If you can apt upgrade, but the wget failed, you typed something wrong. Be sure you are typing exactly as it is written.

theos911:

Thanks for those words of encouragement . . . I ran it at least five times, with multiple checks to see whether it was typed correctly; I'm almost 99% sure that is not the issue . . . . It's very bizarre, that I can apt upgrade, but I could not get the video-nv package or this xorg . . . I think the other one was "wget" as well . . . so maybe there is an issue with "wget." Anyway, I'm doing this for the public learning experience, but haven't gotten any feedback on what the /var/log data might mean . . . . Perhaps in a day or so I'll try to re-install, but still not sure if the G4 mini iso should be the newest or whether it should be one of the older . . . it didn't seem to make much difference to SKi's eMac installation . . . . .

e.e.p.

To be entirely honest, I don't know the state of your system. Things aren't acting right, like apt having net access, but wget not. I'll try and help after you re-install, but it is hard to fix a broken system when you don't know what is broken.

Ubuntu user here trying to help out in peace....

Isn't the command you want:

apt-get install xorg-xserver-video-nv

Not "apt" as in page 1 of this long thread. Also in Ubuntu the package is called xserver-xorg-video-nv. So is that wrong too?

You may also like to look at the Ubuntu PowerPC FAQ: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PowerPCFAQ

This has a long section on how to configure graphics and what error messages mean.

Actually not quite true. I haven't had real success with any wheezy build since the 11/31/11 version. I've been trying others, and the 12/31/11 seemed to install yesterday, but now the computer only starts if there is no CD in the drive and no drives plugged into the USB ports. Once it does start (it goes through 4 minutes of error messages before the green login screen suddenly pops up) I have no keyboard or mouse. Starting in single mode (or with a rescue disc) I was able to download the nv driver, and copy a working xorg.conf (works in Xubuntu Lucid on another partition), but that is as far as I am right now.

The MintPPC install won't even start with any post 1/1/12 mini.iso, netinst.iso or businesscard.iso I've tried, and I've tried a dozen or so.

BTW, I was able to install using wired e-net, wireless stops working partway through. But wireless w/ WEP worked just fine in single mode to use wget and aptitude.

The Debian maintainers have removed the 11/31/11 mini.iso, and I don't have a copy, so don't have a working MintPPC 11 right now. If you still have the one that worked, use it.

Thanks for the replies folks:

@theos911: "hard to fix a broken system when we don't know what's broken," . . . indeed it is, JD did ask for me to run a couple diagnostic commands and I posted back with what I could discern would be the "broken parts" . . . so far no comments on any of those details on the /var/log. At this point I'm more or less figuring that a re-install will be the next step, perhaps after trying some of "ojordan's" options; but as I'm saying to SKi, so far we haven't established that the mini.iso's are not part of the problem??? based upon his numerous problems with his install, many of which I also experienced with my second re-install attempt. It indeed would be "good to know what is broken" before going for the 3rd re-install, no?

@ojordan: Thanks for these comments, I don't know enough to know whether it should have been "apt-get" or not, but I can easily try it out later tonight, the same with trying "xserver-xorg" . . . I may have tried "apt-get" when I ran the command a number of times, now I can't remember. In the past dealing with getting 9.2 set up I was instructed to follow exactly what was posted and not deter from that, so I try to follow exactly . . . . But. I'll try to look at the Ubuntu wiki when I get a free moment to learn what I'm doing.

@SKi: Hopefully you got what I was saying, that it didn't seem that any of the mini.iso's was exactly working for you; and the question is why, is it only for desktop units that these problems show up??; so that any re-installation process I would try might also go exactly as my second one and or your numerous attempts . . . so, not wanting to spin my wheels re-installing back into the same problems. But it seems like you are saying the 11/31/11 mini.iso is the best choice, but I think I got one from 12/11/11???? so the only choice I would have now is to get the most recent and keep trying . . . .

Anyway, it's all good clean fun, the OSX side is still useable so I haven't lost the use of the computer, but, it still is a bit murky on what is "broken" or where the installation problems are coming from, etc. For my iMac I don't need wireless so that problem doesn't matter to me, I just need to get my "X" back . . . "fatal server error: No screen." Thanks to all for your thoughts . . . .

e.e.p.

Folks:

I'm finally reaching the "acceptance" phase of this story . . . accepting that indeed the install is "broken" and is not salvageable; it seemed so close but it appears that the kernel is degrading over time spent away from its "X" . . . it's always the missing X factor that tells the story. Tried to log into a TTY terminal last night, it took 3 reboots and two shutdowns to get into a Linux 1 shell . . . then I tried to run a few commands based upon what "ojordan" had posted here to try to get the xorg file "mv'd" . . . . Every command brought back an "err" failure . . . so as I said, previously I could run "sudo apt update/upgrade" and the system would do that, such that it installed as kernel 2.6, but yesterday it was showing 3.1.1 or something--but as of last the night the Terminal was "running" the commands and providing feedback on my mistakes, etc . . . but it wasn't able to actually do anything for itself . . . the system appears to be melting down without its X to hold up the corners . . . . I was hoping that we could pull this install from the 85% to full 100% but it looks like that is not to be . . . this is indeed a failed state . . . the kernel is falling apart, probably from within . . . total digital devastation . . . has been achieved . . . . Sayonara . . . my friend, "11" on the iMac, this one does not "go to 11."

e.e.p.

Este.el.paz I wanted to help you after I read this quote from you:



It seems you have a very low regard for other distros. This is a pity, because I don't recognise what you wrote and I wanted to reverse your opinion. I myself spend many hours every week (sometimes every day) helping people new to linux. I do this via replying to messages, but also now mainly through the huge effort of writing documentation. The information is there for people to solve their own problems. I still think this is the case for yourself. If people need any extra help because they don't understand something then I am more than happy to help them, but they have to try to read the documentation first. Otherwise they never learn or progress. More than likely I will adapt the documentation in response to their comments to make the wording better.

So why have I written the above? Well you are never going to get any help from theos911, linuxopjemac or others with the waffle you wrote. Things like this:



make it impossible to diagnose your problem. If that is the kind of thing you write on other forums then it is no wonder you don't receive a reply. You have to remember that people who answer you on forums are all volunteers. They (with the exception of linuxopjemac) don't get donations of money or computers so are under no obligation to reply to you.

So here is one last go at solving your problem:

If I were you I would delete or rename your existing xorg.conf. This will do it:

sudo mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak

Then reboot and at the second yaboot prompt start linux with

Linux nouveau.modeset=0

Hopefully, this will boot into your desktop, but you will have rubbish colours.

Now if you need single user mode - I'm going to quote the FAQ



So for single user mode I would advise you to type

Linux nouveau.modeset=0 1

If you haven't tried this already then you haven't read the documentation I linked for you.

If that doesn't work then MintPPC 11 is screwed at the moment. Ubuntu/Xubuntu/Lubuntu 10.04-11.10 works fine on your exact machine.

His install did not complete. If it doesn't work it could be simply due to something in the last 15% of the packages that were supposed to install, but didn't.

Both distros work fine... when the install completes.

It could be.......but it is not.