6100 and 2.2

[l.biagiotti]

on 10-08-2002 07:30, Dylan Hand at thinkdif@optonline.net wrote:

> Hey, I JUST got a 6100 and was wondering if I could run Linux on it. Is
> there any way you can send me like a summary of the steps you had to
> take to get this done? and will it only work with 2.2 or will it also
> work with 2.3?
> 
> Thanks so much, and Congrats!!! :)
> 
> Dylan

Of course I can, but first of all consider these few things:

1) This worked for me, I have absolutely no way to guarantee you'll get the
same results
2) The explanations I can give you are just "empirical" as I have no real
knowledge about Linux.
3) Make sure that you have at least a 4gigs disk, 40mb of ram and a
supported cd-rom reader (if you haven't changed the original cd drive that
came with your machine it'll be fine).
I know that there are people installing Linux on a 1,2gb hd but I would not
be able to explain how they do it ...
4) YDL 2.2 so far works like a charm. I tried v. 2.3 but the installer
wouldn't start. This does not mean it won't work, just that it didn't for
me:-).

this said:

Install Mac Os 9.1 and use Drive Setup in order to format your hd. Then make
3 partitions. On my 4gb drive I have
-One Hfs+ partition for the Mac Os (1.4gb)
-One ext2 partition for Linux (1.4gb)
-One "swap" partition (128mb).
This step is quite easy as drive setup lets you do the trick by selecting
the partition and its format.

After that reboot from the 9.1 cd and install Mac Os (select a custom
install and skip all the useless things like Text to speech, custom
languages, and so on. In a word try to install a barebones Mac Os containing
Open Transport, PPP, OpenGl and the other few things that are necessary in
order to be able to boot and get connected to the Internet (you'll need
it!).

Then go online and get yourself:

-MkLinuxbooter 
(ftp://nubus-pmac.sourceforge.net/pub/nubus-pmac/Apple_MkLinux_Booter.sit.hq
x)
-A kernel with YDL installer. I presently use Etsushi Kato's
MachKernel-YDL2.2-2.4.6pre3, which was suggested to me by Thomas Carlson in
this list.
(ftp://ppc.linux.or.jp/pub/users/ekato/nubus-pmac/YDL2.2/)
-YDL 2.2 install cd (or whatever).

I got a lot of useful infos from this list and many many tips at
www.infernosoft.com/beowoof/installingLinux.html. In there you'll find a
sort of "step by step" tutorial that guides you through the installation of
YDL on a 6100. The site isn't updated so some infos are quite old but, if
you use it (as I did) as a "blueprint" and do your own thinking, you'll
hopefully get at the same point in which I actualy find myself.

After installing MkLinuxBooter and it's extension, control panel and
preferences (the installer contains a complete readme), you'll want to
configure the "lilo.conf file:
uncomment the line that reads "rootdev=/dev/ram"
and the one that reads "mach_options= ramdisk=16384", save the file and
reboot (obviously make sure that the MachKernel is residing inside your
Extensions folder before proceeding).

If everything is fine you should get a "dual boot" screen that allows you to
boot under Linux or under Mac Os.

Choose Linux, you should find yourself in front of the YDL graphical
installer at the end of a screenfull of text. Follow the onscreen
instructions and, when prompted to do so insert the YDL cd in the drive and
keep going. There you can follow the instructions you'll find at the
infernosoft site. 

When you're done reboot under Mac os and change (again) lilo.conf by
commenting "rootdev=/dev/ram" and "mach_options=ramdisk=16384 and
uncommenting and editing "rootdev=/dev/hda7 (or whatever the install
bootloader will have told you to take note of during the installation).
You'll also have to uncomment and edit the line that reads "mach_options=
video=ariel2fb:" (this line originally bears other options, you'll have to
modify so that it reads exactly what I hereby wrote).

Reboot.

Boot Linux, you should see YDL 2.2 open it's command line session in front
of you.

Edit /etc/fstab and append the following line: "/dev/scd0/mnt/cdrom iso9660
noauto, ro 0 0" and save the modification so that your cd drive can mount
cd's under YDL.

If you want to install Kde or Gnome you'll have to type:

rpm -q apt (enter) to check if apt is installed. If no go ahead and type:

rpm -ivh /mnt/cdrom/YellowDog/ppc/apt-0.3.19cnc55-1b.ppc.rpm (provided
you've got the YDL 2.2 install cd).

This will install Apt which is an invaluable tool that allows you to install
any rpm file without having to fumble through its dependencies.

if everything went well you'll just have to type:

cd /mnt/cdrom/YellowDog/ppc and when the prompt shows that you are inside
the cd's "ppc" folder type:

apt-get update

when update has finished doing its stuff go ahead with:

apt-get install (kde/Gnome) and let it go.

Once it's over reboot and when you are at the prompt again just type
"startx" and you should see Kde/Gnome's GUI pop up. If you get
display-related errors try typing "Xconfigurator", you'll get a graphical
installer which allows you to select your display type and brand, resolution
and so on. After that try "startx" again and you should be done.

Well, that'a about where I'm at presently. I hope that the above will work
for you, again, consider what I wrote as the summary of more than one month
of really hard work from a guy who is learning Linux from scratch. So my
writings could contain a thousand errors, misinterpretations and such;
furthermore keep in mind that I didn't dig all that stuff by myself, most of
which comes from listmember's suggestions, from the Infernosoft site and
from many many other things I've read around the net. In brief I  could as
well have been mixing so many things together in the wrong way that I ended
up obtaining a mess which works for unknown reasons. The same "alchemy"
could very well not get you the same results.

I let this list's experienced members judge what I wrote and, in case,
correct my mistakes.

Good luck!

Lorenzo