Subject: Some yaboot instructions
From: Kevin B. Hendricks (khendricks@ivey.uwo.ca)
Date: Thu Mar 16 2000 - 13:55:07 MST
Hi,
>> Hi - Does anyone know of a site that has anything even vaguely
>> resembling documentation on how to set up and use yaboot?
I was helped through this by Jack Howarth and I have written up some steps
that I hope will help others. All of this is based on info Jack provided
and from Ben H.
I hope this helps,
Kevin
--snip--
Here is a summary of how to use yaboot in a way
similar to how BootX is used.
It is based on instructions sent to me by Jack Howarth
(so thank him not me). This assumes you have just successfully
installed YellowDog Linux or LinuxPPC and you *KNOW* your
relevant partition maps!!!!
If you don't know your partition map then you need to
*carefully* open your partitioning tool (pdisk
or the LinuxPPC 2000 installer) and find the following partitions:
The Linux root partition: /dev/hda12 (yours will probably be differnt)
The MacOS partition you boot the MacOS from: /dev/hda9 (ditto)
Armed with that info (and using the MacOS) do the following:
1. create a yaboot.conf file with a text editor (simpletext is fine)
Here is my file, replace the "hd:9" with the open firmware device
name and partition number of MacOS. In my case the main IDE drive
device is simply called "hd" and the partion number is
9 since (/dev/hda9 was the spot where the MacOS partion is located
on my machine).
Note you can put any other boot args you want inside the append quotes.
--snip--
timeout=0
image=hd:9,\\\\vmlinux
label=linux
root=/dev/hda12
append="video=aty128fb:vmode:17"
--snip--
Here is another yaboot.conf file which does not use the aty128fb,
it instead uses only open firmware video
--snip--
timeout=0
image=hd:9,\\\\vmlinux
label=linux
root=/dev/hda12
novideo
--snip--
Check out other yaboot.conf files you see on the YellowDog or Linux
PPC 2000 cds for other options.
2. put the yaboot.conf file into the System Folder
3. grab a working vmlinux kernel (and rename it to vmlinux to match
yaboot.conf)
and copy it to the System Folder
4. Now create a file bootinfo.txt (a menu boot menu) with simpletext
This menu will boot the linux kernel if you hold down the
space bar on Restart otherwise it will boot into MacOS
Here is mine:
--snip--
<CHRP-BOOT>
<COMPATIBLE>
iMac,1 PowerMac1,1 PowerBook1,1 PowerMac2,1 PowerMac3,1 PowerBook2,1
</COMPATIBLE>
<DESCRIPTION>
Linux/PPC Yaboot bootloader
</DESCRIPTION>
<BOOT-SCRIPT>
" get-key-map" " keyboard" open-dev $call-method
dup 20 dump
5 + c@ 08 = if
" Booting Yaboot ..." cr " boot hd:9,\\yaboot_0.5" eval
else
" Booting MacOS ..." cr " boot hd:9,\\:tbxi" eval
then
</BOOT-SCRIPT>
</CHRP-BOOT>
--snip--
Again you need to replace the hd:9 with the open-firmware device
and partition number for the MacOS on your machine
5. put the file bootinfo.txt into the System Folder
6. Grab yaboot_0.5 from http://ppclinux.apple.com/~benh/ and
make sure it is gunzipped properly and place yaboot_0.5 into the System Folder
7. Now you are just about there. You still need to tell open-firmware
to run your boot menu (bootinfo.txt) instead of the MacOS on startup.
The way to do that is to restart while holding down option-apple-o-f
keys simultaneously. You will eventually get the open firmware
boot prompt.
At the openfirmware boot prompt, type the following:
(Again! replace hd:9 with the open firmware device name and MacOS partition
number)
setenv boot-command boot
setenv boot-file hd:9,\\bootinfo.txt
setenv boot-device hd:9,\\bootinfo.txt
The simply enter boot
The MacOS should then boot (it will look funny the first time).
Now whenever you want to run linux you simply RESTART and hold down the
space bar until you see the linux kernel begin to boot.
If you run into trouble you can always get back to the open firmware
boot menu using the option-apple-o-f keys and type mac-boot.
This sounds like alot of work but after you get it set up it
works fine! And it is the only way to get the very latest G4
machines to boot.
I hope this helps.
Kevin
This archive was generated by hypermail 2a24 : Sun Apr 02 2000 - 21:09:31 MDT