macoman Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I have a powermac MDD G4 and would like to know if anyone know the step by step tutorial in how to replace OS X Leopard with the new Debian 7.4 The DVD is here: http://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/7.4.0/powerpc/iso-dvd/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted February 27, 2014 Member Share Posted February 27, 2014 Looks like there are some guides on this page: https://www.debian.org/ports/powerpc/ One of those says it is for a G4 based ibook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 I did installed Debian 7.4 but after everything is configured and ready to boot. I can see the regular linux booting screen in text mode but after than the monitor just shutdown but the computer still on... I am stuck on there :(... Any help? I can't find any tutorial about this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggis Veteran Posted February 28, 2014 Veteran Share Posted February 28, 2014 there seems to be some fixes on this page i have not had a change to look through it as i am at work but have a look :) http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/19722/debian-ppc-on-powermac-g5-boots-to-blank-screen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 there seems to be some fixes on this page i have not had a change to look through it as i am at work but have a look :) http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/19722/debian-ppc-on-powermac-g5-boots-to-blank-screen Thank you sir, I will take a look... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Looking at that tutorial is kind of difficult to follow and do... don't understand what do I need first... I am a noob in this... I have the yaboot prompt "boot:" them what is next? because If I just click enter it will boot into a blank screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick H. Supervisor Posted February 28, 2014 Supervisor Share Posted February 28, 2014 A tutorial from Snaphat's link seems to be a bit more friendly if you're new to the Linux scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggis Veteran Posted February 28, 2014 Veteran Share Posted February 28, 2014 ok try this After booting is complete: Type: ctrl-option-F1 (should give you a command prompt, may take a couple of tries) Type: sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf (return) In the Monitor section, change "HorizSync" to 58-62 and "VertRefresh" to 75-117. Disable DRI. In the Module section, put a hash mark (#) at the beginning of the line containing "load dri". If you have no Module section, make one like this: Section "Module" Disable "glx" Disable "dri" EndSection Type: ctrl-O (return) to write edited file Type: ctrl-X to exit nano back to command line Type: sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart (return) to restart Gnome. (In Dapper and Edgy, the restart command is broken. Use sudo killall -HUP gdm instead.) typing linux 1 should also take you to command prompt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Ok, but if I wait until the booting is complete it will go to a blank screen... this is the issue here... I can't do anything when the monitor turned off itself. My only options are in the begin when the yaboot "boot" is ready. What do I need to do in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 A tutorial from Snaphat's link seems to be a bit more friendly if you're new to the Linux scene. I am trying to follow that tutorial but nothing show about the blank screen issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Thank you for all your replies guys but I ended up downloading and burning Lubuntu 13.10 PPC edition. It is more noob proof than Debian. So I will report how my experience was with Lubuntu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyfrog Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I'm curious to hear how well it runs. I have an iBook G4 sitting unused because OS X 10.5 is so outdated and slow, hardly anything works on it anymore. macoman 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Well, the experience is almost the same thing... ended up this time in a blank screen without turning off the monitor. I tried live video=radeonfb:1024x768-32@60 and does not make a difference. I have not try yet "nomodeset" don't know it will make a difference. Now I am wondering if my powermac g4 MDD is compatible or is the Radeon 128MB of ram video the issue here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted February 28, 2014 Member Share Posted February 28, 2014 ^Try nomodeset, it could work. The RAM is not the issue. EDIT: what card do you have? I found these: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PowerPCFAQ#ATI_Rage_128_cards https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PowerPCKnownIssues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted February 28, 2014 Supervisor Share Posted February 28, 2014 fedora has a powerpc version as well. worth a try if you're willing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Using "live nomodeset" I got this as result: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 fedora has a powerpc version as well. worth a try if you're willing As far as I know their support for PowerPC G4 has been dropped few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted February 28, 2014 Member Share Posted February 28, 2014 The live nomodeset is giving you enough of a display to let you try to edit configuration files. Check the pages that have been listed here to see if they have xorg configurations or driver configurations that may help resolve the issues with a normal boot. Also, try to see i you can find the exact ATI card you have, as that may give a hint at what is needed configuration wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted February 28, 2014 Supervisor Share Posted February 28, 2014 As far as I know their support for PowerPC G4 has been dropped few years ago. not from what i see, looks up-to-date from here http://fedoraproject.org/en/get-fedora#2nd_arches edit: nm yeah, looks like it's for the G5 & up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 The live nomodeset is giving you enough of a display to let you try to edit configuration files. Check the pages that have been listed here to see if they have xorg configurations or driver configurations that may help resolve the issues with a normal boot. Also, try to see i you can find the exact ATI card you have, as that may give a hint at what is needed configuration wise. You know what, I think I am having issues because I thought I have a ATI but I found out that I actually have a Nvidia... Chipset Model: GeForce4 Ti 4600 Type: Display Bus: AGP Slot: SLOT-1 VRAM (Total): 128 MB Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de) Device ID: 0x0250 Revision ID: 0x00a3 ROM Revision: 1105 Displays: ASUS VK221: Resolution: 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz Depth: 32-Bit Color Core Image: Software Main Display: Yes Mirror: Off Online: Yes Quartz Extreme: Supported Brandon H 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted February 28, 2014 Member Share Posted February 28, 2014 Haha, well let us know if you get it sorted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Haha, well let us know if you get it sorted I am now installing back Debian as I now know the right Graphics hardware I have... so I will get back to you guys soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted February 28, 2014 Supervisor Share Posted February 28, 2014 You know what, I think I am having issues because I thought I have a ATI but I found out that I actually have a Nvidia... yeah, that'll do it lol. let us know the results Aergan 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Ok, I have back the black screen but with the mouse pointer... I can move the mouse but nothing else show. I booted using "Linux nouveau.modeset=0" and "nouveau.noaccel=1" nothing make a difference. Any suggestion guys? Using again Debian 7.4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witboy Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 try this http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/13.04/release/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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