Discussion:
Problems installing Mandrake on a G4 mac
(too old to reply)
C Lund
2004-12-10 09:15:51 UTC
Permalink
<http://wijnand.rietman.biz/linux/mac/index.html?main>
**/
How to get video working.
Many Linux PPC users have troubles getting video to work. If the
standard install doesn’t work well, you likely need to pass in some
kernel arguments specific to your machine. These arguments can be
video=xxxxx:vmode:vv,cmode:cc
The xxxx should specify the frame buffer of your video card. Locate
your video card in the list below in order to find the appropriate
Video card Frame Buffer
----------------------------------
ATI Mach64 atyfb
ATI Rage II atyfb
ATI Rage IIc atyfb
ATI 3D Rage II atyfb
ATI Rage Pro atyfb
ATI Rage Pro Turbo atyfb
ATI Rage LT Pro atyfb
ATI Rage Mobility atyfb
ATI Rage 128 aty128fb
ATI Rage 128 VR aty128fb
ATI Rage 128 Pro aty128fb
ixMicro TwinTurbo imsttfb
No nVidia options? I have a GF2mx in my mac.
The vv and cc should be replaced with a vmode and cmode, respectively,
that are supported by your monitor. The vmode refers to both the screen
size in pixels (horizontal x vertical) and the refresh rate (in Hz).
The cmode refers to the bit depth and will be either 8, 16, 24, or 32.
The bit depth can be converted into the number of colors with the
formula "number of colors = 2^(bit depth)". So an 8-bit display will
have 2^8 or 256 colors, while a 24-bit display will have 2^24 or
16,777,216 colors (millions of colors).
vmode size (pixels) refresh notes
----- ------------- ------- -----
1 512 x 384 60 Hz Interlaced NTSC
2 512 x 384 60 Hz
3 640 x 480 50 Hz Interlaced PAL
4 640 x 480 60 Hz Interlaced NTSC
5 640 x 480 60 Hz
6 640 x 480 67 Hz
7 640 x 870 75 Hz Portrait
8 768 x 576 50 Hz Interlaced PAL
9 800 x 600 56 Hz
10 800 x 600 60 Hz
11 800 x 600 72 Hz
12 800 x 600 75 Hz
13 832 x 624 75 Hz
14 1024 x 768 60 Hz
15 1024 x 768 72 Hz
16 1024 x 768 75 Hz
17 1024 x 768 75 Hz
18 1152 x 870 75 Hz
19 1280 x 960 75 Hz
20 1280 x 1024 75 Hz
If none of these parameters are suitable for your system, you can tell
the kernel not to use a video driver by passing the "video=ofonly"
parameter.
/**
Likey they will be unsuitable [at least at the given frame buffer
level] for your newer Mac. - The vmode and cmode settings would still
be relevant. I included these as a direction indicator only.
What happens if I send "video=ofonly"? Also, I'm on an LCD, so my
refresh rate is "na". What would video=xxxxx:vmode:vv,cmode:cc look
like in my case?
I need to pass the "video=xxxxx:vmode:vv,cmode:cc" argument to BootX
at boot time [I have an 'old world' Mac only so can't use Yaboot], but
it looks like you *may* require this with Yaboot also.
Post your help questions into <comp.os.linux.ppc> or Xpost to it if you
have to, as it can be a helpful NG, with many well seasoned PPC Linux
experts lurking about [COLP may not seem to get a lot of traffic but
it's still gets read, and sensible requests are usually dealt with
fairly quickly].
I've changed the x-posting to comp.os.linux.powerpc. (couldn't find
comp.os.linux.ppc but I assume it's the same)
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
C Lund
2004-12-10 09:24:59 UTC
Permalink
I'll see if I can dig up some more info for you. Good luck.
And further reading to help [I hope]
<http://penguinppc.org/bootloaders/yaboot/doc/yaboot-howto.shtml/index.en.shtm
l>
This was a bit scary:

For those unfamiliar with Linux device naming, partition paths are in
the form of /dev/xxx# where xxx is the Linux device name and #
represents the partition number. Typical Linux device names are:
Name Device Type
---- --------------------------------------------------
hda internal ide drive (primary controller, master disk)
hdb internal ide drive (primary controller, slave disk)
hdc secondary controller, master disk (often used for CD-ROM)
hdd secondary controller, slave disk (often used for Zip
drive)
sda first SCSI disk (SCSI ID address-wise)
sdb second SCSI disk
scd0 first CD-ROM (or sr0)
fd0 first floppy drive
fd1 second floppy drive

Does this mean that when I'm supposed to choose which partition I want
to use for Linux, my options will be "hda, hdb, hdc" and so on instead
of "MacOS9, backups, Linux", which is how I've partitioned my master
drive?
--
dee
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Sandman
2004-12-10 09:59:45 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
I'll see if I can dig up some more info for you. Good luck.
And further reading to help [I hope]
<http://penguinppc.org/bootloaders/yaboot/doc/yaboot-howto.shtml/index.en.sh
tm
l>
For those unfamiliar with Linux device naming, partition paths are in
the form of /dev/xxx# where xxx is the Linux device name and #
Name Device Type
---- --------------------------------------------------
hda internal ide drive (primary controller, master disk)
hdb internal ide drive (primary controller, slave disk)
hdc secondary controller, master disk (often used for CD-ROM)
hdd secondary controller, slave disk (often used for Zip
drive)
sda first SCSI disk (SCSI ID address-wise)
sdb second SCSI disk
scd0 first CD-ROM (or sr0)
fd0 first floppy drive
fd1 second floppy drive
Does this mean that when I'm supposed to choose which partition I want
to use for Linux, my options will be "hda, hdb, hdc" and so on instead
of "MacOS9, backups, Linux", which is how I've partitioned my master
drive?
No, those are, as you said, devices. You do not install to a device, you
install to a partition. So if device hda has three partitions, you can choose
to install Linux on hda0, hda1 or hda2. hdb would be a completely different
hard drive, and hdb0 would be the first partition on it.
--
Sandman[.net]
Axel Hammerschmidt
2004-12-10 15:50:09 UTC
Permalink
NG comp.sys.mac.advocacy removed.
Post by Sandman
Post by C Lund
sda first SCSI disk (SCSI ID address-wise)
sdb second SCSI disk
scd0 first CD-ROM (or sr0)
fd0 first floppy drive
fd1 second floppy drive
Does this mean that when I'm supposed to choose which partition I want
to use for Linux, my options will be "hda, hdb, hdc" and so on instead
of "MacOS9, backups, Linux", which is how I've partitioned my master
drive?
No, those are, as you said, devices. You do not install to a device, you
install to a partition. So if device hda has three partitions, you can choose
to install Linux on hda0, hda1 or hda2. hdb would be a completely different
hard drive, and hdb0 would be the first partition on it.
Be very careful with the numbers. On an HFS+ scsi disk the first data
partition will typically be /dev/sda6. Chosing a wrong number will have
serious consequences.
--
There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.
C Lund
2004-12-10 22:14:49 UTC
Permalink
Post by Axel Hammerschmidt
Be very careful with the numbers. On an HFS+ scsi disk the first data
partition will typically be /dev/sda6. Chosing a wrong number will have
serious consequences.
But a HFS+ ATA disk...?
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Axel Hammerschmidt
2004-12-10 23:35:08 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Axel Hammerschmidt
Be very careful with the numbers. On an HFS+ scsi disk the first data
partition will typically be /dev/sda6. Chosing a wrong number will have
serious consequences.
But a HFS+ ATA disk...?
Be careful with the numbers there too...
--
There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.
C Lund
2004-12-11 14:20:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Axel Hammerschmidt
Post by C Lund
Post by Axel Hammerschmidt
Be very careful with the numbers. On an HFS+ scsi disk the first data
partition will typically be /dev/sda6. Chosing a wrong number will have
serious consequences.
But a HFS+ ATA disk...?
Be careful with the numbers there too...
What are these "serious consequences"? A reformatted HD? Worse?
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Axel Hammerschmidt
2004-12-13 12:47:54 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
What are these "serious consequences"? A reformatted HD? Worse?
Take a gander at:

Message-ID: <***@yahoo.com.cn>

Message-ID: <1go68qa.olfoyoityg90N%***@hotmail.com>

-earlier on in this ng, about Dec 2. Still a scsi-disk though.
--
There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.
C Lund
2004-12-13 22:07:03 UTC
Permalink
Post by Axel Hammerschmidt
Post by C Lund
What are these "serious consequences"? A reformatted HD? Worse?
-earlier on in this ng, about Dec 2. Still a scsi-disk though.
Ok. Far as I can tell it's not *worse* than an erased disk - but not
any better either.
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
C Lund
2004-12-10 22:08:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by Sandman
No, those are, as you said, devices. You do not install to a device, you
install to a partition. So if device hda has three partitions, you can choose
to install Linux on hda0, hda1 or hda2. hdb would be a completely different
hard drive, and hdb0 would be the first partition on it.
And here I assume "hda" is master and "hdb" is slave?
Post by Sandman
--
Sandman[.net]
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Sandman
2004-12-10 22:38:22 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Sandman
No, those are, as you said, devices. You do not install to a device, you
install to a partition. So if device hda has three partitions, you can choose
to install Linux on hda0, hda1 or hda2. hdb would be a completely different
hard drive, and hdb0 would be the first partition on it.
And here I assume "hda" is master and "hdb" is slave?
If you only have two disks - I would assume that as well. But if you have two
IDE chains and four disks, they would show up as hda, hdb, hdc and hdb.

What I'm trying to say is that I don't know for sure that the naming follows
the slave/master chain position.
--
Sandman[.net]
Peter Hayes
2004-12-10 10:26:29 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
For those unfamiliar with Linux device naming, partition paths are in
the form of /dev/xxx# where xxx is the Linux device name and #
Name Device Type
---- --------------------------------------------------
hda internal ide drive (primary controller, master disk)
hdb internal ide drive (primary controller, slave disk)
hdc secondary controller, master disk (often used for CD-ROM)
hdd secondary controller, slave disk (often used for Zip
drive)
sda first SCSI disk (SCSI ID address-wise)
sdb second SCSI disk
scd0 first CD-ROM (or sr0)
fd0 first floppy drive
fd1 second floppy drive
Does this mean that when I'm supposed to choose which partition I want
to use for Linux, my options will be "hda, hdb, hdc" and so on instead
of "MacOS9, backups, Linux", which is how I've partitioned my master
drive?
Yes, you won't get any fancy names, just /dev/hda1 for the first
partition on the primary controller, master disk, /dev/hda2 for the
second partition on said disk, and so on.

Just make sure you can identify the partition you want to install Linux
on (size?).

I'd just stick in another drive and use that, avoids any embarassing
ambiguities...
--
Peter
C Lund
2004-12-10 22:07:49 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Hayes
Just make sure you can identify the partition you want to install Linux
on (size?).
Will the sizes of the partitions be visible?
Post by Peter Hayes
I'd just stick in another drive and use that, avoids any embarassing
ambiguities...
I have two drives; an old one that has OS X and Classic, and a new one
(installed on Monday) that contains a basic OS 9 install, a bunch of
backups, and an empty partition called "Linux". IOW it wouldn't be a
major disaster if everything on the new HD got wiped - just a little
annoying.. B

Another thing: Is there a way to exit the installer and reboot in case
I run into a scary menu? "quit" and "exit" didn't seem to do much.
Post by Peter Hayes
--
Peter
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Peter Hayes
2004-12-11 16:16:06 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Just make sure you can identify the partition you want to install Linux
on (size?).
Will the sizes of the partitions be visible?
When you get to the partioning dialogue there should be size
information. I'm going by what happens when I've installed RedHat,
Mandrake and SuSE on x86 machines, and I don't see why the PPC installer
should be any different.
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
I'd just stick in another drive and use that, avoids any embarassing
ambiguities...
I have two drives; an old one that has OS X and Classic, and a new one
(installed on Monday) that contains a basic OS 9 install, a bunch of
backups, and an empty partition called "Linux". IOW it wouldn't be a
major disaster if everything on the new HD got wiped - just a little
annoying.. B
Another thing: Is there a way to exit the installer and reboot in case
I run into a scary menu? "quit" and "exit" didn't seem to do much.
Most installers actually do nothing until it's gathered all the
necessary information for the install, so if you can't 'quit' just
switch off and no damage will be done.
--
Peter
Mike Dee
2004-12-10 12:59:18 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
I'll see if I can dig up some more info for you. Good luck.
And further reading to help [I hope]
<http://penguinppc.org/bootloaders/yaboot/doc/yaboot-howto.shtml/i
ndex.en.shtm l>
For those unfamiliar with Linux device naming, partition paths are
in the form of /dev/xxx# where xxx is the Linux device name and #
Name Device Type
---- --------------------------------------------------
hda internal ide drive (primary controller, master disk)
hdb internal ide drive (primary controller, slave disk)
hdc secondary controller, master disk (often used for
CD-ROM) hdd secondary controller, slave disk (often used
for Zip
drive)
sda first SCSI disk (SCSI ID address-wise)
sdb second SCSI disk
scd0 first CD-ROM (or sr0)
fd0 first floppy drive
fd1 second floppy drive
Does this mean that when I'm supposed to choose which partition I
want to use for Linux, my options will be "hda, hdb, hdc" and so
on instead of "MacOS9, backups, Linux", which is how I've
partitioned my master drive?
No, Sandman explained it correctly in his post.

For your install once you do get to boot from the CD you will most
likely partition your "Linux" partition further into Linux root, usr,
swap, home, and boot. You'll be given this opportunity once the
installer kicks in.
--
dee
C Lund
2004-12-10 22:04:30 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mike Dee
For your install once you do get to boot from the CD you will most
likely partition your "Linux" partition further into Linux root, usr,
swap, home, and boot. You'll be given this opportunity once the
installer kicks in.
Uh.. so you're saying that the disk that's currently partitioned into

-MacOS9
-backup
-Linux

will become

-MacOS9
-backup
-Linux root
-usr
-swap
-home
-boot

?

Is that optional? If not, it'll look *really* ugly in OS X's Finder
windows...
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Peter Hayes
2004-12-11 16:29:45 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
For your install once you do get to boot from the CD you will most
likely partition your "Linux" partition further into Linux root, usr,
swap, home, and boot. You'll be given this opportunity once the
installer kicks in.
Uh.. so you're saying that the disk that's currently partitioned into
-MacOS9
-backup
-Linux
will become
-MacOS9
-backup
-Linux root
-usr
-swap
-home
-boot
?
Is that optional? If not, it'll look *really* ugly in OS X's Finder
windows...
The -home partition and the other partitions can be subsets of the /root
partition just as they are in OS X, so they might not show up directly
in the Finder. But usually /home is a separate physical partition so you
can reinstall or upgrade without having to backup all your data,
settings, etc.
--
Peter
C Lund
2004-12-10 09:26:23 UTC
Permalink
I'm using a 867MHz Quicksilver G4.
Is there a text install option?
Yup. Does it present me with the same options, only in text, as the
GUI install option?
--
Peter
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Peter Hayes
2004-12-10 10:26:30 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
I'm using a 867MHz Quicksilver G4.
Is there a text install option?
Yup. Does it present me with the same options, only in text, as the
GUI install option?
It should do. You'll have to 'Tab' your way round menus but the nett
result is the same.
--
Peter
Mike Dee
2004-12-10 12:29:16 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
<http://wijnand.rietman.biz/linux/mac/index.html?main>
**/
How to get video working.
Many Linux PPC users have troubles getting video to work. If the
standard install doesn’t work well, you likely need to pass in
some kernel arguments specific to your machine. These arguments
can be passed to the kernel through yaboot, using the following
video=xxxxx:vmode:vv,cmode:cc
The xxxx should specify the frame buffer of your video card.
Locate your video card in the list below in order to find the
Video card Frame Buffer
----------------------------------
ATI Mach64 atyfb
ATI Rage II atyfb
ATI Rage IIc atyfb
ATI 3D Rage II atyfb
ATI Rage Pro atyfb
ATI Rage Pro Turbo atyfb
ATI Rage LT Pro atyfb
ATI Rage Mobility atyfb
ATI Rage 128 aty128fb
ATI Rage 128 VR aty128fb
ATI Rage 128 Pro aty128fb
ixMicro TwinTurbo imsttfb
No nVidia options? I have a GF2mx in my mac.
As I wrote previously "Likely unsuitable" in your case.

Try: video=riva:vmode:15,cmode:24
Post by C Lund
The vv and cc should be replaced with a vmode and cmode,
respectively, that are supported by your monitor. The vmode
refers to both the screen size in pixels (horizontal x vertical)
and the refresh rate (in Hz). The cmode refers to the bit depth
and will be either 8, 16, 24, or 32. The bit depth can be
converted into the number of colors with the formula "number of
colors = 2^(bit depth)". So an 8-bit display will have 2^8 or 256
colors, while a 24-bit display will have 2^24 or 16,777,216
colors (millions of colors).
vmode size (pixels) refresh notes
----- ------------- ------- -----
1 512 x 384 60 Hz Interlaced NTSC
2 512 x 384 60 Hz
3 640 x 480 50 Hz Interlaced PAL
4 640 x 480 60 Hz Interlaced NTSC
5 640 x 480 60 Hz
6 640 x 480 67 Hz
7 640 x 870 75 Hz Portrait
8 768 x 576 50 Hz Interlaced PAL
9 800 x 600 56 Hz
10 800 x 600 60 Hz
11 800 x 600 72 Hz
12 800 x 600 75 Hz
13 832 x 624 75 Hz
14 1024 x 768 60 Hz
15 1024 x 768 72 Hz
16 1024 x 768 75 Hz
17 1024 x 768 75 Hz
18 1152 x 870 75 Hz
19 1280 x 960 75 Hz
20 1280 x 1024 75 Hz
If none of these parameters are suitable for your system, you can
tell the kernel not to use a video driver by passing the
"video=ofonly" parameter.
/**
Likey they will be unsuitable [at least at the given frame buffer
level] for your newer Mac. - The vmode and cmode settings would
still be relevant. I included these as a direction indicator
only.
What happens if I send "video=ofonly"?
You get a Text console [CLI], it's OK. GUI makes it easier though if
you're nervous about CLI's.
Post by C Lund
Also, I'm on an LCD, so my
refresh rate is "na". What would video=xxxxx:vmode:vv,cmode:cc
look like in my case?
See above.
Post by C Lund
I need to pass the "video=xxxxx:vmode:vv,cmode:cc" argument to
BootX at boot time [I have an 'old world' Mac only so can't use
Yaboot], but it looks like you *may* require this with Yaboot
also.
Post your help questions into <comp.os.linux.ppc> or Xpost to it
if you have to, as it can be a helpful NG, with many well
seasoned PPC Linux experts lurking about [COLP may not seem to
get a lot of traffic but it's still gets read, and sensible
requests are usually dealt with fairly quickly].
I've changed the x-posting to comp.os.linux.powerpc. (couldn't
find comp.os.linux.ppc but I assume it's the same)
Oops my bad, I was meaning powerpc not ppc.
--
dee
C Lund
2004-12-10 22:01:59 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
No nVidia options? I have a GF2mx in my mac.
As I wrote previously "Likely unsuitable" in your case.
Try: video=riva:vmode:15,cmode:24
I'll give it a shot tomorrow. If I still can't get it to work... CLI...
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
Likey they will be unsuitable [at least at the given frame buffer
level] for your newer Mac. - The vmode and cmode settings would
still be relevant. I included these as a direction indicator
only.
What happens if I send "video=ofonly"?
You get a Text console [CLI], it's OK. GUI makes it easier though if
you're nervous about CLI's.
Anything involving partitioning and formatting HDs make me nervous.
And a CLI won't give me any reassuring visual feedback. ;)
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
jim bob and joe bob
2004-12-11 05:57:07 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
No nVidia options? I have a GF2mx in my mac.
As I wrote previously "Likely unsuitable" in your case.
Try: video=riva:vmode:15,cmode:24
I'll give it a shot tomorrow. If I still can't get it to work... CLI...
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
Likey they will be unsuitable [at least at the given frame buffer
level] for your newer Mac. - The vmode and cmode settings would
still be relevant. I included these as a direction indicator
only.
What happens if I send "video=ofonly"?
You get a Text console [CLI], it's OK. GUI makes it easier though if
you're nervous about CLI's.
Anything involving partitioning and formatting HDs make me nervous.
And a CLI won't give me any reassuring visual feedback. ;)
Don't be too nervous about partitioning. Just copy/backup anything you
can't live without before you start. Typically MacOS puts about 4 or 5
partitions before anything you see as usable. The macfdsk (sp?) will
dislplay the disk partitions as they exist when you begin if you hit <p>
<enter>. Just start after the last mac partition. I would really
suggest that you use a separate drive for Linux. You may still want to
format under MacOS and leave most of the disk for linux. The reason is
that you may have to boot MacOS to run BootX to get you into linux. A
partition of 250 - 500 MB is plenty for a bootable mac system. Make it a
HFS standard partition if you want to use it to exchange files between
linux and mac. Linux won't do HFS+.
C Lund
2004-12-11 15:12:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mike Dee
Try: video=riva:vmode:15,cmode:24
Tried it, and I got "not valid ELF image".

What I typed was "boot cd:,\boot\yaboot video=riva:vmode:15,cmode:24"

Then I tried "install-text". That brought me to the black screen with
vertical blue stripes again..
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Peter Hayes
2004-12-11 16:03:28 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Try: video=riva:vmode:15,cmode:24
Tried it, and I got "not valid ELF image".
What I typed was "boot cd:,\boot\yaboot video=riva:vmode:15,cmode:24"
Then I tried "install-text". That brought me to the black screen with
vertical blue stripes again..
Silly question - is your monitor displaying the video out correctly, and
not stuck on some spurious lock-up? Text install should give you
***@60Hz, or maybe ***@60Hz and any card/monitor combination
should cope.
--
Peter
C Lund
2004-12-11 17:24:50 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Then I tried "install-text". That brought me to the black screen with
vertical blue stripes again..
Silly question - is your monitor displaying the video out correctly, and
not stuck on some spurious lock-up? Text install should give you
should cope.
Uhh.. judging by the size of the text I'd say the installer is running
at 1024x768, but I'm not sure.

I'll switch the resolution to 640x480 (in OS X) and try again.
Post by Peter Hayes
Peter
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
C Lund
2004-12-11 17:44:25 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Then I tried "install-text". That brought me to the black screen with
vertical blue stripes again..
Silly question - is your monitor displaying the video out correctly, and
not stuck on some spurious lock-up? Text install should give you
should cope.
Uhh.. judging by the size of the text I'd say the installer is running
at 1024x768, but I'm not sure.
I'll switch the resolution to 640x480 (in OS X) and try again.
Of course, switching to 640x480 in OS X had no effect on the monitor
setting in installer... B/

Still getting black and blue stripes. B(
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Peter
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Peter Hayes
2004-12-11 18:54:17 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Then I tried "install-text". That brought me to the black screen with
vertical blue stripes again..
Silly question - is your monitor displaying the video out correctly, and
not stuck on some spurious lock-up? Text install should give you
should cope.
Uhh.. judging by the size of the text I'd say the installer is running
at 1024x768, but I'm not sure.
I'll switch the resolution to 640x480 (in OS X) and try again.
Of course, switching to 640x480 in OS X had no effect on the monitor
setting in installer... B/
No, the installer doesn't run under OS X, just a Linux kernel and some
"VESA" type display driver.
Post by C Lund
Still getting black and blue stripes. B(
Ah, well, it was just a thought...

Any other display options? SuSE has (or at least, had) text installer
display size options, F-key selectable, but they were fairly prominently
displayed, so if Mandrake PPC has something similar you'll likely have
spotted them by now, :)

Have you tried powering off and restarting from "cold" with the Linux
CD? [1]. This avoids issues with graphics card registers stuck with
erroneous data from OS X which a reboot might not clear thereby
corrupting the display.

[1] I'm assuming you're booting from a Linux CD (as I would do with an
x86 PC) rather than running an installer from within OS X.
--
Peter
C Lund
2004-12-11 21:47:01 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Still getting black and blue stripes. B(
Ah, well, it was just a thought...
Any other display options? SuSE has (or at least, had) text installer
display size options, F-key selectable, but they were fairly prominently
displayed, so if Mandrake PPC has something similar you'll likely have
spotted them by now, :)
Or maybe not. I'm a n00b at this. B) What would those options look
like?
Post by Peter Hayes
Have you tried powering off and restarting from "cold" with the Linux
CD? [1]. This avoids issues with graphics card registers stuck with
erroneous data from OS X which a reboot might not clear thereby
corrupting the display.
Gave it a shot just now. Same thing happens. The installer loads and
then the screen goes blue/black.
Post by Peter Hayes
[1] I'm assuming you're booting from a Linux CD (as I would do with an
x86 PC) rather than running an installer from within OS X.
Yep. Booting off a CD. But is it possible to run an installer through
OS X?

And another question: Would it be possible to install Linux by
downloading the files (or yanking them off the CDs) while in OS X and
then simply dumping them in the desired partition? Hmm.. but then how
would the system know there was an OS there...
Post by Peter Hayes
--
Peter
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Peter Hayes
2004-12-12 11:53:08 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Still getting black and blue stripes. B(
Ah, well, it was just a thought...
Any other display options? SuSE has (or at least, had) text installer
display size options, F-key selectable, but they were fairly prominently
displayed, so if Mandrake PPC has something similar you'll likely have
spotted them by now, :)
Or maybe not. I'm a n00b at this. B) What would those options look
like?
A line of text at the bottom of the screen saying what the installer
options are. If you don't see anything there's probably no options.
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Have you tried powering off and restarting from "cold" with the Linux
CD? [1]. This avoids issues with graphics card registers stuck with
erroneous data from OS X which a reboot might not clear thereby
corrupting the display.
Gave it a shot just now. Same thing happens. The installer loads and
then the screen goes blue/black.
I guess then there's something going on that I don't understand either.

Have you tried another monitor, preferably a CRT type? your LCD might
not like 60Hz if it's supposed to run at 75Hz, say.

Have you checked the integrity of your CDs? Do an md5sum on them, in a
terminal do md5sum <path to CD>, maybe the installer CD is corrupted.
These are the figures you should get,

173f62e9705c200bcca8cd553f936e15 Mandrakelinux-10.1-CD1.ppc.iso
6c13bab8c8c19d0571fd4b6fcf1301a1 Mandrakelinux-10.1-CD2.ppc.iso
9bde583d7ebb332905609c4cb99c78ee Mandrakelinux-10.1-CD3.ppc.iso
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
[1] I'm assuming you're booting from a Linux CD (as I would do with an
x86 PC) rather than running an installer from within OS X.
Yep. Booting off a CD. But is it possible to run an installer through
OS X?
Don't know. There are Linux x86 versions that install onto a dos
partition, but it's not the way to go on any platform.
Post by C Lund
And another question: Would it be possible to install Linux by
downloading the files (or yanking them off the CDs) while in OS X and
then simply dumping them in the desired partition? Hmm.. but then how
would the system know there was an OS there...
I doubt it. You'd need a boot floppy for starters.

Have you tried any alternatives? Like Knoppix,

http://debian.tu-bs.de/knoppix/powerPC/

or can you swap the video card for a different make, just as a test? Or
test the install CD on another Mac?
--
Peter
C Lund
2004-12-12 14:02:31 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Have you tried powering off and restarting from "cold" with the Linux
CD? [1]. This avoids issues with graphics card registers stuck with
erroneous data from OS X which a reboot might not clear thereby
corrupting the display.
Gave it a shot just now. Same thing happens. The installer loads and
then the screen goes blue/black.
I guess then there's something going on that I don't understand either.
Have you tried another monitor, preferably a CRT type? your LCD might
not like 60Hz if it's supposed to run at 75Hz, say.
I don't have any other monitor than my LCD.
Post by Peter Hayes
Have you checked the integrity of your CDs? Do an md5sum on them, in a
terminal do md5sum <path to CD>, maybe the installer CD is corrupted.
These are the figures you should get,
173f62e9705c200bcca8cd553f936e15 Mandrakelinux-10.1-CD1.ppc.iso
Hmm.. Disk Utility presented me with two objects on CD 1 that I could
checksum: a folder called "Session 1" and an an object inside the
folder called "MandrakeLinux10.1PPC".

The folder had MD5 $4C6F7AD326C936F7A2D71F869D00A37F while the object
inside had MD5 $2080CE9E5E00F028A29ED3F241380920.

Other than having the wrong checksums, which object was I supposed to
test?

But since I was checksumming stuff anyway: The ISO file I downloaded
had MD5 $B9FCF42B73B57CB8CCB4C42A9B286AC2

IOW this was also wrong. But do I get differing checksum values?
Post by Peter Hayes
6c13bab8c8c19d0571fd4b6fcf1301a1 Mandrakelinux-10.1-CD2.ppc.iso
MD5 $BFF284F367F875A7F0B0DFD481E2CACE
Post by Peter Hayes
9bde583d7ebb332905609c4cb99c78ee Mandrakelinux-10.1-CD3.ppc.iso
MD5 $71688717B031755FBCFBBA2E1E860EE7

Hmm.. I'm downloading ISO 1 again - from somewhere else this time.
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
And another question: Would it be possible to install Linux by
downloading the files (or yanking them off the CDs) while in OS X and
then simply dumping them in the desired partition? Hmm.. but then how
would the system know there was an OS there...
I doubt it. You'd need a boot floppy for starters.
Have you tried any alternatives? Like Knoppix,
http://debian.tu-bs.de/knoppix/powerPC/
I'll check it out if I can't find any Mandrake ISOs that don't fail
the checksums.
Post by Peter Hayes
or can you swap the video card for a different make, just as a test? Or
test the install CD on another Mac?
I don't have any other video cards - or macs, for that matter. My
previous mac was an old Performa, and is currently in use as a printer
server in my parents' house. B)
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
C Lund
2004-12-12 21:31:40 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Gave it a shot just now. Same thing happens. The installer loads and
then the screen goes blue/black.
I guess then there's something going on that I don't understand either.
Have you tried another monitor, preferably a CRT type? your LCD might
not like 60Hz if it's supposed to run at 75Hz, say.
Feeling stupid now.. I forgot all about the "video=ofonly" parameter.
On a hunch, I tried the line:

install-text video=ofonly

- and the installer worked just fine. B)

I aborted the procedure though - I'm a bit below the weather today so
I'm going hold this off until I'm feeling better. I have no doubt I'll
be bugging you with more questions when that time comes. B)


Oh, I have two questions right away:

- In the security part of the install (this is where I aborted):

"Fill the Security Administrator field with the e-mail address of
the person responsible for security. Security messages will be sent
to that address"

What kind of email address do I put there?

- Going on in the online guide: "Selecting the Mount Points"

If I select "use existing partitions", no new partitions will be made,
right? And only the partition I select in the next step gets wiped?

---

I wonder about those erroneous checksums though..
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Peter Hayes
2004-12-12 23:01:44 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Gave it a shot just now. Same thing happens. The installer loads and
then the screen goes blue/black.
I guess then there's something going on that I don't understand either.
Have you tried another monitor, preferably a CRT type? your LCD might
not like 60Hz if it's supposed to run at 75Hz, say.
Feeling stupid now.. I forgot all about the "video=ofonly" parameter.
install-text video=ofonly
- and the installer worked just fine. B)
Splendid.
Post by C Lund
I aborted the procedure though - I'm a bit below the weather today so
I'm going hold this off until I'm feeling better. I have no doubt I'll
be bugging you with more questions when that time comes. B)
"Fill the Security Administrator field with the e-mail address of
the person responsible for security. Security messages will be sent
to that address"
What kind of email address do I put there?
- Going on in the online guide: "Selecting the Mount Points"
If I select "use existing partitions", no new partitions will be made,
right?
Yes.
Post by C Lund
And only the partition I select in the next step gets wiped?
That's the theory.
Post by C Lund
I wonder about those erroneous checksums though..
Disk Utility's "checksum" function doesn't give the correct results - at
least not the correct results as published on the d/l site's webpage.
I've just tried it with an .iso I happened to have on my machine. Maybe
Apple's concept of md5 checksumming is different.

Try using a terminal. At the command prompt enter

mdssum <path to .iso file> and hit <enter>. After a few seconds
(several, maybe even a minute or so since there's 650Mb to go through)
it should spit out the hex characters, something like this :-

-bash-2.05b$ md5sum /Users/peter/Desktop/ipcop-1.4.1.iso
e7c247393318a44c2e2142096553425e /Users/peter/Desktop/ipcop-1.4.1.iso

The e7c247393318a44c2e2142096553425e matches ipcop's webpage figure so
my d/l wasn't corrupted, or more seriously - hadn't been tampered with.
--
Peter
C Lund
2004-12-13 09:27:10 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Gave it a shot just now. Same thing happens. The installer loads and
then the screen goes blue/black.
I guess then there's something going on that I don't understand either.
Have you tried another monitor, preferably a CRT type? your LCD might
not like 60Hz if it's supposed to run at 75Hz, say.
Feeling stupid now.. I forgot all about the "video=ofonly" parameter.
install-text video=ofonly
- and the installer worked just fine. B)
Splendid.
Indeed. B)
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
I aborted the procedure though - I'm a bit below the weather today so
I'm going hold this off until I'm feeling better. I have no doubt I'll
be bugging you with more questions when that time comes. B)
"Fill the Security Administrator field with the e-mail address of
the person responsible for security. Security messages will be sent
to that address"
What kind of email address do I put there?
Ok.
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
And only the partition I select in the next step gets wiped?
That's the theory.
That's not quite as reassuring as a "yes" would have been. Oh well..
I've backed up everything anyway.
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
I wonder about those erroneous checksums though..
Try using a terminal. At the command prompt enter
mdssum <path to .iso file> and hit <enter>.
That got me the right checksum. B)
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Peter Hayes
2004-12-13 11:02:39 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
And only the partition I select in the next step gets wiped?
That's the theory.
That's not quite as reassuring as a "yes" would have been.
I've never had the software go wrong, just operator error...
--
Peter
C Lund
2004-12-13 11:28:04 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
And only the partition I select in the next step gets wiped?
That's the theory.
That's not quite as reassuring as a "yes" would have been.
I've never had the software go wrong, just operator error...
Made a first stab at installing just now. But the text installer seems
to diverge from the GUI installer when it comes to partitioning.
According to the DrakX guide, the GUI options are

- Use existing partitions
- Erase entire disk
- Use the free space on the Windows partition
- Custom disk partitioning

But the text-only version gives me just two options:

- Erase entire disk
- Custom disk partitioning

I selected the custom option, and the installer/diskdrake presented me
with the following options:

hda1 31KB apple
hda11 14GB hfs
hda13 41GB hfs
hda14 8.5MB apple
hda15 19GB apple
hda2 - 5 28KB apple
hda6 - 8 256KB apple
hda9 1MB apple

There's a similar list for hdb, but I don't want to touch that disk.

Judging by the values above, hda11 is where I've put the old MacOS,
hda13 is the backup partition, and hda15 is where I intend to put
Linux. I don't know what happened to hda12 - I suppose I just forgot
to write it down.

However, before these options appeared, the installer briefly flashed
a notice about root disks (didn't really catch the message). What does
that mean? And why is hda15 listed as "apple"? When I formatted the
drive last week, I used a standard unix format for that partition.

Should I just choose hda15 and move on? Will I also be asked to
selected partitions for usr and so on?
Post by Peter Hayes
--
Peter
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Mike Dee
2004-12-13 12:26:46 UTC
Permalink
C Lund <***@notam02SPAMBLOCK.no> wrote in news:clund-
***@amstwist00.chello.com:

Snip.
Post by C Lund
Should I just choose hda15 and move on? Will I also be asked to
selected partitions for usr and so on?
No.

Got everything backed up? Good.

Reformat your drive for normal Mac use and leave space for Linux [your
spare 19GB] at the end of the drive as Free [not formatted]. Reinstall
your Mac stuff.

Go through this online demo [it's dated but useful]
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/>

" Partitioning tip: For best results, keep the Mac OS at the beginning
of the drive and leave FREE space at the end for Mandrake Linux to
use."

Don't be hasty clicking through the links, some of the pages are
animated and have extra info. Once you get to page 14 [they're all very
brief] make sure you click onto the *red underlined* 'Recommended" and
'Expert' links to continue the demo. DrakX no longer looks like it does
in the demo, but there is still some [very] useful newbie info to be
had.
--
dee
C Lund
2004-12-13 13:38:49 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
Should I just choose hda15 and move on? Will I also be asked to
selected partitions for usr and so on?
No.
"No I should not just choose hda15" or "no I will not be asked ..."?
Post by Mike Dee
Reformat your drive for normal Mac use and leave space for Linux [your
spare 19GB] at the end of the drive as Free [not formatted]. Reinstall
your Mac stuff.
That would pretty much leave me with the setup I currently have on the
HD in question (the second HD is a different matter, but I don't want
the Mandrake installer anywhere near it). My Linux partition is last
on the partition list, so I assume it's at the end of my drive ...?

However, how do I leave space as "free"? Disk Utility gives me three
options:

Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
UNIX File System

The Linux partition is currently set to "UNIX File System".
Post by Mike Dee
Go through this online demo [it's dated but useful]
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/>
Don't be hasty clicking through the links, some of the pages are
animated and have extra info. Once you get to page 14 [they're all very
brief] make sure you click onto the *red underlined* 'Recommended" and
'Expert' links to continue the demo. DrakX no longer looks like it does
in the demo, but there is still some [very] useful newbie info to be
had.
Certainly. But the problem is that when I come to

http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Reco/pages/

(page 2 in the recommended install)

the partitioning options diverge from those in the text-only
installer, which I have to use because of video-incompatibilities or
something. The only options I have are "Erase entire disk" and "Custom
disk partitioning". "Use free space" and "Use existing partition" are
not present.

BTW: There's a more updated version (10.1) of the guide here:

http://doc.mandrakelinux.com/MandrakeLinux/100/en/Starter.html/drakx.ht
ml
Post by Mike Dee
dee
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
jim bob and joe bob
2004-12-13 14:05:51 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
Should I just choose hda15 and move on? Will I also be asked to
selected partitions for usr and so on?
No.
"No I should not just choose hda15" or "no I will not be asked ..."?
Post by Mike Dee
Reformat your drive for normal Mac use and leave space for Linux [your
spare 19GB] at the end of the drive as Free [not formatted]. Reinstall
your Mac stuff.
That would pretty much leave me with the setup I currently have on the
HD in question (the second HD is a different matter, but I don't want
the Mandrake installer anywhere near it). My Linux partition is last
on the partition list, so I assume it's at the end of my drive ...?
However, how do I leave space as "free"? Disk Utility gives me three
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
UNIX File System
Begin by formatting under MacOS with multiple partitions if you like.
Don't include all the disk space in the Mac partitions and it will be
displayed as free space in MacOS. It should come after all the Mac
partitions and be available to the linux partitioning utility.
Post by C Lund
The Linux partition is currently set to "UNIX File System".
Post by Mike Dee
Go through this online demo [it's dated but useful]
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/>
Don't be hasty clicking through the links, some of the pages are
animated and have extra info. Once you get to page 14 [they're all very
brief] make sure you click onto the *red underlined* 'Recommended" and
'Expert' links to continue the demo. DrakX no longer looks like it does
in the demo, but there is still some [very] useful newbie info to be
had.
Certainly. But the problem is that when I come to
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Reco/pages/
(page 2 in the recommended install)
the partitioning options diverge from those in the text-only
installer, which I have to use because of video-incompatibilities or
something. The only options I have are "Erase entire disk" and "Custom
disk partitioning". "Use free space" and "Use existing partition" are
not present.
http://doc.mandrakelinux.com/MandrakeLinux/100/en/Starter.html/drakx.ht
ml
Post by Mike Dee
dee
C Lund
2004-12-13 22:51:33 UTC
Permalink
Post by jim bob and joe bob
Post by C Lund
However, how do I leave space as "free"? Disk Utility gives me three
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
UNIX File System
Begin by formatting under MacOS with multiple partitions if you like.
Don't include all the disk space in the Mac partitions and it will be
displayed as free space in MacOS. It should come after all the Mac
partitions and be available to the linux partitioning utility.
As far as I can tell, Disk Utility formats the entire disk no matter
what. The sum of partitions = entire HD.
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Peter Hayes
2004-12-13 18:03:10 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
Should I just choose hda15 and move on? Will I also be asked to
selected partitions for usr and so on?
No.
"No I should not just choose hda15" or "no I will not be asked ..."?
See below.
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Reformat your drive for normal Mac use and leave space for Linux [your
spare 19GB] at the end of the drive as Free [not formatted]. Reinstall
your Mac stuff.
That would pretty much leave me with the setup I currently have on the
HD in question (the second HD is a different matter, but I don't want
the Mandrake installer anywhere near it).
Can I suggest you disconnect the second drive, assuming it's a slave
drive since it's hdb, resetting drive jumpers if necessary, if your Mac
will allow this. That's what I do with an x86 PC.

Since the second drive is hdb removing it won't affect the installation.

Then you can make as many mistakes as you like knowing your important
data is safe. Insurance, you know... :)
Post by C Lund
My Linux partition is last
on the partition list, so I assume it's at the end of my drive ...?
However, how do I leave space as "free"? Disk Utility gives me three
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
UNIX File System
The Linux partition is currently set to "UNIX File System".
Does the Linux installer recognise the "UNIX File System" partition? If
not, you'll have to reformat it ext3. The installer will probably want
to create a swap partition as well, so the best thing is to delete this
UFS partition and recreate one of 18GB formatted UFS or ext3 and one of
1GB formatted "swap".

You can optionally create /usr, /home, /etc and other partitions but
it's not compulsory and certainly not worth the effort for a first
go-round.
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Go through this online demo [it's dated but useful]
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/>
Don't be hasty clicking through the links, some of the pages are
animated and have extra info. Once you get to page 14 [they're all very
brief] make sure you click onto the *red underlined* 'Recommended" and
'Expert' links to continue the demo. DrakX no longer looks like it does
in the demo, but there is still some [very] useful newbie info to be
had.
Certainly. But the problem is that when I come to
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Reco/pages/
(page 2 in the recommended install)
the partitioning options diverge from those in the text-only
installer, which I have to use because of video-incompatibilities or
something. The only options I have are "Erase entire disk" and "Custom
disk partitioning". "Use free space" and "Use existing partition" are
not present.
Odd. But selecting "custom" should allow you to delete the UFS partition
and create new ones as above.
--
Peter
C Lund
2004-12-13 22:50:17 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
That would pretty much leave me with the setup I currently have on the
HD in question (the second HD is a different matter, but I don't want
the Mandrake installer anywhere near it).
Can I suggest you disconnect the second drive, assuming it's a slave
drive since it's hdb, resetting drive jumpers if necessary, if your Mac
will allow this. That's what I do with an x86 PC.
That sounds like a good idea. It'll have to wait until the weekend,
though - or maybe longer (busy time of year).
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
My Linux partition is last
on the partition list, so I assume it's at the end of my drive ...?
However, how do I leave space as "free"? Disk Utility gives me three
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
UNIX File System
The Linux partition is currently set to "UNIX File System".
Does the Linux installer recognise the "UNIX File System" partition?
Apparently it does. It calls it "hda15 19GB apple"
Post by Peter Hayes
If
not, you'll have to reformat it ext3.
The installer will probably want
to create a swap partition as well, so the best thing is to delete this
UFS partition and recreate one of 18GB formatted UFS or ext3 and one of
1GB formatted "swap".
Do they have to be in any specific order? And why do I need a separate
"swap" partition anyway?
Post by Peter Hayes
Peter
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Peter Hayes
2004-12-13 23:45:37 UTC
Permalink
C Lund <***@notam02SPAMBLOCK.no> wrote:

<...>
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
Post by C Lund
The Linux partition is currently set to "UNIX File System".
Does the Linux installer recognise the "UNIX File System" partition?
Apparently it does. It calls it "hda15 19GB apple"
ok - give it a whirl... :)
Post by C Lund
Post by Peter Hayes
The installer will probably want
to create a swap partition as well, so the best thing is to delete this
UFS partition and recreate one of 18GB formatted UFS or ext3 and one of
1GB formatted "swap".
Do they have to be in any specific order? And why do I need a separate
"swap" partition anyway?
The swap partition is supposed to be the same size thereabouts as your
RAM and is used as virtual memory as its name suggests. Try installing
without a swap partition onto your 18GB UFS partition. I guess it'll
just page out to that partition if you run out of ram.
--
Peter
Mike Dee
2004-12-13 20:53:24 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
Should I just choose hda15 and move on? Will I also be asked to
selected partitions for usr and so on?
No.
"No I should not just choose hda15" or "no I will not be asked
..."?
No to choosing hda15 and moving on [just yet]
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Reformat your drive for normal Mac use and leave space for Linux
[your spare 19GB] at the end of the drive as Free [not
formatted]. Reinstall your Mac stuff.
That would pretty much leave me with the setup I currently have on
the HD in question (the second HD is a different matter, but I
don't want the Mandrake installer anywhere near it). My Linux
partition is last on the partition list, so I assume it's at the
end of my drive ...?
The mandrake installer is quite safe, I've used it several times, it
will leave any Mac partition alone and automatically partition the free
space as [assuming the last Mac partition is hda10] hda11 - bootstrap,
hda12 - root, hda13 - swap, and hda14 - home. Even the custom install
wants to do this, until you tell it otherwise.
Post by C Lund
However, how do I leave space as "free"? Disk Utility gives me
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
UNIX File System
Don't you get any options on partition sizes? I'm only familiar with
the Classic Mac "Drive Setup" application. With that prog it was easy
to choose a Custom partition scheme and format only the amount of drive
required, leaving xxx space free for another OS.
Post by C Lund
The Linux partition is currently set to "UNIX File System".
It is possible to install Linux to a single partition, but it is more
usual to partition to at least a root, swap, home and maybe usr
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Go through this online demo [it's dated but useful]
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/>
Don't be hasty clicking through the links, some of the pages are
animated and have extra info. Once you get to page 14 [they're
all very brief] make sure you click onto the *red underlined*
'Recommended" and 'Expert' links to continue the demo. DrakX no
longer looks like it does in the demo, but there is still some
[very] useful newbie info to be had.
Certainly. But the problem is that when I come to
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Reco/pages/
(page 2 in the recommended install)
Check out the "Expert" install, it's more comprehensive and not all
that 'expert' it has much better formatting options:
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Expert/index.php3>
Post by C Lund
the partitioning options diverge from those in the text-only
installer, which I have to use because of video-incompatibilities
or something. The only options I have are "Erase entire disk" and
"Custom disk partitioning". "Use free space" and "Use existing
partition" are not present.
Well you would certainly choose "Custom" in this instance as you wish
to keep your existing Mac partitions.
Post by C Lund
http://doc.mandrakelinux.com/MandrakeLinux/100/en/Starter.html/drak
x.ht ml
Thanks. The old guide is still relevant and lot easier to navigate plus
has great pix - the 'look' of DrakX has changed to reflect the times
but basically it's still the same.

One thing though; In your attempts at getting a GUI install, did you
try the argument "install-novideo"? which gives basic, framebuffer
video support (graphical install), as opposed to "install-text"?

By what method is your display attached to the G4? I believe there are
2 types of connection you can choose? I seem to recall reading about an
incompatibility with Linux PPC and nVidia drivers, as to getting an X
display via one of the connection types or even accelerated 3D. I've
been trying to dig something up via Google but so far no luck.
--
dee
C Lund
2004-12-13 22:45:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mike Dee
No to choosing hda15 and moving on [just yet]
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Reformat your drive for normal Mac use and leave space for Linux
[your spare 19GB] at the end of the drive as Free [not
formatted]. Reinstall your Mac stuff.
That would pretty much leave me with the setup I currently have on
the HD in question (the second HD is a different matter, but I
don't want the Mandrake installer anywhere near it). My Linux
partition is last on the partition list, so I assume it's at the
end of my drive ...?
The mandrake installer is quite safe, I've used it several times, it
will leave any Mac partition alone and automatically partition the free
space as [assuming the last Mac partition is hda10] hda11 - bootstrap,
hda12 - root, hda13 - swap, and hda14 - home. Even the custom install
wants to do this, until you tell it otherwise.
So you're saying it'll leave me with just an OS 9 partition and the
Linux partition? The third backup partition will be wiped?
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
However, how do I leave space as "free"? Disk Utility gives me
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
UNIX File System
Don't you get any options on partition sizes? I'm only familiar with
the Classic Mac "Drive Setup" application. With that prog it was easy
to choose a Custom partition scheme and format only the amount of drive
required, leaving xxx space free for another OS.
The current Disk Utility uses the entire HD. If I shrink one
partition, another will increase in size.
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
The Linux partition is currently set to "UNIX File System".
It is possible to install Linux to a single partition, but it is more
usual to partition to at least a root, swap, home and maybe usr
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Go through this online demo [it's dated but useful]
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/>
Certainly. But the problem is that when I come to
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Reco/pages/
(page 2 in the recommended install)
Check out the "Expert" install, it's more comprehensive and not all
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Expert/index.php3>
Ok. I'll check it out.
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
the partitioning options diverge from those in the text-only
installer, which I have to use because of video-incompatibilities
or something. The only options I have are "Erase entire disk" and
"Custom disk partitioning". "Use free space" and "Use existing
partition" are not present.
Well you would certainly choose "Custom" in this instance as you wish
to keep your existing Mac partitions.
But will I be able to keep a blank partition that has neither OS 9 or
Linux? Or maybe I should just install OS 9 there as well and then
erase it after Linux is in place ...?
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
http://doc.mandrakelinux.com/MandrakeLinux/100/en/Starter.html/drak
x.ht ml
Thanks. The old guide is still relevant and lot easier to navigate plus
has great pix - the 'look' of DrakX has changed to reflect the times
but basically it's still the same.
One thing though; In your attempts at getting a GUI install, did you
try the argument "install-novideo"? which gives basic, framebuffer
video support (graphical install), as opposed to "install-text"?
No, that one I did not try. I'll give it a shot the next time I do
this. B)
Post by Mike Dee
By what method is your display attached to the G4? I believe there are
2 types of connection you can choose? I seem to recall reading about an
incompatibility with Linux PPC and nVidia drivers, as to getting an X
display via one of the connection types or even accelerated 3D. I've
been trying to dig something up via Google but so far no luck.
Uhh... It's attached the standard way for a stock Quicksilver G4...
whatever that means... It's an nVidia in an AGP slot.

Are you saying I might not be able to get accelerated 3d with Linux on
my system?
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
Mike Dee
2004-12-13 23:51:46 UTC
Permalink
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
No to choosing hda15 and moving on [just yet]
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Reformat your drive for normal Mac use and leave space for
Linux [your spare 19GB] at the end of the drive as Free [not
formatted]. Reinstall your Mac stuff.
That would pretty much leave me with the setup I currently have
on the HD in question (the second HD is a different matter, but
I don't want the Mandrake installer anywhere near it). My Linux
partition is last on the partition list, so I assume it's at
the end of my drive ...?
The mandrake installer is quite safe, I've used it several times,
it will leave any Mac partition alone and automatically partition
the free space as [assuming the last Mac partition is hda10]
hda11 - bootstrap, hda12 - root, hda13 - swap, and hda14 - home.
Even the custom install wants to do this, until you tell it
otherwise.
So you're saying it'll leave me with just an OS 9 partition and
the Linux partition? The third backup partition will be wiped?
Not at all, I was using hda10 as an *example*, not what you have
actually already partitioned, nor what your partion numbers actually
are. Instead of 'assume' perhaps I should have said 'pretend'.

The Linux installer will 'see' an unformatted partition on your drive
and will want to work with that on it's own accord. You get the option
to wipe the entire drive if you wish, but you don't have to, and by the
sounds of things you don't want to, but the installer is fairly safe to
play with, I've never lost partitions unintentionally by using it.
However backups are always important regardless of OS involved.
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
However, how do I leave space as "free"? Disk Utility gives me
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
UNIX File System
Don't you get any options on partition sizes? I'm only familiar
with the Classic Mac "Drive Setup" application. With that prog it
was easy to choose a Custom partition scheme and format only the
amount of drive required, leaving xxx space free for another OS.
The current Disk Utility uses the entire HD. If I shrink one
partition, another will increase in size.
Oh. Can you use OS 9's 'Drive Setup'? It seems way more flexable.
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
The Linux partition is currently set to "UNIX File System".
It is possible to install Linux to a single partition, but it is
more usual to partition to at least a root, swap, home and maybe
usr
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Go through this online demo [it's dated but useful]
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/>
Certainly. But the problem is that when I come to
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Reco/pages/
(page 2 in the recommended install)
Check out the "Expert" install, it's more comprehensive and not
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Expert/index.ph
p3>
Ok. I'll check it out.
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
the partitioning options diverge from those in the text-only
installer, which I have to use because of
video-incompatibilities or something. The only options I have
are "Erase entire disk" and "Custom disk partitioning". "Use
free space" and "Use existing partition" are not present.
Well you would certainly choose "Custom" in this instance as you
wish to keep your existing Mac partitions.
But will I be able to keep a blank partition that has neither OS 9
or Linux? Or maybe I should just install OS 9 there as well and
then erase it after Linux is in place ...?
I don't see why not. This is an area where I don't have much
experience, sorry. I am familiar with installing Linux to a drive with
MacOS =< 9.x - not with Mac 9, X and Linux.
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
http://doc.mandrakelinux.com/MandrakeLinux/100/en/Starter.html/d
rak x.ht ml
Thanks. The old guide is still relevant and lot easier to
navigate plus has great pix - the 'look' of DrakX has changed to
reflect the times but basically it's still the same.
One thing though; In your attempts at getting a GUI install, did
you try the argument "install-novideo"? which gives basic,
framebuffer video support (graphical install), as opposed to
"install-text"?
No, that one I did not try. I'll give it a shot the next time I do
this. B)
Post by Mike Dee
By what method is your display attached to the G4? I believe
there are 2 types of connection you can choose? I seem to recall
reading about an incompatibility with Linux PPC and nVidia
drivers, as to getting an X display via one of the connection
types or even accelerated 3D. I've been trying to dig something
up via Google but so far no luck.
Uhh... It's attached the standard way for a stock Quicksilver
G4... whatever that means... It's an nVidia in an AGP slot.
Not how it attaches to the card, rather from the card to the display. I
had some idea there were a couple of options as to type of connection
on the display [sorry, I don't have a flatscreen so I may be wrong].
Post by C Lund
Are you saying I might not be able to get accelerated 3d with
Linux on my system?
Good chance :-(
But then again I'm not sure. Have read that because nVidia wont GPL
it's 3D driver code. No fault of the Mac or Linux, just one of those
issues. You'll have to do some research. Some bright spark may've come
up with a patch by now :)
--
dee
jim bob and joe bob
2004-12-14 04:25:26 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
No to choosing hda15 and moving on [just yet]
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Reformat your drive for normal Mac use and leave space for
Linux [your spare 19GB] at the end of the drive as Free [not
formatted]. Reinstall your Mac stuff.
That would pretty much leave me with the setup I currently have
on the HD in question (the second HD is a different matter, but
I don't want the Mandrake installer anywhere near it). My Linux
partition is last on the partition list, so I assume it's at
the end of my drive ...?
The mandrake installer is quite safe, I've used it several times,
it will leave any Mac partition alone and automatically partition
the free space as [assuming the last Mac partition is hda10]
hda11 - bootstrap, hda12 - root, hda13 - swap, and hda14 - home.
Even the custom install wants to do this, until you tell it
otherwise.
So you're saying it'll leave me with just an OS 9 partition and
the Linux partition? The third backup partition will be wiped?
Not at all, I was using hda10 as an *example*, not what you have
actually already partitioned, nor what your partion numbers actually
are. Instead of 'assume' perhaps I should have said 'pretend'.
The Linux installer will 'see' an unformatted partition on your drive
and will want to work with that on it's own accord. You get the option
to wipe the entire drive if you wish, but you don't have to, and by the
sounds of things you don't want to, but the installer is fairly safe to
play with, I've never lost partitions unintentionally by using it.
However backups are always important regardless of OS involved.
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
However, how do I leave space as "free"? Disk Utility gives me
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
UNIX File System
Don't you get any options on partition sizes? I'm only familiar
with the Classic Mac "Drive Setup" application. With that prog it
was easy to choose a Custom partition scheme and format only the
amount of drive required, leaving xxx space free for another OS.
The current Disk Utility uses the entire HD. If I shrink one
partition, another will increase in size.
Oh. Can you use OS 9's 'Drive Setup'? It seems way more flexable.
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
The Linux partition is currently set to "UNIX File System".
It is possible to install Linux to a single partition, but it is
more usual to partition to at least a root, swap, home and maybe
usr
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Go through this online demo [it's dated but useful]
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/>
Certainly. But the problem is that when I come to
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Reco/pages/
(page 2 in the recommended install)
Check out the "Expert" install, it's more comprehensive and not
<http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/demos/PPC/Install/Expert/index.ph
p3>
Ok. I'll check it out.
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
the partitioning options diverge from those in the text-only
installer, which I have to use because of
video-incompatibilities or something. The only options I have
are "Erase entire disk" and "Custom disk partitioning". "Use
free space" and "Use existing partition" are not present.
Well you would certainly choose "Custom" in this instance as you
wish to keep your existing Mac partitions.
But will I be able to keep a blank partition that has neither OS 9
or Linux? Or maybe I should just install OS 9 there as well and
then erase it after Linux is in place ...?
I don't see why not. This is an area where I don't have much
experience, sorry. I am familiar with installing Linux to a drive with
MacOS =< 9.x - not with Mac 9, X and Linux.
Post by C Lund
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
http://doc.mandrakelinux.com/MandrakeLinux/100/en/Starter.html/d
rak x.ht ml
Thanks. The old guide is still relevant and lot easier to
navigate plus has great pix - the 'look' of DrakX has changed to
reflect the times but basically it's still the same.
One thing though; In your attempts at getting a GUI install, did
you try the argument "install-novideo"? which gives basic,
framebuffer video support (graphical install), as opposed to
"install-text"?
No, that one I did not try. I'll give it a shot the next time I do
this. B)
Post by Mike Dee
By what method is your display attached to the G4? I believe
there are 2 types of connection you can choose? I seem to recall
reading about an incompatibility with Linux PPC and nVidia
drivers, as to getting an X display via one of the connection
types or even accelerated 3D. I've been trying to dig something
up via Google but so far no luck.
Uhh... It's attached the standard way for a stock Quicksilver
G4... whatever that means... It's an nVidia in an AGP slot.
Not how it attaches to the card, rather from the card to the display. I
had some idea there were a couple of options as to type of connection
on the display [sorry, I don't have a flatscreen so I may be wrong].
Post by C Lund
Are you saying I might not be able to get accelerated 3d with
Linux on my system?
Good chance :-(
But then again I'm not sure. Have read that because nVidia wont GPL
it's 3D driver code. No fault of the Mac or Linux, just one of those
issues. You'll have to do some research. Some bright spark may've come
up with a patch by now :)
I'll throw in my 11/2 cents again. If you have a mac partition that you
want to use for linux I think fdisk can reinitialize it to use under
linux without losing anything from your mac partitions. The only
problem I have heard of, if it is indeed a problem, is that the macos
partition table remains unchanged and will not reflect that the linux
partition is being used. It will continue to be seen as a mac
partition. In that case the trouble would come if you inadvertently
tried to write to it from MacOS (I think).
C Lund
2004-12-14 13:25:35 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mike Dee
Post by C Lund
Are you saying I might not be able to get accelerated 3d with
Linux on my system?
Good chance :-(
But then again I'm not sure. Have read that because nVidia wont GPL
it's 3D driver code. No fault of the Mac or Linux, just one of those
issues. You'll have to do some research. Some bright spark may've come
up with a patch by now :)
I've done some googling on the topic, and I'm going to start a new
thread in COLP about it. But if I can't get 3d acceleration working
under Linux, then much of my motivation for installing Linux (beyond
"cuz I can") goes pft. I was hoping to be able to play ETF
(http://etfgame.com/) under Linux. No can do without 3d
acceleration... B(
Post by Mike Dee
--
dee
--
C Lund, www.notam02.no/~clund
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