Gentoo Archives: gentoo-ppc-user

From: Mark Knecht <markknecht@×××××.com>
To: gentoo-ppc-user@l.g.o
Subject: Re: [gentoo-ppc-user] Re: New install - Unable to get my ppc Mac Mini to boot the root partition
Date: Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:44:08
Message-Id: AANLkTimuMmizy7KJaAgspMma79nqixtsxHqHhjuFVaSH@mail.gmail.com
In Reply to: Re: [gentoo-ppc-user] Re: New install - Unable to get my ppc Mac Mini to boot the root partition by Mark Knecht
1 On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 3:48 PM, Mark Knecht <markknecht@×××××.com> wrote:
2 > On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 2:42 PM, Enlightened User <linux@×××××.com> wrote:
3 >> http://www.debian.org/ports/powerpc/inst/yaboot-howto/ch9.en.html
4 >> Sections 9.2 and 9.3 show how to boot to the yaboot 'boot:' prompt and start
5 >> the kernel with parameters.
6 >> Hope that helps you get started.
7 >> If you do change the yaboot.conf file don't forget to run ybin to update the
8 >> boot partition. I would suggest increasing delay and timeout values (section
9 >> 6.6 of the previous web document) so the default image is not automatically
10 >> loaded so quickly. You should then be able to enter something like:
11 >> hd:4,/vmlinux root=/dev/sda4 ro
12 >> at the boot: prompt.
13 >> Another thought would be to remove SCSI support from your kernel build,
14 >> unless you have a mac mini with an SCSI interface, you should not need SCSI
15 >> support. That should not require any changes to the yaboot configuration you
16 >> are currently using.
17 >> Barry
18 >>
19 >
20 > Thanks for the info.
21 >
22 > OK - as a test I'm going a very different direction. As there is a
23 > prebuilt Ubuntu PowerPC version I've just written a CD and it boots
24 > fine. I'm right now in the process of letting it blow away my
25 > non-functional Gentoo install and install Ubuntu. If that boots then I
26 > can see what they did and redo Gentoo later with that knowledge.
27 >
28 > As for using Gentoo on this box I'm not sure it's really worth it any
29 > more. My main machines now are all x86_64 - as is probably true for
30 > most people - but fast ones - an i5-661, i7-920 and an i7-980x where I
31 > run 5 copies of Windows 7 at the same time in different VMWare jails.
32 > I found I wasn't updating this old Mac Mini because it was too slow
33 > and took too much of what I call 'Gentoo effort'. If I can find a
34 > prepackaged version of MythTV for this machine then likely I'd be
35 > better off just to run Ubuntu. I don't really need performance for a
36 > MythTV backend server.
37 >
38 > Anyway, I'll report back more when I know more.
39 >
40 > Thanks!
41 >
42 > Cheers,
43 > Mark
44 >
45
46 So the Ubuntu install came up running. Boots fine, logs in OK. Dosn't
47 look like they ackage the MythTV backend for PowerPC so I need to
48 figure out how they did it and then get Gentoo working again.
49
50 HEre is yaboot.conf and fstab.
51
52 mark@MacMini:~$ cat /etc/yaboot.conf
53 ## yaboot.conf generated by the Ubuntu installer
54 ##
55 ## run: "man yaboot.conf" for details. Do not make changes until you have!!
56 ## see also: /usr/share/doc/yaboot/examples for example configurations.
57 ##
58 ## For a dual-boot menu, add one or more of:
59 ## bsd=/dev/hdaX, macos=/dev/hdaY, macosx=/dev/hdaZ
60
61 boot=/dev/hda2
62 device=/pci@f4000000/ata-6@d/disk@0:
63 partition=3
64 root=/dev/hda3
65 timeout=50
66 install=/usr/lib/yaboot/yaboot
67 magicboot=/usr/lib/yaboot/ofboot
68 enablecdboot
69
70 image=/boot/vmlinux
71 label=Linux
72 read-only
73 initrd=/boot/initrd.img
74 append="quiet splash"
75
76 image=/boot/vmlinux.old
77 label=old
78 read-only
79 initrd=/boot/initrd.img.old
80 append="quiet splash"
81 mark@MacMini:~$
82
83 # /etc/fstab: static file system information.
84 #
85 # Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier
86 # for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
87 # devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
88 #
89 # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
90 proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
91 /dev/hda3 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
92 /dev/hda4 none swap sw 0 0
93 mark@MacMini:~$
94
95
96 So, whatever was wrong with my Gentoo install it wasn't apparently hda vs sda...
97
98 Ubuntu sure seems weird. No root password? Everything done through
99 sudo? Strange... I'm sure I just don't understand after so many years
100 running Gentoo.
101
102 - Mark