Re: booting the install on the H50
On Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:10:09 +0200, dtutty@porchlight.ca wrote:
>On Mon, Jul 17, 2006 at 12:34:21PM +0300, AlexB wrote:
>> On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 19:20:09 +0200, dtutty@porchlight.ca wrote:
>> >In reading the Installation manual for both 3.0 and 3.1 it says that
>> >"Currently, the only PowerPC subarchitectures that support CD-ROM
>> >booting are PReP and New World PowerMacs." Elsewhere it says that "for
>> >CHRP, floppy support is currently broken".
>> >
>> >
>> First, try to read relevant Debian bug info about booting on IBM CHRP machines:
>>
>> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=322745
>>
>> It has almost all information needed to get Debian 3.1 'stable' image to boot.
>> Please note that 'testing' or 'unstable' Debian CDs do not have this problem!
>>
>> I have seen a better instruction somewhere (the one I followed to make a boot CD
>> for my 7025-F50) but cannot find it right now. I will try to reproduce the
>> instruction on how to do it. First, mount your boot CD (or CD image using mount
>> -o loop debian-stable.iso /mnt). Then, create a /tmp/deb directory. Then:
>> cp -a /mnt/* /tmp/deb; cp /mnt/.* /tmp/deb
>>
>> The latter cp command copies .diskinfo file, so installer will recognize disk
>> later on.
>>
>> then:
>>
>> mkdir /tmp/deb/etc
>> cp /tmp/deb/install/yaboot.con* /tmp/deb/etc/yaboot.conf
>>
>> this will copy yaboot.conf file to the place where yaboot expects it (/etc on
>> the CD, not /install)
>>
>> then:
>> vi /tmp/deb/etc/yaboot.conf
>>
>> then:
>> mkdir /tmp/deb/ppc
>>
>> and save file, attached to this message as /tmp/deb/ppc/bootinfo.txt
>> this file is needed by IBM Open Firmware to find yaboot boot loader
>> automagically.
>>
>> now, change all occurences of cd: to cdrom: , as IBM open firmware had cdrom:
>> alias by default for CD drive. Save the file.
>>
>> then, create new ISO image with -l option (so long file names will be allowed):
>> mkisofs -r -J -l -o debian-new.iso /tmp/deb
>
>Thanks. I've used Debian for 5 years but never needed to even consider
>bugs untill Debian-Installer. I've never been able to get it to work on
>my old low-memory machines; always use 3.0 boot-floppies. Apparently
>not an option for the H50.
RS6000 machines can boot off floppy (at least instructions exists if you google
through), but I never tried that myself.
>
>I'll check out the bugs section.
>
>Since this is to prove to the vendor that debian will boot, not
>necessarily to install it, could the existing disk not be booted via the
>OF command line? The ofboot.b file just runs the command:
>
> boot cd:,\install\yaboot
>
>Since we know that we want to run /install/powerpc/vmlinux, couldn't
>this be booted directly with:
>
> boot cd (or whatever the devalias is):,\install\powerpc\vmlinux
> ?
I have tried that first, before I did a modified CD, it worked up to the point
where linux kernel was not able to mount root. At least, kernel did load.
>
>By itself, would this not just boot the kernel (which would panic
>without the initrd, but at least boot to that point)?
>
>Is it possible, or is this why yaboot is used, to issue kernel command
>lines on the OF command line? How do you handle OF's inability to
>handle / and space?
>
>My 3.1r2 net-inst cd doesn't have a .diskinfo file. It has a .disk
>directory with base_components, base_installable, info, and
>udeb_include.
True, my mistake. It is a directory with some files in it. It's just since the
name begins with a dot, I have ommitted it when creating modified boot CD and
Debian installer did not recognize CD later on after kernel start.
>
>To summarize the two issues with the current disk:
>
> OF uses cdrom not cd devalias
>
> yaboot needs yaboot.conf in /etc not /install
yes, you are completely right. I can only add that for OF to start yaboot
automatically, you have to have this \ppc\bootinfo.txt file on your CD, too.
>
>Is this correct?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Doug.
After all, you can ask vendor (if it's possible) to download 'unstable' netboot
CD version of Debian, burn it and start it straight away - it worked for me.
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