Michael Steil wrote:
> Hi!
>
> I am Michael Steil from the Xbox Linux Project. I have had a
> conversation with Gael and Jacques from Mandrake and I was told that
> they don't officially support Xbox Linux, but they support it
> non-officially. Jacques suggested to discuss about this on this mailing
> list.
>
so this would be an option for people with xboxes? to run linux on an
off the shelf xbox?
> As you might already know, the Xbox Linux Project succeeded in running a
> full Mandrake distribution on a "modded" Xbox console; we just had to
> use an installer of our own because of some differences in the Xbox
> architecture.
>
does this support the games that are written for the xbox?
> Me personally, and probably some others from Xbox Linux would like to
> extend our work to integrate full Xbox support into the next Mandrake
> release. Therefore we ask for some support in this mailing list, and we
> might have to discuss some things on how to integrate Xbox support.
>
> Some information about the differences of the Xbox:
>
> The Xbox is basically a PC, but with some small differences:
>
> 1) Kernel fixes: PCI bug, different timer base frequency, different
> shutdown method, no keyboard controller
> These issues are already addressed by our kernel patches and they are
> likely to be included into the main Linux kernel soon.
hmm, could probably hardware patch the cell phone chat keyboard, or
better yet, a full sized ps2 keyboard into the xbox as well to add that
functionality. ( building and marketing an adapter to convert the
keyboard to xbox control interface )
>
> 2) Kernel/driver extensions
> We have code for the FATX file system used by the Xbox system software,
> as well as drivers for the Xbox gamepad and the Xbox remote control.
>
> 3) Different boot method
> The Xbox needs the boot CD to be in UDF format (that's easy with mkisofs
> -udf) and the bootloader called default.xbe in the root directory of the
> CD. This bootloader has been developed by the Xbox Linux Project and
> boots Linux just as Grub or LILO.
addidng an interrogation for user to choose xbox or pc at beginning of
install?
> When booting from HD, the bootloader executable and the kernel have to
> be stored in a FATX file system.
>
> 4) Different HD partitioning
> The Xbox uses an implicit partitioning scheme, but we can also use the
> PC partitioning scheme in parallel.
>
> 5) XFree
> Currently, only Framebuffer is supported.
>
> So we basically have a patched kernel, some more modules and a different
> bootloader. So what do we have to change in the Mandrake installer?
>
> 1) Installer CD Boot Code
> A default.xbe has to be added to the installer CD and the CD has to be
> in hybrid UDF/ISO9660 format. The Xbox bootloader loads the standard
> kernel, which has Xbox support compiled in, as well as the standard
> ramdisk. Just default.xbe instead of El Torito & SYSLINUX.
make two sets of iso's, one for pc and one for xbox? 694 mb iso can't be
dual fs on 700 mb cdr can it?
>
> 2) Partitioning Tool
> The partitioning tool has to mark the space used by the Xbox system
> software as unavailable (if we're on an Xbox) for the user not to
> overwrite the original software on the HD and render the Xbox useless
adding the fs option to the patritioning tool(s) should be fairly
simple, since you obviously have the code to do so.
>
> 3) XFree Configuration
> The XFree configuration program has to write its own XF86Config-4, if
> we're on an Xbox. Well, perhaps the standard routines will work out of
> the box.
>
> 4) Bootloader Installation
> If we're on an Xbox, the grub/LILO installation has to be replaced by
> the Xbox bootloader installation.
>
> 5) Kernel, /lib/modules
> The standard kernel has to include the Xbox fixes; one kernel for both
> PC and Xbox will be enough.
> The Xbox modules for FATX, Xpad etc. will be added to /lib/modules on
> all machines.
>
> It's not that much. I'd love to help adding Xbox support to the
> installer, and we can provide patches for the kernel to add Xbox support
> in the kernel to Mandrake.
>
Jaqui
