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Thread: iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

  1. #1
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    iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

    I have followed the instructions to install 11.04 on an iMac G4 (lamp model) using the minimal install of a CLI only as spelled out on this sticky:
    http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...35&postcount=1

    The CD has been verified, and the install process runs smoothly. After rebooting upon completion, yaboot completes its two prompts correctly, and appears to start up when it finally results in a blank white screen. I have tried all variations of 'Linux nosplash video=ofonly' after the second prompt, with no luck. It still ultimately ends up on a blank white screen.

    Here is my model:
    http://www.everymac.com/systems/appl...ac_800_fp.html

    Also, I have access to an external firewire dvd drive, if making a liveCD will work out better (although, the instructions above seem to indicate not).

    My ultimate solution would be to end up with 11.10 installed, if possible.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
    Last edited by BrianWeinberg; November 23rd, 2011 at 02:33 AM.

  2. #2
    rsavage is offline Iced Almond Soy Ubuntu, No Foam
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    Re: iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

    That will be the instructions I wrote then....

    Sorry you haven't been able to get them to work. I should say first it's great to get some feedback on them as I don't know if many people have used them? You are certainly the first imac G4 to write anything.

    I have no experience personally with fixing screen issues or nvidia cards. The blank screen section of the instructions was written entirely from reading the manuals and bits I gleaned from other posts. It seemed to me that the advice being given on the forum and elsewhere was so unbelievably bad that some sense needed to be made of it all. That section was my attempt.

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianWeinberg View Post
    I have tried all variations of 'Linux nosplash video=ofonly' after the second prompt, with no luck. It still ultimately ends up on a blank white screen.
    Nosplash and video=ofonly have been historically the two parameters that have always been suggested and that is why I say to try them first. However, since you have a nvidia card I would also try nouveau.modeset=0 like I say to do in the instructions. At the second yaboot prompt type

    Linux nouveau.modeset=0

    There is a link in the instructions which explains this. Basically, nvidia cards used to use a driver called nv, but now the default driver is called nouveau. That occasionally doesn't work (but it improves with every new version of ubuntu so it may work for you in 11.10) and you have to revert back to the nv driver. noveau.modeset=0 turns off the nouveau driver. To turn on the nv driver you have to setup an xorg.conf file. Do this after you are fully installed.

    Write back if it works or if you need any further help.
    Last edited by rsavage; November 23rd, 2011 at 12:06 PM. Reason: typo

  3. #3
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    Re: iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

    That seems to have worked! Thank you. I will continue with the rest of your instructions to upgrade to 11.10 from the command line, and then install the GUI. Wish me luck!

    Quick question - if I haven't yet installed the GUI, why are the video drivers needed, as the command prompts seem to work during bootup, up to a point. I wasn't aware that they would be needed for a CLI only.

    Also, do you know if the AirLink101 AWLL6077v2 USB wireless adapter has worked with this setup? It was one of the few Mac OS X-compatible wireless adapters available (no airport in this one), and I would love to be able to still use it.

    As to your directions, they are very much appreciated. I found them very thorough. I use Ubuntu every day on other PCs, however. I could see how they might be hard to follow for a newcomer. It is a lot of information to process. It also requires reading completely from top to bottom a few times to pick out what is relevant for your situation, and even then, I found myself needing to reinstall a few times before I got it right. I think as an overall resource, it is fantastic, but perhaps it could be reorganized a bit to make it easier for newbies. I will try to put together some notes on ideas and shoot them off to you, if you would like. I think what you are working on is one of the most important aspects of the community, making Ubuntu accessible to all.

    By the way, if this works out well, you will have made my 10 year old daughter very happy. She has always loved the looks of the "lamp" iMac (me, too), and when I found one to set up for her, it was perfect for homework with OS X 10.4.11, but it couldn't handle many websites very well, due to its lack of updates for a few years. Thank you for all of your efforts!

  4. #4
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    Re: iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

    Upgrade installed smoothly, but after reboot, no joy.

    I get a BusyBox prompt after it doesn't find the hard drive. It appears that the /dev/disk is not found by default.

    Following your instructions, I have so far been able to determine that it is necessary to run 'modprobe pata_macio' for my system to find the drive first (at the BusyBox prompt), and then I can boot into the system by pressing ctrl+D .

    Next, I entered 'echo pata_macio | sudo tee -a /etc/initramfs-tools/modules' , as you suggested in this post: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1861871
    I think you should modify that post to note that you should enter 'update-initramfs -u' after the pata_macio modification is made, so that the change to the file will stick after future reboots.

    I will next add the GUI, as you have outlined, and post how I fare.

  5. #5
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    Re: iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

    Using 'tasksel' , aptitude failed (100). So, I instead entered 'sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop'. This resulted in the following message:
    Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have requested an impossible situation or your are using the unstable distribution that some required packages have not yet been created or been moved out of Incoming.
    The following information may help to resolve the situation:

    The following packages have unmet dependencies:
    ubuntu-desktop : Depends: unity but it is not going to be installed
    E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

    If you have any ideas, I would appreciate them. I will keep researching and post any success I have.

  6. #6
    rsavage is offline Iced Almond Soy Ubuntu, No Foam
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    Re: iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

    I wondered if you might get that. pauljwells reported something similar http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...8&postcount=31 .

  7. #7
    rsavage is offline Iced Almond Soy Ubuntu, No Foam
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    Re: iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

    There is a whole load of unity-common packages here http://ports.ubuntu.com/pool/main/u/unity/ . I suppose you'd download one of them using wget and install using dpkg -i like I had to do for another package in my lubuntu script.

    Will reply to your other post (regarding noob instructions) when I have more time, but if you'd like to start noting down how it can be improved (while it is still fresh) then please do. As i said in the intro, it needs moving to a wiki. Volunteers welcome!
    Last edited by rsavage; November 23rd, 2011 at 03:51 PM. Reason: spelling + added a bit more

  8. #8
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    Re: iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

    First, I ran 'sudo apt-get install unity-common', which only installed partly. Next, I tried, as you suggested, the following:
    wget -P/tmp http://ports.ubuntu.com/pool/main/u/...ntu2b1_all.deb
    sudo dpkg -i /tmp/unity-common_4.24.0-0-Ubuntu2b1_all.deb
    That didn't seem to help.

    I then ran:
    sudo apt-get install unity-lens-applications
    sudo apt-get install unity-lens-files
    sudo apt-get install unity-lens-music
    sudo apt-get install indicator-appmenu
    sudo apt-get install indicator-application
    sudo apt-get install indicator-sound
    sudo apt-get install indicator-datetime
    sudo apt-get install indicator-messages
    sudo apt-get install indicator-power
    sudo apt-get install indicator-session

    All install fine. I then again tried 'sudo apt-get install unity-common', and I received the same message as earlier:
    The following packages have unmet dependencies:
    unity : Depends: unity-common (= 4.22.0-0ubuntu3) but 4.24.0-0ubuntu2b1 is to be installed
    E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

    I then realized, I misunderstood what you meant. I reinstalled the older unity-common:
    wget -P/tmp http://ports.ubuntu.com/pool/main/u/...buntu3_all.deb
    sudo dpkg -i /tmp/unity-common_4.22.0-0ubuntu3_all.deb

    Then I ran:
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get upgrade
    This brought everything up to the correct versions.

    Oddly, however, I am still unable to install ubuntu-desktop, as it still indicates the unity dependency.
    The following packages have unmet dependencies:
    unity : Depends: unity-common (= 4.22.0-0ubuntu3) but 4.24.0-0ubuntu2b1 is to be installed
    E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.
    And, trying to install unity states that it needs unity-common, but indicates the same version error as above. I am not certain what I can do at this point. Any advice would be appreciated.
    Last edited by BrianWeinberg; November 23rd, 2011 at 04:25 PM. Reason: clarification

  9. #9
    rsavage is offline Iced Almond Soy Ubuntu, No Foam
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    Re: iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

    I can only go by what pauljwells said. He said install an old version of unity-common and then install ubuntu-desktop. Reboot. You can then upgrade the versions of packages. This will break ubuntu-desktop (and unity?) but it doesn't matter because ubuntu-desktop is just a 'meta' package and it has done it's job. At this point you can actually remove ubuntu-desktop. Sounds more complicated than it is I think! If you get awful colours then you may have to choose the unity-2d session at login.
    Last edited by rsavage; November 23rd, 2011 at 05:58 PM. Reason: correct reason for wierd colours

  10. #10
    rsavage is offline Iced Almond Soy Ubuntu, No Foam
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    Re: iMac G4 minimal install cli 11.04 leads to white screen

    Just thought I better say don't do anything drastic like re-installing from the beginning! Totally not necessary!

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