Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

powermac_g5 [2014/04/07 10:57]
powermac_g5 [2014/04/07 10:57] (current)
Line 1: Line 1:
  
 +==== Open Firmware ====
 +
 +  * [[http://​www.netbsd.org/​ports/​macppc/​faq.html#​ofw-use|Common Commands]]
 +  * [[http://​www.firmworks.com/​QuickRef.html|Open Firmware Quick Reference]]
 +
 +Both desktops have Open Firmware version 4 installed, which I haven'​t seen any docs that support booting BSD from there. ​ They all focus on version 3.
 +
 +However, here's some commands you can use to look around:
 +
 +== List files on CD ==
 +
 +<​code>​
 +dir cd:,\
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Boot from CD ==
 +
 +<​code>​
 +setenv boot-device cd
 +mac-boot
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Boot from USB ==
 +
 +Find the device name:
 +
 +<​code>​
 +dev / ls
 +dev /​pci/​path/​to/​usb ls
 +</​code>​
 +
 +Boot:
 +
 +<​code>​
 +setenv boot-device /​path/​to/​usb/​install
 +mac-boot
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Get OpenFirmware details ==
 +
 +<​code>​
 +dev /openprom
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== List device aliases ==
 +
 +<​code>​
 +devalias
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Get boot details ==
 +
 +<​code>​
 +printenv boot-device
 +</​code>​
 +
 +Set boot device:
 +
 +<​code>​
 +setenv boot-device foo
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Reboot ==
 +
 +<​code>​
 +reset-all
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Shutdown ==
 +
 +<​code>​
 +shut-down
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Display environment variables ==
 +
 +<​code>​
 +printenv
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Disable auto-boot ==
 +
 +<​code>​
 +setenv auto-boot? false
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== words ==
 +
 +Look for ''​boot''​ in this directory so you can know it can boot
 +
 +<​code>​
 +words
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Reset nvram ==
 +
 +Use this to completely reset the nvram back to defaults, and then reboot:
 +
 +<​code>​
 +reset-nvram
 +reset-all
 +</​code>​
 +==== FreeBSD ====
 +
 +  * [[http://​www.freebsd.org/​platforms/​ppc.html|FreeBSD PPC Project]]
 +  * [[http://​people.freebsd.org/​~nwhitehorn/​ppcinstall.txt]]
 +  * [[https://​wiki.freebsd.org/​powerpc]]
 +
 +This is the commands I patched together, but I can't get it working. ​ It will throw a memory error.
 +
 +<​code>​
 +boot cd:,​\BOOT\LOADER cd:0
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Notes ==
 +
 +  * Use ''​dd''​ to copy an ISO straight to a USB stick and boot off that
 +  * Instead of using ''​boot/​loader''​ as a symlink, give the full path to the file ([[http://​lists.freebsd.org/​pipermail/​freebsd-ppc/​2012-May/​005677.html|link]])
 +  * Some G5s boot with half-CPU. ​ FreeBSD ppc64 port is to get it up and running, not optimized. ([[http://​lists.freebsd.org/​pipermail/​freebsd-ppc/​2012-May/​005677.html|link]])
 +  * Try ''​boot cd:,​\ppc\bootinfo.txt''​ with 9.0 ([[http://​lists.freebsd.org/​pipermail/​freebsd-ppc/​2012-January/​005358.html|link]])
 +  * Alternate install sources ([[http://​people.freebsd.org/​~nwhitehorn/​FreeBSD-9.0-CURRENT-powerpc64-20110707/​|link]],​ [[http://​forums.freebsd.org/​showthread.php?​t=29543|context]])
 +  * FreeBSD 9.1 powerpc64 will boot into FreeBSD'​s Open Firmware bootloader, but it dies right after that, saying it can't locate '​kernel'​
 +
 +FreeBSD-9.0-CURRENT-powerpc64-20110707.nwhitehorn CD
 +
 +Attempt #1: boot cd:,​\ppc\loader cd:0
 +- boots kernel, yay!
 +- has errors reading CD
 +- eventually gets to mounting CD and continues from there (I wonder if OpenBSD was having CD issues and that's why it choked)
 +
 +
 +FreeBSD-9.0-CURRENT-powerpc64-20110707.nwhitehorn USB
 +==== NetBSD ====
 +
 +  * [[ftp://​ftp.netbsd.org/​pub/​NetBSD/​NetBSD-6.0.1/​macppc/​INSTALL.html|NetBSD Install Documentation]]
 +    * [[ftp://​ftp.netbsd.org/​pub/​NetBSD/​NetBSD-6.0.1/​macppc/​INSTALL.html#​Getting to Open Firmware 3|Getting to Open Firmware 3]]
 +    * [[ftp://​ftp.netbsd.org/​pub/​NetBSD/​NetBSD-6.0.1/​macppc/​INSTALL.html#​Open Firmware boot syntax|Open Firmware boot syntax]]
 +    * [[ftp://​ftp.netbsd.org/​pub/​NetBSD/​NetBSD-6.0.1/​macppc/​INSTALL.html#​Examples of Open Firmware boot commands|Examples of Open Firmware boot commands]]
 +    * [[ftp://​ftp.netbsd.org/​pub/​NetBSD/​NetBSD-6.0.1/​macppc/​INSTALL.html#​Finalizing Open Firmware settings|Finalizing Open Firmware settings]]
 +  * [[http://​www.netbsd.org/​ports/​macppc/​faq.html|NetBSD macppc FAQ]]
 +    * [[http://​www.netbsd.org/​ports/​macppc/​faq.html#​ofw-use|What can I do at the Open Firmware prompt?]]
 +    * [[http://​www.netbsd.org/​ports/​macppc/​faq.html#​common-of-probs|Common Open Firmware Booting Problems]]
 +
 +== Notes ==
 +
 +  * "G5 models are supported as a 32-bit port in bridge mode only." ([[ftp://​ftp.netbsd.org/​pub/​NetBSD/​NetBSD-6.0.1/​macppc/​INSTALL.html#​Supported models|context]])
 +  * Unsupported:​ "​On-board SATA controller on G5 systems (these machines must be netbooted)"​ ([[ftp://​ftp.netbsd.org/​pub/​NetBSD/​NetBSD-6.0.1/​macppc/​INSTALL.html#​Unsupported devices|context]])
 +  * I can view the CD just fine from Open Firmware on the "​donated"​ G5, but I can't find the actual kernel anywhere (NetBSD 6.0.1). ​ The docs say to use ''​netbsd.macppc''​ after owlboot. ​ The owlboot file is there, but not the kernel with that name.  The installation docs cover general install stuff, not specific ones for this release.
 +
 +==== OpenBSD ====
 +
 +
 +  * [[http://​openbsd.org/​macppc.html|OpenBSD/​macppc]]
 +  * [[ftp://​ftp.openbsd.org/​pub/​OpenBSD/​5.2/​macppc/​INSTALL.macppc|OpenBSD macppc Installation]]
 +  * [[http://​mirrors.nycbug.org/​pub/​OpenBSD/​5.2/​macppc/​|macppc downloads]]
 +
 +
 +Same as FreeBSD, haven'​t had success booting.
 +
 +<​code>​
 +boot cd:,​\ofwboot /​5.2/​macppc/​bsd.rd
 +</​code>​
 +
 +== Notes ==
 +
 +  * Maybe try a 5.3 snapshot?
 +  * "​Support for the 64-bit G5 (running in 32-bit mode) was added in OpenBSD 3.9."
 +  * Booting OpenBSD 5.2 on the "​donated"​ G5 works, up until a point. ​ It hangs on loading or accessing the drives. :(
 +  * OpenBSD does *not* support PowerPC 11,2 (donated) tech
 +  * You can boot from CD holding down '​c'​ while booting. ​
 +==== Gentoo Linux ====
 +
 +Boot from the PPC 2008.0 CD.  It works great. ​ Use the ''​G5''​ kernel and these boot options:
 +
 +<​code>​
 +G5 doscsi docache sleep=10
 +</​code>​
 +
 +The kernel has a special default make option:
 +
 +<​code>​
 +make g5_defconfig
 +</​code>​
 +
 +Getting a working kernel was difficult on here.  Use gentoo-sources-3.7.10. ​ I've posted the kernel config [[http://​beandog.digitaltrike.com/​gentoo/​configs/​ppc64-3.7.10-gentoo.config|here]].
 +
 +There were a couple of problems to start with: the server would hang on a reboot with SMP setup. ​ The filesystem was sometimes slow / unresponsive. ​ This kernel config, with some extra debugging checks turned on, seems to have fixed them.  It runs fine and stable now.
 +
 +== Monit ==
 +
 +I can get Monit (5.5 or 5.5.1) to run just fine, but it won't let me run ''​status''​ or ''​summary''​ for some reason.
 +
 +== Hardware ==
 +
 +Some hardware specs:
 +
 +  * sata_svw