Subject: RE: rs/6000 kernel help
From: Stefan Schneider (stefan.schneider@comsat.com.ve)
Date: Fri Jan 05 2001 - 11:37:17 MST
From: Hollis R Blanchard <hollis+@andrew.cmu.edu>
>
> I'm aware that CHRP machines *can* use a PPC Boot partition, but with OF
> they shouldn't have to. If you can 'boot floppy:\ZIMAGE', why can't you
> boot from a file on a FAT partition?
Automatic booting is not supported outside type 0x41 (PReP boot) partitions,
and I don't thing he'd like to go to OF everytime he wants to reset his
machine ;)
>
> > > Please see http://www.yellowdoglinux.com/support/faq_rs6k.shtml for
more
> > > information.
> >
> > The faq is a bit outdated, Dan (Burcaw) has a page in the terraplex
servers
> > outlining the real procedures to run Linux from an RS/6K
>
> What is the URL? I'm fairly sure he 'really' installed with the
instructions
> on the above page. :)
http://www.terraplex.com/~dburcaw/rs6000.config
and of course
http://www.terraplex.com/~dburcaw
> > The Symbios driver is b0rked since 2.2.16 for some bizarre reason, I use
> > 2.2.15 from the YDL CD and patch it accordingly.
>
> Hmm, I'm away from my PReP machine right now, but I thought I had it
running
> with a Symbios card... at any rate, a symbios 875 works fine in my B&W G3
> running 2.2.18 final.
Sym875 is a totally different beast from the ones used in the IBM RS/6000,
one of the most common causes of kernel failures with the RS is having
support for the NCR5389 and Symbios 53C8x enabled at the same time, and for
some unknown reason the NCR driver takes precedence over the Symbios because
they have similar ID strings.
>
> > In my experience 2.4.0
> > works better than 2.2.1x with the RS hardware if and only if you get it
to
> > boot.
>
> That's the trick... :)
Indeed, I have been only able to run the latest 2.4.0-test releases, the
first ones were impossible to get running and I had to submit a patch to fix
the matrox driver (Care to guess? a ; was missing at the end of one
statement, that's the most stupid looking patch I've ever made ;)
> I think that text happens extremely early in the boot process, and is
> displayed via OF display routines. IOW I don't think the kernel's video
has
> even kicked in (much less IDE, ethernet, etc).
Yup, you're right, that probably means that the PCI bridge is not being
properly initialized. He never mentioned where he got the kernels, mine were
from linuxcare.com.au and kernel.org. I remember seeing that message once
and then the machine hung, IIRC by checking the LED readout on the service
manual it was related to the on board SCSI controller.
Stefan
This archive was generated by hypermail 2a24 : Fri Jan 05 2001 - 11:32:33 MST