Re: Booting into Linux on OldWorld Mac
On Thu, Dec 13, 2001 at 10:44:07AM -0500, Michael Dartt wrote:
> The saga continues....
>
> Machine: Performa 6400/180, Open Firmware version 2.0
>
> I've got the Debian base distribution installed. After getting my hands on
> Boot Variables, reading all the docs I could find, coming up with variations on
> what the docs said (since the values given didn't work), and trying about 20
> different combinations, I've managed to get to an Open Firmware prompt!
>
> Here's the wall I'm running into: OF keeps telling me "CLAIM failed" when I try
> entering "BOOT". "Linux" gets "linux, unknown word". Right before the prompt,
> the OF screen says:
>
> boot ata/ATA-Disk@0:5/boot/vmlinux-2.2.19-pmac root=/dev/hda5
> can't OPEN
>
> The string after "boot" is what I have in the "boot-file" field of Boot
> Variables. My boot-device is "ata/ATA-Disk@0:0". /target/etc/quik.conf
> says "image=/boot/vmlinux-2.2.19-pmac" and "root=/dev/hda5". (hda4 is swap;
> the first three partitions are the Apple partition map and the ATA drivers.)
>
> I've tried a variety of variations on the boot-file entry: deleting the "root"
> statement, changing the boot-command from "boot" to "Linux", and
> adding "/target" to the beginning of the paths. I've been doing it
> incrementally, only changing one thing at a time.
>
> Sorry for being so windy, but it's been two weeks and I'm so close! :) Does
> anyone have any ideas?
Not sure if I have any other ideas, but I can tell which stuff you're
trying won't work.
The boot command must start with boot. OpenFirmware doesn't understand
Linux. In the docs, when I mention trying to type Linux, it's at the
boot: prompt, which is what quik will give you if you ever get it
booted from OF.
/target also oesn't belong anywhere in this equation, that's only
valid in the installer environment.
boot-file and boot-device, in your case, should be
setenv boot-device ata/ATA-Disk@0:5
setenv boot-file /boot/vmlinux-2.2.19-pmac root=/dev/hda5
If you just type boot in OF, then it adds on boot-device and boot-file
and tries to boot that combination. That's what is failing for you.
What worked for me was typing in different possibilities directly into
OF until I found the one that booted quik. Then after figuring out
which one works, set the boot-device and boot-file accordingly.
Also, try to do it in two stages. OpenFirmware really doesn't care
about boot-file, it just passes it on to quik. So, if you can get a
quik prompt using just boot-device, then you can experiment at that
point with boot-file.
Here are some boot commands I'd try typing in directly:
0 > boot ata/ATA-Disk@0:5
0 > boot ata/ATA-Disk@0:0
If those don't work, type devalias to get a list of device
aliases. Pick some of those and substitute it for the ata/ATA-Disk@0
part above. (Always add a : and partition number). Try them leaving
off the @0 part too. If none of these work, try
0 > dev / ls
That will show you an entire tree of devices on your system, you put
together an entire path from the indented pieces. Add :0 or :5 onto
some of the paths you figure out.
If you get quik booting, then first try
boot: Linux
at the boot prompt. If that doesn't work, (it should) then try
entering the path to the kernel, for example the boot-file you have
above.
If none of those work, you're probably stuck with BootX. See
instructions on that, at least for booting the installer, in this list
the last few days.
--
*------v--------- Installing Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 --------v------*
| <http://www.debian.org/releases/woody/installmanual> |
| debian-imac (potato): <http://debian-imac.sourceforge.net> |
| Chris Tillman tillman@azstarnet.com |
| May the Source be with you |
*----------------------------------------------------------------*
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