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Siddharth
Asked: 2014-01-09 05:29:15 +0800 CST

Which version of Ubuntu will work on my PowerPC?

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I'm using iMac PowerPC G5 1.8 GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, and 10.5.4 Leopard OS.

I want to run Ubuntu on my iMac. Please can anyone tell me which version will run in my system?

powerpc

4 Answers

  1. See: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/13.04/release/ and all the options that have powerpc in the name.

    Desktop:

    Server:

    Optional:

    And if you want to be even more adventurous:

    Just make sure you pick a download that has "powerpc" in it. All of those will work on your system so it is basically your choice in what you desktop you want (or even no desktop).

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  2. The wiki for PowerPC is here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PowerPCDownloads/ and although Canonical doesn't officially support PowerPC anymore, the community is keeping the ISOs up for PowerPC.

    You can download the current Long Term Support version here: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/12.04/release/ which is the most stable and probably the best for a beginner, as you shouldn't have to worry about bugs as much.

    The current release (not LTS) is 13.10 is here: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/13.10/release/

    Rinzwind's answer has all of the links, just beat me barely.

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  3. I recently tried getting 12.04 running on my iBook G4. The version isn't stable on the G4 architecture.

    I've been trying older versions but haven't had any luck.

    Some of my research indicates that maybe Debian will support PPC better. The install path for Debian is more complicated than Ubuntu though.

    But in general Ubuntu is not the Droid you're looking for if you're a Mac PPC user.

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  4. Notice that Many of the above URL are no longer available as of Feb 2020. Here is my recent experience: my hdw: powerpc G4 5,3 I located (feb 2020) a 12.04 Ubuntu version (net version, i.e. 'mini' iso) for ppc, loaded it, burned a DVD, booted with 'C' key hold and it eventually worked.

    I selected the 'expert' install, next selected Lubuntu as desktop. Initially the wifi didn't work. I simply used this excellent reference to identify my wifi card and load the right driver: Wifi configuration

    Of course many web tools are outdated (don't expect to use Youtube by example) but, as a 'rescueomputer' it's nice. I previously tried mint 16.04 but I didn't succeed to make it working. Of course many web tools are outdated (don't expect to use Youtube by example) but, as a 'rescueomputer' it's nice.

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