Mac Noob with FS/XFree86 question

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naib

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I hate the guy that just registers and starts a thread without even an introduction..

But I need your help, and you probably don't want to be bothered by it anyway.

<--Mac noob. I've had a G5 for almost a year.

  • I'm doing some housecleaning and I want to do a clean re-install of Tiger.

Problem: I don't remember picking a filesystem when I 1st installed it[10.4].

Anyway, I do have some interest in running X-Windows apps on my Mac. Do I need to use the Unix filesystem in order to do so?

And if so, can I just designate a UNIX partition so I can tinker around? I used to be a novice Xfree86 user and would like that option available.

Should I make my primary partition Mac OS Extended and save a little room for UNIX or vice versa? If the only thing the UNIX fs affects is OS9 apps, I'm not terribly bothered by it(though I'd like to retain the option).

Sorry so longwinded. Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.
Looks like a well established site and hopefully a great resource. :mac:
 
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You should install Tiger using Mac OS X Extended. Then install X11 to run the Unix apps.

You can partition from the Install Disk using Utilites>Disk Utility.

It depends on what you want to do, but I'd recommend having Mac OS X Extended being the majority of your HD.

Welcome to the Forums.
 
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naib

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Thanks for the welcome and the quick reply!

I guess I'll just leave myself 10-15% UNIX just in case.:miner:

With that kinda response time, you guys are gonna get sick of my questions. J/K

Thanks again Surfwax.

Edit:
I've got everything backed up and I'm goin' in.
Wish me luck.
 
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No problem!

You'll find that everyone here is very helpful, as long as you search first! A lot of the times you'll find an answer before you need to post the question.

Good luck.
 
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naib

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surfwax95 said:
No problem!

You'll find that everyone here is very helpful, as long as you search first! A lot of the times you'll find an answer before you need to post the question.

Good luck.
Roger that!

You're sig says it all.

Normaly that would be my 1st move, but I confess I did not in this case. I'm pretty excited about the clean install.

Also let me warn you in advance, I mess up too/to pretty often. But I fully appreciate the diff between MAC/Mac. =)
 
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I don't see any advantage, creating an extra Unix partition. Since OS X is based on Unix why not make a just a single partition and install X11 instead.
 
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novicew said:
I don't see any advantage, creating an extra Unix partition. Since OS X is based on Unix why not make a just a single partition and install X11 instead.
Well, I survived the re-install.

I knew OS X was based on UNIX, but I thought I needed a dedicated UNIX partition to run X-Windows stuff. I installed X11 and did the whole thing Mac OS Extended. If I don't need a UNIX partition I'm a happy camper.

BTW, I can't believe how fast I got back up and running. Got all my updates as well. Just a few apps/media to reinstall and I'm done.

Thanks for the input all.

edit:
novicew: If I have X11 installed, can I run Debian without a Unix partition? I miss apt-get and BlackBox. =)
 
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No. I don't think it is possible to install Debian without allocating space for the file system. However you can install KDE, GNOME and some other desktop environments via Fink. You can also install apt-get and hundreds of other opensource packages too.

Gentoo community once tried to port their packages to OS X but it didn't attract a bigger fanbase. If I remember correct, the project is called Gentoo for Mac OS X.

Here is a nice read.
 

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