I don't see that as much of a reason, since 1) one is gonna do that relatively rarely anyway 2) For booting from other devices, the chooser brought up by holding Option is a thing 3) Otherwise, openfirmware shell is a thing
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Void Linux for PowerPC
- Thread starter foxlet
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I don't see that as much of a reason, since 1) one is gonna do that relatively rarely anyway 2) For booting from other devices, the chooser brought up by holding Option is a thing 3) Otherwise, openfirmware shell is a thing
Ok, i've installed LibreOffice. Works.
I tried gnome., but doesnt work. Also i installed kde5, but it is slow.
After a short testing phase more noob questions: how to install b43- firmware for the wlan pcie-card? Cannot find the software.
How to setup the 3d acceleration for a hd5770 card?
And i'm not able to start xbps-src...!?
Any suggestions?
Thanks for answer...
I tried gnome., but doesnt work. Also i installed kde5, but it is slow.
After a short testing phase more noob questions: how to install b43- firmware for the wlan pcie-card? Cannot find the software.
How to setup the 3d acceleration for a hd5770 card?
And i'm not able to start xbps-src...!?
Any suggestions?
Thanks for answer...
You need to install b43-fwcutter, grab the latest firmware from http://www.lwfinger.com/b43-firmware/broadcom-wl-6.30.163.46.tar.bz2, extract it, and use b43-fwcutter to obtain the appropriate linux firmware from it. The wifi firmware is not legally redistributable, so I can't ship it.
Otherwise, "doesn't work" is not exactly helpful, nor is "I'm not able to start xbps-src". But yeah, don't bother trying to get gnome work, i don't think any big endian distro has it working right now. (mutter works and gnome applications work, gnome-shell is completely broken)
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I hope someone can help me. I have an eMac G4 1.25 with Radeon 9200 graphics card.
I have used and installed the ppc voidlinux without DE. But when I use the Live ppc voidlinux LXDE
the screen switches from tty1 to n-curses installer rapidly. So It is not safe to use for install.
Could I install without DE and then use the live disc LXDE to install everthing else?
Or could you suggest another method or workaround? Thanks in advance.
I have to use the nomodeset parameter for any interaction with live or installed linux systems.
I have used and installed the ppc voidlinux without DE. But when I use the Live ppc voidlinux LXDE
the screen switches from tty1 to n-curses installer rapidly. So It is not safe to use for install.
Could I install without DE and then use the live disc LXDE to install everthing else?
Or could you suggest another method or workaround? Thanks in advance.
I have to use the nomodeset parameter for any interaction with live or installed linux systems.
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You could install without a DE and then install a DE from the network repository afterwards. I have no experience with eMacs but I heard you need to deal with some EDID firmware stuff first. Some instructions for Debian were linked to me a while ago: https://pastebin.com/dd7N4nXf
As the radeon driver in the kernel (nor the X11 driver) does not support UMS anymore, graphical environment won't work with it, which is why it's flickering. Your choices are either to get accelerated desktop with KMS, using the instructions in the pastebin (the .bin file is here: https://www.file-upload.net/download-13809617/1280x960.bin.html) or to disable radeon entirely and use unaccelerated fbdev.
For Void, a translation of the instructions would be something like
1) install a console only system.
2) install the EDID firmware .bin file in the appropriate directory like in the pastebin
3) create a file /etc/dracut.conf.d/emac-edid.conf, and put this in it:
install_items+=" /lib/firmware/edid/1280x960.bin"
4) regenerate your initramfs for your kernel version. For kernel 5.3, it would be:
xbps-reconfigure -f linux5.3
If using kernel 5.4, use linux5.4, and so on.
5) Open /etc/default/grub, and in GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT, add "drm.edid_firmware=edid/1280x960.bin" to the parameters. You can also do this manually in GRUB itself, by pressing 'e' on the item you're booting and modifying its command line.
6) Refresh your grub configuration with update-grub (if using yaboot, do it the yaboot way, but Void does not officially support yaboot)
7) Reboot, this time without nomodeset.
8) Install the desktop environment of your choice using xbps-install.
It might not be entirely accurate, as I don't own this hardware. If there are any issues, you will need to adjust these. If you get it working, please post your instructions here and I will make a FAQ entry out of it.
As the radeon driver in the kernel (nor the X11 driver) does not support UMS anymore, graphical environment won't work with it, which is why it's flickering. Your choices are either to get accelerated desktop with KMS, using the instructions in the pastebin (the .bin file is here: https://www.file-upload.net/download-13809617/1280x960.bin.html) or to disable radeon entirely and use unaccelerated fbdev.
For Void, a translation of the instructions would be something like
1) install a console only system.
2) install the EDID firmware .bin file in the appropriate directory like in the pastebin
3) create a file /etc/dracut.conf.d/emac-edid.conf, and put this in it:
install_items+=" /lib/firmware/edid/1280x960.bin"
4) regenerate your initramfs for your kernel version. For kernel 5.3, it would be:
xbps-reconfigure -f linux5.3
If using kernel 5.4, use linux5.4, and so on.
5) Open /etc/default/grub, and in GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT, add "drm.edid_firmware=edid/1280x960.bin" to the parameters. You can also do this manually in GRUB itself, by pressing 'e' on the item you're booting and modifying its command line.
6) Refresh your grub configuration with update-grub (if using yaboot, do it the yaboot way, but Void does not officially support yaboot)
7) Reboot, this time without nomodeset.
8) Install the desktop environment of your choice using xbps-install.
It might not be entirely accurate, as I don't own this hardware. If there are any issues, you will need to adjust these. If you get it working, please post your instructions here and I will make a FAQ entry out of it.
Two quick questions before I start:
1: Is this the directory I am going to use for 1280x960.bin file in voidlinux?
mkdir -p /lib/firmware/edid
2: Does the /usr/sbin and /usr/-local/sbin add to /root/.bashrc pertain to voidlinux?
Thank you I am going to start on this later this evening.
1: Is this the directory I am going to use for 1280x960.bin file in voidlinux?
mkdir -p /lib/firmware/edid
2: Does the /usr/sbin and /usr/-local/sbin add to /root/.bashrc pertain to voidlinux?
Thank you I am going to start on this later this evening.
I only got a syntax error at "update-initramfs -u"
"error expecting in"
So when I boot with "Linux drm.edid_firmware=edid/1280x960.bin"
I only get black screen.
I have compared the file /usr/share/initramfs-tools/hooks/edid on my eMac with
https://pastebin.com/LAMkdTVf and I don't see a difference between the two.
case $1 in (the only place I see "in" used in the file).
"error expecting in"
So when I boot with "Linux drm.edid_firmware=edid/1280x960.bin"
I only get black screen.
I have compared the file /usr/share/initramfs-tools/hooks/edid on my eMac with
https://pastebin.com/LAMkdTVf and I don't see a difference between the two.
case $1 in (the only place I see "in" used in the file).
I had an extra day off from work, so today i bit the bullet and tried void on my powerbook. Works pretty good, except no sound. Already reported that issue, but what i wanted to say is that ppc32 void only has epipihany/midori webkit browsers and they are oddly slow, so for kicks i extracted arcticfox/spiderweb/spidermail on my (glibc, not musl) void install, and they all work. 
Cheers
Cheers
Chromium-based browsers are unavailable because chromium refuses to build on 32-bit ppc. According to some online conversations the void ppc maintainer has posted, it appears that 32-bit builds of gecko-based browsers (namely Firefox) will build cleanly but then proceed to segfault very early in initialization.
Re performance of webkit-based browsers:
- ppc32 builds of void are deliberately compiled with alitvec totally disabled for maximum CPU compatibility. I wonder if independently setting up a series of alternate builds with full optimizations enabled for G4-and-newer processors would result in any noticeable performance improvements?
- As well, current builds of webkit for 32-bit ppc do not include a functioning javascript jit, so everything is probably being run interpreted.
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Been trying to get the 64-bit version to work on my old G5 dual core 2ghz, and while it does install and run, there seems to be some issues with the ati driver. Everything is extremely slow, but nothing shows to be wrong in the task manager, or htop, but firefox runs with the wrong colors, and causes crashes.
Which is an absolute shame, because seeing it run Firefox 71 at all filled me with a whole lot of hope.
Which is an absolute shame, because seeing it run Firefox 71 at all filled me with a whole lot of hope.
Void is getting there. Another few months and it may be a usable daily for me, but lack of audio on my powerbook, no backlit keyboard, no working volume keys, no working right click with the touchpad are a no go for me. I put Ubuntu back on for now as everything above works.
On a side note, I'm surprised it worked on your G5. I have 2 of them and void locks up both machines (1.6ghz and dual 2ghz) right after grub kicks in on the install cd.
Cheers.
On a side note, I'm surprised it worked on your G5. I have 2 of them and void locks up both machines (1.6ghz and dual 2ghz) right after grub kicks in on the install cd.
Cheers.
Yeah, it starts right up, with grub and everything, all the terminal stuff works just fine, but once I get into a desktop environment, that's where things go wrong.
That said, it's not like I'm really using the computer for anything, so I'm more than willing to test new 64-bit builds out on the thing. The irony is, Lubuntu 16.04, which runs fine on my eMac, that's what crashes hard on the G5.
Also, I hadn't even thought of using the power light as an activity light, but it looks really cool!
That said, it's not like I'm really using the computer for anything, so I'm more than willing to test new 64-bit builds out on the thing. The irony is, Lubuntu 16.04, which runs fine on my eMac, that's what crashes hard on the G5.
Also, I hadn't even thought of using the power light as an activity light, but it looks really cool!
Yeah that is a neat feature. The sleep/hibernate light on my PowerBook was used for that. A little bright and blinding though.
Cheers
Cheers
Repos are complete now, on ppc64le/ppc64/ppc, glibc and musl: https://repo.voidlinux-ppc.org/stats.html
To address older questions:
Chromium does not build on any ppc by default. We don't patch chromium, neither does anybody else. Firefox does not build cleanly by default, but it can be made to build. It does segfault though
quite unlikely, and fwiw, other ppc32 distros *also* disable altivec; and yes, there is no JIT in any browser
there is no update-initramfs or initramfs-hooks on void, those are specifics of debian, i described how to do it with dracut
Works fine on my G5 as well, and lots of other people's G5s; I don't know what might cause it to lock up, but you're in the minority. But the available ISO images are quite old by now, so maybe the next ones will fix it.
Stuff like touchpad right click will probably never be fixed out of box, because there is no way to do so; that kinda stuff calls for custom xorg configuration, and the distro ships vanilla settings. These, as well as the backlight etc. are things for post-installation documentation. I'll try to figure out audio, volume keys should probably work once that works.
To address older questions:
Chromium does not build on any ppc by default. We don't patch chromium, neither does anybody else. Firefox does not build cleanly by default, but it can be made to build. It does segfault though
quite unlikely, and fwiw, other ppc32 distros *also* disable altivec; and yes, there is no JIT in any browser
there is no update-initramfs or initramfs-hooks on void, those are specifics of debian, i described how to do it with dracut
Works fine on my G5 as well, and lots of other people's G5s; I don't know what might cause it to lock up, but you're in the minority. But the available ISO images are quite old by now, so maybe the next ones will fix it.
Stuff like touchpad right click will probably never be fixed out of box, because there is no way to do so; that kinda stuff calls for custom xorg configuration, and the distro ships vanilla settings. These, as well as the backlight etc. are things for post-installation documentation. I'll try to figure out audio, volume keys should probably work once that works.
I'm fine with post-installation fixes, but void is missing (when i last checked) a few packages needed. For volume keys and backlight to work pbuttonsd needs to be added to the repo, along with mouseemu to enable touchpad right click via 2 finger tap or ctrl+click etc.
Cheers
Cheers
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surely packaging those can't be too hard, writing a simple void template is a matter of a few lines at most
and as always - the sooner someone finds solutions and/or fixes the problems, the sooner it'll be fixed... i operate primarily with modern POWER8/9 hardware, and anything wrt old macs is mostly an "as time allows" thing (as i don't use these as daily drivers), and there's just no way i can fix every single thing myself, especially with limited access to hardware
therefore, if you want things fixed quickly, the best way is to help find fixes, the second best way is donating hardware
and as always - the sooner someone finds solutions and/or fixes the problems, the sooner it'll be fixed... i operate primarily with modern POWER8/9 hardware, and anything wrt old macs is mostly an "as time allows" thing (as i don't use these as daily drivers), and there's just no way i can fix every single thing myself, especially with limited access to hardware
therefore, if you want things fixed quickly, the best way is to help find fixes, the second best way is donating hardware
Same thing with most of my projects. I simply don't have the time. I get to them when i can.
Above are the links to the source of those packages to fix old macs for anybody who may run in to the same issue. For what its worth, pbbuttonsd is needed if you want to support "apple keyboard" hotkeys regardless if it's a laptop or G3/G4/G5 desktop.
Cheers
Above are the links to the source of those packages to fix old macs for anybody who may run in to the same issue. For what its worth, pbbuttonsd is needed if you want to support "apple keyboard" hotkeys regardless if it's a laptop or G3/G4/G5 desktop.
Cheers
there was never a G5 laptop though... so packaging this would be for 32-bit ppc only...
edit: oh, i misread. Fair enough. Oddly, ubuntu only packages it for ppc32.
so packaging this would be for 32-bit ppc only...edit: oh, i misread. Fair enough. Oddly, ubuntu only packages it for ppc32.
Yeah, Ubuntu ppc/ppc64 is a 32-bit rootfs. The install media just auto detects and boots from (and installs) the proper 32 or 64-bit kernel depending on your machine. My G5's running Ubuntu are 32-bit rootfs with 64-bit kernels. Fienix is the same way.
Cheers
Cheers
Audio turned out to be a fairly trivial thing after all. Gotta install alsa-utils, open alsamixer (even when using pulse, this does not show up in pavucontrol), if only one slider is visible press F6 and switch to the second "card", then turn up the PCM slider (to 80 at most, any more introduces distortion). Actual volume is then controlled via the master slider (not PCM), up to 100, either there or in your favorite mixer app/widget. Headphone jack sensing is automatic, it will switch between speakers and jack depending on if stuff is plugged in.
This is, of course, assuming your user is in the audio group (if not, need to do that, and re-login).
This is, of course, assuming your user is in the audio group (if not, need to do that, and re-login).
i get a black screen upon booting the void livecd on a USB2 eMac. is there a way to fix this? it has a radeon 9200 which seems to have been dropped by newer ppc linux distros
See this for emacs : https://m.facebook.com/groups/ppclinux/permalink/437344776940132/?refid=18&ref=bookmarks&__tn__=R
I have the radeon 9200 in my mac mini. Works fine with debian 10/sid and Ubuntu 16.
Cheers
I have the radeon 9200 in my mac mini. Works fine with debian 10/sid and Ubuntu 16.
Cheers