*Daaang!* Yep, this is how Mac users know their computer is alive every time they start it. It’s reassuring. And so very … annoying! You want to turn it off but there is no button! So is there a way? Yes, two actually.

Method one

This is by far the simplest method. You start MacOS and turn the volume down to zero and reboot. Now your Mac should be nice and quiet. Then you can install MorphOS. The boot sound will not return.

Method two

But how about if you got no MacOS installed, or have already installed MorphOS over it? Now things get a little trickier. You can either reinstall MacOS if you can and use method one. Or you can use a PPC version of Linux and change settings there.

The obvious choice is Ubuntu, or one of it’s derivatives. This is because Ubuntu has the best set of drivers. However, not all versions will work with every PPC Mac out there for some reason (firmware issues I suspect). Ubuntu 12.04 LTS works with my G5 but not my Ibook. But after some trial and error I noticed that Lubuntu 14.04 LTS work on every Mac I have. I think it’s because Unity in Ubunty is a graphic memory hog and the poor Ibook simply can’t handle it. Lubuntu is a much better choice for computers with slow or poor hardware.

So download the ISO (it’s free) and burn it. Then insert it into your (loudly booting) Mac. Boot the computer while holding in ALT until you see the boot menu:

Choose the burnt CD/DVD and click on the arrow on the right. Now Lubuntu will boot to a command line interface:

Then write a letter, any letter (like “h” like I did in the picture) and press return. If you don’t, Lubuntu will after a while automatically boot in default mode (even if you are typing) and that might not work. Now, write “live video=ofonly“. I’m not sure what it does, but it usually makes Lubuntu load successfully. If you write “live” or do nothing it will probably fail somewhere.

After a looong booting time (it’s very very long, seriously, so go grab a coffee) Lubuntu will finish loading:

Now click on the button on the far left at the bottom. You will see a menu like on the picture above. Go to System Tools –> XTerm:

There you write “sudo nvsetvol 0“. It will show the original boot sound volume and then the new one: zero. Now go to the same button at the far left at the bottom and reboot the computer. Remove the CD/DVD and boot into a now silent MorphOS instead. Your computer will go *daaang* no more!

Note: If you have the Radeon X800, no Linux distro will work. There seems to be no working driver for that graphic card (which actually means that MorphOS can do something Linux can’t!). So in order to use method two you need to remove that card and switch it to something supported, like the Radeon 9600. Then it will work.