Ubuntu on an iBook
Originally uploaded by jgarber.
For a laugh, I decided to try out a Linux distro on my old 700 Mhz G3 iBook (mid-2002 revision). I’d heard Ubuntu 6.06.1 was pretty good as far as PowerPC-based distros go, so I gave it a shot.
I started out by wiping OSX off of the machine using an old Panther installation disc to format the drive using HFS+ (apparently HFS+ Journaled is not the way to go for UNIX).
Installing Ubuntu was relatively painless, it didn’t ask too many questions (unlike some other Linux distros I’ve played with in the past). The first challenge after installation was fixing the X11 config to support the iBook’s display. The system was defaulting to 640×480. It took some digging around, but I found this thread on the Ubuntu forums that had some helpful info on correcting the problem. A few chmods later and X11 was behaving itself at 1024×768.
That left the problems of random lockups and configuring the wireless. The random lockups seem to be a problem a lot of people are running into, and the solution usually involves recompiling the kernel (something I have no interest in doing). DHCP also seemed to be an issue, but I’m not sure if that had to do with the hardware, software, or our network. Static IP worked fine, though. Running system update has thus far *knock on wood* solved the random lockups.
Still no luck on the wireless though, if anyone has any suggestions on how to get this to work, please let me know. The fixes I’ve found online all involve Broadcom cards/chipsets/whatever, which I don’t think my Airport card is using.
So far this has just been a random experiment and I likely won’t stick to it. The unfortunate thing about using Linux is the rather large barrier to entry. The support forums online (at least as far as I have found) are all written for experts, not newbies like myself. I want to learn more about Linux, so if anyone has any tips out there on any of the problems described above, please let me know!
All Airport cards made by Apple use the Broadcom chipset (with no exceptions as far as I know). Since the broadcom chipset is badly supported under Linux, it doesn’t work very well on Apple laptops with an Airport card. A bit of a disappointment really, as for me it’s the major barrier preventing me from using Linux on my iBook! :-(
At least OSX is pretty decent!
Rats, I was afraid that might’ve been the case. I love OSX and wouldn’t trade it for the world, but the iBook was collecting dust so I thought I’d give Linux a go.
Thanks for the info, James!
The original Airport cards which would be in the G3 iBooks were not Broadcom they were Lucent/Orinoco cards. So the shouyld be very well supported under Linux. I actually would give Kubuntu a try. Seems to get the video stuff handled much much beter than Ubuntu. Must be the KDE tools are better than Gnome for that kind of stuff.
I installed Ubuntu a month or so ago when I had the Hard Drive Crash of 2005 and I was about ready to switch to it permanently…until my /etc directory became corrupted. I need to wipe that partition (it’s dual boot) and just start over.
I think it is a fantastic OS, but I can’t switch until I figure out another problem. My drive had three partitions on it: NTFS (Windows 2000), ext3 (Ubuntu), and a FAT32 for sharing between OSs. If I created a directory on the FAT32 partition in Ubuntu it would not show up in Windows. If I saved a file in an existing directory, it would be unreadable under Windows. I found some forum postings where people had similar issues when they put Windows into hibernate mode to switch to Ubuntu because it didn’t refresh the FAT when it started back up. This seems to be a different issue.
I’m running Ubuntu (Dapper) on my iBook (G3 900) with no problems. Wireless, video, etc all worked after installation. Was afraid my airport was going to be a problem, but it involved no setup other than selecting my SSID.
Haven’t had any lockups or issues over the past 2-3 days. (knock on wood)
Good luck with everything.
Im running ubuntu dapper on my ibook right now and i am,at this moment, using my airport card to connect to the internet but it required much research to connect i could give you the ubuntu forum URL if you’d like. As for Adam I dont know how the heck you pulled that off but you sure are one lucky son-of-a-gun.
Mat
Post that link, I have an old iBook being used as a drink coaster on my coffee table and it’d be just the bees knees to get Ubuntu+wireless running on it
is there a way to also format the disk with ubantu install as I have lost the mac os disks.
Could someone who has an original Airport on iBook in Ubuntu working, explain in exact detail, exactly line, by line, how this was accomplished. I’m a complete newbie and e.g. don’t know what SSID is.
Thanks
I’ve got Ubuntu 8.04, the Hardy Heron, PowerPC edition, running on an iBook G4 1.2Ghz 12″ (Late 2004).
Right after the installation the airport card didn’t work, but as soon as I plugged in an ethernet cable the automatic updating system found a driver, downloaded and installed it and within seconds I could connect to my home wifi lan.
The only problem I have with this configuration is that the ubuntu splash is effed up in the colors… I guess that could be solved!
I installed ubuntu hardy heron on a early 2005 12″ iBook G4 and to my surprise Ubuntu detected all hardware. The Broadcom driver installation just needs your confirmation and wireless works out of box. The only thing that does not work right now is hibernate (@see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/25896).
A nice use for an old machine. It was damn impossible to find new applications for Mac OS x 10.3 without upgrade and I personally feel apple’s lock-in is too much. I am happy with Linux.