Bug#251825: Sven Luther: Re: Installing sarge PPC kernel with d-i fails with initrd warning
[Due to a typo in the cc list on my older mail, this reply from Sven
didn't make it into the bugs database. Forwarding. --John]
Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 14:50:05 +0200
To: John Gilmore <gnu@toad.com>
Cc: Sven Luther <sven.luther@wanadoo.fr>, 251825@debian.org, jensen@debian.org,
luther@debian.org
Subject: Re: Installing sarge PPC kernel with d-i fails with initrd warning
Message-ID: <20040531125003.GA12224@pegasos>
References: <[🔎] 200405310745.i4V7j48U015832@new.toad.com> <20040531095335.GA5316@pegasos> <200405311053.i4VArX8U002284@new.toad.com>
In-Reply-To: <200405311053.i4VArX8U002284@new.toad.com>
From: Sven Luther <sven.luther@wanadoo.fr>
On Mon, May 31, 2004 at 03:53:33AM -0700, John Gilmore wrote:
> > > I booted the install CD in expert mode, and was able to progress
> > > through the installation until picking a kernel. I picked the
> > > kernel-image-2.6.6-powerpc (I also tried 2.4.25-powerpc-small-pmac and
> > > got the same result). It failed to install, producing these error
> >
> > Well, the correct 2.4 kernel for your hardware would be
> > 2.4.25-powerpc-pmac. I assume that you have a new world pmac (that is,
> > more recent than the blue&white G3), altough you don4t give any info
> > about this.
>
> The latest PowerPC Sarge CD doesn't include a 2.4.25-powerpc-pmac kernel
> image. (I've heard that a few weeks ago it was in exile on CD #9.)
> The closest this CD came was powerpc-small-pmac.
Well, then you either need to get it from the net, or you need CD #9.
the powerpc-small kernel is mostly only used for creating old world
miboot debian-installer floppies, and there is no reason it should be on
CD #1. That said, there has been no official sarge floppies for beta4,
which is a real shame. I would be interested myself with a powerpc DVD
set for it, but i hear that testing is currently too broken to create
such CD/DVD sets.
Now, go to the debian-installer site, download the beta4 powerpc
netinst, and do the install from there, it should contain everything you
would need.
> I'm installing on a brand new PowerBook G4 12". It's not the faster
> one that Apple just shipped; it's the one we got slightly cheaper
> right after they announced new ones :-).
A, the nvidia one.
> Is there a web page somewhere (or perhaps even something in the
> installation manual!) that says which kernels go with which pieces
> of PowerPC hardware?
Nope, but debian-installer should know about it. Get yourself the beta4
netinst iso, and you should be able to do a full base install from it,
and also to configure the network and pull the rest of the stuff from
there.
> > > ...and no documentation anywhere visible, about which of the dozen+
> > > kernels is even for which hardware!
> >
> > It should be automatically selected, don't know what happened. Did you
> > start in expert mode or something ?
>
> Yes. When I start in non-expert mode, it won't let me bring up a
> network connection (even if I have the ethernet plugged in). In an
This is a more worthy bug report. Did you already fill that bug report.
Notice that on my ibook G3 800, which i should get again tomorrow, i had
no such problems.
> earlier attempt at installing, I was able to install the right kernel
> by getting it over the net.
>
> And when I start in non-expert mode, on this hardware the automatic
> picker picks kernel-image-2.4.25-powerpc-smp-prep. Even if this was
> the right kernel (I doubt it is, it's a uniprocessor), that kernel
> install script dies with "Internal Error: (=D) is not a directory!",
> as reported tonight in bug#248067.
Bah. probably a base-installer bug then, i don't know what happens, my
ibook having been dead for over a month, i haven't done pmac installs
since then. But then again, please use the beta4, it should be working
better, i think.
> Somehow, the Sarge CD starts up with the right kernel (or with a
Where did you get that sarge CD from ?
> kernel that works for everybody). If only the installer could just
> copy that damn CD kernel onto the hard drive, we'd be done. The user
> is going to throw that one away and install a BenH kernel if he's been
And that would be stupid, since this kernel _IS_ a benh kernel, but then
the user will probably be reading a whole lot of outdated HOWTOs.
> googling even a little bit, so all he needs is ANY bootable kernel.
> Besides, I hear that there are even more interesting problems awaiting me
> once my machine is able to boot -- like, no X11 support and such.
Well, again, please use current information. 4.3.0 should have no
problem on your hardware, but then everyone buying nvidia graphics
deserves what he gets, and i have not followed on that all that much, so
i may be wrong.
> Thank you for your help.
No problem,
Friendly,
Sven Luther
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