Asharae Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Wow, I didn't know that Ubuntu etc still support PPC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 try this http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/13.04/release/I already tried Lubuntu 13.10 and same issue as Debian: Nvidia Graphic issues. I need to know how I can at least be able to logon to be able to install the proper drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted February 28, 2014 Supervisor Share Posted February 28, 2014 more to try http://www.mintppc.org/ supports the G4 and seems to be semi up-to-date Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domboy Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I already tried Lubuntu 13.10 and same issue as Debian: Nvidia Graphic issues. I need to know how I can at least be able to logon to be able to install the proper drivers. I have no idea if nvidia provides Linux binary drivers for PPC, but I know I had a lot of trouble with the opensource driver (nouveau) on a system with a PCI (not express) GT 430, so I understand your pain. I followed a guild something like this: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/Nvidia There is a section on switching from the driver using the terminal (see "Removing Nouveau) which is what I had to do. I don't know if this would work with Debian or if it's just Ubuntu. I was trying to install Ubuntu 13.04 at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Can someone with yaboot command knowledge tell me how I can make the following tutorial to work with Debian 7.4? this guide was extracted from the Ubuntu 13.04 forum OK, here's what works on my Sawtooth, with an nVidia gForce4 MX 64MB card installed. I used a usb flash drive attached to a USB 2 PCI card, and was connected to the internet via ethernet cable. I don't know if it will work for your nVidia card--that's a flashed pc card, right? Anyway, I just verified it works with mine. I was able to boot to the live desktop and everything ran normally.I got some of this from the "Known Problems" wiki.At the yaboot prompt, type:live video=offb:off nouveau.modeset=0 singleThis will freeze the screen or give a blank screen. Mine freezes at the screen when the video card is recognized. That's ok. You have to judge when the machine has finished booting, which can be longer than you think. I waited until the flash drive stoppped blinking fast for at least 60 seconds. For the next step, you will not be able to see what you're typing, so take it slow so you make no mistakes.Now type:modprobe nvidiafb mode_option=1920x1080-32Substitute your monitor's screen resolution (where I typed 1920x1080-32). When you hit the return key, you will find yourself in a terminal screen.Now type this:start lightdmIn 30 seconds or so, you should be looking at the booted desktop.I know this sounds complicated, but it's really only three steps:live video=offb:off nouveau.modeset=0 singlemodprobe nvidiafb mode_option=1920x1080-32start lightdmThis worked perfectly for me. I hope it works for you. Please let us know. Good luck! When I try to boot with video=offb:off nouveau.modeset=0 single or modprobe nvidiafb mode_option=1920x1080-32 I have the following errors: My screen froze when I booted on "nomodeset" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted March 1, 2014 Member Share Posted March 1, 2014 Are you sure the yaboot configuration is correct? That's odd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Are you sure the yaboot configuration is correct? That's odddo you know the correct configuration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted March 2, 2014 Member Share Posted March 2, 2014 do you know the correct configuration? I don't, I've never done it, but it seems odd that it is trying to execute the kernel boot options as if they were binaries/files that's what leads me to suspect something is wrong with the configuration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Well i gave up... Debian or even Lubuntu on the PowerMac G4 MDD with Nvidia Geforce TI 4600 is really a pain in the butt... This is not for noobs... It's has been impossible to install so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turk. Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 You may try this detailed install guide: http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/powerpc/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 You may try this detailed install guide: http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/powerpc/I tried all kind of guides, the problem I have is that I have Nvidia and there is not way to boot on the most basic mode to logon and configure because the openfirmware is a pain in the ass. I think that's why not one care about Linux on the PowerPC. Because it's not easy to install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted March 3, 2014 Member Share Posted March 3, 2014 ^ Well PowerPC is a dead architecture these days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 ^ Well PowerPC is a dead architecture these days That's true but a dual 1.42ghz plus 2GB of ram plus updated OS with Linux or even FreeBSD is a beast machine... the architecture is dead but they still powerful enough to last few more years. It's a shame that still a great machine can't have an easy transition to alternative OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member Posted March 3, 2014 Member Share Posted March 3, 2014 That's true but a dual 1.42ghz plus 2GB of ram plus updated OS with Linux or even FreeBSD is a beast machine... the architecture is dead but they still powerful enough to last few more years. It's a shame that still a great machine can't have an easy transition to alternative OS. I won't disagree there. What about netBSD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoman Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 I won't disagree there. What about netBSD? I was looking into FreeBSD... saw a video in how to install a desktop GUI into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needhelpdude Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 I have the same problem. I installed Debian 7.5.0 Jessie but booted up to a black(blank) screen except with cursor. When I pressed ctrl-alt-f1 , got the login prompt, logged in, then typed startx. I got a lower resolution desktop of Debian. I was so excited especially after I did modified the file with 'blacklist nouveau' like the other guide said. I followed the other guides to the 't' but still get a blank screen. I installed Fedora 12 for powerpc successfully. The only thing was no updated firefox browser for ppc in fedora 12. For what it's worth, fedora 12 works quite well minus an updated browser. I installed midori as another browser and that works too. I had trouble installing vlc. The respository for fedora 12 ppc seems limited. Perhaps I should learn to compile all the programs from source? Still trying to find a good gnu/linux solution for the powerbook G4. (I don't have to use any ubuntu derivatives since I think they most come with non-free software and spyware to my knowledge). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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