SuSE Linux PowerPC: Version 7.3
Known problems and peculiarities in SuSE Linux 7.3 for PowerPC:
There is a bug in the kernel 2.4.12 which will lead to filesystem corruption on iMacs, the installation fails after a few packages. A workaround for this bug exists:
reboot your iMac hold down the keys command + option + o + f until the OpenFirmware prompt appears enter the following command to boot the installer boot cd:,install ide0=noautotune
You should update the kernel to 2.4.16 or later after the installation.
ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/ppc/kernel/2.4.16/k_deflt.rpm rpm -Uvh k_deflt.rpm
Do not reboot the system after the installation. Copy the kernel manually inserting CD 1 and proceeding as follows:
mount /cdrom dd if=/cdrom/suse/images/zImage.prep of=/dev/sda1
Set 115200 baud as data transfer rate in yast2 or modify file /etc/wvdial.conf manually.
Use CD1 and yast2 to boot into the installed system. Edit the file /boot/compatible_machines.txt. Add the identity string for your new Mac. You can get this string with the command "cat /proc/cpuinfo
". There is a line starting with machine
, the identstring is PowerBook3,3
on the new PowerBooks.
Add this ident string to the file /boot/compatible_machines.txt
and run lilo. You Mac should boot now.
YaST2 will detect your CD burner and does add the needed "hdc=ide-scsi" to /etc/lilo.conf. But the module to activate the IDE-SCSI emulation can not be loaded automatically.
As a result, the installation fails when YaST2 tries to access the second CD.
A workaround for that bug:
linux init=/bin/bash
/sbin/modprobe ide-scsiyou will get a few kernel messages, maybe some errors if you have a ZIP drive.
exec /sbin/init
You should add this line to the file /etc/init.d/boot.local
modprobe ide-scsiYour CD burner will have the device name /dev/sr0. (check the "dmesg" output for the exact name)