On Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:10:09 +0200, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >On Mon, Jul 17, 2006 at 12:34:21PM +0300, AlexB wrote: >> On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 19:20:09 +0200, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> >In reading the Installation manual for both 3.0 and 3.1 it says that >> >"Currently, the only PowerPC subarchitectures that support CD-ROM >> >booting are PReP and New World PowerMacs." Elsewhere it says that "for >> >CHRP, floppy support is currently broken". >> > >> > >> First, try to read relevant Debian bug info about booting on IBM CHRP >> machines: >> >> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=322745 >> >> It has almost all information needed to get Debian 3.1 'stable' image to >> boot. >> Please note that 'testing' or 'unstable' Debian CDs do not have this problem! >> >> I have seen a better instruction somewhere (the one I followed to make a >> boot CD >> for my 7025-F50) but cannot find it right now. I will try to reproduce the >> instruction on how to do it. First, mount your boot CD (or CD image using >> mount >> -o loop debian-stable.iso /mnt). Then, create a /tmp/deb directory. Then: >> cp -a /mnt/* /tmp/deb; cp /mnt/.* /tmp/deb >> >> The latter cp command copies .diskinfo file, so installer will recognize disk >> later on. >> >> then: >> >> mkdir /tmp/deb/etc >> cp /tmp/deb/install/yaboot.con* /tmp/deb/etc/yaboot.conf >> >> this will copy yaboot.conf file to the place where yaboot expects it (/etc on >> the CD, not /install) >> >> then: >> vi /tmp/deb/etc/yaboot.conf >> >> then: >> mkdir /tmp/deb/ppc >> >> and save file, attached to this message as /tmp/deb/ppc/bootinfo.txt >> this file is needed by IBM Open Firmware to find yaboot boot loader >> automagically. >> >> now, change all occurences of cd: to cdrom: , as IBM open firmware had cdrom: >> alias by default for CD drive. Save the file. >> >> then, create new ISO image with -l option (so long file names will be >> allowed): >> mkisofs -r -J -l -o debian-new.iso /tmp/deb > >Thanks. I've used Debian for 5 years but never needed to even consider >bugs untill Debian-Installer. I've never been able to get it to work on >my old low-memory machines; always use 3.0 boot-floppies. Apparently >not an option for the H50.
RS6000 machines can boot off floppy (at least instructions exists if you google through), but I never tried that myself. > >I'll check out the bugs section. > >Since this is to prove to the vendor that debian will boot, not >necessarily to install it, could the existing disk not be booted via the >OF command line? The ofboot.b file just runs the command: > > boot cd:,\install\yaboot > >Since we know that we want to run /install/powerpc/vmlinux, couldn't >this be booted directly with: > > boot cd (or whatever the devalias is):,\install\powerpc\vmlinux > ? I have tried that first, before I did a modified CD, it worked up to the point where linux kernel was not able to mount root. At least, kernel did load. > >By itself, would this not just boot the kernel (which would panic >without the initrd, but at least boot to that point)? > >Is it possible, or is this why yaboot is used, to issue kernel command >lines on the OF command line? How do you handle OF's inability to >handle / and space? > >My 3.1r2 net-inst cd doesn't have a .diskinfo file. It has a .disk >directory with base_components, base_installable, info, and >udeb_include. True, my mistake. It is a directory with some files in it. It's just since the name begins with a dot, I have ommitted it when creating modified boot CD and Debian installer did not recognize CD later on after kernel start. > >To summarize the two issues with the current disk: > > OF uses cdrom not cd devalias > > yaboot needs yaboot.conf in /etc not /install yes, you are completely right. I can only add that for OF to start yaboot automatically, you have to have this \ppc\bootinfo.txt file on your CD, too. > >Is this correct? > >Thanks, > >Doug. After all, you can ask vendor (if it's possible) to download 'unstable' netboot CD version of Debian, burn it and start it straight away - it worked for me.
