Installing on Old PowerBook

[Clinton MacDonald]

Dan:

On Friday, August 15, 2003, at 02:22  PM, Dan Wilson wrote:
> What kind of old PB? I'm looking to get a WallStreet PB from work, and  
> was planning to install YDL on it.

I recently picked up a Wallstreet on eBay and installed YDL 3.0 a few  
days ago in order to experiment with Linux on a Mac. It was an  
up-and-down experience, but after some experimentation, the  
installation finally went smoothly.

The experimentation suggested the following important points peculiar  
to Wallstreet PowerBooks (none of which are mentioned in the  
installation guide):

[1] make sure your hard drive is larger than 2 GB; anything smaller  
than about 3-4 GB will be inadequate (actually, this is mentioned in  
the guide -- so, I bought a new 25 GB drive to replace the 2 GB  
original)
[2] the Wallstreet is an Old World machine, and will use BootX rather  
than yaboot

The video setup on the original Wallstreet models is somehow funky in a  
way that Yellow Dog Linux does not like, making several modifications  
to the BootX parameters essential. Check out the Engineer's Notes for  
the Guide to Installing YDL 2.3:

<http://www.yellowdoglinux.com/support/installation/ 
guide2.3.shtml#notes>

[3] enter the following cryptic text into the BootX "More kernel  
arguments" field: "video=atyfb:vmode:10" (without the quotes)
[4] uncheck "No video driver"
[5] under BootX Options uncheck "Force video settings"

> Some upgrades planned include a USB card and WiFi (memory and HD  
> upgrades go without saying). From what I've found in the archives,  
> MacAlly USB PC cards are automatically recognized. Any good  
> suggestions for wireless cards?

I don't know anything about USB or WiFi options, but I am sure there  
are those on this mailing list who do.

> Are there any pitfalls I should watch out for?

So far, my biggest complaint are the large incidence of video glitches  
and bugs. These seem most prominent in applications that handle  
formatted text, like OpenOffice.org and AbiWord. I don't know whether  
these are general complaints about YDL on any Mac, or if they are due  
to the unusual video settings specific to the Wallstreet. I would be  
very interested in learning of your experiences, so let us know on the  
list how this works for you.

Good luck!

Best wishes,
Clint

-- 
Dr. Clinton C. MacDonald | <mailto:clint.macdonald@ttuhsc.edu>