A little trick to install Pre05 on PowerPC

["Peter Voigt" <Peter.Voigt1@gmx.net>]

Pre05 does not boot on powerpc. A little workaround helps. 

All you need is a (standard) debian installation-cd.


Workaround
----------

  (tested on mac mini)
 
  First boot the (standard) debian installation-cd (holding the 
  key 'c' on power-on, until the boot starts).

  On the first screen type 'expert video=ofonly', then 'enter'.

  Go on with normal (expert-mode) installation, until you finished 
  "detect and mount cdrom".

  Go to the second console (with Strg-Alt-F2). 

  Type 'umount cdrom', then 'Enter'. 

  Type 'eject', then 'Enter'. 

  Put the debian-cd out.

  Put the pre05 in.

  Go back to the first console (with 'Strg-Alt-F1').

  Repeat the point 'detect an mount cdrom'.

  Continue the installation in the expert-mode. 

Thats all.


Bugreport
---------

The bios of the powerpc cannot see the yaboot-installer. Check, what
the (so called) open firmware sees:

  Put the pre05 in

  Start openfirmware (holding the four keys 'Apple' 'Alt' 'O' 'F' 
  simultanously on power-on and wait, until you see the open firmware
  welcome text)

  Type 'dir cd:\INSTALL\', then 'ENTER'

....
YABOOT.;1 RR NM PX TF
YABOOT.CON;1 RR NM PX TF
....

Compare this with the (standard) debian installation-cd:

  Type 'eject cd', then 'Enter'

  Put the pre05 out

  Put the (standard) debian installation-cd in

  Type 'dir cd:\install\', then 'Enter'

....
194740  11/26/2004  04:20:33  Boot UNIX  yaboot
  2602  06/08/2005  00:12:15  conf UNIX  yaboot.conf
....

It is not possible to manually start yaboot. For example

  Type 'boot cd:\INSTALL\YABOOT.;1', then 'Enter'

and yaboot starts, but will not find it's conffile. 
Yaboots looks for 'yaboot.conf', but there is only 'YABOOT.CON;1'.

On this way you will reach the yaboot-prompt, but you will not
have preconfigured defaults. You cannot boot the kernel. 
If you try

  Type 'cd:0,\INSTALL\POWERPC\VMLINUX', then 'Enter'

you will get the message '.... :not a valid ELF image'. It doesn't 
matter to add the spezification of the initrd.

Hope, it helps you to find the bug. Could be, the parameters for
mkisofs were wrong. 

Yours
Peter Voigt