Re: PowerMac G5 can't start graphics -- was Re: Updated Debian Ports installation images 2025-08-21

Hi Cedar,

Thanks for getting back to me.

No, I have an original DVI-D Apple 30" Cinema HD Display connected directly to a DVI-D port on my Quad's nVidia Quadro FX 4500 graphics card.

At this point, the matter is somewhat academic however. I reinstalled, to alter the partitioning, and now both the "Select Software and Install" and the "GRUB Install" installer steps fail. Same installer, same selections as yesterday, but today they don't work (when my preferred partitioning setup failed, I returned to my original default partitioning choices).

Erratic behavior like this makes it very hard to zero in and isolate a cause. I am just a wee bit frustrated!

In the end, I have read on Google that Debian supports some nVidia legacy driver packages. Could they be the solution? ... of course, I have to get the darn thing booting again before I can try this!

Thanks Again,
Michael

On August 22, 2025 8:50:20 PM EDT, Cedar Maxwell <cedarmaxwell@mac.com> wrote:

Michael:

Are you using a DVI to VGA adapter?  I had the exact same issue as you
when using one with my PMG5 hooked up to a television.

Cedar

On Thu, 2025-08-21 at 08:17 -0700, Ken Cunningham wrote:
Also, see this apparently very similar recent issue from last week:

https://lists.debian.org/debian-powerpc/2025/08/msg00018.html




On Aug 21, 2025, at 6:35 AM, Jeroen Diederen
<jjhdiederen@zonnet.nl> wrote:

You might need to do the following. Boot the machine in recovery
mode. You then do:

mv /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libglamoregl.so
/usr/lib/xorg/modules/libglamoregl.so.bak

Ctrl-d or exit to resume booting.

Michael Campbell schreef op 2025-08-21 20:18:
Hi, thanks for this. I am new to this list; this is my first
"post".
I am attempting to install Debian 12 PPC64  on my Power Mac G5
Quad.
The installer runs to completion more or less successfully,
although
it did complain about b43 firmware, presumably related to the
Apple
WiFi/Bluetooth card I have installed. The result boots to GRUB,
and
when I select any non-recovery mode selection from the GRUB menu,
it
takes off nicely. Screens worth of startup messages go by, then
the
screen clears. I BRIEFLY see a text mode login prompt and then
the
screen clears again. That is it. Nothing further happens. I let
it sit
that way for ten minutes, but nothing further happens.
I am TOTALLY new to Debian, although I have a fair deal of
experience
configuring and installing Arch Linux and the old openSuSE.
Does what I described above suggest anything to any reader?
My system details: my G5 Quad has 16 GB of RAM, a Quadro FX 4500
graphics card, two internal SATA HDDs, one actually an SSD and
the
other a 2 TB spinner. It is the spinner that I trying to install
Debian onto. I select Guided, and Whole Disk during install. The
Quad
also has a PCIe eSATA card and a FireWire 800 port expansion
card. It
is also unique in that I have converted it from liquid cooling to
air
cooling, although all the stock Apple fans remain in place and
operative. I have an Apple FW400 iSight camera and a USB
microphone
also attached.
I normally run 10.5.9 Sorbet Leopard on it.
Any thoughts on why the existing new install doesn't seem to come
up
to a point where it is usable would be most appreciated.
Meantime, I will try it this new installer and see if that
changes
things.
Thanks,
Michael
On August 20, 2025 6:31:21 PM EDT, John Paul Adrian Glaubitz
<glaubitz@physik.fu-berlin.de> wrote:
Hello,
I just created updated Debian Ports installation images based
on
kernel 6.12.38. These are using the debian-installer from
Trixie.
They can be downloaded from here:
https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/ports/snapshots/2025-08-21/
Please test and report back.
Known issues are kernel instabilities on sun4u (sparc64)
machines
which are currently being investigated. I will write a separate
mail on the issue.
Adrian
--
.''`.  John Paul Adrian Glaubitz
: :' :  Debian Developer
`. `'   Physicist
`-    GPG: 62FF 8A75 84E0 2956 9546  0006 7426 3B37 F5B5 F913