Linux on Intel Mac-Mini

[clm1919]

Firstly - thanks to all the people here who have given me such encouraging support since i got here.

Feel free to move this post or tell me which area I should re-post.

The TL;DR is:

I have a MacMini (2006/CoreDuo/A1176) and am in the process of backing it up because the HDA tests with errors.

Searching the puppy forums I saw a few posts about intel macs but nothing seemed conclusive so I thought I'd share:

- i found a x386 Debian netboot *.iso that BOOTS the machine here: https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/cu ... 86/iso-cd/
it's the one with debian-mac in the title.

So if you've got an old intel based mac laying about, you might want to check it out.

I didn't complete the install, but it got to the partitioning part - (want to get the relative's data off before the HDA dies) and will have to excavate_the_closet/acquire an appropriate replacement.

This might be my next project - First Debian...then...puppy?

[bigpup]

How much RAM (memory) does it have?

CPU is no issue for a lot of Puppy versions, but the amount of RAM could be.

[clm1919]

How much RAM (memory) does it have?

My parents gave me the machine early 2023 - I bought a 2x2 gig kit for it but the machine only sees 2gb - and the HDA reported errors - so it went back on the shelf for 18 months.

Now that I'm motivated (again) to try to do something with it I'm trying to find the very old tutorials for upgrading the firmware from version 1,1 to 2,1 (or maybe it was 1,2).

It's reminiscent of the old 16 to 32 bit days - when some macs weren't "32 bit clean". I'm sure the board is capable of 64 bit - the CPU can be upgraded to a core 2 duo (64 bit) cpu. Lots of info on that. Not sure i want to go there right now unless it is required to get more than 2 gigs of ram recognized. I'm hoping the firmware upgrade will at least allow 3+ gigs to be use-able.

Havent found a "donor drive" yet in my excavations of the "closet of spare parts" - so the project is kind of stalled atm. plus i am still trying to back up data the hard way (the mac wont do any of the backup/recovery-things that macs are supposed to be able to do....)

it was destined for the scrap yard - but you know how it is - 5 years later my family might ask "hey, I forgot we had cousin frank's wedding pics on there - can you get them?"

Is there a way to leave the debian installer and get to a terminal? - heh, better yet...a puppy boot-DVD that works on i386 macs?

[Chris_tian]

Hi there,
Ah, your post made me laugh! I've also got an old MacMini gathering dust, and I was just thinking about giving it a new lease on life. Thanks for the link Debian, I'll give it a try this weekend, if I can find a moment between two naps.
On the other hand, I tested this Merge Email thing for backups, and frankly, it's not bad at all. Since my disk is starting to act up too, it might just save the day. Have you had any problems with your HDA? I'm afraid mine's going to give out on me before I've saved everything. If you've got any tips or advice, I'd love to hear from you.
Keep us posted on the progress of your installation, it might save me a few headaches. What exactly is Puppy? Another OS or something? I'm curious to see what it can do.
Good luck with your MacMini and don't hesitate to share your successes (and crashes, we've all been there).

[BologneChe]

@clm1919

Personally, I use EasyOS installed over USB on an iMac late 2013 and it works very well!

[bigpup]

a puppy boot-DVD that works on i386 macs?

Only way to know is try one.

I am thinking Tahrpup 6,0.5 which is the 32bit version, would be a good place to start.
http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/pu ... _noPAE.iso

This is th noPAE version, but you do not have more than 4GB of memory, so do not need the PAE version.

With no working internal drive.

Make sure to leave the CD/DVD open, when you burn the iso image to it.
This should allow saving to the CD/DVD.

After you get it booting with a save.

Use the Quickpet program (icon on desktop) to get the updates of bug fixes and improvements.
Quickpet ->Info ->Tahrpup updates

Tahrpup 6.0.5 topic
viewtopic.php?t=175

The posts in it have some good info about using Tahrpup 6.0.5

[clm1919]

Sadly the MacMini went belly up - I might try to salvage the optical drive and I apologize to any who showed interest, but this project is on indefinite hold.

[BologneChe]

Sadly the MacMini went belly up - I might try to salvage the optical drive but I apologize to any who showed interest, but this project is on indefinite hold.

If you have a USB port, try your luck with this one