Installing to a G3 in target mode via a G5

[H. Apfel]

>Just an idea, but perhaps a local library, university, college or 
>school would allow you to have access or borrow (on loan) a cd drive 
>created in the same era as your G3 iBook.

Well, I wanted to avoid messing with the innards of an iBook if possible...

>Failing that swapping out your CD drive for a compatible replacement 
>may be an option; when considering such problems of repairs, parts 
>etc, you may be interested in checking out www.fastermacs.net, more 
>popularly known as Other World Computing or OWC.

... and I wanted to spare the expenses of a spare :-) ...

>
>As mostly every installer is designed to run from the hardware it is 
>to be installed upon; a "target mode" option could work only if the 
>installer had information regarding the G3.  Most G3's are Old World 
>and need the BootX control panel to be operational in the Classic 
>MacOS environment so that one can boot into YDL from BootX.  In your 
>situation, this means that at the very least you may need not only a 
>working CD drive; you may also need a functioning BootX from which 
>to load and use Linux while you are on a G3.  Also if your intention 
>is to use the current version of YDL, you will have to make sure the 
>parameters of BootX are such that you will be able to run YDL 4.0 or 
>YDL 4.1

The only 'old world' I'm aware of are the beige G3's; both the iBook 
(oh, i forgot to mention: it's translucent-white one; G3-500) and the 
B/W are new world, aren't they?

>
>Not to suggest anything which would not interest you, but if you are 
>interested in 32bit systems a G4 Powerbook doesn't need the above 
>steps.  Indeed if you don't care for OS X as many don't you can 
>easily wipe clean the PB drive and install YDL 4.1 on it and the 
>thing will run really, really fast and you'll have a full scale 
>server as a laptop.

The main job for the iBook will be to control (and I mean control, 
not only log!) heating and aircon in our new home, so the focus is 
more around low power (and price) then about speed. TO be more 
precise I'll try to press the kenel essentials into a 1 or 2 Gig 
memory stick and boot from that with the swap partition in RAM, so I 
can stop worrying about mechanical drives in the system.

>Of course, we all eventually choose whatever makes sense within the 
>tasks we would like to engage upon vs. the economics involved in 
>doing so.  OWC could be useful in assisting you in considering the 
>cost equation in acquiring parts, etc.
>
>Good Luck...

It looks as if I could really need some of that ;-)