LiveCD: Gentoo 1.4 Final - 1 Ghz Titanium PowerBook G4 15.2

GCmdr · n00b Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Posts: 19

I'm trying to get the Gentoo 1.4 Final LiveCD to run on my PowerBook and need some help.

I've downloaded both the "livecd-g4-grp-1.4-cd1.iso" and "livecd-g4-grp-1.4-cd2.iso" CD images.

I can boot into the first CD just fine and log into the root account as well but them I don't know what to do after that. Yes, I'm new to this!

I'd like to find out how to configure my Airport card (I have WEP Security turned on) and how to configure Xwindows and launch KDE & Gnome. What are the correct commands to use for doing this?

My goal is to have a look around the LiveCD and decide whether I should install it permanetly on the HD. I've already allocated some room on the HD just in case I decide to do so but that is for the future.

Help would be appreciated. Thanks!

GCmdr · n00b Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Posts: 19

Ok, here is what I've figured out so far. I've managed to get my wireless network connection working (I think?) by learning about the iwconfig command. Here is what I used from the command prompt:

iwconfig eth1 essid wirelessnetworknamegoeshere encryption 00001111000011110000111100

I have not been able to prove it's working yet because I don't know how! Does anybody know if there is a way to specify a channel for the wireless conection with iwcofing? Do I need to specify one? I know that Mac OS X doesn't require that I type this in, it just picks up the connection automatically.

Now all I need to do is boot up into KDE or GNOME, launch a browser, and find out if the connection is working. How do I configure XWindows? From reading around the FAQ, PPC Installation instructions, various other topics in the forum, etc, I know I have to configure XWindows before starting KDE or GNOME. Help would be appreciated.

I know that when I had the Gentoo 1.4rc7 LiveCDs for KDE and GNOME, all I had to type at the prompt was Xeasyconf to configure XWindows but when I type this into the promt using the 1.4 Final LiveCD it says:

-bash: Xeasyconf: command not found

Anybody know why? Did the command move to another directory?

Remember: I'm trying to run the LiveCD first before deciding whether I should install (which by the way, seams like a lengthy process for a newbie like me).

Lycander · Guru Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 468

Xeasyconf is on the second CD as a binary package. You're better off finishing a regular installation then move on to XFree and Gnome/KDE.

Read the install guide, it's there to help you get to from where you are right now (a command prompt) to a basic Gentoo install.

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gentoo-ppc-install.xml

There's also instuctions there on how to actually use GRP.
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GCmdr · n00b Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Posts: 19

I'm thinking of installing Gentoo anyway (at least giving the installation process a shot) because I had gotten a brief spin around the block with the Gentoo 1.4rc7 KDE CD several months back and I liked what I saw.

However, What is the point of a LiveCD if it will not work for booting into the OS without a full installation?

I'd like to do my best to try and make the LiveCD work. Do you have any pointers as to what to do with the various configurations I have to setup before I launch either KDE or GNOME?

Oh, and by the way, I re-read the section about setting up a wireless network from the PPC Installation Instructions and it turns out that my ealier setup for the Airport card is not working. I don't see any UP and/or RUNNING in the output per these instructions:

Lycander · Guru Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 468

GCmdr · n00b Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Posts: 19

Thanks for your help so far Lycander.

I can now confirm my wireless connection working. I followed you instructions about using the iwconfig eth1... command first and then dhcpcd eth1 command after, it worked flawlessly. I used lynx to access a website and it picked it up just fine.

About the LiveCD: It's too bad the new 1.4 Final CDs will not boot any GUIs. I first became interested in Gentoo because of a slashdot.org article about it's LiveCD features. Too bad, because the 1.4rc7 CDs were a great way to introduce people to Linux (i.e. the KDE or GNOME front ends) on their Macs. Now, the CDs are just for the techies and those inclined to install it on their system.

The 1.4rc7 CDs, both the KDE and the GNOME version, crash upon exiting on my PowerBook so I no longer use them. I don't want to damage the computer by hard shutdowns every time.

Is there any way to load KDE or GNOME from CD2 after booting into CD1 without installing them?

Lycander · Guru Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 468

GCmdr · n00b Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Posts: 19

Why are the LiveCDs called "LiveCDs" if they aren't really live? I mean, Red Hat doesn't call their CDs Live just because they can boot into their install program.

Knoppix is a real "LiveCD" because it can boot into a GUI environment. The 1.4rc7 CDs were real "LiveCDs" too.

Also, I noticed a 1.4rc8 on some servers out there. Was there an update after 1.4rc7? I'd love to run 1.4rc8 if it doesn't crash my PB.

Lycander · Guru Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 468

I think there was a LiveCD after rc7 that had both KDE and Gnome on one disc but I don't think it's the rc8 CD.

No offense, but your mentality that a LiveCD must boot into a GUI desktop is completely wrong. These Gentoo LiveCDs that boot only to a command prompt still qualify as LiveCDs. They have basic and neccessary tools to perform "rescue operations". Some people just want to get to a command prompt and these CDs serve that purpose well.
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* Blessing /dev/hda2 with holy penguin pee

GCmdr · n00b Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Posts: 19

None taken! Still, the The Red Hat 9 CDs come with a "rescue-mode" feature after booting from the CD to do just that and they are not considered LiveCDs.

I guess have thought of LiveCDs as I do of Knoppix until now because of an article in /. about the 1.4rc7 PPC CDs booting into a GUI and being a real alternative to Knoppix.

Is there no room left on GRP CD 1 to include either KDE or GNOME to boot into?

Where do I begin to look for the 1.4rc7+ LiveCD you metioned?

genfoo · Apprentice Joined: 17 Apr 2003 Posts: 192

The RH9 rescue mode is a whole different beast than the Live CD is ..

the RH9 ones give you a largish ramdisk full of stuff that sits in ram (and takes up resources). The Gentoo Live CD's use a tiny little ramdisk, and let you run live (hence the name) from a reconsrtucted filesystem, partitally in ram (like 1-2 megs, for new files you create and edits you make to existing ones), and otherwise the binaries execute live from the cdrom.

So in this cause live is really live .... RH is really , well ... heh. 'nuff said.

Lycander · Guru Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Posts: 468

rc7 LiveCD with either Gnome or KDE:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/gentoo/releases/ppc/1.4_rc7/livecd/
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* Blessing /dev/hda2 with holy penguin pee

GCmdr · n00b Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Posts: 19

Thanks for the info genfoo.

Lycander, I already have this distribution version. The only problem (so far) I have with it is that it crashes upon exit and demands that I hard reset the machine.