be the best way to dive in. Choose this if you have a computer based on the amd64 or em64t architecture e. Apple macintosh between about 1994 and 2006 some ibm servers and work stations. When you install ubuntu onto a newworld apple macintosh powerpc g3, g4 or g5 computer you can choose to boot between two or more operating systems. Getting ubuntu linux up and running on a powerpc mac leaman crews 2005. I test various features, dvd, wireless, bluetooth, networking, printing, etc. Feb 19, 2019 does the powerpc based mac mini g4 make a useful daily driver in 2019.
Personally i found it no quicker than leopard or tiger, unless theres an absolute specific need for linux software i would stick to osx, particularly tiger if. A while ago, i asked how to get the atiamd drivers for a radeon 9600 working on a powermac g5. We reported how to run upcoming lubuntu desktop lxqt in xenial xerus on a raspberry pi 2 and now, thanks to tester herminio hernandez, jr. Getting the live dvd to boot properly seems to be the number one hurdle of ubuntu lubuntu for ppc. Hey there, first of i would like to say thanks to everyone who has helped keep support for the powerpc architecture. All oldworld systems have floppy drives, so use the floppy drive to launch the installer, and then point the installer to the cd for the needed files. There are some ibooks and powerbooks requires modules to be recompiled. Mac powerpc and ibmppc power5 server install image. How to install ubuntu mate remix on a powerpc computer.
Powerbook g4 ubuntu installation from start to finish youtube. Jun 12, 2016 hey there, first of i would like to say thanks to everyone who has helped keep support for the powerpc architecture. Ubuntu does not impose hardware requirements beyond the requirements of the linux kernel and the gnu toolsets. Oldworld powermacs will not boot a ubuntu cd, because oldworld computers relied on a mac os rom cd boot driver to be present on the cd, and a freesoftware version of this driver is not available. Jan 17, 2015 now, keep in mind that although ubuntu mate is not a beta piece of software, powerpc support still is. Also, its a good to read the ubuntu known issues with powerpc. Once youve downloaded your iso file and have plugged your usb stick into your computer open up a terminal. Ubuntu linux has a simple numbering scheme for its versions. He chooses to install it on a vintage imac g4, and get it on the. Feb 10, 20 do you want to breathe life back into your old powerbook or powerpc machine. Freebsd 28 freebsd is a unixlike operating system for the i386, amd64, ia64, arm, mips, powerpc, ppc64, pc98 and ultrasparc platforms based on u. Apr 24, 2014 now with a g4 powerpc you could test with virtualization in your linux powerpc distro.
It took me a couple weeks of research, asking questions of our linux on powerpc macs group on facebook, and experimenting before i could finally boot into linux 14. Complete technical specifications for every apple mac using the powerpc g4 processor are listed below for your convenience. A lot had been said lately about running linux on powerpc and it reminds me a lot about the argument of pcs vs mac. It doesnt matter if its an ancient powerbook g4 or a slightly more recent. Xubuntu is distributed on two types of images described below. Revive your old mac g3, g4, or g5 with linux ghacks tech. Mac powerpc and ibmppc power5 desktop cd for apple macintosh g3, g4, and g5. All apple power macintosh systems up to and including the g4 use processors supported by this kernel. Ubuntu is pretty resource hungry the lightest linux is probably debian running openbox, i did such an install on my pb 1. It doesnt matter if its an ancient powerbook g4 or a slightly more recent model of macbook. Installing ubuntu linux powerpc on an imac g4 krazy kens tech.
Dualprocessor and dualcore power mac g5s are competent performers, and the faster dualprocessor power mac g4 machines are solid workhorses as well with. Ubuntu installs a boot loader called yaboot yet another bootloader to allow you to select which os youd like to boot. There are two flavours of the powerpc kernel in ubuntu, based on the cpu type. In laptops, it started with the mac portable, then the powerbook 100190cs. How to install ubuntu mate remix on a powerpc computer sudod. Installing ubuntu linux powerpc on an imac g4 krazy kens. A full list of available files, including bittorrent files, can be found below. There are some differences between the powerpc version of ubuntu and the versions of ubuntu for officially supported architectures. Set of fixes for various issues on the power mac g5. For other processors, please refer to the main by processor page. Powerbook g4 ubuntu installation from start to finish. The wired connection didnt work, so running the commands was meaningless. How to install ubuntu mate remix on a powerpc computer powerpc actually an acronym for performance optimization with enhanced risc performance computing is an old cpu architecture that isnt really used much any more.
I have already tested virtualization on g4 with kvm installing lubuntu. No slides are displayed in ubiquity slideshow while installing ubuntu mate on powerpc. Its not particularly easy to create a bootable usb flash drive so you can try running linux on a powerpc mac. Those familiar with powerpc will know that yaboot is the default bootloader, and that remains so here, but ive also added grub to make booting. Apple completely phased out the g4 series for desktop models after it selected the 64bit ibmproduced powerpc 970 processor as the basis for its powerpc g5 series. How to install linux on a powerbook g4 jeremy morgan.
If you have a dvd drive, you can simply burn the iso image of lubuntu 16. Running linux on powerpc can require some tinkering and the following are useful references. All apple powermac machines up to and including the one marketed as g4 use. Most systems use this kernel flavour, which supports the powerpc 601, 603, 604, 740, 750, and 7400 processors. Powerpc g4 processors were also used in the emac, firstgeneration xserves, firstgeneration mac minis, and the imac g4 before the introduction of the powerpc 970. Below youll find links to the isos on the main ubuntu server, as well as, help on finding mirrors. There is an ubuntu forums thread regarding installing ubuntu mate remix on powerpc which is pretty active and should help you with any issues that may arise. Does the powerpc based mac mini g4 make a useful daily driver in 2019. Sep 21, 2016 when you install ubuntu onto a newworld apple macintosh powerpc g3, g4 or g5 computer you can choose to boot between two or more operating systems. This boot command works for me on my powerbook g4 15. This defaults to installing ubuntu permanently, since there is usually not enough memory to. Jun 10, 2009 revive your old mac g3, g4, or g5 with linux.
So after a bit of research i think i want to try ubuntu mate. There are two images available, each for a different type of computer. Since ubuntu moved to xrandr, the external vgaoutput is no longer properly detected. My current powerbook g4 has been my main laptop for a few months and i am pretty happy with debian on it right now. Although official ubuntu powerpc builds were canned officially after ubuntu 6. Another big plus is that ubuntu releases a new version every six months and is committed to providing updates to the current version in the meantime. Mac powerpc and ibmppc power5 desktop cd for apple macintosh g3, g4, and g5 computers, including ibooks and powerbooks as well as ibm openpower machines. Therefore, any architecture or platform to which the linux kernel, libc, gcc, etc. I managed to snag an old powerbook g4 from the scrap heap.
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