Re: Newbie, I'm checking some things out
On Fri, Feb 08, 2002 at 06:48:44AM -0800, Lee Dunbar wrote:
> I have a PMac 7500/100, currently running MacOS 8.1.
> *Someday* it will run Potato.
> With your help.
>
> I can't quite figure out how to boot the PMac.
> Well, what I really mean is I can't boot it with Debian stuff, because
> I can boot it other ways.
>
> Details: This PMac is base 32 meg system. PPC601 processor 100 MHz,
> I'm not overclocking the CPU, it has the original 1 gig SCSI2 HDD, and
> I believe it has the original 4x Apple CDROM.
>
> PMac boots Apples Network Access floppy disk.
> PMac boots MacOS 8.1 from internal HDD.
> PMac can boot via some CDs:
> MacOS 8.1 boots via CD,
> Suse live trial boots from CD for Suse version 6.2 only (6.3 won't
> boot).
> Can't boot Debian Potato PPC via CD.
I don't believe you'll be able to boot directly from the CD. It
doesn't work on my OldWorld, even if I hold the C key down.
> MacOS 8.1 is installed on HDD, it can read from potato CD (I can read
> HTML and made a floppy image from CD - read on).
> Assuming CDROM drive is OK, and assuming CD is burned OK.
>
> Possibly a relevant issue: HDD may have been initialized via Lido7, or
> possibly another freeware SCSI formatter (I forgot whether I used
> Apples' formatter... and *may* have used one of the other formatters
> instead). I'm guessing I used Apples formatter though, because I
> *believe* I am running HFS+ (forced by MacOS 8.1), which of all the
> formatters I own, only Apples formatter can create HFS+.
> Yet the HDD drivers shouldn't come into play until after booted.
The linux kernel can't deal with HFS+. BTW, 8.1 does not force HFS+,
it might just suggest it, but all MacOS's thru 9.1 live happily on
HFS. But anyway that shouldn't affect your installation, you'll be
getting your install files from the CD, not the MacOS partition. Just
if you want an exchange partition both systems can use, it'll need to
be HFS.
> Thus: the first problem seems to me to be "Read CD but no boot CD".
> Q1] Macs' CD Boot loader not recognizing Potatos boot stuph?
We're trying to load Linux, not MacOS.
> If I could get the CD to boot, I'd gladly format the HDD with Debian
> tools, so the formatter concerns should not be a big issue afterward;
> though third party formatters do install their own SCSI drivers onto
> the bootsectors.
If you're going to keep MacOS, you should create any MacOS partitions
you want with Drive Setup, and leave one partition for the Debian
installer to chew up later. This is covered in the installation
manual, though the coverage has been improved in the Woody version
(see my .sig for that).
> Ok, so lets move on...
> Then, knowing I could and should make a rescue floppy, well, I did
> that.
>
> Mac won't boot from the rescue floppy. Spits it out, sometimes I see
> an X over the floppy icon, sometimes not. Indicative, if memory serves
> me, of a disk without a viable system in it. Remember, PMac system is
> known to be able to boot from Network Access disk via floppy, so it
> isn't hardware.
>
> Ok, so I burned it again, in light of the odd floppy reliability
> comments (odd: I've never had a floppy which had good media fail to
> record data as mentioned in the comments). But, as I've only used
> about 30 floppy drives in my life, what's the reason for *not* trying
> what Debian suggests? So I reburned.
>
> Reburned floppy is no different.
>
> Argh!
>
> Second rescue floppy I burned has 3 files: System, Finder, and I
> forgot its filename - something my MacOS thinks is a text document.
This is correct. But, if you mounted it in MacOS to look at it,
without its being locked, there's a good chance MacOS wrecked it. It
happens. The remedy is to re-burn it, and lock it. It should never
have to be mounted in MacOS anyhow.
> Second possible issue: I burned the floppy via Apples DiskCopy 6.2
> (6.2? definitely 6.something). Yeah, I was told to use Rawrite.... I
> have no functional DOS installations which can also read the Debian
> CD.... a long process that depends on M$... no M$ software is
> functional on local PCs (far away PCs, yes: WinME... but no CDROM
> drivers, so a WinME floppy still won't read Debian CD... I know, do
> the sneakernet floppy shuffle!!).
Disk Copy should work, using the hfs-boot-floppy from the CD. There's
also a floppy buring Applescript that uses Disk copy at
http://debian-imac.sourceforge.net
(Don't pay attention to the rest of the debian-imac stuff, that's for
NewWorld Macs).
> Anyway, on the rescue floppy, System file is tiny.... as in a few
> hundred Kbytes and when doubleclicked (in MacOS 8.1), it is empty.
The floppy is the way to go, try it again. Or, if you want to try
something different, unpack BootX from the CD's install folder. That
will let you boot the installer from MacOS directly. There are a few
pointers in the Woody install manual.
--
*------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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