Ubuntu iBook G3

[Maca B.L.S]

I had a sift through the FAQs and Threds and found no evedence of this coming up before unless its a ubuntu problem in general rather than an apple one.


boot from live cd ok gets to desktop with no problems.

Selected install from the desktop and about 2mins in to it the laptop blacks out and the sleep light is on.

so i tried space (Mac default wakeup key) no joy
Tried enter/return and it wakes only to show an array of vertical lines (Moastly blue/gray in color):confused:

and ive been stuck here for 5 hours and im to scared to switch it of unless im sure it is save to do so.

please help!

[snowpine]

Hi Maca, my hunch is it's a ram issue. Installing from the Live CD requires 384mb of ram--how much do you have?

If you don't have enough ram, I recommend trying the Ubuntu Alternate Install CD, or checking out Xubuntu, which is a cousin of Ubuntu designed for lower-spec systems.

Good luck!

[Maca B.L.S]

that will be it then i only have 128mb of ram. i was hunting for xubuntu but i couldnt make sense of the instructions:

Boot from server then migrate to desktop *confused*

and i dont have a server to boot from,

or am i missing somthing like a compleate noob would?

[snowpine]

that will be it then i only have 128mb of ram. i was hunting for xubuntu but i couldnt make sense of the instructions:

Boot from server then migrate to desktop *confused*

and i dont have a server to boot from,

or am i missing somthing like a compleate noob would?

Hi there, here is the link to download Xubuntu: http://www.xubuntu.org/get#hardy

Choose a nearby "mirror" and then make sure you download the Alternate CD.

Looking at that site now, I don't see an option for Power PC though, which is what I *think* your Macbook has. I am not a Mac expert though. Let me look around a little bit for you, will post back.

[snowpine]

Well what do you know, we have an entire PPC forum here :)
This should get you started with some reading material: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=405934

Sorry I could not give you a better answer. :(

[Maca B.L.S]

Cheers mate

Oh one more thing do you think its wise to turn off the laptop in its current state or just leve it till i find the solution?

Thanks again.

[snowpine]

Boot from server then migrate to desktop *confused*

and i dont have a server to boot from,


OK, you need to go to http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/hardy/release/ and download the Server Install CD. This will install a command line interface only. However, once installation is complete, you can type: sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop

Sorry if I confused you! :)

[stream303]

While the server-install image is a great way to go for low memory systems, I'm not sure that Xubuntu is actually releasing updates for Hardy - maybe someone can confirm that. The last thing I saw from them was a late-beta that stopped just short of the Hardy release.

If you do go the server install route, and Xubuntu doesn't work or seem to get updated (confirmation needed), you can do-it-yourself afterwards with:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/LowMemorySystems

(Don't sweat the intro being about Intel cpus - the instructions work just fine for ppc's as well.)

[snowpine]

While the server-install image is a great way to go, I think that the first-time low-memory user might be better off with the "alternate", which installs the whole thing from a text/ncurses standpoint, but provides a full gui afterwards.

Can you provide a link for the Xubuntu PPC Alternate CD? I looked around a bit, but could only find Ubuntu and Kubuntu... at least for Hardy 8.04. Thanks.

[mkvnmtr]

I don't have a link but when you look on the get Ubuntu page they a a link to get other systems or mirrors closer to you. You will find mirrors all over the world. Some will have lists for what download it is for each system. Some will just give you limited choices. Look for the one that has the alt install for the system you are using. As for turning off your system. If you havent gotten to installing the boot loader you can still start from the Mac boot. I seem to remember the boot partition was one of the last things installed. Better check wint someone that knows for sure.

[snowpine]

I don't have a link but when you look on the get Ubuntu page they a a link to get other systems or mirrors closer to you. You will find mirrors all over the world. Some will have lists for what download it is for each system. Some will just give you limited choices. Look for the one that has the alt install for the system you are using. As for turning off your system. If you havent gotten to installing the boot loader you can still start from the Mac boot. I seem to remember the boot partition was one of the last things installed. Better check wint someone that knows for sure.

The problem with this advice is that the mirrors do not contain the PowerPC version... good advice for non-PPC users but I fear we are starting to confuse the OP! :)

[stream303]

Can you provide a link for the Xubuntu PPC Alternate CD? I looked around a bit, but could only find Ubuntu and Kubuntu... at least for Hardy 8.04. Thanks.

Ok, here is the last late-beta for Xubuntu "alternate":

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/ports/daily/20080421/

Let us know how it goes!

[bodycoach2]

An option is also the mini install cd:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/MinimalCD

You'll need a broadband connection for this option to work. The minimal CD installation installs the absolute newest packages available.

[Maca B.L.S]

Thanks for all the effort guys im now running Xubuntu Dapper With ease so far exept i cant seem to get hold of any ppc version of libstdc++ and the Apt-get came up with nothing. any ideas? thanks again!

[cyberdork33]

Thanks for all the effort guys im now running Xubuntu Dapper With ease so far exept i cant seem to get hold of any ppc version of libstdc++ and the Apt-get came up with nothing. any ideas? thanks again!
I see libstdc++6_4.0.3-1ubuntu5_powerpc.deb in the port directory

try sudo aptitude search stdc++

[Maca B.L.S]

got it thanks

[STUMPOFWAR]

I had Ubuntu running on a G3 iBook......and the video chip popped off the logic board after a few months due to the heat....so I put Ubuntu on another iBook.....and I had a repeat......so I gave up on running Ubuntu (or any distro) on iBooks.

G3 iBooks are infamous for "failed" logic boards, almost all of which are related to the video chip popping off the board due to poor heat management.....which most Linux distros seem to exacerbate.....so beware......