Booting from LiveCD

[Spalls Hurgenson]

Anyone have any ideas on this problem? I've googled all weekend and
gotten no closer to a solution. I am not generally a Linux or Mac
person, but nor am I entirely unfamiliar with both.

I have an older G4 MacMini. It's a 1.5Ghz PowerPC G4, upgraded to 1GB
RAM.

My goal is to put Linux on this little machine, ultimately to use as a
file-server. My problem is that I can't get any of the LiveCDs to
actually boot.

I've tried downloading the PPC-port of Ubuntu (both v6.06 and v8.04),
as well as YellowDog v6.1 PPC. I've burnt the ISOs to CD (or DVD, in
the case of Yellowdog). I insert the disk into the drive, restart the
Mac holding down the "C" key... and nothing. I get bumped into OSX.

Not giving up, I restart holding down the CMD-OPT-SHIFT-DEL key and
get a selection of two buttons (one for OSX, one for Linux); this
doesn't work either. I get the graphical menu but clicking on the
LinuxCD icon doesn't start the installation.

If I insert the OSX install disc, I can boot from that and, =while in
OSX- the drive can *read* the Linux CDs; this would seem to indicate
that the hardware is working and its not an incompatibility issue with
my discs.

DiskUtility report the burnt CDs as *not* being bootable. But why? I
tried burning the ISOs to disc on the Mac, and burnt another from a
PC; the discs just are not bootable. I'm just downloading the ISOs and
burning them to CD; nothing fancy. All indications are that these are
LiveCDs.

Any ideas of where I should go from here?



ISOs used:
http://mirror.anl.gov/yellowdog/iso/yellowdog-6.1-ppc-DVD_20081119.iso
http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.06/ubuntu-6.06.1-desktop-powerpc.iso
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/8.04/release/ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-powerpc.iso

[Jim]

Spalls:

I'm a complete tyro at linux but I got a version up and running on my
powerPC G4.

I wanted a desktop, not a server but...

I tried Ubuntu and had pretty much the same problem you have.

I went to the Debian site and found and downloaded the latest version of
'Lenny' for the Mac powerPC. Opened & burned image, started from that
disk with apple C keys and installation went flawlessly.

You probably don't need the graphic interface for your server needs but
once you've the kernel installed, from terminal, it should do whatever
you want.

As noted, I'm new to Linux but I hope this helps a little.

Jim

Post by Spalls Hurgenson
Anyone have any ideas on this problem? I've googled all weekend and
gotten no closer to a solution. I am not generally a Linux or Mac
person, but nor am I entirely unfamiliar with both.
I have an older G4 MacMini. It's a 1.5Ghz PowerPC G4, upgraded to 1GB
RAM.
My goal is to put Linux on this little machine, ultimately to use as a
file-server. My problem is that I can't get any of the LiveCDs to
actually boot.
I've tried downloading the PPC-port of Ubuntu (both v6.06 and v8.04),
as well as YellowDog v6.1 PPC. I've burnt the ISOs to CD (or DVD, in
the case of Yellowdog). I insert the disk into the drive, restart the
Mac holding down the "C" key... and nothing. I get bumped into OSX.
Not giving up, I restart holding down the CMD-OPT-SHIFT-DEL key and
get a selection of two buttons (one for OSX, one for Linux); this
doesn't work either. I get the graphical menu but clicking on the
LinuxCD icon doesn't start the installation.
If I insert the OSX install disc, I can boot from that and, =while in
OSX- the drive can *read* the Linux CDs; this would seem to indicate
that the hardware is working and its not an incompatibility issue with
my discs.
DiskUtility report the burnt CDs as *not* being bootable. But why? I
tried burning the ISOs to disc on the Mac, and burnt another from a
PC; the discs just are not bootable. I'm just downloading the ISOs and
burning them to CD; nothing fancy. All indications are that these are
LiveCDs.
Any ideas of where I should go from here?
http://mirror.anl.gov/yellowdog/iso/yellowdog-6.1-ppc-DVD_20081119.iso
http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.06/ubuntu-6.06.1-desktop-powerpc.iso
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/8.04/release/ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-powerpc.iso

[Spalls Hurgenson]

Post by Jim
I'm a complete tyro at linux but I got a version up and running on my
powerPC G4.
I wanted a desktop, not a server but...
I tried Ubuntu and had pretty much the same problem you have.
I went to the Debian site and found and downloaded the latest version of
'Lenny' for the Mac powerPC. Opened & burned image, started from that
disk with apple C keys and installation went flawlessly.
You probably don't need the graphic interface for your server needs but
once you've the kernel installed, from terminal, it should do whatever
you want.
As noted, I'm new to Linux but I hope this helps a little.

I actually managed to get Ubuntu installed on my machine; it turns out
I had to go into the OpenFirmware and type some incantation to get the
computer to boot off the firewire drive.

Sadly, I was upgrading the machine to Ubuntu 9.04 when a brown-out
powered down the machine mid-install (since I was just futzing around
with it, I hadn't hooked it up to the UPS yet). End result: Ubuntu
wouldn't boot no more :-(

Worse, I've since lost that magic incantation so I haven't managed to
get the CD to boot again since then. Oh well; that project is on hold
for a bit until I get some more free time; I'll try again in a few
weeks.


The reason I went with Ubuntu is that I wanted a fairly complete
distribution, with reasonable community support, that would work
adequately with the MacMini. The only other viable option seemed to be
YellowDog, and -while its hardware support seemed stronger- its
community seemed smaller. Although Ubuntu is primarily aimed at
desktop PCs and not full-fledged servers, that's alright with me since
my little box isn't going to do much more than serve files to the
windows network anyway; I just wanted to use the MacMini because of
its small footprint and lower power consumption.

Post by Jim

Post by Spalls Hurgenson
Anyone have any ideas on this problem? I've googled all weekend and
gotten no closer to a solution. I am not generally a Linux or Mac
person, but nor am I entirely unfamiliar with both.
I have an older G4 MacMini. It's a 1.5Ghz PowerPC G4, upgraded to 1GB
RAM.
My goal is to put Linux on this little machine, ultimately to use as a
file-server. My problem is that I can't get any of the LiveCDs to
actually boot.
I've tried downloading the PPC-port of Ubuntu (both v6.06 and v8.04),
as well as YellowDog v6.1 PPC. I've burnt the ISOs to CD (or DVD, in
the case of Yellowdog). I insert the disk into the drive, restart the
Mac holding down the "C" key... and nothing. I get bumped into OSX.
Not giving up, I restart holding down the CMD-OPT-SHIFT-DEL key and
get a selection of two buttons (one for OSX, one for Linux); this
doesn't work either. I get the graphical menu but clicking on the
LinuxCD icon doesn't start the installation.
If I insert the OSX install disc, I can boot from that and, =while in
OSX- the drive can *read* the Linux CDs; this would seem to indicate
that the hardware is working and its not an incompatibility issue with
my discs.
DiskUtility report the burnt CDs as *not* being bootable. But why? I
tried burning the ISOs to disc on the Mac, and burnt another from a
PC; the discs just are not bootable. I'm just downloading the ISOs and
burning them to CD; nothing fancy. All indications are that these are
LiveCDs.
Any ideas of where I should go from here?
http://mirror.anl.gov/yellowdog/iso/yellowdog-6.1-ppc-DVD_20081119.iso
http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.06/ubuntu-6.06.1-desktop-powerpc.iso
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/8.04/release/ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-powerpc.iso

[Spalls Hurgenson]

Just in case anybody else ever happens to be in a situation like mine,
here's an update.

After a great deal of google-searching and futzing about (and a
helpful tip or three from Paul, my local Mac & linux guru), I got it
to work by doing the following:

I booted into OpenFirmware (boot while holding down CMD-OPT-O-F) and
typed the following cryptic command:

boot
/***@f4000000/***@e/***@0800460900167c2e/sbp-***@4008/***@0:,\install\yaboot

(that's all one line in case your newsreader client breaks it apart.
The last bit - \install\yaboot- is the path to the install program on
the LiveCD, so modify as necessary).

With that command, I was succesfully able to get the Ubuntu LiveCD to
boot from my external firewire drive.

For some reason, it wouldn't boot using the fw devalias; I had to type
the full path. A useful tool here was the openfirmware command "dev
{devicename} ls".

Post by Spalls Hurgenson

Post by Jim
I'm a complete tyro at linux but I got a version up and running on my
powerPC G4.
I wanted a desktop, not a server but...
I tried Ubuntu and had pretty much the same problem you have.
I went to the Debian site and found and downloaded the latest version of
'Lenny' for the Mac powerPC. Opened & burned image, started from that
disk with apple C keys and installation went flawlessly.
You probably don't need the graphic interface for your server needs but
once you've the kernel installed, from terminal, it should do whatever
you want.
As noted, I'm new to Linux but I hope this helps a little.

I actually managed to get Ubuntu installed on my machine; it turns out
I had to go into the OpenFirmware and type some incantation to get the
computer to boot off the firewire drive.
Sadly, I was upgrading the machine to Ubuntu 9.04 when a brown-out
powered down the machine mid-install (since I was just futzing around
with it, I hadn't hooked it up to the UPS yet). End result: Ubuntu
wouldn't boot no more :-(
Worse, I've since lost that magic incantation so I haven't managed to
get the CD to boot again since then. Oh well; that project is on hold
for a bit until I get some more free time; I'll try again in a few
weeks.
The reason I went with Ubuntu is that I wanted a fairly complete
distribution, with reasonable community support, that would work
adequately with the MacMini. The only other viable option seemed to be
YellowDog, and -while its hardware support seemed stronger- its
community seemed smaller. Although Ubuntu is primarily aimed at
desktop PCs and not full-fledged servers, that's alright with me since
my little box isn't going to do much more than serve files to the
windows network anyway; I just wanted to use the MacMini because of
its small footprint and lower power consumption.

Post by Jim

Post by Spalls Hurgenson
Anyone have any ideas on this problem? I've googled all weekend and
gotten no closer to a solution. I am not generally a Linux or Mac
person, but nor am I entirely unfamiliar with both.
I have an older G4 MacMini. It's a 1.5Ghz PowerPC G4, upgraded to 1GB
RAM.
My goal is to put Linux on this little machine, ultimately to use as a
file-server. My problem is that I can't get any of the LiveCDs to
actually boot.
I've tried downloading the PPC-port of Ubuntu (both v6.06 and v8.04),
as well as YellowDog v6.1 PPC. I've burnt the ISOs to CD (or DVD, in
the case of Yellowdog). I insert the disk into the drive, restart the
Mac holding down the "C" key... and nothing. I get bumped into OSX.
Not giving up, I restart holding down the CMD-OPT-SHIFT-DEL key and
get a selection of two buttons (one for OSX, one for Linux); this
doesn't work either. I get the graphical menu but clicking on the
LinuxCD icon doesn't start the installation.
If I insert the OSX install disc, I can boot from that and, =while in
OSX- the drive can *read* the Linux CDs; this would seem to indicate
that the hardware is working and its not an incompatibility issue with
my discs.
DiskUtility report the burnt CDs as *not* being bootable. But why? I
tried burning the ISOs to disc on the Mac, and burnt another from a
PC; the discs just are not bootable. I'm just downloading the ISOs and
burning them to CD; nothing fancy. All indications are that these are
LiveCDs.
Any ideas of where I should go from here?
http://mirror.anl.gov/yellowdog/iso/yellowdog-6.1-ppc-DVD_20081119.iso
http://releases.ubuntu.com/6.06/ubuntu-6.06.1-desktop-powerpc.iso
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/8.04/release/ubuntu-8.04.1-desktop-powerpc.iso