Thursday, October 18, 2012

Lubuntu 12.10 final is here


I will be sure to note any install differences compared to 12.04 and update the Lubuntu install guide as needed.  At this point I don't recommend anyone replace a healthy daily use 12.04 install quite yet.  Anyone with a spare system or drive would be wise to use that first.  Although this is a final keep in mind that the PowerPC builds are community supported rather than officially so fixes take a bit longer.  At this stage 12.10 is still for those that like being part of finding and reporting bugs.  The more that do this the faster it will be tip top.

Links:

Desktop image
690.7 MB

Alternate install image  (Debian installer)
667.2 MB

Please report any findings here whether they be good or bad and send all bug reports if promoted to help the developers know what needs to be fixed.  The more we all know the better everything will be. 

Happy 12.10ing!


Linux newbie?  Don't want the bleeding edge?

For those that are tackling Linux for the first time and those that just want as smooth an experience as possible I recommend using 12.04 for now.  Learn something reliable first while the kinks in this early 12.10 PowerPC build get worked out.  12.04.1 (after updates) has almost all the issues worked out and will give you a much smoother experience at this point.  It was released in April this year so it certainly isn't outdated.  It's fully supported and there are frequent updates.  Firefox 16.01 also.

You can download the 12.04 ISO here and you can also refer to my Lubuntu install guide for help in getting everything installed and setup.


Update

Thanks to Keith in comments I was reminded of the simple frame buffer solution for Radeon GPU.  I have confirmed this to work for both updating a 12.04 install to 12.10 and also doing a fresh install of 12.10.

To boot the desktop image and install with Radeon GPU do the following.

Boot the 12.10 ISO and at the yaboot screen type:

'live video=radeonfb:1024x768-32@60'

Change the 1024x768 to your screens default res if it is not that.  32 refers to the colour depth and 60 refers to the screen refresh rate.  For best results confirm what all these are for the display in question.

To confirm your GPU if you're unsure type: 'lspci | grep -i vga'

For people with Nvidia GPU the process is much more in depth.  Please refer to the info at this link.  You will need the Alt. install image rather than the desktop.

I am toying with an updated 12.10 install now.  Everything seems good overall.  The only issue so far was the LXPanel crashed once but relaunched right away.  The GUI is altered a bit and made a little prettier for those that like that sort of stuff.  Here is a screen of it running on my 400 MHz Sawtooth.
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9 comments:

  1. The iso boots fine but the video is very messed up. The installer window is the border only. The window contents are the wallpaper. Any ideas?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I'm finding the same. The 'live video=ofonly' kernel argument doesn't work either. What graphics card are you using? Mine is a Radeon 9000.

      Delete

  2. I will look into this today or tomorrow. I have had a surge in work load so I have not even gotten around to installing it myself yet. Just after I made this post I had to go fix a cluster emergency that took me until 2:30 AM.

    If I can recreate this issue I will work out a solution. It would be hard to do an alt install from a desktop iso. There is always the typing blind option when 'live video=ofonly' doesn't work. You just need a feel for when to do it.

    The good thing about trying this early is that when people like you guys report issues then other people can figure out solutions. Some issues are so specific that if never reported they could never be fixed. I always report any finding to the developers.

    ReplyDelete

  3. I've had the same issues with Radeon 9000 Pro, Radeon 9700 Pro and 9800 Pro (flashed PC cards) and the built-in Radeon card (9450?) in the iB00k G4 12" 1.33 mHz model.

    I tried all of these cards in a 500 mHz Sawtooth, Dual 500 mHz Gigabit Ethernet, Dual 1.25 gHz FW800 MDD and the iBook.

    I also tried the nVidia MX-2 card in the Gigabit. It wouldn't complete the booting process at all. Tried the Live video=ofonly with the nVidia card and it ended up in a terminal display. I'm not a Unix guy, so that was as far as I could go with it.

    Incidently, all of these video cards and machines work very well running 12.04. I'm typing this on the Gigabit Ethernet with the nVidia card right now.

    Also, I really enjoy reading this blog. I have found the information presented here very helpful and valuable.

    Keith

    ReplyDelete

  4. Today I tried the alternate installer on the ibook G4. The installation went without incident and the installer indicated a successful installation, however the laptop only booted to the black screen with the pointer. No desktop appeared. The pointer had a small square of rainbow color around it, and it could be moved about the screen with the trackpad, but that was it.

    ReplyDelete

  5. I was able the recreate the messed up GUI and border only install window. I then tried the alt image (debian installer) which installed fine but after boot there is only the arrow like the comment above.

    I tried both images on my Stormtrooper (Radeon 7000 PCI) and testing Sawtooth (Radeon 9000 AGP).

    As I mention in the main post this is for those that like to try the bleeding edge. Over the next 2-3 days I will work on solutions on these towers and GPU's.

    I will keep posting my findings so keep checking back.

    ReplyDelete

  6. The following procedure solved all of my 12.10 problems. I did this on a Dual 500 mHz Gigabit Ethernet with Radeon 9000 Pro video card.

    At the boot prompt for the live cd, type in the following:

    live video=radeonfb:1024x768-32@60

    (then hit the return)

    After verifying it worked, I substituted 1920x1080 for the 1024x768 because that's what my monitor is best set at. It worked fine and also solved the empty installation box as well as the distorted video display.

    I haven't done the complete installation because I need to get to work, but I expect it will proceed normally. I'm writing this while running off the live cd. Also, this was not my original idea. I found this on one of the "known issues" pages, but I can't find it right now and I have to run.

    I hope this helps.

    Keith

    ReplyDelete

  7. Here's the link to the fix I referred to in my earlier comment.

    https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Lubuntu/Documentation/FAQ/PPC

    I also got this to work on my iBook G4. The combo drive is broken so I'm running the live CD off a usb flash drive. It is running very well and fast--faster than Leopard on this machine.

    Keith

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  8. Hi! I am „Flagellius” (the old Java don't let me to type a nickname on title-row)
    I wasn' able to boot on my GigabitEthernet Dual 500MHz none Linux distro. The „alt-boot” lets me to select the Linux CD/DVD, but after clicking on it, seems to start up, but the monitor's refresh recalls the previous scree, but now with inactive boot-choosing icons.
    Help me, please, I need Linux on my PPC a lot.

    ReplyDelete

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