Forums | MacLife

macfreak880 · 2002-12-26 4:32 pm

I recently put a new maxtor harddrive (if that matters) in my B+W G3. I set aside 10 GB as an emergency partition, but I thought it would be nice to try Linix. I have never used Linix, have almost no programing experience, and don't want to spend alot of money. What version of Linix would you recomend? I would like to learn something, but I don't have a ton of time to spend on this project.
Thanks.

Buzzword · 2002-12-26 5:22 pm

The money thing is no problem at all -- Linux is free! Well, it is if you have a fast connection and CD burner, anyways...

I would highly suggest YDL ( www.yellowdoglinux.com ) for a fast, get-you-on-your-feet Linux distribution. It usually runs as close to perfectly as can be hoped for straight from the install.

macfreak880 · 2002-12-26 6:02 pm

I said I don't want to spend alot because I know that some versions do cost money if you buy the boxed CD, but I wasn't sure about if you could download it for free.
Thanks, and any other ideas would be appricated.

skymt0 · 2002-12-26 6:32 pm

Visit your local bookstore and pick out a few books on Linux. They have tons of them, so you can be picky. If you haven't fiddled in the OS X Terminal an awful lot, you should get one marketed for beginners.

macfreak880 · 2002-12-26 6:35 pm

Thanks for the tip.
How do you download linix off the yellow dog site? I get a bunch of files, but I don't know which to download off the ftp server. I got to this site ftp://ftp.yellowdoglinux.com/pub/yellowdog/iso (and others like it), but I don't know which files to get, or even if I am at the right spot. Thanks for all the help.

Buzzword · 2002-12-26 7:38 pm

Guide to installation:
http://www.yellowdoglinux.com/support/installation/

Download directory:
ftp://ftp.yellowdoglinux.com/pub/yellowdog/iso
Get the one called dayton-2.3-20020704-install.iso.

Then lock it *right away*, before you do anything else. I don't know how OS X works, but with Classic, if you tried to mount the iso image, it'd fubar everything and you'd have to re-download. If you have a CD burner, there should be an option that's like "burn disk image from ISO" or something. Chose that, and select that .iso file. That should work for you.

If you don't have a burner, I think there's still a way to do it, but I don't know off hand.

Egress · 2002-12-26 11:45 pm

http://www.tuxcds.com has some good deals on CD distros. For instance, they have Yellow Dog 2.3 for $3.75, and Gentoo PPC 1.2 for the same price. The minimum shipping is $5.00. If you order before Jan. 2, you'll get 15% off your order, including shipping.

There's no way I can download 500 MB of files. Plus, a CD usually has some kind of installer/package manager. That helps you avoid missing vital software or installing your packages in the wrong order. If you check around, you might be able to get CD's even cheaper.

Buzzword · 2002-12-27 3:14 am

Those ISO disks actually have the installer right there on them. They're exactly what you'd get if you ordered them from YDL.

macfreak880 · 2002-12-27 12:01 pm

Thanks for all the tips. I'll download the file you said an let you know what happens.
Thanks again.

Buzzword · 2002-12-27 2:50 pm

Oh wait!

(I hope he reads this before he starts...)

Two things: First, good luck. Second, before you do anything, make sure to back up anything you want to keep from the old drive!

macfreak880 · 2002-12-27 5:07 pm

Yea, I got that. I have an empty partition, so I don't have anything to lose one it. Doing this can't erase any of my other partitions, can it?

Buzzword · 2002-12-27 5:25 pm

It shouldn't, no... but I once deleted my partion map by accident while trying to fix something. Never happened with YDL, though (it was on the PC)

macfreak880 · 2002-12-27 7:10 pm

Thanks, but when using the GUI installer, I chose the partition I want and try to install. I only have 1 partition avaiable for Linux. Is there a way that I can (with out touching my other partitions) erase and leave the 10GB space unformatted? If the space is unformatted, there are direction on how to set up the partition for Linux. Is there a way to unformat it from HSF+ to just empty while not touching my other partitions?
Thanks for everything.

Buzzword · 2002-12-27 7:51 pm

If you only work within one section of the partition, it shouldn't affect any of the other ones. That's how fdisk etc work, anyway... I don't know about OS X apps.

macfreak880 · 2002-12-27 8:31 pm

How do you use fdisk? I tried it in the terminal, but it didn't seem to do anything.

Buzzword · 2002-12-27 11:01 pm

"fdisk /dev/hda" will get you started ("su -" to superuser first). But if you don't know what you're doing so well, it might be better to use a GUI partitioner, if YDL gives you one.

macfreak880 · 2002-12-29 11:25 am

The first couple times I booted off the CD to install YDL, I got 1 installer. Then, today, I got a different installer that let me reformatt 1 drive. Then it crashed my system. Strange. So I go to install Linux, and I get the error message "Could not creat rpm directories or database:exception:[errno5] input/output error:'/tmp/root/var'"
Please help me. I'm thinking about using mandriake if this isn't fixed soon.

Egress · 2002-12-29 12:03 pm

I'm thinking about using mandriake if this isn't fixed soon.

From what I hear, Mandrake is close to going under. Gentoo, suSE, or Debian might be better choices.

If you want lots of software packages, and an old, stable system, choose Debian. If you want lots of support, choose suSE. I don't know much about Gentoo, but I just ordered a Gentoo 1.2 CD, so in a few weeks, I should be able to tell you more.

macfreak880 · 2002-12-29 5:29 pm

Does anyone know how to fix this error?
"Could not creat rpm directories or database:exception:[errno5] input/output error:'/tmp/root/var'"
I get it right after chosing a drive to install YDL on.

Buzzword · 2002-12-29 6:01 pm

Gentoo is not the option for someone who doesn't know much about Linux and doesn't want to spend a lot of time on it. I'm surprised YDL's giving you troubles, but distros work in mysterious ways... maybe you should try one of the others, yeah.

macfreak880 · 2003-01-01 7:11 pm

I'm thinking about giving up this Linux thing (for now atleast). I tried YDL again, and when I try to load the GUI installer, I get a "kernal can't load" message. I know it's not the CD because its a CD-R. Is there some lowlevel problem with my computer the only show in Linux and not 10?

Forums | MacLife

#1 2002-12-26 4:32 pm

Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#2 2002-12-26 5:22 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#3 2002-12-26 6:02 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#4 2002-12-26 6:32 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#5 2002-12-26 6:35 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#6 2002-12-26 7:38 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#7 2002-12-26 11:45 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#8 2002-12-27 3:14 am

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#9 2002-12-27 12:01 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#10 2002-12-27 2:50 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#11 2002-12-27 5:07 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#12 2002-12-27 5:25 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#13 2002-12-27 7:10 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#14 2002-12-27 7:51 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#15 2002-12-27 8:31 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#16 2002-12-27 11:01 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#17 2002-12-29 11:25 am

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#18 2002-12-29 12:03 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#19 2002-12-29 5:29 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#20 2002-12-29 6:01 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

#21 2003-01-01 7:11 pm

Re: Good Linix for a 350 G3?

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