PowerPC Installation-Document -- APUS (Amiga PowerUp System)
Sven LUTHER, luther@debian.org
v1.0, 24 february 2000
This document describes the installation of Debian GNU/Linux on Pow-
erPC Systems
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Table of Contents
1. Installing Debian GNU/Linux on a PowerPC APUS machine
1.1 Intro
1.2 Known problems
1.3 Partitioning from the AmigaOS side
1.4 Bootstrap
1.4.1 The debian bootstrap command
1.5 Kernel Options
1.5.1 Graphic card options
1.5.2 The nobats option
1.5.3 The 60nsram option
1.5.4 Debugging options
1.6 Apus particularities in dbootstrap
1.6.1 Partitioning the harddisk - amiga-fdisk
1.6.2 Installing the OS kernel & modules
1.6.3 Option that are not working for apus
2. Links on where to find information not included in this guide
3. Conslusion
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11.. IInnssttaalllliinngg DDeebbiiaann GGNNUU//LLiinnuuxx oonn aa PPoowweerrPPCC AAPPUUSS mmaacchhiinnee
11..11.. IInnttrroo
Apus is the "Amiga PowerUp System", and consist of an amiga computer,
A1200, A3000 or A4000, together with one of the PowerPC/m68k
accelerator boards from the now dead company Phase5, The BlizzardPPC
or CyberStormPPC board.
11..22.. KKnnoowwnn pprroobblleemmss
Well, there are some issues involved with bootstrap on some system
using not powerup or warpup only, but some hybrid mutant of them both.
I am not very familiar with this stuff as i use plain powerup only, so
i hope someone will contribute a more complete description of it.
Also the scsi controler of the CyberStormPPC is not yet supported by
linux, so you cannot use disks attached to it.
11..33.. PPaarrttiittiioonniinngg ffrroomm tthhee AAmmiiggaaOOSS ssiiddee
amiga-fdisk is the fdisk variant for RDB partition tables used by the
amiga hardware. It is working, but it is recommended to use some amiga
partitioning tools to do it on the amigaos side.
Hdtoolbox, being the official commodore partitionning tool, should be
installed on every AmigaOS system. Just launching hdtoolbox should
partition the ide disk of the onboard ide interface. If you want to
access the scsi disk on your blizzardppc board scsi controler, you
should use the "hdtoolbox blizzppcscsi.device" command.
Another option is to use SCSIConfig, the partitioner from Phase5 which
is on the floppies that came with your accelerator board.
You will need to set the partition type to custom, and provide the
following partition type ids :
* linux partition : 0x4c4e5800 * linus swap partition : 0x53575000
11..44.. BBoooottssttrraapp
You will find the bootstrap program in the apus/bootstrap directory of
the powerpc boot floppies distribution (found at :
/debian/dists/potato/main/disks-powerpc/current).
The bootstrap program consists, for now, of three programs, all three
need to be executable and in your amigaos path. They are the bootstrap
executable and the ppcboot_wup and ppcboot_pup part, that are the
actual launcher (ppcboot_pup for the powerup system and ppcboot_wup
for the warpup system).
You will launch bootstrap with a line like this :
* bootstrap --apus "kernel options"
where "kernel options" are defined in the following sections.
bootstrap will then give some output, then blank the screen for 10 to
30 seconds, and then you will have the linux console.
11..44..11.. TThhee ddeebbiiaann bboooottssttrraapp ccoommmmaanndd
In the debian case, the actual bootstrap command will be for the root
disk launch :
* bootstrap --apus -k apus/linux -r apus/images-1.44/root.bin
root=/dev/ram
and for the installed debian launch :
* bootstrap --apus -k apus/linux root=/dev/sda3
where sda3 is where i have my debian root partition, change it by the
partiton that is hosting your root partition.
Naturally, you will need to add some kernel option depending on your
actual configuration, which will be explained in the following
sections.
11..55.. KKeerrnneell OOppttiioonnss
11..55..11.. GGrraapphhiicc ccaarrdd ooppttiioonnss
The graphic device to be used uses option prefaced with video=.
They are of two kinds, the actual definition of a graphic driver :
* video=amifb:vga
for enabling the native graphic in vga mode (640x480)
* video=pm2fb:mode:1152x864-60,font:SUN12x22
for enabling the Bvision/CyberVision graphic card in 1152x864 at 60Hz
mode, with the SUN12x22 fonts.
or also to disable one of the graphic device :
* video=amifb:disable
And for the mapping of virtual consoles to the different devices being
used :
* video=map:01
will map virtual console (vc) 1 to device 0, vc 2 to device 1, and
after that repeat the same pattern (vc3 to device 0, vc4 to device 1,
...).
* video=map:0001
will map vc 1,2,3,5,6,7 to device 0 and vc 4,8 to device 1
11..55..22.. TThhee nnoobbaattss ooppttiioonn
Blizzard users with scsi disks will need to use the "nobats" option.
* bootstrap --apus -k apus/linux root=/dev/sda3 nobats
11..55..33.. TThhee 6600nnssrraamm ooppttiioonn
People with 60ns ram can also use the 60nsram option.
* bootstrap --apus -k apus/linux root=/dev/sda3 60nsram
11..55..44.. DDeebbuuggggiinngg ooppttiioonnss
if you are experienting problems, you can use the debug option to
specify console message output to a serial console or memory instaed
of the console. this is usefull for debuging when the kernel don't
comes to the console output.
* bootstrap --apus -k apus/linux root=/dev/sda3 60nsram debug=mem
Then you can read the result with the bootmesg utility from the
apus/bootstrap directoty.
Another useful tool is the dmesg utility which will give you the
bootstap process debugging info.
11..66.. AAppuuss ppaarrttiiccuullaarriittiieess iinn ddbboooottssttrraapp
There are some specific things to apus in the dbootstrap stuff.
11..66..11.. PPaarrttiittiioonniinngg tthhee hhaarrddddiisskk -- aammiiggaa--ffddiisskk
The apus subarch uses the amiga-fdisk partitioning tool. Like said
above, you can also use AmigaOS-side partitioning tools.
11..66..22.. IInnssttaalllliinngg tthhee OOSS kkeerrnneell && mmoodduulleess
This option is actually not working. I am in the process of proposing
a "Install the OS modules" option to replace it, but in the meantime
you can use the following alternative :
* don't install the kernel & modules.
The kernel is not needed anyway, since it resides on the
11..66..33.. OOppttiioonn tthhaatt aarree nnoott wwoorrkkiinngg ffoorr aappuuss
Well some options simply don't make sense on apus, so until i exclude
them from the menu, just ignore them. They should not work anyway.
These options are :
* make lilo bootable directly from the harddisk.
* make a boot floppy.
* eject the floppy.
22.. LLiinnkkss oonn wwhheerree ttoo ffiinndd iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn nnoott iinncclluuddeedd iinn tthhiiss gguuiiddee
The official linux doc & faq was at :
ftp://sunsite.auc.dk/pub/os/linux/apus/faq/faq.html
but is in the process of being moved to linux-apus.sourceforge.org :
http://linux-apus.sourceforge.org
You will find there further information, right now, it is a bit out of
date where bootstrap and some other stuff is concerned. It will most
assuredly be updated during the move to sourceforge.
The other source of valuable information is the linux-m68k web site
and faq found at :
... add here the linux-m68k site ...
You will find there lot of information regarding linux on the amiga
plateform that is common to linux-m68k and linux-apus.
33.. CCoonnsslluussiioonn
Well, this little guide tries to explain all the particularities of
the linux-apus installation of debian. The rest of it is quite similar
to any other debian/powerpc installation, as well as the generic
debian installation. You will thus find further info in the debian
documentation directory as well as in the other generic linux
information sites and docs.