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If you use current debian install .iso the defaut sources.list is fine there ( german one, maitainer Adrian Glaubitz is from Germany )
But if you want upgrade from old version, this worked for me:

Code:
# binary default
deb http://ftp.ports.debian.org/debian-ports/ unstable main
deb http://incoming.ports.debian.org/buildd/ unstable main
deb http://ftp.ports.debian.org/debian-ports/ unreleased main

# contrib and non-free arch:all packages (i.e. firmware)
deb [arch=all] http://ftp.debian.org/debian/ unstable contrib non-free-firmware

# source
deb-src http://ftp.debian.org/debian/ unstable main
deb-src http://incoming.debian.org/debian-buildd/ buildd-unstable main

You also neeed actual keyring from here: debian-ports-archive-keyring

This sourcest lis is not exactly upgrade to Debian 12, but something like rolling-update, i.e. actual unstable powerpc distribution, which is today Debian 12.
 
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Okay this is irritating me to no end, and Google-fu + searching this forum came up empty.

Which module do I have to disable to disable the ambient light sensor? I just finally got Debian running on THE KING but it's gone to 0% brightness just about every time it starts up and sometimes I can recover it but most times I have to reboot and start over.

update: my google-fu needs to be updated. the module I was looking for is i2c_dev. it also kills keyboard backlighting but it's a worthy sacrifice.

update update: no, this actually did nothing. I am now back to square one.

update update update: I figured a workaround for this problem. It'll probably get its own thread for visibility maybe not, but the gist is to create a late-start systemd service that sets the brightness of the display directly after i2c_dev and the corresponding backlight service loads.
@Doq If this is true it solves a problem thats been there for a very long time, it's huge!
How exactly did you do that? I'm sure there's many ppl who would like to add this to their ppc linux-installation of preference, if possible, since pbbuttonsd hasn't worked properly for many, many years
 
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I have a PowerBook G4 15” A1138 and any distribution I’ve booted up seems to have an issue post install with the ATI driver. I’ve tried Ubuntu Mate 16.04, using Radeon.agpmode=-1, installed fine however post install my boot screen flickers then crashes? Caps-lock stops working, fans rev up a bit and no life.

I’ve tried Radeon.agpmode=-1, radeon.modeset=1 video=radeonfb:off video=offb:off flags but none seemed to make a difference. Only time I could get it to boot was with nomodeset.

I’ve tried Debian 8.11 and had the same issue. Not sure if it’s just a ATI Radeon 9700 issue or something I glossed over. I’ve read through this guide a few times and saw no mention.

Thanks if anyone has any advice
See my posts in https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/what-have-you-done-with-a-powerpc-today.2233788/page-143
(Basically, install Fienix, and then add debian 12-repositories and upgrade), then there's no graphical problems whatsoever with Xfce or Mate on our dear old machines. Before finding this solution i tried 20 different boot-option settings or so...
 
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Does anyone know if there’s a way to download full dvd iso of Debian lol none net install….or know of an archive PowerPC mirror I can put in when using net install?
 
Just to keep this up to date I can confirm that all links and installers provided from version 8-12 are current and all the procedures listed in this wiki are current and working as of 10/1/23…installs using referenced downloads and materials successfully install versions 8-12 on both my iMac g5 and PowerBook g4….did not test anything older then Debian 8. I can also confirm that wicknix Lububtu/debian remix are still working as well.
 
Lxqt and lxde are broken under the latest trixie Sid I would avoid installing Sid for now…this includes Linux mint…..
 

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I posted an update to the wicknix lubuntu remix forum thread to stay clear of applying the hack for newer software as there are packages and dependencies that are now missing and or no longer available in the snapshot available with the hack. Proceed with caution.
 
Lxqt and lxde are broken under the latest trixie Sid I would avoid installing Sid for now…this includes Linux mint…..
I built a custom lxpanel and lxpanel-data on my iMac G5 with patches as found here I get a working LXDE panel in vanilla Debian sid. Desktop pager works flawlessly again.
Screenshot from 2023-11-14 16-36-03.png
 
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Could use some help. I've an iMac G4, USB 2, 1.25 with 1.5GB RAM and a 256GB SSD.
I have downloaded a variety of ISOs for various versions of Linux for 32 bit PPC. I've burned them according to directions on various web sites, all of which say about the same thing. TWO of 23 burned (!) have worked. Both are Adelie distros which, when reaching the last step of installation, fail.
I've found directions on partitioning and setting a boot partition, and so on. All is correct. But no other DVD I burn and use to install will work.
I've attempted doing a USB stick install, with no luck. (In open firmware there's USB1a, USB1b and so forth. Huh? My google fu hasn't turned up an explanation for how to interpret those 1-a and 1-b entries.)
Booting with OPTION pressed, there's a hard drive for OS X (which crashes when selected) and if I put in one of the (many) distro DVDs and select it, the screen goes dark then immediately returns to the OS/boot disk selection screen.
I've made install DVDs in Windows and on a Mac running OS X. I've tried using Etcher to burn an ISO to a thumb drive, then Carbon Copied that drive to a DVD. I've sacrificed a firewire portable hard drive and carbon copied to that. Nada.
I've reset NVRAM/PRAM multiple times.
I suspect there's an easy answer lying just out of (my) reach. Suggestions, anyone?
Multiple thanks.
 
Could use some help. I've an iMac G4, USB 2, 1.25 with 1.5GB RAM and a 256GB SSD.
I have downloaded a variety of ISOs for various versions of Linux for 32 bit PPC. I've burned them according to directions on various web sites, all of which say about the same thing. TWO of 23 burned (!) have worked. Both are Adelie distros which, when reaching the last step of installation, fail.
I've found directions on partitioning and setting a boot partition, and so on. All is correct. But no other DVD I burn and use to install will work.
I've attempted doing a USB stick install, with no luck. (In open firmware there's USB1a, USB1b and so forth. Huh? My google fu hasn't turned up an explanation for how to interpret those 1-a and 1-b entries.)
Booting with OPTION pressed, there's a hard drive for OS X (which crashes when selected) and if I put in one of the (many) distro DVDs and select it, the screen goes dark then immediately returns to the OS/boot disk selection screen.
I've made install DVDs in Windows and on a Mac running OS X. I've tried using Etcher to burn an ISO to a thumb drive, then Carbon Copied that drive to a DVD. I've sacrificed a firewire portable hard drive and carbon copied to that. Nada.
I've reset NVRAM/PRAM multiple times.
I suspect there's an easy answer lying just out of (my) reach. Suggestions, anyone?
Multiple thanks.
Use CD-R only and within OSX use Disk Utility only.
 
Disk Utility throws an error when it attempts to open an ISO to restore. Do it anyway and it throws another error, stopping the restoration.
I've tried two brands of DVD (the iMac has no problem reading or writing DVDs and CDs since I replaced the drive) and two brands of CDs. Used Balena Etcher to make a USB image then copied that image using CCCloner to a CD.
Still nothing doing. Adelie distros loaded onto DVD fine, two different versions. But they won't install, failing at the last step in their process.
I may throw in the proverbial towel on Linux and revert to OS X 10.5. This is almost fun, trying to suss things out. Almost.
 
Running into a strange problem attempting to boot the latest Sid netinstall disc on my iMac G5 iSight. It just hangs at "smp_core99_bringup_done" which I've seen related to unsupported GPUs on G5's but it *seems* like the Radeon x600 on this iMac should be supported? Anyone have experience with this specific one?
 
Did you try the following appends after "live" in yaboot?

Code:
video=radeonfb:off video=nouveaufb:off radeon.modeset=1 nouveau.modeset=0 radeon.agpmode=-1 pci=realloc radeon.dpm=1

or

Code:
video=radeonfb:off video=nouveaufb:off radeon.modeset=1 nouveau.modeset=0 radeon.agpmode=-1 pci=realloc radeon.dpm=0

?

(You can also try adding)
Code:
video=offb:off

afaik some GPUs simply do not fly with linux under ppc, I know that was the case for the x800, not sure about the x600, even though it is R3XX/RV3XX like the Radeon 9550-9800/X550
 
Could use some help. I've an iMac G4, USB 2, 1.25 with 1.5GB RAM and a 256GB SSD.
I have downloaded a variety of ISOs for various versions of Linux for 32 bit PPC. I've burned them according to directions on various web sites, all of which say about the same thing. TWO of 23 burned (!) have worked. Both are Adelie distros which, when reaching the last step of installation, fail.
I've found directions on partitioning and setting a boot partition, and so on. All is correct. But no other DVD I burn and use to install will work.
I've attempted doing a USB stick install, with no luck. (In open firmware there's USB1a, USB1b and so forth. Huh? My google fu hasn't turned up an explanation for how to interpret those 1-a and 1-b entries.)
Booting with OPTION pressed, there's a hard drive for OS X (which crashes when selected) and if I put in one of the (many) distro DVDs and select it, the screen goes dark then immediately returns to the OS/boot disk selection screen.
I've made install DVDs in Windows and on a Mac running OS X. I've tried using Etcher to burn an ISO to a thumb drive, then Carbon Copied that drive to a DVD. I've sacrificed a firewire portable hard drive and carbon copied to that. Nada.
I've reset NVRAM/PRAM multiple times.
I suspect there's an easy answer lying just out of (my) reach. Suggestions, anyone?
Multiple thanks.
So partitioning is broken on the Mac ppc (32-bit) graphical installer for Adélie GNU/Linux, you have to manually partition. I found this out as I had this same issue and made a post in the IRC support channel. Apparently you have to drop to a terminal and manually partition, that didn't work for me and I wasn't interested in spending my time trying to get that to work so I went with the Debian 12 GNU/Linux trixie/sid ppc. I installed using USB (as my optical drive is broken) on my iBook G4.

The Debian Sid installation guide suggests this:

boot usb0/disk@1:,\\grub.elf

If 'usb0' doesn't work, try 'usb1', then 'usb2', 'usb3', etc.

These instructions did not work for me.


The suggestions in this guide worked for me:

boot ud:,\\grub.elf


This video was also very helpful in helping me with Open Firmware.

To use the technical descriptive verb Open Firmware is squirrelly as f*ck! Good luck!

These 3 guides and the comments therein have been very helpful getting literally everything to work (battery indicator, WiFi, performance improvements, etc.) on my iBook G4 with Debian 12 Sid installed.

 
Is Debian 10 or 11 faster then 12 because I’m using with lxde but it is dog slow….?
How much ram do you have installed? What processor do you have? I have an iBook with a 7447A G4 @ 1.420GHz w/ 1497MiB off RAM (maxed out) and the original 60 GB IDE PATA mechanical hard disk… It's not giving me the same experience that my MacBook Air (M1, 2020) w/ 16GB RAM does but it is useable with XFCE. I wanted a snappier experience so I installed IceWM as my Window Manager (apt install icewm)

Looking for a tiling window manager to try next
 
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How much ram do you have installed? What processor do you have? I have an iBook with a 7447A G4 @ 1.420GHz w/ 1497MiB off RAM (maxed out) and the original 60 GB IDE PATA mechanical hard disk… It's not giving me the same experience that my MacBook Air (M1, 2020) w/ 16GB RAM does but it is useable with XFCE. I wanted a snappier experience so I installed IceWM as my Window Manager (apt install icewm)

Looking for a tiling window manager to try next

Hello, I have an iBook G4 mid 2005 12" and I'm experiencing very frequent system freezes even with the radeon.agpmode=-1 boot parameter.

my xorg.cong file:
Code:
Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "X.org Configured"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
#    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
    InputDevice    "Synapstics Touchpad"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
    ModulePath   "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi"
    FontPath     "built-ins"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load  "glx"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier  "Keyboard0"
    Driver      "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier    "Synapstics Touchpad"
    Driver        "synapstics"
    Option        "SendCoreEvents"    "true"
    Option        "Device"    "/dev/input/mice"
    Option        "Protocol"    "auto-dev"
    Option        "LeftEdge"    "0"
    Option        "RightEdge"    "850"
    Option        "TopEdge"    "0"
    Option        "BottomEdge"    "645"
    Option        "MinSpeed"    "0.4"
    Option        "MaxSpeed"    "1"
    Option        "AccelFactor"    "0.02"
    Option        "FingerLow"    "0"
    Option        "FingerHigh"    "30"
    Option        "MaxTapMove"    "20"
    Option        "MaxTapTime"    "10"
    Option        "HorizScrollDelta"    "0"
    Option        "VertScrollDelta"    "30"
    Option        "SHMConfig"    "on"
EndSection

#Section "InputDevice"
#    Identifier  "Mouse0"
#    Driver      "mouse"
#    Option        "Protocol" "auto"
#    Option        "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
#    Option        "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
#EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "Monitor0"
    VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName    "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>: "<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option     "Accel"                  # [<bool>]
        #Option     "SWcursor"               # [<bool>]
        #Option     "EnablePageFlip"         # [<bool>]
        #Option     "SubPixelOrder"          # [<str>]
        #Option     "ZaphodHeads"            # <str>
        #Option     "AccelMethod"            # <str>
        #Option     "DRI3"                   # [<bool>]
        #Option     "DRI"                    # <i>
        #Option     "ShadowPrimary"          # [<bool>]
        #Option     "TearFree"               # [<bool>]
        #Option     "DeleteUnusedDP12Displays"     # [<bool>]
        #Option     "VariableRefresh"        # [<bool>]
        #Option     "AsyncFlipSecondaries"     # [<bool>]
    Identifier  "Card0"
    Driver      "ati"
    BusID       "PCI:0:16:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "Screen0"
    Device     "Card0"
    Monitor    "Monitor0"
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     1
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     4
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     8
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     15
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     16
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

My /etc/default/grub file:
Code:
# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
#   info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet radeon.agpmode=-1"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""
GRUB_BACKGROUND=""

# If your computer has multiple operating systems installed, then you
# probably want to run os-prober. However, if your computer is a host
# for guest OSes installed via LVM or raw disk devices, running
# os-prober can cause damage to those guest OSes as it mounts
# filesystems to look for things.
#GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xefefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

Do you have some advice about it?
 
Hello, I have an iBook G4 mid 2005 12" and I'm experiencing very frequent system freezes even with the radeon.agpmode=-1 boot parameter.

my xorg.cong file:
Code:
Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "X.org Configured"
    Screen      0  "Screen0" 0 0
#    InputDevice    "Mouse0" "CorePointer"
    InputDevice    "Synapstics Touchpad"
    InputDevice    "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

Section "Files"
    ModulePath   "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/misc"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/cyrillic"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi/:unscaled"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/Type1"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/100dpi"
    FontPath     "/usr/share/fonts/X11/75dpi"
    FontPath     "built-ins"
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load  "glx"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier  "Keyboard0"
    Driver      "kbd"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
    Identifier    "Synapstics Touchpad"
    Driver        "synapstics"
    Option        "SendCoreEvents"    "true"
    Option        "Device"    "/dev/input/mice"
    Option        "Protocol"    "auto-dev"
    Option        "LeftEdge"    "0"
    Option        "RightEdge"    "850"
    Option        "TopEdge"    "0"
    Option        "BottomEdge"    "645"
    Option        "MinSpeed"    "0.4"
    Option        "MaxSpeed"    "1"
    Option        "AccelFactor"    "0.02"
    Option        "FingerLow"    "0"
    Option        "FingerHigh"    "30"
    Option        "MaxTapMove"    "20"
    Option        "MaxTapTime"    "10"
    Option        "HorizScrollDelta"    "0"
    Option        "VertScrollDelta"    "30"
    Option        "SHMConfig"    "on"
EndSection

#Section "InputDevice"
#    Identifier  "Mouse0"
#    Driver      "mouse"
#    Option        "Protocol" "auto"
#    Option        "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
#    Option        "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
#EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "Monitor0"
    VendorName   "Monitor Vendor"
    ModelName    "Monitor Model"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        ### Available Driver options are:-
        ### Values: <i>: integer, <f>: float, <bool>: "True"/"False",
        ### <string>: "String", <freq>: "<f> Hz/kHz/MHz",
        ### <percent>: "<f>%"
        ### [arg]: arg optional
        #Option     "Accel"                  # [<bool>]
        #Option     "SWcursor"               # [<bool>]
        #Option     "EnablePageFlip"         # [<bool>]
        #Option     "SubPixelOrder"          # [<str>]
        #Option     "ZaphodHeads"            # <str>
        #Option     "AccelMethod"            # <str>
        #Option     "DRI3"                   # [<bool>]
        #Option     "DRI"                    # <i>
        #Option     "ShadowPrimary"          # [<bool>]
        #Option     "TearFree"               # [<bool>]
        #Option     "DeleteUnusedDP12Displays"     # [<bool>]
        #Option     "VariableRefresh"        # [<bool>]
        #Option     "AsyncFlipSecondaries"     # [<bool>]
    Identifier  "Card0"
    Driver      "ati"
    BusID       "PCI:0:16:0"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "Screen0"
    Device     "Card0"
    Monitor    "Monitor0"
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     1
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     4
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     8
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     15
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     16
    EndSubSection
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
    EndSubSection
EndSection

My /etc/default/grub file:
Code:
# If you change this file, run 'update-grub' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg.
# For full documentation of the options in this file, see:
#   info -f grub -n 'Simple configuration'

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_TIMEOUT=5
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet radeon.agpmode=-1"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""
GRUB_BACKGROUND=""

# If your computer has multiple operating systems installed, then you
# probably want to run os-prober. However, if your computer is a host
# for guest OSes installed via LVM or raw disk devices, running
# os-prober can cause damage to those guest OSes as it mounts
# filesystems to look for things.
#GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false

# Uncomment to enable BadRAM filtering, modify to suit your needs
# This works with Linux (no patch required) and with any kernel that obtains
# the memory map information from GRUB (GNU Mach, kernel of FreeBSD ...)
#GRUB_BADRAM="0x01234567,0xfefefefe,0x89abcdef,0xefefefef"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entries
#GRUB_DISABLE_RECOVERY="true"

# Uncomment to get a beep at grub start
#GRUB_INIT_TUNE="480 440 1"

Do you have some advice about it?
Yes the iBook had two graphics variants depending on the date of the model you have…they either were the radeon 9200 and or the radeon 9550….you need to have “Linux radeon.agpmode=-1 radeon.modeset=1 video=offb::eek:ff no splash” it needs to be entered exactly as you see in the quotes including the letter l in linux….it needs to be uppercase…if it still freezes take off the video=offb::eek:ff and just do the modeset, agpmode and the nosplash…I find on mine leaving offb::eek:ff leads to less lockups….and leave the quotations out as well. Good luck!
 
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MacRumors decides it like adding random emojis but instead of the emojis put in “:” so with no spaces it should be offb : off minus the spaces between b and o.
 
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