Operating Systems for PowerPC Macs

[G4Droid]

I searched everywhere to see what I could find,

There is Finnix no desktop is a command line Live Cd.
Finnix is a self-contained, bootable Linux CD distribution
https://www.finnix.org/
Then when I found PowerPup I started barking, I love Puppy Linux. We need to get that guy to work on it some more. Or send some help..

http://karkuta.drivehq.com/

Also I found T2 Live that is what Barry was using to build Puppy and this list I found said it supports the Power PC I haven't had time to test it though but I'm excited to try it.. Woof..

http://www.t2-project.org/targets/live//?live/

GnuStep Live CD

http://www.aiei.ch/gnustep/
http://mirror.noone.org/gnustep/

and here is the List I found,

http://livecdlist.com/architecture/ppc/

I haven't been able to track down the last 2 on the list

ROCK Linux
Knoppix-MiB

Kubuntu at the top is nearly the same as Ubuntu I think if you look around in there repository's you can find a PPC version.

Two Kubuntu PPC Versions
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/12.04/release/
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/precise/release/

The Kubuntu Repository, http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/

There are probably some more in there if you dare to search it. lol

That is all I came across so far. All The best, am sorry I didn't know how to put any thing in the top post still a newbie..

Actually I made a mistake on the T2 Link. I searched the Main repository and found that the T2 Live Cd for PPC is missing, I found it here http://distro.ibiblio.org/t2/stable/6.0.3/

 

[jimbob200521]

Hey guys, I mostly lurk on this site but decided to pop in and ask a question. I have been getting the itch to play with my DC 2.3 G5 lately and OSX can only take me so far. I've been going through this thread and reading responses which leads me to my "issue".

I would love to try morphOS, heck I'd even pay for it, but it doesn't support my late 2005 machine. So, what would be the next best SIMPLISTIC option for someone who doesn't know a lot about Linux or the Linux command line? Are any other OS's a good choice for a Linux novice to tinker with?

 

[0248294]

Hey guys, I mostly lurk on this site but decided to pop in and ask a question. I have been getting the itch to play with my DC 2.3 G5 lately and OSX can only take me so far. I've been going through this thread and reading responses which leads me to my "issue".

I would love to try morphOS, heck I'd even pay for it, but it doesn't support my late 2005 machine. So, what would be the next best SIMPLISTIC option for someone who doesn't know a lot about Linux or the Linux command line? Are any other OS's a good choice for a Linux novice to tinker with?

Ubuntu MATE would probably be a good option.

 

[jimbob200521]

Ubuntu MATE would probably be a good option.

Any special reason you would recommend this OS for my DC 2.3?

 

[0248294]

Any special reason you would recommend this OS for my DC 2.3?

It fits your requirements as stated in your previous post. It is a good option for a Linux novice, as it's a very easy to use desktop Linux distribution.

 

[G4Droid]

I searched everywhere again and found Fedora for the Power PC, version 7 through 12 I think are the only ones and Version 8 seems is the only one with a PPC live CD.. http://mirror.math.princeton.edu/pub/fedora-archive/fedora/linux/releases/

here they claim Fedora doesn't have a Live CD for PPC.
http://lowendmac.com/linux/fedora.html

CRUX PPC is an open source Linux kernel-based operating system, a port of the CRUX distribution designed for the PowerPC architecture. It’s a Linux distro for advanced users and includes extended hardware support, server tools, as well as support for laptop-specific functions.

All PPC Versions
http://mirrors.ircam.fr/pub/crux-ppc/

Some Info about Crux PPC
http://linux.softpedia.com/get/System/Operating-Systems/Linux-Distributions/CRUX-PPC-42938.shtml
Vine Linux is a supreme Linux distribution with integrated Japanese environment for desktop PCs, notebooks, and Power PC's. Versions 4.0,4.1,4.2,5.0,5.1 and 5.2 are for The Power PC. From what I read on Distrowatch Vine is multilingual and that includes English.

All Versions Of Vine
ftp://ftp.vinelinux.org//pub/Vine/

I've found a few others like CentOS and Mandrake "Mandriva" but they are not full OSes, Mandriva was like never free but Mandrake I think was I've only found 2 versions of it for ppc. Also I think DecentOS became Centos. As far as I know I've just found one beta of Centos for PPC. So will not include those.

 

[AmazingHenry]

I was going to vote…then I realized you included OS9 with OS X.

I don't care for OS9 at all. I worked in OS9 for three years and even had it on my TiBook for awhile, but once OS X came around I killed it on all my Macs except those not capable of running it. I much prefer System 7 over OS 8/9.

So, since the options in the poll are limited it appears I cannot cast a vote (honestly at least).

In any case, you already know which version of OS X I prefer (although Panther is a close second).

Pretend it just says "Mac OS". If I could edit it I would.

 

[AmazingHenry]

For PPC newbies, perhaps it would be a good idea to add the system requirements for each OS to the WikiPost... especially as this is linked in the FAQ thread. We don't want to confuse people and make them think that that can run Leopard on their G3.

 

[pochopsp]

For PPC newbies, perhaps it would be a good idea to add the system requirements for each OS to the WikiPost... especially as this is linked in the FAQ thread. We don't want to confuse people and make them think that that can run Leopard on their G3.

Good idea Henry! We also have to edit all Ubuntu/Lubuntu links, as they don't support PowerPC anymore!

 

[KawaiiAurora]

Good idea Henry! We also have to edit all Ubuntu/Lubuntu links, as they don't support PowerPC anymore!

Well, I remember reading that Ubuntu distros will be supported till 2019 on PPC hardware with security updates till 2021 so it isn't too bad

Besides, we use software that's years old on Leopard so maxing out at 2019 software won't a bad idea as the last PPC Mac that was released would be 14 years old by then. 14 years of support is good enough, and most of us use slightly older machines so a decade and a half is enough for me Quite sad to see that the last outpost of updated software will die soon enough.

I have very fond memories of Ubuntu PPC.. I remember installing Ubuntu 8.04 LTS on my Sawtooth back in 2010 because OS X Tiger had a strange bug in which apps closed randomly and unexpectedly which I only fixed a couple of weeks ago. Ubuntu was my Mac's saviour and it taught me a lot of stuff heh. I still can't believe how even that has ended (well, not 100% but soon enough)

 

[Jon from HR]

Well, I remember reading that Ubuntu distros will be supported till 2019 on PPC hardware with security updates till 2021 so it isn't too bad

Besides, we use software that's years old on Leopard so maxing out at 2019 software won't a bad idea as the last PPC Mac that was released would be 14 years old by then. 14 years of support is good enough, and most of us use slightly older machines so a decade and a half is enough for me Quite sad to see that the last outpost of updated software will die soon enough.

I have very fond memories of Ubuntu PPC.. I remember installing Ubuntu 8.04 LTS on my Sawtooth back in 2010 because OS X Tiger had a strange bug in which apps closed randomly and unexpectedly which I only fixed a couple of weeks ago. Ubuntu was my Mac's saviour and it taught me a lot of stuff heh. I still can't believe how even that has ended (well, not 100% but soon enough)

I have the last PPC iMac model released, and this thread has me curious on messing with the OS on it, but I've read on other Forums that it's sometimes a "train wreck" to install and run. Anyone have any personal stories on dual booting Ubuntu on an iMac?

 

[KawaiiAurora]

I have the last PPC iMac model released, and this thread has me curious on messing with the OS on it, but I've read on other Forums that it's sometimes a "train wreck" to install and run. Anyone have any personal stories on dual booting Ubuntu on an iMac?

Luck, I say! On my PowerBook G4, I installed Ubuntu 10.04 on a seperate parition (in order to get the dual boot option) then upgraded to Ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 via the DVD. I got lucky as even GPU acceleration worked out of the box ;O

 

[Jon from HR]

Luck, I say! On my PowerBook G4, I installed Ubuntu 10.04 on a seperate parition (in order to get the dual boot option) then upgraded to Ubuntu MATE 16.04.1 via the DVD. I got lucky as even GPU acceleration worked out of the box ;O

That sounds fantastic, I happen to also own both of the PowerBook G4 models, Aluminum and Titanium. Wonder If I can dual boot some use onto them as well without too much hassle. Thanks for the insight.

 

[KawaiiAurora]

That sounds fantastic, I happen to also own both of the PowerBook G4 models, Aluminum and Titanium. Wonder If I can dual boot some use onto them as well without too much hassle. Thanks for the insight.

Don't hesitate to ask if ya have any issues. I'd suggest you install a version of Ubuntu that allows you to install alongside OS X first (such as 10.04) to avoid creating lots of partitions that the installer may not like

 

[Jon from HR]

Don't hesitate to ask if ya have any issues. I'd suggest you install a version of Ubuntu that allows you to install alongside OS X first (such as 10.04) to avoid creating lots of partitions that the installer may not like

Will do! Thanks.

 

[Lastic]

Whilst not starting my PowerPC Challenge yet, I'm still looking at a lot of stuff , things I plan to check further OS wise are :

NetBSD after being inspired by this thread, using his PB G4 to go to ChaosComputerClub Convention

https://www.geeklan.co.uk/?p=2175

AOSC OS, seems to be a new Linux dist dropping AMD64 support in favor off PPC , that's the spirit
(well it's a late April's Fool apparantly about dropping AMD64)

http://powerpcliberation.blogspot.be/2016/11/current-state-of-linux-on-powerpc.html#comment-form

https://aosc.io/community

https://github.com/AOSC-Dev/aosc-os/wiki/PPC_Installation

I'm currently trying to install AOSC OS Mate on my 2nd PB G4 12" .

 

[pochopsp]

Keep us informed @Lastic

 

[Dronecatcher]

I'm currently trying to install AOSC OS Mate on my 2nd PB G4 12" .

I'll be interested to see how that turns out. The i3wm version might even be faster still?

 

[Lastic]

I'll be interested to see how that turns out. The i3wm version might even be faster still?

That was my first option but since I've installed Ubuntu Mate PPC so many times I thought to install Mate just to be able to compare it.

I did ran into some heat issues using the Lubuntu Live when untarring (tar + xz) their 1GB tar image to disk because xz would run the CPU at 100% and the PB G4 12" 1.5Ghz did a thermal shutdown 3 times during the untarring.
(Had the same thing with FreeBSD because there you have to compile EVERYTHING from source)

Eventually I ran it without battery , on raised feet and the RAM cover removed to finally untarring the image.
Then I did a chroot apt full-upgrade which again did a thermal shut down on building the font cache.

To be sure that it's not Lubuntu 17.x Live or the fan on my PB G4 1.5Ghz, I'm going to redo my install today on my PB G4 12" 1.33Ghz.

I do hope to get it installed because :

1. in their package list there's Wine, Play on Linux, Qemu 2.8.1 , Firefox 52
   https://packages.aosc.io/repo/powerpc
   
2. They basically strayed away from Debian/Ubuntu and built the linux kernel from source which gives us kernel 4.9
   
3. They only work with volunteers, it started out as school project to my understanding

Well, I'll stop being over-excited and first get it installed

 

[pochopsp]

@Lastic you've found the Holy Grail of PowerPC Linux distributions!!!!! So many updated packages for our outdated machines! We must try it out!!!! Thanks for your discovery, and let us know how it goes

 

[Lastic]

@Lastic you've found the Holy Grail of PowerPC Linux distributions!!!!! So many updated packages for our outdated machines! We must try it out!!!! Thanks for your discovery, and let us know how it goes

Well to summarize my efforts of the past 2 days :

1. the install guide suggests to use a Live CD but on 2 machines this resulted in constant thermal shutdowns using Ubuntu Mate/Lubuntu Live because untarring the 1GB image runs the CPU at 100% and then it starts swapping to the same harddisk that is already running hot and writing all the untarred data.
2. Thus I installed Ubuntu Mate 16.04 first, split my Linux partition in 2 and then followed the steps.
   I did have a thermal shutdown again when it was doing apt full-upgrade and building the font-caches but after letting the PB cool down , I could continue.
3. Then Yaboot.conf bootloader hell. (also the reason why I first installed Ubuntu to have a working config)
   The default yaboot.conf created by AOSC doesn't work, it doesn't use the OpenFirmware device paths and doesn't specify the full vmlinux name so I had to adapt it until I found this hint under Multi-Booting :
   https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=994882
   
4. Hooray , it now boots , but then it throws me a message on the 3rd line of the OS boot a start job is running for dev-sda5 and this just keeps running until well I gave up after 10 minutes
   

So not for the faint-hearted but I found an email address of one of the developers
(This guy who commented)
http://powerpcliberation.blogspot.be/2016/11/current-state-of-linux-on-powerpc.html#comment-form

so I'm going to contact him to see if he can help me and maybe also advice/ask to update their install procedure so it's easier to use.

They don't have a forum, only IRC chat which I entered yesterday for the first time in my 27 years of IT but

1. I can't read Chinese
2. Don't have a clue on how to use an IRC chat/channel

I was thinking of suggesting the above mentioned developer to join the forum so I could open a thread and he could aid us ?

I think it would be usefull for them since we are a large userbase who could test and give feedback on their OS used on the PowerPC architecture.

 

[pochopsp]

Just keep going on! We believe in you Lastic, after the SMTube discovery there's nothing which can stop you

 

[mmphosis]

Great Thread.

My "choice" of OS for now is Mac OS X 10.5.8 (PowerPC.)

In the future: LFS (Linux From Scratch) for PowerPC.
http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/clfs/view/1.0.0/ppc/

 

[MysticCow]

I made an organizing edit. Mac OS, Morph, Ubuntu, and other Linux for categories.

I thought it might make things a bit easier because we can have the headers.

 

[AmazingHenry]

I made an organizing edit. Mac OS, Morph, Ubuntu, and other Linux for categories.

I thought it might make things a bit easier because we can have the headers.

Looks great!