On Thursday 15 November 2007 16:24:04 Nicholas Helps wrote: > Hello all, > > I have been working with Debian for quite a few years now and using > powermac G3 machines with extra network cards in them as routers and > firewalls, etc. These machines were set up back in the days of Woody and > have been kept uptodate with security updates, but otherwise pretty much > left untouched. Due to the issues around the firmware in these machines and > because it was useful, I always set them up to boot initially into mac OS9 > then use BootX to hand over the Debian. This worked a treat. > > However, I thought it would be good come up to date by installing Etch > instead.
just a quickie... why didn't you upgrade? > I used a free machine that was not actually in use and ran the > install using the current network install ISO. Things have changed since > the days of woody and it now seems that floppy images (boot image and root > image) are no longer used. Hence, I copied the initrd.gz file over to the > mac HD and set that as the ram disk for the install. I also copied across > the linux kernel and put that into the kernels folder in the system folder. > Using that allows me to boot into the installer and using the installer I > deleted the previous linux partition (hda7) and swap (hda8) and made new > ones. Then installed the base system, etc,etc all the way through to where > it runs tasksel. I just leave that at the basic system for now. Following > on some more, finally we get to the point of trying to install Quik (which > I don't need) and it gives an error anyway, since I have selected ext3 file > system that is not supported in quik. I therefore say to carry on without a > boot loader. Everything goes fine all the way to rebooting into the new > system. However, when I do that, OS9 will not boot up. I just get the > flashing disk symbol with a question mark on it. Popping the OS9 CD and > booting off that and then running disk setup shows me that the HD has > somehow been altered so it is not recognised properly as a mac HD. During > the partitioning step, I did not alter anything other than hda7 and 8. > > I have found that I can reinstall the apple hard disk driver onto the disk > and this then gets OS9 up and working. However, I cannot then boot into > Debian, since the boot process gets a little way in and then I get a kernel > panic at the point where it tries to mount the file system (error about no > file system at /dev/hda7). it seems like you are missing support for root partition.. or maby the other thing witch mac uses .. the partition thingy, about to sleep now, and only 5% brain activity, so I won't go lookin it up. > > I have done this several times now and the same thing happens every time. > The install goes fine but then I end up with a completely unusable machine. happens every time i forget something crusial. ;D to tired to explain and help right now. > > I am wondering if I am going about the install process wrongly (ie using > the initrd.gz file). I can't find anything really useful in the install > manual or using Google. I will probably end up looking really stupid when > someone points out an obvious mistake I have made, but I can live with > that. > > If anyone has got etch installed on the beige g3 (its a 266 mhz machine, > but I can't tell you the firmware version, etc. Would need to find out how > to get at this) and can share their expertise, it would be most > appreciated. > > Thanks in advance, > > Nick. > > > > ***************************************************** > > Dr. N.R. Helps > Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit > College of Life Sciences > MSI/WTB/JBC Complex > University of Dundee > Dundee > DD1 5EH > Scotland > > t: 44 (0)1382 384745 (office) > t: 44 (0)1382 388019 (lab) > f: 44 (0)1382 388729 > e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > w: http://www.dnaseq.co.uk/ > w: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/lifesciences/mrcppu/ > > **************************************************** -- --- Børge Holen http://www.arivene.net
