Linux on PowerPC FAQ-O-Matic : Trash :
What PowerPC machines work with Linux?
jonh@cs.dartmouth.edu
If something is wrong or out of date, update what you know! ***************** I've reorganized all the information in this document for clarity, but have not added much. It should however now be easier for people with experience to correct and update the information herein. PLEASE add your knowledge! - mth 971020 Alternately, you can check other supported machines documents for each of the distributions (in case those happen to become more up to date than this document), at http://www.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/jonh/lppc/faq.pl?file=131 (MkLinux) ftp://samba.anu.edu.au/pub/linux-pmac/STATUS (linux-pmac) Here, machines are separated into these categories: A. NuBus machines (that can run only MkLinux) B. 603e machines (that can only run linux-pmac) C. Other macs (which might run either or both linux distributions) D. other PPC machines (which don't run MacOS, but might run linux) Basic rules of thumb: 1. NuBus macs are supported by MkLinux, but not linux-pmac. 2. 603e machines are supported by linux-pmac, but not MkLinux (yet!) 3. There still aren't many drivers for video and SCSI cards, so if your mac is using one of these can be a problem (FAQ-O-Matic doesn't yet have a category for hardware support and drivers available- you'll just have to wander around or do a search on keywords; 'ATI', 'driver') 4. A machine with an identical design but different processor speed (compared to one listed here as functional) _ought_ to work as well. If your machine isn't listed here, and you're not sure about hardware specifics of your machine, a few sites with model details are: http://www.primenet.com/%7Eericy/MacEvolution.html http://www.everymac.com/ http://www.rpi.edu/~johnsd10/macline/ http://www5.zdnet.com/mac/catalog.html *I think a good rule of thumb is if your computer uses ram DIMM chips then it's PCI and linux-pmac should work. If it uses SIMMs, then you probably got a NuBus machine and it won't work. All 604 and 604e are PCI. - wj@acpub.duke.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Listed below for each model is the latest version of the linux distribution in question that has been verified to work. A 'yes' means no specific version information is known. (Please replace the 'yes' entries with version numbers if you can verify them!) --------- NuBus Macs ------------------------------------------------ NuBus machines are only supported by MkLinux. linux-pmac will not support them. All of these machines have 601 processors. NuBus machines that have been confirmed to run MkLinux: MkLinux linux-pmac- NO 6100 yes 7100 yes 8100 yes 9150(WGS) yes (nexus@xs4all.nl) Radius 81/110 DR2.1u3 --------- PPC 603e Macs --------------------------------------------- 603e machines are currently only supported by linux-pmac. MkLinux doesn't support any 603e machines _yet_. All these machines have PCI buses. Many alchemy-based machines use IDE drives; these may cause problems as the IDE drivers are newer than the well-aged SCSI drivers. (There certainly has been trouble with IDE drives under MacOS.) For info on booting linux-pmac from internal SCSI, see http://www.duke.edu/~wj/linux/ideBoot.html Some of these machines also have unusual video circuitry or a 3rd party video board, requiring a specific driver. 603e machines that should run linux-pmac: linux-pmac MkLinux- NO 4400 yes 5400 yes 5500 yes (U !X) 6400 yes 6500 yes PowerBase 180/200 yes (I?) StarMax 3000 yes (M) StarMax 5000 yes (M U) --------- The Rest -------------------------------------------------- 601/604/604e PCI machines are supported by both MkLinux and linux-pmac. All of the following machines have PCI buses. MkLinux linux-pmac 7200 601 yes yes 7300 604e yes * yes 7500 601 yes yes 7600 604 yes yes 8200 601 yes yes 8500 604 yes yes 8600 604e yes yes 9500 604 yes (A) yes (A) 9600 604e yes no PowerCurve 120 601 DR2.1u2 yes PowerWave 132 604 yes yes PowerWave 150 604 yes yes PowerCenter 120/132 604 yes yes PowerCenter 150 604 DR2.1u3 2.1.x PowerTower 180e 604e yes yes PowerCenterPro 180/210/240 604e yes (!S !A) * yes (S?) * PowerTowerPro 200 604e yes * yes (!S) * PowerTowerPro 225 604e yes (T?) * yes (T?) * StarMax 4000 604e no yes (M) UMAX Pulsar(?) 604e DR2 * ? UMAX J700 604e DR2.1u2 yes (X?) UMAX S900 604e DR2.1u5 yes (X?) APS and PowerTools made machines using Tanzania boards like in the StarMaxi, and ought to work similarly. (*) - see special note for this machine below (A) - ATI mach64 video card in this machine is supported, but see note below (I?) - IDE drives a problem? (M) - see http://www.duke.edu/~wj/linux/ for linux on StarMaxi (!S) - no support for the Adaptec SCSI card, must put HD on non-adaptec bus (T?) - IMS Twin Turbo isn't well-supported.. e.g., see notes below. (U) - unverified, but should work! change it if you know better! ;) (!X) - no X. ATI Graphics notes - 16 bit colour is handled improperly for VT and GT chipsets under Xpmac - PowerBase's video is 'flaky' under linux-pmac - DR2.1update[56] may not correctly recognize some ATI cards (such as the ATY,mach64_3D_pcc) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- More on PowerMac 7300 support (with workaround for mklinux and 7.6.1) Running pmac/linux on a PowerMac 7300 should work without a hitch, and contrary to what the documentation may say, the X11 version in the mklinux DR2.1 userland works without modification - at least it did on my system. Regular mklinux, with the Mach kernel, does run on the 7300. However, it requires a modification (see elsewhere in the FAQomatic) to run on a 7300 with MacOS 7.5.5. Since Enabler 702 has been rolled into MacOS 7.6.1 or newer, a different workaround is required with. This is how: - You will need a MacOS (HFS) partition about 10MB in size that has no System Folder. You will also need your MacOS CD with System 7.5.5 - Insert the MacOS 7.5.5 CD - Find the System Folder it uses to boot; copy this onto the partition - Move the mklinux files in your current System Folder onto the partition (this includes the mklinux control panel, mach kernel etc) - Copy the necessary settings file (lilo.conf, etc) into the Preferences folder in your new System Folder; you need to create this Prefs folder - Make sure the new System Folder *does not* contain System Enabler 702! - To run mklinux, select this partition in the Startup Disk control panel As you can see, getting mklinux to run is awkward and cumbersome. Why not use pmac/linux, which runs fine without modification? ;-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- PowerTower Pro 225 w/ IMS Twin Turbo 128M 8Meg video card and IBM drive. - IMS Twin Turbo: in 24-bit, console is unreadable, X works. in 8-bit: Console is visible, but with colormap problems (I get yellow background/red text), and X also has colormap problems (light yellow text on lighter yellow background). - Had to add jumper to drive to get it to work (see elsewhere in FAQ for info on this -- 2.1 update 2 might have fixed the problem). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- PowerCenter Pro's: Yes, it is possible to get it working, though a mini-tower case certainly helps. The problem is that this machine has two SCSI buses: one regular internal bus recognized by the MkLinux Installer, and one Ultra-Wide one serviced by an Adaptec 2940UW, which is *not* recognized by said Installer. Opening up the case, and placing the hard drive on the former bus (as shipped by Power Computing, the HD is on the latter bus) will alleviate this problem. ObWarning: Please take your time, be careful, and be patient in doing this, as the PCP 180 and 210 are in cramped quarters, even in the mini- tower case. Strive to keep the area near the heat sink free of SCSI cables wherever possible, because the original SCSI ribbon cable layout is meant for maximizing air flow as well -- every inch of space around hardware components helps! ObWarrantyWarning: This procedure may violate your warranty. Coax, cajole, and badger Power Computing to ship Linux-capable machines. =-) While you'll now be able to run MkLinux, your disk access will suffer a performance hit (your HD is on a slower bus). You can compensate a little by moving the CD-Rom drive to the Adaptec-supervised bus. MkL won't see the CD-ROM drive anymore, so if you want anything from the MkL CDs after this point, you're stuck with 1) copying items to the HD from the CD-ROM in the MacOS and 2) using hmount on the MkLinux side to access the desired items. Hey, it's better than nothing. AFAIK, there's no word on when the Adaptec 2940UW will be supported (check relevant Web sites!), so this is the best solution for the time being. (As for formatting the HD, you must must must read the documentation that comes with your bundled copy of FWB's Hard Disk Toolkit. Search on "MkLinux".) Note--the Adaptec is a 2930. It might work with the aic7xxx driver, if ported ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Motorola Starmax: Linux-pmac is working, but not MkLinux yet. More information for running Linux on StarMax is available at http://www.duke.edu/~wj/linux . An X capable video driver is now part of the standard linux-pmac distribution for VT and GT chipset video. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Umax Pulsar (166MHz 604e) - This 9500 series based clone seems to work OK with DR2, but under X the colormap becomes distorted even in 8bit mode. This is probably due to the Imagine 128 video card, which also leaves the original MacOS mouse pointer in place after switching to MkLinux. (NB: This is the case even if the card's acceleration is turned off in MacOS.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-MacOS PowerPC machines (PREP) that run Linux: Firepower (? - please add what you know) Motorola - PowerStack, Series E, PowerStack II Zenith Z PowerSeries E ( now has Cirrus X support ) IBM 830, 43P (these are normally shipped w/ AIX 4.x; both bsed on PPC604) IBM 850 - IBM Personal Computer Power Series 850 has a PC604 (100MHz,120MHz, 133MHz). It shipped with either NT 3.5.x or AIX 4.x. It was withdrawn from marketing March 1996. Some hardware/service support is still available. IBM 6015 - IBM Power Series 400 (601 PPC) IBM 40P - PPC601 based box IBM Nobis - Similar to 40P, manufactured in Milan, Italy IBM INDI - PPC604 based box built in Milan, Italy Be BeBox 2x66, 2x133 (currently only supports #9GXE64 and Diamond Stealth64 VGA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- started 1997-01-28 jcarr@linuxppc.org updated 1997-02-06 mliberat@ecs.umass.edu updated 1997-02-08 timothy_buchheim@hmc.edu (added PowerTower 180e) updated 1997-02-17 john@dtoptions.co.uk (added UMAX Pulsar 604e/166) updated 1997-02-17 slipcon@cs.jhu.edu (added 7600 - why was it missing?) updated 1997-02-19 caesar@andrew.cmu.edu (added PowerTower Pro 200) updated 1997-02-19 tony_niesz@mail.utexas.edu (added Radius 81/110) updated 1997-03-15 matesch@students.wisc.edu (distinguish btw. mk/pmac) updated 1997-03-15 sharding@oregon.uoregon.edu (added PowerCenter 150 info) updated 1997-03-16 mlan@selection-line.net (info about ATI video card) updated 1997-03-16 tdemayo@earthlink.net (added PowerCenter 120) updated 1997-03-29 dlazenby@ix.netcom.com (added IBM Personal Computer Power Series 850 info.) updated 1997-04-04 mendenmh@nashville.net (added Mac7300 info) updated 1997-04-12 ssartor@planet.net (added UMAX J700) updated 1997-04-13 stian@mail.utexas.edu (added more PowerMac 7300 info) updated 1997-04-13 fray@kernel.crashing.org (added some NuBus info) updated 1997-04-13 sawatzkb@skatter.usask.ca (added PowerWave 132 info) updated 1997-04-14 jk@esperance.com (added PowerBase 240, minor cleanup, and ISO dates, fixed non-mac list(no new info)) updated 1997-04-16 wj@acpub.duke.edu (added StarMax info) updated 1997-04-18 haceaton@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu (updated StarMax info) updated 1997-04-19 jcg@cs.cmu.edu (updated PowerTowerPro info) updated 1997-05-08 wj@acpub.duke.edu (updated StarMax) updated 1997-05-16 skramer@erinet.com (added PowerCenterPro 180) updated 1997-05-24 sigurasg@menandmice.is (added UMAX S900) updated 1997-06-02 gdt@linuxppc.org (updated native [PreP] info) updated 1997-06-14 wj@acpub.duke.edu (updated monolithic info) updated 1997-06-24 dcaugh@nortel.ca (added PowerCenter Pro 180 HW config info) updated 1997-06-24 ralf@espenschied.com (added PowerMac 9600) updated 1997-07-07 reik@nt.e-technik.uni-erlangen.de (added PowerCenter 150 with MkLinux) updated 1997-07-09 buskulic@lapp.in2p3.fr (added Performa 5400) updated 1997-07-28 tony_niesz@mail.utexas.edu (updated Radius info) updated 1997-07-29 nicolas@pobox.com (added ** for linux-pmac and 9500) updated 1997-09-15 geweke@uclink.berkeley.edu (added linux-pmac on PowerCenter Pro 180) updated 1997-10-20 hamlin_m@pa.msu.edu (added PCC PowerCurve, re-organized info for clarity) updated 1997-10-27 mcalmus@sunflowr.usd.edu (updated Umax S900) updated 1997-12-02 atong@uiuc.edunexus@xs4all.nl, wj@acpub.duke.edu, jcarr@linuxppc.org, mliberat@ecs.umass.edu, timothy_buchheim@hmc.edu, john@dtoptions.co.uk, slipcon@cs.jhu.edu, caesar@andrew.cmu.edu, tony_niesz@mail.utexas.edu, matesch@students.wisc.edu, sharding@oregon.uoregon.edu, mlan@selection-line.net, tdemayo@earthlink.net, dlazenby@ix.netcom.com, mendenmh@nashville.net, ssartor@planet.net, stian@mail.utexas.edu, fray@kernel.crashing.org, sawatzkb@skatter.usask.ca, jk@esperance.com, haceaton@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu, jcg@cs.cmu.edu, skramer@erinet.com, sigurasg@menandmice.is, gdt@linuxppc.org, dcaugh@nortel.ca, ralf@espenschied.com, reik@nt.e-technik.uni-erlangen.de, buskulic@lapp.in2p3.fr, nicolas@pobox.com, geweke@uclink.berkeley.edu, hamlin_m@pa.msu.edu, mcalmus@sunflowr.usd.edu, atong@uiuc.edu, nritter@mail.lfcds.lfc.edu, dhorn@techdev.compuserve.com
Apple Network Server 500/700 The network servers will boot, although you'll need to monkey with open firmware yourself to get it to boot. X, of course, does not work.leviatan@dal.net