04-21-2010, 01:03 PM

Hello all

I have a little problem that i need some advice on if you'd be so kind;

So... i tried to install Ubuntu (don't ask me why) onto my G5 dual core 2.5 Ghz PowerPC and after the instalation not working as i had hoped (it worked fine on my netbook btw) i switched off the mac using a hard-shutdown from the power button as the whole system became completely unresponsive.
I then tried to reboot and found that on my reboot rather than booting into the user screen as per usual i got the dreaded "circle with a cross through it" ø. After fiddling about with a **** of alot of boot options i managed to get into the open firmware (option,o,f) terminal style screen up. from this screen it would seem that on my internal hard drive that pretty much all of my files are still on the hard drive.
As i couldn't open them from the open firmware i was then told by a friend that i could run disk utility from the install cd provided with mac os x and i managed to find my internal hard drive using disk utility.
It seems as though during the ubuntu install i've deleted all partitions on the hard drive and therefore on the "partition" section under "current" it has no partitions set up and i have the option to set one up. It also gives me various different formating options; Mac os x Extended, Mac os x Extended (journalled), Mac os x Extended (Case sensitive journalled), Mac os x Extended (Case sensitive), unix file system and free space. i think it was originally on Mac os x Extended (journaled) but I'm not certain.

Before i hit that re-partition button do u think that this is the right thing to do and if so which formatting option should i use? Presuming that the re-partitioning goes well, will i then have to re-install os x?

Also will i loose all the data on the hard drive? Although i have the vast majority backed up there are still a few odd files that i wouldn't mind keeping if at all possible and obviously i didn't think to back up those hundreds of apps i've acquired over the years... (you live and learn)

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated

many, many, many thanks in advance

An embarrassed Dc
Power Mac G5 dual-core at 2.5 GHz (OS X 10.4.11)
Internal Hard drive: Serial ATA Maxtor 6B250S0

04-21-2010, 01:16 PM

For starters Ubuntu is meant for X86 based machines..not PowerPC..so that's the crux of your Linux issues..

As to the rest..since the partitions have been removed..re-portioning the drive would mean that you lose your data..

I'd wait for a few more Mac experts to respond before doing anything..good that you have a backup..

Regards

04-21-2010, 01:16 PM

The more you do to the drive the harder you are making it to retrieve any files from it. If you want to retrieve any files at this point, you'll need to invest the $100 that most of the recovery software goes for or send it out to the specialists at a cost of $1200-$2000 or more with no guarantees.

Re-partitioning the drive will make it harder to retrieve any info, formatting will make it even harder and re-installing OS X may well make retrieving anything next to impossible for any except a specialist as you'll now be overwriting some of what you want to retrieve.

Sorry, I've never had to use any of this type recovery software, so I couldn't recommend one over another.

And yes, at this point you will have to re-install OS X.

04-21-2010, 02:45 PM

i did look at buying and burning a file recovery dvd but it seemed like an expensive option for something that was going to be in all probabilities a bit hit and miss.
Somebody on another site suggested that i might try using the disk as an external hd using "Target disk mode" and transferring the files that way so that's probably what i'll try and do first when i can find some1 else with a mac that would be willing to lend me there mac to back up onto.

Many thanks for your rapid and accurate responses

all the best

DC

04-21-2010, 02:49 PM

Ps: Raz0rEdge. Do you have a good alternative to ubuntu as a free linux edition that would gel well with my Mac? (I was using the PowerPC Version of Ubuntu Karmic Koala BTW)

04-21-2010, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by 1984dc

Ps: Raz0rEdge. Do you have a good alternative to ubuntu as a free linux edition that would gel well with my Mac? (I was using the PowerPC Version of Ubuntu Karmic Koala BTW)

The PPC version of Ubuntu is probably the best to use of all Linux distros that will work. So stick with that. Your problem is more related to procedure than anything else. But, don't feel bad... many folks run into the same difficulty with installing Linux on the Mac.

Next time, download and use the free rEFIt. It'll make life a lot easier.

Regards.

04-24-2010, 11:00 AM

will rEFIt definitely work on the PowerPC architecture? it seems to be for EFI-based machines like the Intel Macs and has no specifications on the website nor minimum system requirements.

Many Thanks
DC

04-25-2010, 12:29 PM

To be honest i think i'm gonna wait until i can afford a third external HD and format that to linux, this whole thing has put me off installing another operating system onto the Macintosh HD.

Regards

04-30-2010, 06:13 PM

In the end i managed to get a bootable version of os x running off a pen drive

How to Make a Bootable USB Drive OS X | eHow.co.uk

then i used the open firmware to boot into it

Boot PowerPC Macs via USB 2.0 drives - Mac OS X Hints

Then i used photorec to recover my data (sadly testdisk did not work)

PhotoRec - CGSecurity

I still sifting through the data as we speak!

Thank you all for your replys

DC