Re: Debian for PB3400
At 00:54 -0700 1998-04-18, Turbo 'DanB' wrote:
>I am new to the list, and from reading some of the archived posts, I gather
>that this is a developers list rather than a support list. However, I have
>a few questions that I hope can be answered easily. I am also new to
>PowerPC (have always used i386) so bear with me.
Actually it's a developers list and a support list. It's just that most of
the activity so far has been related to development of the port.
>1. Will the PowerPC version of Debian run on my PB3400c/240, or is it only
>for desktop Macs?
Yes, we will support all PowerPC hardware that Linux does eventually, for
now only hardware that PowerMac/Linux supports (including the PowerBook
3400) is supported by Debian/powerpc.
>2. When are the install disks for the PowerPC version going to be
>available on ftp.debian.org?
Not for a long while. I intend to work on them as soon as possible, but I
have more pressing matters related to the port first.
>3. I have had debian installed on my intel box for about a year or so, and
>know how to install without a hitch...how does the Mac install work? Do I
>install from within the Mac OS?
I intend to eventually create a boot image much like LinuxPPC uses, which
is copied onto a floppy, which can then be booted from.
Initially, you will use the DR2.1 MkLinux installer to install the Debian
base tar file, and run the version of Quik for Mac OS to install the
kernel. Then use the Boot Variables app to change the Open Firmware boot
settings stored in NVRAM. Then, you'll be able to boot from the hard disk.
(note that for a PB 3400 it won't be quite that simple, most notably, Boot
Variables doesn't work on it, so you'd have to use OF's user interface
instead)
>4. Do I need to make a separate partition on my Mac HD (for Debian) before
>installing Debian? If I do, how do I do it? If I don't, why don't I?
Yes, you do. To do this, you can use a normal Mac OS drive formatting
utility to create an "A/UX" partition, or the Mac OS version of pdisk (an
fdisk-style app for Mac partition maps).
>4a. I know how to dual boot with Intel boxes (NT and Linux)...how do I do
>it with my PB3400?
Open Firmware can do this quite easily.
>5. I have heard a little about MkLinux, and explored the site hosted by
>apple (www.mklinux.apple.com or something). Is Debian based on this? (I
>read some posts about using the MkLinux installer or something)
In order to support some hardware (NuBus-based pmacs), we will need
MkLinux, but for most hardware, the "ordinary" Linux kernel will be
preferred.
>6. Anything else I should know?
Some reading material:
A Site of meta-info about PowerMac/Linux:
<http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~tesch/linux_info/>
The official PowerMac/Linux web page:
<http://samba.anu.edu.au/linux-pmac/>
The FAQ-O-Matic:
<http://cobweb.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jonh/faqomatic/faq.pl>
Open Firmware info:
<http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~tesch/linux_info/OFref.html>
--
Joel "Espy" Klecker <mailto:jk@espy.org> <http://web.espy.org/>
Debian GNU/Linux Developer...................<http://www.debian.org/>
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