# Can iMac hardware run Linux?



## mattimpact (May 23, 2002)

This might be a stupid question, but when it comes to Linux I am pretty stupid. 

Can I install a version of Linux on a partition on my new iMac? If so, any version? 

Thanks for any help that anyone might have for me. I have an old pentium 3 machine that I know will run Linux, but I was hoping to get everything consolidated on one machine.


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## nkuvu (May 23, 2002)

I don't know if you can get Linux to run on an iMac, but I do know that not every version will run on it (if any run at all).

The potential problem is that the versions of Linux such as RedHat and Debian were designed for an x86 processor, not a PowerPC processor.  So you'd have to get a copy of Linux specifically designed for PowerPC, such as YellowDog (IIRC).


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## mattimpact (May 23, 2002)

Thanks for the advice. I have been speaking with other colleagues about this issue since I posted the above message, and it is looking like I am just going to dust off my old pentium machine for Linux development and testing.


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## apb3 (May 23, 2002)

Wait a minute. Are you sure about this?

I know I have a Linux book at home that came with a CD containing Linux for PPC. Never installed it on a Mac but I know that it was Mac compatible.


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## dricci (May 23, 2002)

Check out Mandrake, they have a PPC build. Yellow Dog is a PPC only company though, so they know a lot more about getting Linux working on Macs than anyone else.


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## nkuvu (May 23, 2002)

> _Originally posted by apb3 _
> *Wait a minute. Are you sure about this?
> 
> I know I have a Linux book at home that came with a CD containing Linux for PPC. Never installed it on a Mac but I know that it was Mac compatible. *


Speaking to me, yes?

Linux for PPC is Linux for PowerPC -- so exactly what I was saying.  I couldn't find any architecture other than x86 that RedHat supports, but I did find out that Debian supports both m68k and PowerPC processors.  Learn something new every day.  

But Linux has to be ported to the other processors, of that I am sure.  The version of Linux for x86 will not run on a PowerPC.

From http://www.debian.org/ports:


> The Linux kernel has now been ported to a large, and growing, list of architectures. Following close behind, we have ported the Debian distribution to these architectures. In general, this is a process with a sticky start (as we get libc and the dynamic linker working smoothly), and then a relatively routine, if lengthy job, of attempting to recompile all our packages under the new architectures.



So am I sure?  Yes and no.


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## mattimpact (May 23, 2002)

Thanks for replying to my initial post so quickly!!!! 

I am definitely going to investigate Mandrake and Yellowdog.  I am interested in running Redhat, so if I go that route, I will have to use my old pentium machine. Hopefully the PPC versions of Linux will have everything I need.

This isn't related directly to the above disussion, but I will say it anyway. Apple users are the most friendly and helpful people out there. I use forums such as this one for all of my troubleshooting needs, and the Apple-related forums are always the most helpful. I maintain an old WIndows NT machine for my company, and whenever I need help with it, I find myself posting questions on 2 or 3 message boards and not getting any replies at all. 

Thanks guys!


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## nkuvu (May 23, 2002)

Some boards are better than others.  Post something to MacSlash, for example, and watch your message burn in the flames....

Oh, sorry, did I sound a little irritated there?


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## derek23 (May 23, 2002)

Yes, absolutely it will run on an iMac. On a newer one, it will scream.  

Go with Debian PPC, especially if you're a newbie.


Derek


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## buc99 (May 23, 2002)

You most certainly can. You can do it a couple of ways. Try out the many PPC Linux distros that everyone is talking about. You ought to be able to download one for free very easily. Or you can by Virtual PC and run a x86 Linux on your box. But why waste the money when you get the same from the PPC distros.

Actually why? bother at all with linux. Nothing in the Linux world is nearly as pretty as Aqua. You can run just about all the same apps in OSX if they have been ported. Some don't even need porting.

Anyways. Hope that answers for ya.
SA


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## symphonix (May 24, 2002)

> I couldn't find any architecture other than x86 that RedHat supports.



Well, there's S/390, but I doubt you've got one of those sitting on your desk.  

It is well worth getting into Linux if you want to investigate the system and learn to develop software for yourself. The Debian and Mandrake builds are probably very good, however YellowDog has some nifty trickery that lets it run Classic (OS 9) in a virtual machine, which may or may not be of use to you.

Of course, if you really need something from an x86 distribution, you could run Linux in a Virtual Machine. There is an Open Source project, Bochs, on Apple's macosx downloads page, which ships with a very basic version of Linux but which could be adapted to run almost any x86 distribution. Virtual PC is a commercial option and is really well put together.


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## Brewster (May 24, 2002)

I had Yellow Dog Linux running on my mac for a while before OS X and it worked great. Very smooth, and both gnome and kde are cool.


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