how can i install a linux on my imac G3

[jondavis]

i just want to ask how can i install a linux on my imac G3 with an unformated 20GB hard drive? the original hard drive is 6GB and has OS9, but it died. the screen shows a a folder with a question mark, 20GB hard drive installed.thanks.

[MikeTbob]

i just want to ask how can i install a linux on my imac G3 with an unformated 20GB hard drive? the original hard drive is 6GB and has OS9, but it died. the screen shows a a folder with a question mark, 20GB hard drive installed.thanks.

Hello and Welcome!
If you just want to install Linux only you shouldn't have much trouble at all, it's almost all automatic, as for which distro, If you have an older MAC then you just need to get the PPC version of any of these: Yellow Dog, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora Core, Mandriva, SuSE, and Gentoo. I believe they all support PPC versions. Just download whichever distro you want and burn it to a CD/DVD and boot the machine with that CD/DVD in the drive.

[jondavis]

which one is as easy as windows and has no compatibility issues with apps?how can i boot from a cd and how is the iso file supposed to be burned?thanks.

[arochester]

1) The biggest factor is how much RAM have you got. I ran Xubuntu which needs about 192Mb of RAM to run properly.

2) What do you mean by "has no compatibility issues with apps"?

3) How to burn an ISO is at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto

4) You boot from a CD by holding down the "C" key whan prompted

[oz]

which one is as easy as windows and has no compatibility issues with apps?how can i boot from a cd and how is the iso file supposed to be burned?thanks.

Welcome to the forums!

They all seem easier than Windows to me, but that varies from user to user.

Any OS can have problems with apps and hardware, as there is no foolproof OS or distribution for either category.

You can check the HowTo below for instructions on properly downloading and burning the ISO files to disk as images, and then booting with the newly created installation disk:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/ins...ll-cd-dvd.html

[jondavis]

i already burned a xubuntu 6.06. when i turn on my imac, i press C, but it doesn't boot from the cd,instead a folder with question mark shows up.

[rokytnji]

Easy Way to Install Ubuntu on iMac G3 - Ubuntu Forums

Should walk you through the install process on your G32.

[jondavis]

i've burned an ubuntu and xubuntu 6.06 using infra recorder but the cd is not recognized.

this is rather off-topic but i managed to borrow an OSX and it booted, took to the install process but when selecting a partition to install my 20GB hard disk is not recognized.

[platnicat]

that model iMac has a firmware limit on HDD Size. I think it's 8GB?

[jondavis]

i burned xubuntu 6.06 ppc with correct md5 and at speed of 4x, but it still won't boot in my imac, but a mac osx cd can boot.