>> Get yourself a distro (like YDL) on CD and just go to it. > >Is there a preferred distribution?
Your preferred distro is up to you. ;) I like YDL because it's what I've used so far, I believe it is the most common PPC Linux, and it is based on Red Hat which is the most common x86 Linux. I believe Mandrake and SuSE also have PPC versions. >> require a partition with MacOS installed to "bootstrap" > >Is there a way to boot to Linux via a floppy, rather then relying MacOS to >bootstrap? > >And why do I need MacOS to bootstrap with? Is this because of some funky driver >situation? I may be mistaken here, but I believe the core issue is the Mac ROM. The Mac hardware is closed, so there's no way to know how to get it up and running. Mac Linux distros rely on an extension or startup app to essentially perform a takeover of the system once everything has been initialized, kicking the MacOS out of memory and replacing it. Now that's Old World (beige) ROM. New World (colored) Macs use Open Firmware which is an open standard, and the ROM is in software. These Macs can, I believe, be made to boot directly into Linux, and may be bootable from floppy like x86 Linux is. Some beige PMacs also use OF, but it was essentially a crippled OF from what I know. Your bootstrap partition doesn't have to be any larger than the minimum needed to install the MacOS. System 7.5 is small, and sufficient for this purpose. If you ever look at pre-PPC Macs, strongly consider NetBSD instead of Linux. It's more mature on 68k hardware, and some people prefer BSD over Linux anyway. >(These are some of the pesky questions I thought might be in a FAQ somewhere.) They probably are, it's just been too long since I've looked up "how do I install?" FAQs to remember where to point you. -- Tim Larson <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< Info. Services - Internal Medicine Clinical Systems, Mayo Clinic, Rochester He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot I apologize for the irregular wrapping and quoting. I use MS Outlook. -- MaX-list is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... / Buy books, CDs, videos, and more from Amazon.com \ / <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/lowendmac> \ Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> MaX-list info: <http://lowendmac.com/linux/max.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:max-list@;mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:max-list-off@;mail.maclaunch.com> For digest mode, email: <mailto:max-list-digest@;mail.maclaunch.com> Subscription questions: <mailto:listmom@;lowendmac.com> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/max-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
