Computing Conundrum: Old iMacs fail at installing Linux

[moarfeene]

I have a conundrum too, I have a PowerMac G4 466 with 1.5GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive but it doesn't have a power supply.

[codebean]

Puppy ftw?

[ReadWriteAccess]

you should try yellow dog ..dawg!

[roboticterror]

Debian, fucking use it.

[commodore256]

@roboticterror What about Cross-Compiling Freedos?

[roboticterror]

@commodore256 Do it

[frvfilms]

that's why i stay away from anything APPLE, as much as i can

and windows too.....

[commodore256]

@frvfilms It's just a busted DVD Drive and a 12 year old computer. What do you expect?

I'm sure the same thing would happen if I tried it on an old Sparcstation or Red Hat Machine with 32MB of RAM. Even the 1998 "Ultimate Gaming Machine" would barely run e17 and Compiz.

This has nothing to do with apple's bullshit, but taking the green one apart and not being able to use the green drive on the blue iMac was apple's bullshit.

[MasterNaruto1214]

@commodore256 Funny,because a 12 year old PC can still run Linux.

Apple used crappy outdated hardware in the first place,and today you still get less for what you pay for vs. a PC

[commodore256]

@MasterNaruto1214 I already solved it, I modded a pata cable to work on the blue G3 because The slot load G3 requires a 50 pin pata to go to the logic board and the pata cable that comes with it uses a 50 pin for the optical drive and a 40 pin for the hard drive, so normally I would need a special 50 pin slot load drive, but what I did is mod the a standard pata to have a 50 pin end for the logic board and used an old gateway to power the drives.

[sc0pl355]

@MasterNaruto1214 Well, there are loooooots of 12 year old PC's that have non-functional optical drives. That's what happens with 90's technology a lot of times.

Also, at the time that the iMac came out, it was one of the least expensive computers on the market that came with the capability to go online and stuff like that. In fact, the reason why it sold so well was because it was not expensive for the time. My g3 powerbook cost me a lot, but all of its parts still work.

[zoulkyud]

Did you try marinating the IMacs in gasoline. Might just work.

[commodore256]

@zoulkyud No, but I'm throwing the green one away because the first iMac g3s are a pain in the freakin' ass to take apart and put back together.

I could put it back together, but I'm too lazy and 32mb of ram isn't worth it.

But I'll keep the blue one and try unetbootin and trick the frirmware into thinking a USB Drive is a cd drive.