Last time i accepted updates out of curiosity my install was bricked so i suggest making a backup first. As @B S Magnet states, these updates are intended for x86_64 not PPC
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Snow Leopard on Unsupported PowerPC Macs
- Thread starter Larsvonhier
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I ordered Airport Extreme from Yahoo JP, if it arrives in a working condition, wifi is sorted, and my Express is back to its audio usage.
Looking for internal card seems too painful to make sense.
I don’t have any data on that machine that I will regret losing, but anyway, it apparently survived update without any damage.
The only thing perhaps worth backing up is macports directory with compiled stuff, otherwise it takes ages to compile, though not much active effort.
If I manually make a copy of folders that macports use, that would work if put into respective places in new system (using root), if needed?
I couldn’t figure how to compile from AOSP. What do I need for that? I saw the website.
There is no solution for new C++ compiler, right? That seems to be needed for RStudio (graphical interface) and Stan (without which R is of little utility).
Please tell us what to copy so that nothing is lost. (Your macports files I have.)
I wouldn’t recommend trying to manually move an installation of macports over to another OS install, but if you’d rather migrate than recompile then it’s probably wise to have a read through of the relevant documentation provided on the macports website: Migration
The AOSP page is a directory of all of the open source projects used by Apple in a particular iteration of Mac OS. More specifically, depending on the licensing requirements of the original source, it is a list of downloadable source tarballs containing either the complete source code including Apple modifications or just the modifications made by Apple minus the original source code.
Each project has different prerequisites. Some require, or at least expect, being built inside a darwinbuild environment. Others simply require the command line tools to be installed. The rest expect to be compiled within Xcode itself.
The initial beta version of Xcode included in the 10A096 developer seed will provide the initial tools. Further tools will have to be compiled from source which can be aquired from the original developers websites or via macports.
Using the command line tools provided with Xcode to compile macports from source for SLPPC, you most likely have many of the compilers already, though they may not be recent enough and you will probably have to bootstrap your way to more current versions.
You will certainly find that some projects require slight modifications in order to compile, which are mostly detailed within the readme and install/build instructions of each project - others will require some creative thinking and much use of your search engine of preference. There will also be those projects that cannot be compiled for PowerPC without rewriting the source code itself. If you’re able to do this or willing to learn then by all means have at it and share your findings here.
I’m not sure what the most current version of cpp that is Darwin/PowerPC compatible out of the box but i’m sure it’s possible to find this out with a peruse of the interwebs.
A quick update on software compatibility:
1Password 3.5.15 works, newer do not start.
TechTool Pro 6.0.8 works, but does not install via provided installer under 10.6. I have installed it on a volume with 10.5.8, booted into 10.6 and opened it — it works and tests can be done.
1Password 3.5.15 works, newer do not start.
TechTool Pro 6.0.8 works, but does not install via provided installer under 10.6. I have installed it on a volume with 10.5.8, booted into 10.6 and opened it — it works and tests can be done.
I tried building darwinbuild via macports, and it failed. Do not remember particular problem, will check later on.
That’s an issue with darwinbuild being designed only for intel for Darwin10, not a macports issue.
Hi @barracuda156
By any chance did you install my test update from Post 1,064? If you're genuinely not concerned about corrupting your 10A190 installation or introducing instability and would be willing to assist me, i would appreciate your feedback. I'm still planning to share a more complete 'combo update' eventually but need to first make sure that the improvements i've made on my system are reproducible on others systems before investing the time and effort further in that particular idea. Most people are running 10A096 and previous feedback based on that build wasn't indicative that the changes i've made to my 10A190 build would apply to the former.
By any chance did you install my test update from Post 1,064? If you're genuinely not concerned about corrupting your 10A190 installation or introducing instability and would be willing to assist me, i would appreciate your feedback. I'm still planning to share a more complete 'combo update' eventually but need to first make sure that the improvements i've made on my system are reproducible on others systems before investing the time and effort further in that particular idea. Most people are running 10A096 and previous feedback based on that build wasn't indicative that the changes i've made to my 10A190 build would apply to the former.
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This is super interesting. Do you think it might be one of the factors that influenced Apple to drop support for SL on PPC Macs? Not necessarily the _reason_ they did it, but a contributing factor that pushed it from a thought to a reality?
Because it does seem like they dropped support for PPC a bit too quickly
Because it does seem like they dropped support for PPC a bit too quickly
The decision to move from PowerPC to intel architecture was a culmination of disappointment in the number of chips that were made available to Apple along with other assurances of reduced power consumption, decreases in thermal output and increases in Ghz that failed to materialise. Intel offered all of those things in addition to other benefits, such as interoperability with Windows and better virtual machine support to name a couple.
There are many articles that detail at great length the relationships involved and contributing factors for the switch and it’s an interesting topic to read.
Why Apple decided to drop support completely for PowerPC in such a short period of time, in my opinion, was more of a ‘line in the sand’ statement. It worked out well historically for the business and was arguably the right move but it did leave many longtime Mac users and people who had invested large sums of money in the most current PowerPC systems mildly displeased, to put it lightly.
Ironically at the same time that Apple was ditching PowerPC, Microsoft along with Sony and Nintendo were all adopting the architecture for their games consoles. Both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 were plagued with thermal issues that were widely known and publicised when first released to market.
The chips were powerful, but the roadmap and the relationships with the manufacturers were no longer compatible with Apple’s vision. There would be no MacBook Air had it not been for the switch to intel, for example.
If you're talking about the G5, then yep. But the G4 - that shipped in Apple's notebooks until early 2006 - was no match for Intel's Pentium M as far as performance was concerned. And the M was released in March 2003. Uh-oh.
Ironically, the pre-2010 MacBook Airs are known for... yep: hot-running and throttling CPUs.
Indeed. The fact that the mobile processor roadmap for PowerPC at that time wasn’t delivering, is the same point that i was making. There was no G5 portable. The late PowerBook G4 machines were excellent and much loved, and combined with Apple software they were still essential tools in certain industries, but they were not the most powerful machines on the market.
PowerPC chips did not allow for the design direction that has remained, until recently, always thinner, lighter, quieter and more powerful. That’s the direction Apple wanted to go and intel provided what they wanted.
Even with the ‘gen 1’ teething problems the intel switch was a financial success for Apple, and remained such until it was no longer the case. Apple has demonstrated multiple times that they make the choices that they believe will deliver on their vision and they’re not sentimental about holding onto technologies they deem misaligned with that vision. When intel no longer delivered, Apple decided to do it themselves and now we have the Apple Silicon generation of Macs. I’m sure this will continue for as long as Apple remains Apple at its core.
You know, I’d be very curious to see what a “PowerBook G4 Air” would have looked like…
I actually did install it straightaway, but I don’t know if it changed anything visible. If you tell what specifically to test, I can do that.
P. S. And yes, please, share updates in the future.
I was talking with a dude a few days ago in a Hackintosh Discord server who had worked between Apple and IBM to test hardware and supposedly up to and including 10A430 were built for PowerPC. 10A428 was the final one compatible with G4 machines, 10A430 was only compatible with G5 machines and dropped support for the first G5 machines. He uploaded them to archive.org but has been quiet for a while and hasn't said anything since he started uploading them. I don't have the archive.org links but maybe if we search long enough/hard enough we could find them? This could be pretty big.
