Original message from Alberto Mi, 2015-10-18 11:27:
> Thanks a lot again, yes I haver sereval Macs and PCs, so I could download
> the firmware without a problem, and also I have a Boot CD for installing
> Debian that works.
>
>
> powermi [at] gmail [dot] com
Okay, so this is step by step what you could do:
1) Download the firmware.
I'm guessing here 256 MB VRAM:
https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/index.php?architecture=NVIDIA&manufacturer=&model=6200&interface=AGP&memType=&memSize=256
IMPORTANT: be sure to get the correct one! Choose your manufacturer (if
available) and your VRAM size correctly! If the vendor is not available,
choose any (XFX, ASUS, whatever).
2) Rename the firmware file to geforce_6200.fw or any other name of your
liking. Copy it to the USB pen drive. Make sure the pen drive is a
format readable by the Debian installer, e.g. FAT32, ext2, ext4. (I
doubt that HFS/HFS+ will work!)
3) Boot your Mac with the Debian installer CD. When presented with the
installation process, press Alt+F1 (or Alt+F2). Depending on your
installation method this may also be Ctrl+Alt+F#(number of console).
This will switch into a virtual text console.
Please read https://wiki.debian.org/Console.
4) Mount your root partition on the HDD.
Type (without quotes): "parted /dev/sda print" or "mac-fdisk -l
/dev/sda" to show all partitions on the first HDD.
Now mount the Debian root partition. If, for example, Debian was
installed to /dev/sda8: "mount /dev/sda8 /target". (If /target does not
exist, create the directory with "mkdir /target".)
5) Connect your USB pen drive and mount it.
Type "lsusb" or "dmesg | tail" after connecting the pen drive. This
should tell you which device it is.
Now mount it. Assuming the pen drive is /dev/sdb, and the FAT partition
on it /dev/sdb1: "mkdir /pendrive; mount /dev/sdb1 /pendrive"
6) Copy the firmware:
type "cp /pendrive/geforce_6200.fw /target/lib/firmware/"
7_1) add this line to (/target)/etc/modprobe.d/<choosename>.conf (*with*
the included quotes!):
options nouveau config="NvBIOS=geforce_6200.fw"
If you type this, everything is done for you (without quotes): "echo
options nouveau config=\"NvBIOS=geforce_6200.fw\" >
/target/etc/modprobe.d/nouveau.conf"
7_2) ALTERNATIVE: More complicated than adding the line to your
modprobe.conf, but can (must!) be set for individual kernels. Edit
yaboot.conf:
type "cd /target/etc"
type "nano yaboot.conf"
add a line "append=" with the desired kernel command line under the
respective kernel (starting with "image=")
Write "append = nouveau.config=NvBios=geforce_6200.fw" (without quotes).
This should help you:
https://www.debian.org/ports/powerpc/inst/yaboot-howto/ch6.en.html
See an example here: http://linuxwiki.de/Debian/InstallationPPC/yaboot
After that you have to run "ybin". For this to work you have to chroot
into /target. Follow this guide:
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianInstaller/FAQ#Q:_Can_I_use_d-i_as_a_rescue_system.3F_What_pitfalls_are_there.3F
I cannot find a good step-by-step howto for chrooting right now, but it
is basically like for all other installation based chroots. Like here:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Install_from_existing_Linux
Basically, you need to bind /proc, /sys and /dev to your /target
directory, otherwise ybin will not work.
This *might* work (no quotes, type all behind the "# " as is):
# mount -t proc none /target/proc
# mount -t sysfs none /target/sys
# mount -o bind /dev /target/dev
# mount -o bind /dev/pts /target/dev/pts
# chroot /target /bin/bash
# ybin -v
# exit
8) Reboot.
After you've done everything (with either 7_1 or 7_2) you can type
"reboot" in the virtual terminal to reboot your Mac.
Then report back what happend.
I suggest you try the 7_1 option first, as it is easier. You can then
add a yaboot kernel configuration later if you want, and if the modprobe
options works, you can even do this after booting from your HDD without
the need to using chroot (like described in 7_2).
Good luck and report back!
Andreas.