Re: PowerBook 12"
On Jul 17, 2009, at 11:41 AM, MAD wrote:
Hi Rick
So, I have the external WD Firewire drive. The Ubuntu I have is an
ISO file downloaded from debian. I burned that to a CD, but I never
bought a CD. So on my drive I made a new partition. It is empty
and has 50 gb space on it. How do I make that partition bootable to
go into the installation on my FireWire connected PowerBook? What
do I need to do to the ISO file or to the CD?
Thanks again for your help.
Mark
First, let it be said that I don't know anything about Ubuntu,
especially Ubuntu for PowerPCs, except that it is said to be "derived"
from Debian. You asked on a Debian list, and I answered your
questions as they applied to Debian. With that said, here's what I
would do if I wanted to try booting and installing Debian from the
open partition on your FireWire WD.
1) Plug the WD into a Linux box. Identify which partition is your
"sacrificial" partition -- let's say it's /dev/sda5. If the Linux box
is running Debian, you will want to use "mac-fdisk" (read the manual
for details) to get a listing of the partitions. *Don't* try to mount
the partition yet!
2) Byte-for-byte copy your .iso image to the partition. The "dd"
command is probably your best bet. (again, read the manual for
details) Something like:
dd if=./installer-image.iso of=/dev/sda5
3) You may then try mounting the partition -- using the "mount"
command. (again, read the manual for details -- pay particular
attention to the part that talks about filesystem types) Something
like:
mount -r -v /dev/sda5 /mnt # you may also need the "-t hfs" (or "-t
something-else") option. experiment!
ls -lA /mnt # to see if it worked... repeat as necessary. When
satisfied:
umount -v /mnt # if it worked, unmount it so you can move it to the
PowerBook
4) Plug the WD into the PowerBook. Turn the PowerBook on while
holding down the "alt" key til you see a gui display showing possible
boot partitions. One *should* be your linux install partition on the
WD. Click to select it; then click the "->" icon. It should boot and
start the installer.
5) When the installer goes looking for a CD/DVD drive it won't find
it. Switch to the "alt-F2" console and mount the installer's WD
partiton as /cdrom, then switch back to the "alt-F1" console and use
the "back" button to try again searching for the CD.
This *should* work, but I have *not* tried it, so I don't know for
sure that it will. If it fails, I don't know what to suggest. You
can ask on the debian-powerpc list, but make sure to try it with one
of the Debian installer images before you do. The debian-powerpc list
is for *Debian* questions on PowerPC hardware, *not* for Ubuntu, and
some folks there are sensitive on the subject.
Hope it helps.
Rick
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