[SlugBug] Fwd: [Sheflug] Booting Linux on "Old world" Macs
Alan Dawson
aland at burngreave.net
Fri Dec 17 23:28:18 GMT 2004
ANybody here done this ?
----- Forwarded message from James Wallbank <james at lowtech.org> -----
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2004 18:12:55 +0000
From: James Wallbank <james at lowtech.org>
Reply-To: shef-lug at list.sheflug.org.uk
Subject: [Sheflug] Booting Linux on "Old world" Macs
To: shef-lug at list.sheflug.org.uk
Hello All,
Are any of the assembled company dab hands with installing Linux on
Macintoshes?
Here at Access Space we've recovered a load of G3's (233 mHz, but they
run far faster than the equivalent Intel Chip because they're PPC chips
- maybe they're the equivalent of 400-500 mHz boxes, so worth messing
with!).
Anyway, we have no O/S on them at the moment, and while it legitimate to
install the version of MacOS that they were supplied with (but no apps)
some bright spark said "Why not install Linux?". I heartily agree.
However, these Macs just won't boot a Linux PPC install CD. They will
boot MacOS CDs. I *think* that much more of the boot process is
contained in firmware than with a regular PC, but I really don't know
what's happening.
I *think* that the Mac BIOS loads the Mac Filesystem handler from
firmware, which then MUST go to a Mac format partition and find the OS
to boot... So effectively, the filesystem of the boot partition is fixed
in the BIOS.
Is this right? Do we really HAVE TO install Macs as dual boot? I just
want to get Linux on 'em, not an old version of MacOS cluttering up H/D
space!
Any ideas?
Thanks,
James
___________________________________________________________________
Sheffield Linux User's Group -
http://www.sheflug.co.uk/mailfaq.html
GNU the choice of a complete generation.
----- End forwarded message -----
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