Post 1733703 by mike@social.chinwag.org
 (DIR) More posts by mike@social.chinwag.org
 (DIR) Post #1673161 by blkmkt@mastodon.art
       2018-12-03T04:57:45Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Folks, I've recently come into the possession of an old iMac -- I want to install some flavor of Linux on it, but booting from a flash drive doesn't seem to work. I also am unable to log in to this machine. Any tips?
       
 (DIR) Post #1673168 by mike@social.chinwag.org
       2018-12-03T05:18:26Z
       
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       @blkmkt it'd help to pull the model number etc from "About this Mac" - no way you can get into what's on there at all?That style of Mac came in both Intel and PowerPC variants. If it's PPC your options are going to be a lot more limited (but far from zero).
       
 (DIR) Post #1731685 by blkmkt@mastodon.art
       2018-12-05T03:17:38Z
       
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       @mike My boss forgot the password to this thing and otherwise the machine is completely featureless aside from the ports... I haven't a clue whether this is a Power PC mac or an intel one!
       
 (DIR) Post #1731892 by mike@social.chinwag.org
       2018-12-05T03:29:34Z
       
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       @blkmkt if you look on the bottom of the stand, lay it screen-down on a desk, there should be a label on it with the type, model number, serial number etc.
       
 (DIR) Post #1732054 by blkmkt@mastodon.art
       2018-12-05T03:40:08Z
       
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       @mike Lovely! Thank you! Seems like the serial number is rubbed out, but the model number, A1145 is visible! Is this thing too old to pop Linux on?
       
 (DIR) Post #1732145 by mike@social.chinwag.org
       2018-12-05T03:46:19Z
       
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       @blkmkt nothing's too old to pop Linux on, but your experience might be a bit less than optimal, depending what you want to do with it. That's definitely a PowerPC based iMac, and not many distributions still treat that platform as supported. Last time I messed with PPC stuff (about a year ago) Debian seemed to be the best option for a desktop, but their docs are a bit neglected.If you just want to get back into what's there, try this: http://osxdaily.com/2011/04/25/change-admin-password-mac/
       
 (DIR) Post #1733588 by blkmkt@mastodon.art
       2018-12-05T05:44:47Z
       
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       @mike Thanks for all your help! This was a good starting point, and though it didnt work at first, it gave me the clues I needed to find the information relevant to this particular machine. I was able to reset the password, now I'm investigating preparing a usb to get the install ready to go!
       
 (DIR) Post #1733703 by mike@social.chinwag.org
       2018-12-05T05:53:13Z
       
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       @blkmkt awesome! Have fun!