OpenFirmware - overwrite alias..?

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

Hi, it's me again .

Now with removed DVD drive, how can I install some OS from other DVD? Got one, FireWire connected, works quite good in Leopard (don't remember model, it's probably Panasonic/matshita, because they are best in DVD-RAM processing, I think). The problem is, if I hold OPT at power on, to choose boot drive, not all Linux distro can be booted from FW-DVD. When we look in files, responsible for cd-boot, there are frequently hardcoded path too boot-loader, something like "boot cd:,\install\yaboot conf=cd:,\install\yaboot.conf". But as far as I understand devalias output, cd by default is alias to ide master port (where default DVD drive lives). So booting such way becomes impossible if there are something instead DVD (hard drive ).

The question is, is it possible to make alias for DVD which sits at FW? And how?

 

[alex_free]

Hi, it's me again .

Now with removed DVD drive, how can I install some OS from other DVD? Got one, FireWire connected, works quite good in Leopard (don't remember model, it's probably Panasonic/matshita, because they are best in DVD-RAM processing, I think). The problem is, if I hold OPT at power on, to choose boot drive, not all Linux distro can be booted from FW-DVD. When we look in files, responsible for cd-boot, there are frequently hardcoded path too boot-loader, something like "boot cd:,\install\yaboot conf=cd:,\install\yaboot.conf". But as far as I understand devalias output, cd by default is alias to ide master port (where default DVD drive lives). So booting such way becomes impossible if there are something instead DVD (hard drive ).

The question is, is it possible to make alias for DVD which sits at FW? And how?

I'm curious, does 'multi-boot' at ofw console display any option that allows booting?

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

Isn't it the same, what OPT-button shows?

 

[alex_free]

Isn't it the same, what OPT-button shows?

Not always, for example it is not on my Mac mini. The 'multi-boot' menu allows me to boot OS 9 while the standard one does not. This may not be the case however for the newest Mac OS 9 Mac mini ISO.

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

Well, I'll try & report, when return home (it's not soon, sorry ).

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

I'm back . (https://library.morph.zone/Open_Firmware) - helped greatly to access FW DVD with OpenSUSE.
It works now. But the disk wan't shown as bootable at all!

Seems that OpenSUSE heavily using kexec or similar technics, because installer found more recent kernel (5.8.7), downloaded it & restarted installation with new one .

 

[repairedCheese]

I'm back . (https://library.morph.zone/Open_Firmware) - helped greatly to access FW DVD with OpenSUSE.
It works now. But the disk wan't shown as bootable at all!

Seems that OpenSUSE heavily using kexec or similar technics, because installer found more recent kernel (5.8.7), downloaded it & restarted installation with new one .

Wait, you found a version of OpenSUSE for PPC Mac? My understanding is that they dropped support for our old machines some time ago.

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

Wait, you found a version of OpenSUSE for PPC Mac?

It's funny, but yes. Don't remember when & how. But installer even made this year & when I tried to load all this stuff - it got kernel 5.8, if I remember correctly. Now I need 2 things: how to start text-based installer (it' called Yast? Not familiar with SUSE) & which URL I have to input there for installation. Because graphical installer completely have no idea about Apple Partition Map, only GPT & MBR. Which, I believe, whould make installed system unbootable. (I want every installed system be bootable itself, not like GRUB2 from other Linux distro).

 

[repairedCheese]

It's funny, but yes. Don't remember when & how. But installer even made this year & when I tried to load all this stuff - it got kernel 5.8, if I remember correctly. Now I need 2 things: how to start text-based installer (it' called Yast? Not familiar with SUSE) & which URL I have to input there for installation. Because graphical installer completely have no idea about Apple Partition Map, only GPT & MBR. Which, I believe, whould make installed system unbootable. (I want every installed system be bootable itself, not like GRUB2 from other Linux distro).

I believe Yast has primarily been a graphical installer for 20 years, but I don't really know that much about SUSE either. But when you say it knows nothing of APM, do you mean that it can't even see the partitions already on a drive using it? I think some of the later PPC Macs, specifically the aluminium laptops, are capable of booting from GPT, but don't quote me on that, and even if they were, I wouldn't expect it for Linux.

But is there any chance you could share a copy of your installer? An iso, perhaps?

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

I've tried some usual linux command, lsblk or blkid or may be mac-fdisk -l. And output was quite readable, it found all 3 HDDs (1 - 2 versions of Mac OS, tiger & Leopard, 2- Gentoo drive, 3 - former TimeMachine backup disk, which for experiments sits in SAS controller ). And yes, there were all partitions listed, APM. Don't want to experiment with GPT on PowerMac (but I'm using it for several years in my systems), let it work as intended with APM .
About OpenSUSE Installer - yes, it's ISO image, mine was quite big (3,3 Gb, DVD disk only).

...hey, that was TOO easy - 2 seconds googling & here is it https://download.opensuse.org/ports/ppc/tumbleweed/iso/
may be I'll try Netinstall . I wonder if it will install GRUB2 itself instead of yaboot (which is dumb as a cork ).

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

Got a question. Found this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/booting-a-guid-disk-on-powerpc-macs.2113689/ . is it really can be done? MB we can install OpenSUSE to GPT & boot? Or only MacOS can do the trick?

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

About OpenSUSE. I had no idea, that installer (YaST2) can start with R7 360 videocard (but I don't know, which videodriver is it using - amdgpu or radeonsi during installation time). Picture is not great, but it shows second display, Benq, which attached to Radeon.

 

[wicknix]

Wait, you found a version of OpenSUSE for PPC Mac?

I don't know about G5's, but @xeno74 has opensuse running on amiga x1000/x5000

openSUSE Tumbleweed - Page 8 - Hyperion Entertainment Message Boards

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

I'll try to install it today with it's default partitioning. (But I really unsure that something can boot from GPT partitioned disk on powermac).

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

Finally. It turned out, that changing alias is quite easy thing . Command is devalias <WHAT> <OF-PATH>. This one is temporary until reboot, which is quite sufficient for booting some installer. For storing alias - use nvalias (but me personally avoids such changes) .