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Thread ID: 101041 2009-06-29 16:52:00 Running Linux on a Mac LarsJohann (13010) Press F1
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787140 2009-06-30 05:49:00 Ok thanks alot, i'll try it out. Would you know the specific command to force graphics mode? And also, it's odd your saying my monitor seems that it isnt compatible because i ran this on my PC running Windows and it handled it just fine. You think it's because its a Mac?
The command is a kernel argument 'vga', and takes one argument. You'll need to see the bootloader help for the table of available modes.

I'm not saying your monitor isn't compatible, I'm saying the CD is probably trying to use a mode that isn't compatible with your monitor - the CD is the issue here, not the monitor.

No, it's not because it's a mac - more likely it's because it's old, and the CD is making some assumptions more appropriate to modern hardware.

Edit: Another useful thing to try is removing the 'quiet' bit from the kernel commandline, this will force it to skip the splash screen / progress bar and give you textual output instead.
Erayd (23)
787141 2009-06-30 05:50:00 You will sometimes get this when it switches from text mode to graphics mode. Just let it run unless it makes a noise.
This is before the switch by the sounds of things - he says it's happening immediately after the bootloader, which generally means it's before the kernel framebuffer.
Erayd (23)
787142 2009-06-30 17:03:00 Ok, i cannot find "Force Graphics Mode" but i've noticed when I run 64bit version of live-powerpc64, it tells me if i'd like to continue with the boot or shutdown. i type "mac-boot" because that's what it tells me to type to continue with the boot and then it brings me to some screen with the mac logo and file names appear. It seems to be checking the files. However, after a short while it just stops a a specific file. LarsJohann (13010)
787143 2009-06-30 17:49:00 You're gonna need to give us a bit more infor than that I'm afraid - unless you tell us exactly *what* is wrong, it's quite hard to help.

Have you considered taking the laptop along to the next meeting of your local LUG? They'll almost certainly be more than happy to help you out, and having a crowd of gurus attending to your system in person will often be a lot more useful than trying to troubleshoot it through a forum.
Erayd (23)
787144 2009-06-30 18:48:00 I'm not from New Zealand so i probably couldn't go to LUG :s

I'll explaining it aswell as possible :

I've got this Mac right here:


images.csnw.com


And i'm trying to run the desktop CD image that i burnt, that i obtained from this website:

cdimage.ubuntu.com

I burnt the image using MagicISO onto a standard CD-RW.
Here's what i proceed to do after it is done:

I insert the Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty CD, i boot up the computer while holding down C to boot from the CD. Shortly after, a prompt comes up giving me several options on what to do;

ie. live, live-powerpc,live-powerpc64,check,check-live,check-live64.


Every option except for the 64bit ones(i would assume to be) do the following:

let's say i type "live", i press enter then it says


Please wait, Loading Kernel...
Kernel Loaded.
Loading Ramdrive...

I see ramdrive for a couple of seconds, then the screen goes white and at the top of the screen, i see stuff like, Loading String Trees...
Almost imediately after that the screen displays only colorful static. I'm forced to reboot the Mac after that. THe only time i've noticed it dosent happen is when i use either "live-powerpc64" or "check-powerpc64". When i type one of those, the same stuff happens except there is no static but it brings me to a blank screen with the MacOS logo in the middle and seems to be checking files. It does that for a bit and after it just haults at some point. I'm forced of course to reboot my Mac after that.

I've tried explaining it aswell as i can. Hopefully, its good enough :)
LarsJohann (13010)
787145 2009-06-30 19:00:00 What does 'live-powerpc vga=792 xforcevesa single --' give you?

And it doesn't matter about not being in NZ - in most places around the world, there is almost always a LUG nearby ;).
Erayd (23)
787146 2009-06-30 20:18:00 oooo, havent tried that yet :) let me see what happens LarsJohann (13010)
787147 2009-06-30 20:21:00 I get the same result again, random colorful static. :( LarsJohann (13010)
787148 2009-06-30 20:42:00 Any chance you could take a photo of that static (highest resolution possible please) and post it here (http://imagef1.net.nz/)? Erayd (23)
787149 2009-06-30 21:25:00 yes i will try to take a photo, so you can see better what it is. LarsJohann (13010)
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