Re: [gentoo-ppc-user] Re: New install - Unable to get my ppc Mac Mini to boot the root partition

[Mark Knecht <markknecht@gmail.com>]

On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 3:48 PM, Mark Knecht <markknecht@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 2:42 PM, Enlightened User <linux@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>> http://www.debian.org/ports/powerpc/inst/yaboot-howto/ch9.en.html
>> Sections 9.2 and 9.3 show how to boot to the yaboot 'boot:' prompt and start
>> the kernel with parameters.
>> Hope that helps you get started.
>> If you do change the yaboot.conf file don't forget to run ybin to update the
>> boot partition. I would suggest increasing delay and timeout values (section
>> 6.6 of the previous web document) so the default image is not automatically
>> loaded so quickly. You should then be able to enter something like:
>> hd:4,/vmlinux root=/dev/sda4 ro
>> at the boot: prompt.
>> Another thought would be to remove SCSI support from your kernel build,
>> unless you have a mac mini with an SCSI interface, you should not need SCSI
>> support. That should not require any changes to the yaboot configuration you
>> are currently using.
>> Barry
>>
>
> Thanks for the info.
>
> OK - as a test I'm going a very different direction. As there is a
> prebuilt Ubuntu PowerPC version I've just written a CD and it boots
> fine. I'm right now in the process of letting it blow away my
> non-functional Gentoo install and install Ubuntu. If that boots then I
> can see what they did and redo Gentoo later with that knowledge.
>
> As for using Gentoo on this box I'm not sure it's really worth it any
> more. My main machines now are all x86_64 - as is probably true for
> most people - but fast ones - an i5-661, i7-920 and an i7-980x where I
> run 5 copies of Windows 7 at the same time in different VMWare jails.
> I found I wasn't updating this old Mac Mini because it was too slow
> and took too much of what I call 'Gentoo effort'. If I can find a
> prepackaged version of MythTV for this machine then likely I'd be
> better off just to run Ubuntu. I don't really need performance for a
> MythTV backend server.
>
> Anyway, I'll report back more when I know more.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Cheers,
> Mark
>

So the Ubuntu install came up running. Boots fine, logs in OK. Dosn't
look like they ackage the MythTV backend for PowerPC so I need to
figure out how they did it and then get Gentoo working again.

HEre is yaboot.conf and fstab.

mark@MacMini:~$ cat /etc/yaboot.conf
## yaboot.conf generated by the Ubuntu installer
##
## run: "man yaboot.conf" for details. Do not make changes until you have!!
## see also: /usr/share/doc/yaboot/examples for example configurations.
##
## For a dual-boot menu, add one or more of:
## bsd=/dev/hdaX, macos=/dev/hdaY, macosx=/dev/hdaZ

boot=/dev/hda2
device=/pci@f4000000/ata-6@d/disk@0:
partition=3
root=/dev/hda3
timeout=50
install=/usr/lib/yaboot/yaboot
magicboot=/usr/lib/yaboot/ofboot
enablecdboot

image=/boot/vmlinux
	label=Linux
	read-only
	initrd=/boot/initrd.img
	append="quiet splash"

image=/boot/vmlinux.old
	label=old
	read-only
	initrd=/boot/initrd.img.old
	append="quiet splash"
mark@MacMini:~$

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier
# for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
# devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
proc            /proc           proc    nodev,noexec,nosuid 0       0
/dev/hda3       /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
/dev/hda4       none            swap    sw              0       0
mark@MacMini:~$


So, whatever was wrong with my Gentoo install it wasn't apparently hda vs sda...

Ubuntu sure seems weird. No root password? Everything done through
sudo? Strange... I'm sure I just don't understand after so many years
running Gentoo.

- Mark