Install issues with Mandrake 9.1 PPC on a 2001 iBook
 

Mandrake.org seems to think that a walkthrough of 8.0 is sufficient, and assumes that everything will always work perfectly.

I want to use Mandrake because it's something that I can run on the iBook, try out, and then run a similar version on a PC. _Plus I've spent all the time downloading two gigs worth of installation junk.

I have an iBook here, first gen. iceBook from June of 2001. _I am trying to install Mandrake Linux 9.1 PPC on it, but am having the following troubles:

1. _When using the text-based installer, it tells me that I need to create a "bootstrap partition in DiskDrake." _This, as far as I can tell, cannot be done.

2. _When using the gui installer the screen is completely muddled, disproportioned, snowy and entirely unreadable, so I of course have not a clue what I'm doing at all.

I would like to have this running, like... tomorrow.

Please help!


Thanks,
J

Hey J!

You wouldnt happen to be running OS X v10.2.8 ? I heard that this most recent update , will update your firmware, and make it unable to boot into linux.

Oh, also have you re-partitioned your harddrive yet? You will have to use the mac partition tool, or another 3rd party tool to resize the partition. If you havent done that yet, then that would explain the errors your getting. If you need to re-partition your drive, back up your pertinent Mac applications and documents and boot from your MacOS cd, that will take you to a stiped out version of the finder, where you can repartition your hard drive. Mind you all data from your Mac will be lost this way. Unfortunately I dont know of any free partition managing tools for MacOS.

Re: Install issues with Mandrake 9.1 PPC on a 2001 iBook
 

I had this problem, too, although my iBook is newer. Instead of trying to solve the problem, I avoided it by using Yellow Dog instead. :) The installer worked fine, and no monitor troubles. In my (limited) experience, Mandrake has been a little more squirrely than YDL/Red Hat.

I used Disk Tools on my OSX disc to create one HSF+ partition for OSX, and left the rest as free space. The YDL installer took care of everything else.

Yeah, I think that's the problem, though in the course of this I have fried my iBook and will need to have it repaired.

Good thing I bought that three year warranty...

What should I do if I want to boot into linux again?
 

Unfortunately, I installed OS X before, and now I can't boot into linux, what should I do ?