Click to expand.AFAIK an external Firewire hard disk will work. But I don't know which name OF (the ROM, 'Open Firmware') uses for Firewire drives. What you need to do is install some bootable version of Mac OS on the Firewire drive, use the usual control panel to tell your Mac to boot from it, then reboot into OF (see documentation refered to above) and do a printenv boot-device to get the name for the Firewire drive. Then proceed to install GNU/Linux on the Firewire drive, erasing the Mac OS installation you set up just before. To boot the Linux kernel you have to install a boot loader (Yaboot) and point OF to it either using the graphical boot manager (see documentation) or manually (see documentation). Click to expand.There is.

• Possible Help For Mac Computer

If you press the alt key when you hear the boot chime of your Mac OF will display the graphical user interface for the boot manager. It will display an icon for each correctly installed system (only one for a dual-boot OS X/9 setup on one partition though) and a button for starting the selected system. I believe this GUI will also scan Firewire drives for installed systems, but I do not know. Here's what you shoud do: Connect your Firewire drive, install Mac OS 9 on it (if your machine can boot OS 9, some can't). Make your Mac boot this OS 9 installations (I assume you know how to do that, if you don't, ask). Reboot and press apple-alt-o-f (the Apple key and the alt key and the letter 'O' and the letter 'F', both lower case) and tell it to 'printenv boot-device'.

Write down the string it gives you. It should look something like 'mac-io/ata-4@1f000/@0:13,:tbxi ' except different letters and numbers, probably something sounding like 'fw' in it somewhere.

Then install GNU/Linux on the Firewire drive and follow the instructions of the installer. But do read the documentation first! Clavier design touch filaire pour mac wired design touch. If you don't understand it, you WILL have trouble installing GNU/Linux on the external drive. Feel free to email me me at if you have any (further) questions. AFAIK an external Firewire hard disk will work.

But I don't know which name OF (the ROM, 'Open Firmware') uses for Firewire drives. What you need to do is install some bootable version of Mac OS on the Firewire drive, use the usual control panel to tell your Mac to boot from it, then reboot into OF (see documentation refered to above) and do a printenv boot-device to get the name for the Firewire drive. Then proceed to install GNU/Linux on the Firewire drive, erasing the Mac OS installation you set up just before. To boot the Linux kernel you have to install a boot loader (Yaboot) and point OF to it either using the graphical boot manager (see documentation) or manually (see documentation). If you press the alt key when you hear the boot chime of your Mac OF will display the graphical user interface for the boot manager.

It will display an icon for each correctly installed system (only one for a dual-boot OS X/9 setup on one partition though) and a button for starting the selected system. I believe this GUI will also scan Firewire drives for installed systems, but I do not know. Here's what you shoud do: Connect your Firewire drive, install Mac OS 9 on it (if your machine can boot OS 9, some can't). Make your Mac boot this OS 9 installations (I assume you know how to do that, if you don't, ask). Reboot and press apple-alt-o-f (the Apple key and the alt key and the letter 'O' and the letter 'F', both lower case) and tell it to 'printenv boot-device'. Write down the string it gives you. It should look something like 'mac-io/ata-4@1f000/@0:13,:tbxi ' except different letters and numbers, probably something sounding like 'fw' in it somewhere.

Then install GNU/Linux on the Firewire drive and follow the instructions of the installer. But do read the documentation first! If you don't understand it, you WILL have trouble installing GNU/Linux on the external drive.

Feel free to email me me at if you have any (further) questions. Click to expand.Many thanks indeed for your detailed answer, Andrew. It sounds as though I may well need to have my hand held with this one; if so I will certainly take up your kind offer. I've decided to wait until Mandrake 10 Official version becomes available at the end of this month (at present only the Community edition is available to Mandrake Club non-members, and I plan to make it work before I join!) Meanwhile, I think I have plenty of reading to do. I also need to obtain a firewire external HDD to put the Linux onto, so it may well be a week or two before I take this further. Does anyone here have any recommendations as to the most suitable firewire 800 HDD and enclosure to go for, please?

Possible Help For Mac Computer

(I'll also ask this in csm.hardware.misc) As mentioned above, I'm using a PowerBook G4 17'.