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I trying to figure out whether or not if i should install Ubuntu on my 15" Powerbook G4 1.25 GHz and I pretty sure the RAM is maxed out at 2 GB and also its currently running Mac OSX Leopard 10.5.8 which so far for me I've had no problems with but i'm thinking I'll install Ubuntu anyways. So is it a good idea to install it and which version should i install?

Thanks in Advanced

-Reiss

Reiss
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2 Answers2

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I have 12.04 installed on a PowerBook G4 and it works great. I have >1GB RAM and I even updated the hard drive to SSD and the machine is zippy! Much happier now with Ubuntu than OSX.

Before you proceed with the install, I recommend you check out the "Known Issues" in my second link below. Although the install was relatively straight forward, there are some hiccups, and you will have to be patient (and willing to do some googling / askubuntu-ing) if you run into problems

Installation tips

  1. You need to use the PowerPC (PPC) version of Ubuntu here: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/12.04/release/ubuntu-12.04-alternate-powerpc.iso
  2. Some additional info, including help with installation: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PowerPC
  3. Things will go most smoothly if you use a CD to install, and are connected to internet via Ethernet cable.
amc
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I'm here because I'm trying to install it on a USB stick to try out. I have tried the live CD for 12.04 Precise Pangolin I bought off eBay seller on my PowerBook. The OS looks really nice on my 17" G4 1.33 w/1gb ram and I believe it will suit your needs very well also. It is best to try the live CD first and see how the hardware runs, but you probably know the CD file system is slow. I have run Ubuntu on Intel PC with similar configuration and it was very snappy. I recommend backing up your machine and be sure you can restore it from cold, hard metal before you do.

{I am hesitant to monkey around with my OSX 10.5.8 partition (no original Apple CDs) and made a small boot partition on a 32GB USB stick, but the installer puts all the files on the Linux partition of 25GB on the USB and then crashes because I made a 3gb boot partition on the USB to keep from modifying my hard disk. I will hopefully get that sorted later - I think I just need to prepare the boot partition with the Mac OS first. This seems the best way to go to run on the hardware before committing to re-partition my drive.}

Just my opinion, of course. I am trying to keep my OS intact because I like all the Mac OSX programs, but want a more secure web experience (since no modern browser seems to support the PPC anymore on OSX) so I just want to run the web from the USB, and I intend to strip a lot out of the Ubuntu I won't need. If you find you don't need the OSX any more, then go for it if you are sure if you can back out later.

Dave
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