Mac Installation with Existing OSX
 

I've tried to install Ubuntu (6.10) on my iMac and haven't been able to get it to run.

I put in the "live" CD and re-booted, and re-booted again holding down the C key. After a few flashes of white-ish screen I got some friendly and helpful looking instructions about just pressing <enter> and if that doesn't work, type "help" and so on. I pressed <enter> and the kernel loaded @ 019000000, 6467 Kbytes (if i remember right.) After this, it did nothing.

I turned the machine off and re-booted. For a minute or two there was a flashing square that looked like a button with an image of the Earth on it. <tab> and <enter> did nothing as far as I could tell. Then there was a folder icon flashing a "Finder" icon and then a "?" for a couple of minutes. Then osx booted up. I wanted Ubuntu to boot up. After re-booting several times, with and without holding down the C key, I realized that I can't get Ubuntu to run in any way I can use, i.e. as a "live" CD.

Maybe I'm missing something, but after Googling my fool head off, and searching for help from Ubuntu, I haven't found anything specific to my problem, nor any help I can understand how to apply.

I wondered if I needed a different distro, so I downloaded and started installation of suse 10.2. The GUI was so over-sized that the buttons at the bottom of the screen weren't even showing, and the text was so pixelated that it was nearly impossible to read.

If this is an X server issue, is there a solution or workaround? Is there a way to do a simpler text-based installation of suse 10.2 on my Mac? When I installed 10.2 on my PC, the installation went that way by itself.

My computer is:

Machine Name: iMac
Machine Model: PowerMac4,2
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (2.1)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 800 MHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
Memory: 768 MB
Bus Speed: 100 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.4.1f1

I'd like to understand the basics of how installing on a Mac is different from installing on a PC. I've had success with PC installs, and I'm mystified about this Mac issue. I just don't know where to look. Help?

The finder image coming up is just open firmware looking for an image to boot, forget you might see it now and then, but unless thats all you ever see its not a problem

Did you check the Md5 of the iso before burning? Sorry i really cant think of anything else, you seem to be within the specs, for ubuntu, but what do i know? You could try another distro or go with my far fetched plan.......

.....well only if you want to

Indiestory,

I wonder if you would be able to help me understand how to check the md5sum on that download. In Konqueror and in K3b it showed up as a set of files - like in a directory, not as a single file, as you might expect with an iso image.

I'm new here. I appreciate all the pointers I can get.

aw no far fetched plan, oh well wouldnt have got you far

okay is that when you insert the disk into the drive after the burn that it comes up with a load of files? if yes then the iso burnt corectly.

Did you use k3b to burn the disk? When you selected the image to burn the disk did it check the sum, its a bar that loads up with md5sum, sorry i suck at descriptions, but it loads up and then theres a tick after it.

All that seems to have worked from your other posts. Okay boot it up again, press tab and you get a list of all your bootable options, you'll see one with something like video=off or something similar it should standout, try booting with that.

Just wondering - does Linux support the powerpc processor architecture?

Linux supports the powerpc architecture. From the ubuntu site: