According to the Ubuntu PowerPC FAQ ( ), my iMac is compatible. I've read that this means the CD is not suitable to boot on that computer. The iMac then displays a folder with a question mark superimposed on it (the icon for a missing startup disk). When I put it in my iMac and held down the 'C' key to boot from a CD/DVD, the SuperDrive spins up, spins down, and ejects the disk. I downloaded the Ubuntu 12.04 PowerPC live desktop build from here (, 5th link down) and burned on to a DVD-R at the lowest speed. The iMac has no hard drive in it, and I would like to get a live CD running so I can test out Ubuntu before I buy a hard drive to boot from, but I'm having trouble running the live CD. It might as well be USB manufacturer related.I have an old iMac G5 (without a webcam) that I would like to get running Ubuntu. For me, the final working path was If it still doesn't work make sure your USB pendrive is at least 8 GB in size - I didn't manage to boot from any device smaller than that - as Open Firmware appears to require that. The fix is surprisingly simple - try swapping the USB port you plug your USB drive into and updating the devalias ud accordingly until it works. Congratulations! You're doing good - you've managed to boot into the Open Firmware and set up the boot device, but it appears not to be working. Unless you left your machine's mainboard compartment open (without the translucent polycarb air guide). Try getting another keyboard and verifying that your machine is actually working correctly - if there's a red led lit (or flashing) on the main board you might have a hardware issue. If you did not reach the Open Firmware step - tough luck. You can set auto-boot? back to true now.) Troubleshooting (In the rare event it actually did work - you're done. aaaand if your luck is anything like mine, it won't work. If you still didn't manage to boot into the Open Firmware consult the Troubleshooting section, otherwise make sure your machine always boots into the Open Firmware: If you fall into the first category - congratulations, you can now wear your smug smile until the end of time, otherwise - don't get discouraged too quickly thanks to the following instructions you'll only have to do this once - for me it was more like five or six times. Try several more times while swearing a lot and randomly pressing and releasing the key combination.Get awfully discouraged with the whole enterprise.Fail to reach the Open Firmware screen a few more times.Try pressing the combination right after you hear the initial boot up sound.Fail to reach the Open Firmware screen.Fail to reach the Open Firmware screen several times.
Boot your machine while holding Windows + Alt + o + f keys.Release the keys once you see the Open Firmware screen.Boot your machine while holding Command + Option + o + f keys.This process might be quite random and nerve-racking unless you own an Apple-issued wired keyboard. Now here's the fun part - we'll need to boot into the Open Firmware in order to change the boot sequence. Now you can plug your USB drive in the PowerMac and proceed to the next section. This varies from platform to platform so unless you're using GNU/Linux you'll have to google. PreparationStart off by downloading an image (let's call it image.img) and burning it onto a pendrive. preferably wired preferably Apple keyboard,.a USB pendrive, at least 8 GB in size (more on that later),.PowerPC-flavored GNU/Linux distribution image of your choice (I used Ubunt 16.04 LTS but these instructions should apply equally to any other distribution),.
In fact, you can download a live ISO image of the most recent version ( 16.10 at the time of writing this post) right off the official Ubuntu downloads page. Surprisingly enough, even though Ubuntu has dropped the official support for PowerPC quite early (since 7.04), there's a strong community still maintaining PowerPC ports of the distro & various packages.
I've decided to write this post because these machines are getting old and any sort of info on how to boot GNU/Linux on them is getting sparser by the year. The machine in question is an early model of double-processor PowerMac G5, version 7.2 to be exact: Recently, I had a craving for some PowerPC action, so I dug up an old PPC970-based machine and had some considerable fun playing with it. I know from experience that Debian works flawlessly on a Power Mac G5 and allows for proper fan control. If Ubuntu still wont work, I suggest using the stable version of Debian. I recommend you burn it to a CD instead of a DVD. Posted on 22:23 by Idorobots Linux PPC970 PowerPC Raspberry Pi Ubuntu benchmarks i7 The PowerPC Ubuntu distro can be downloaded from this link. Running modern GNU/Linux on PowerMac G5 - the complete instruction