PS3: Installing Yellow Dog 5.02 - Linux on your PS3!

mokkapoop

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I am attempting to do this over the weekend, but have a couple of questions. When partioning the HD, it asks to either Allocate 10gb to the PS3os (and leave the rest to the partion for Yellow Dog) or Allocate 10gb to OtherOS - Yellow Dog (and I assume leave the rest for the PS3os). Can this not be split up 50/50. I have an 120gb drive and dont want to restrict either to just 10gb (what about downloads and what not for either). Plus I want to partiton a drive strictly for media as well. Can this be done.

Anywhoo...here is the official installation manual. I do not know if Yellow Dog is free anymore, but if it is not, I do have a free copy downloaded that can be shared. If you are interested, I will send the files to you. Contact me via PM.

Steps:

INTRODUCTION:

Thank you for choosing Yellow Dog Linux!

When Sony Computer Entertainment designed the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™), it
was fully intended that you, a PS3 owner could play games, watch movies, view
photos, listen to music, and run a full-featured Linux operating system that
transforms your PS3 into a home computer.

Yellow Dog Linux for PS3 combines a simple to use graphical installer with
leading-edge components and a foundation of must-have home, office, and
server applications. Everything you need to browse the web, check and
compose email, do your school homework or take your office work home is
included with more than 2000 packages on the Install DVD.

And what's more, Yellow Dog Linux is 100% open-source, meaning the source
code to every component is freely available so that if you desire to improve one
or more applications, you may do so at your choosing. This contribution back
to the open-source community leads to the improvement of Linux software
worldwide.

It's a system that has worked for more than 15 years, continuing to grow in
both quality and users every year. Linux is collectively one of the top operating
systems in use worldwide. Terra Soft is proud to be a part of this with a Fedora
Core, RPM based Yellow Dog Linux.

This Guide to Installation:

This Guide to Installation is written specifically for the Sony Computer
Entertainment PLAYSTATION®3. This Guide does not offer instructions specific
to other computers (ie: Apple Power Macintosh) supported by Yellow Dog
Linux. Installation instructions for other computers are available from Terra
Soft's website.

Refer to www.terrasoftsolutions.com/support/ for updates, issues specific with
unique computer configurations, and engineering notes.

Where is Yellow Dog Linux Installed?

The drive installed in your PS3 ships with just one large partition, a logical
division of the drive into unique sectors for the organization and protection of
data.

Before you install Yellow Dog Linux, you will use the PS3 GameOS to split the
drive into 2 major partitions: one for saving game data, music, and photos; the
other for Yellow Dog Linux.

In this respect, both the GameOS and Yellow Dog Linux maintain their own
unique volumes on which to store data.

Two Operating Systems on my PS3?

Following the installation of Yellow Dog Linux on your PS3, there will be 2
operating systems: the GameOS and Yellow Dog Linux (YDL).

The GameOS is the operating system that ships pre-installed on PS3. It is also
referred to as a hypervisor, an operating system that provides a channel of
communication between the outside world (you, your game controller, the
monitor) and the built-in hardware (CPU, motherboard, RAM, hard drive, and
I/O ports).

When you use the on-screen menus, play a game, watch a movie, or listen to
music, you are doing so through the GameOS. Yellow Dog Linux runs on top of
the GameOS which provides an important communication between Linux and
the hardware.

Even if this sounds a bit technical, it is important as the GameOS provides a
layer of continuity for Linux, making the development and maintenance of Linux
for PS3 a more predictable process. This means you will enjoy a higher quality,
higher performance Linux operating system.

We hope you enjoy Yellow Dog Linux for PS3 and we look
forward to receiving your feedback.

Please visit us at www.terrasoftsolutions.com
1 Yellow Dog Linux by Terra Soft Solutions www.terrasoftsolutions.com 2


PREPARATION

The Yellow Dog Linux Install DVD

Either remove the Install DVD from the Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) package or
prepare the Install DVD-R via a download and burn.
YDL may be purchased from the Terra Soft Store:
www.terrasoftsolutions.com/store/... or via select retail stores worldwide (see Terra Soft's website for details).

YDL may also be downloaded via YDL.net Enhanced accounts which provide a
dedicated server for early access and Installation Support or from the public
FTP mirrors (made available two weeks after the physical product ships).


PS3 Preparation

There are just a few things you must do with your PS3 before it is prepared to
install Yellow Dog Linux.

1. Attach your PS3 to a hi-definition TV or monitor using an HDMI (digital)
or Component (5 RCA jacks) cable. Composite (yellow RCA jack) is not
supported as the resolution is too low.

2. Attach the game controller, a USB keyboard and mouse to your PS3. The
game controller will be used to conduct all GameOS functions. The USB
keyboard and mouse will be used once you enter the YDL installer.

3. Power on your PS3. If this is the first time you have used your PS3, you
will be prompted to Select a language, Select a time zone, Set the time &
date, and Set the username (more easily done with a USB keyboard).

4. It s important to update the GameOS to the most current version,
available for free from Sony. Select Settings > System Update > Update
via Internet and then follow the on-screen prompts to complete.

5. If you have used your PS3, BACK UP ALL GAME, MUSIC, & PHOTO DATA
before formatting the drive as all data will be lost.

6. Select: Settings ==> System Settings ==> Format Utility ==>
Format Hard Disk ==> Yes ==> Yes

7. Then select a partition setting for the hard disk: Custom

8. You are presented with option to "Allot 10GB to the Other OS" or "Allot
10GB to the PS3 System." Allocating the majority for YDL (Other OS) is
recommended, independent of the size of your drive.

9. Select Quick Format and "Yes". Your PS3 will now format its internal drive.

10. Press "X" on the controller to EXIT which will cause your PS3 to reboot.
Transfer control of your PS3 to Linux

Before you install Yellow Dog Linux, you must temporarily transfer control of
your PS3 to the Yellow Dog Linux installer. This is done using a bootloader. The
bootloader installer installs the bootloader and is pre-installed by Sony with the
GameOS. The bootloader "kboot" allows the GameOS to transfer authority to
Yellow Dog Linux. Kboot is included on the YDL Install DVD in the directory
/ps3/otheros directory and called "otheros.bld".

Do not turn off the power nor remove the recording medium during the installation.
Interrupting the installation process may cause damage.


1. Step 1 Insert YDL Install DVD.

2. From the GameOS menu, select:
Settings ==> System Settings ==> Install Other OS

3. Your PS3 will now scan the DVD for the bootloader installer and
bootloader.

4. Confirm discovery of "/ps3/otheros/otheros.bld".

5. Press "X" on the controller to start the installation. The PS3 screen blanks
while pulling files from the DVD.

6. You must now select "Other OS" in order to install YDL:
Settings ==> System Settings ==> Default System ==> Other OS

7. When prompted to boot Other OS, select "Yes".


Returning to the GameOS

Your PS3 will now boot to YDL each time it powers on unless you command
kboot (the bootloader) to again boot the GameOS (see BOOTING GAMEOS,
below).

To return to the GameOS, at the kboot prompt, enter:
boot-game-os [ENTER]

The PLAYSTATION®3 may be forced to return to the GameOS by holding the
power button for about 5 seconds at power on. Doing this resets your PS3 to
factory default. To return to Yellow Dog Linux, you will need to perform steps
6 and 7, above.


INSTALLATION

When installing YDL, you will need a monitor or television with HDMI (digital)
or Component (5 RCA jacks) cable input in order to perform a graphical
install.

1. The bootloader kboot is displayed on-screen. If your monitor has only
Composite (3 RCA jacks) the YDL installer (Anaconda) should default
to "installtext", a low-resolution text mode. This will later require
command line configuration in order to gain a low resolution (difficult
to read) graphical interface. Instructions to do this are found at www.
terrasoftsolutions.com/support/solutions/

2. The Installer will default to the highest resolution available in ten
seconds. Pressing TAB cycles the 4 options: install, installtext, rescue,
and rescuetext.

3. Enter Anaconda (the Yellow Dog Linux installer) and move forward with
the installation of Linux, as guided on-screen and in the next section.

Language & Keyboard Selection

Select your preferred Language and Keyboard configurations.


Partition Drive

Partitioning a drive creates logical (as compared to physical) sections on
your drive, each serving the purpose of organizing and protecting data.
NOTE: If this is the first time installing Linux on your PS3, you will be
warned, "The partition table on this device sda was unreadable ..." This is
normal. Go ahead and select "Yes" to proceed.

You may either allow the Installer to create the partitions for you by selecting
Automatic Partitioning, or conduct this effort manually via Disk Druid.
If you elect to use the Automatic Partitioning feature, you may choose from one
of three schemes:

Remove all Linux partitions: this will delete and then replace only existing
Linux partitions. Please note that if you have already installed Linux on
your PS3, this procedure will DESTROY ALL EXISTING LINUX DATA.
The GameOS and game data will not be harmed.

Remove all partitions: on a PS3 (as compared to a Mac) this will produce
the same result as "Remove all Linux partitions" (above) as the GameOS
cannot be affected by the Linux installer.

Keep all partitions and use existing free space: if you have never installed
Linux on your PS3, this will generate the same result as "Remove all
partitions" (above).

The use of Disk Druid is for advanced Linux users who desire to customize the
partitioning of their drive. If you are new to Linux, we recommend you use the
Automatic Partition tool discussed earlier in this section.

If you elect to build your partitions manually, you should create the following:
swap - used to temporarily store data no longer held in RAM. Swap should
be no less than 512MB.

home - by creating a "/home" dir, you may re-install YDL and preserve your
home directory. This may be any size you desire, but likely at least 1 GB.
/ - contains everything else (/etc, /sbin, /var) and should be at least 10GB.

Root Password

Choose a password that is at least 8 characters, both letters and numbers and
is not based on a dictionary word. Lower and upper case letters are unique.
Do not use your birthday, your child's name spelled backward, nor the name
of your spouse followed by the year you were married. The security of your
computer is only as strong as your passwords. Do not forget this password. Only
login as root if you are an experienced user, as it is possible to remove files or
data which are required for the proper function of your Linux OS.


Dependency Check

The Installer will now check for package dependencies. This will take 3-4
minutes. Click Next to continue.

Package Selection

The Yellow Dog Installer defaults to a pre-defined package set which includes a
full-featured set of graphical applications for a wide variety of functions. These
applications are listed on the following webpage:
www.terrasoftsolutions.com/products/ydl/apps.shtml
This process will take roughly one hour, with an update for each package
installed provided on-screen. Once up and running, additional packages may
be installed using yum or the Package Management utility.
Good time for a beverage break ...


BOOTING UP!

1. Click Reboot to restart your PS3. This will take a half minute.

2. When presented with the bootloader menu (the same as was presented
prior to installation), TAB through the options and select ydltext if your
monitor was not supported during installation*; or press ENTER on your
USB keyboard to boot the default ydl option.

3. Two YDL icons will appear in the upper left corner of your screen.
These represent the PowerPC processor present on the PPU (Primary
Processing Units) of the PS3 Cell CPU. Shortly thereafter, 6 smaller
penguins will appear, each representing one of the SPUs (Synergistic
Processing Units). There are 8 in all, 6 of which are available to Linux on
the PS3.

4. During the first-ever boot following installation, you will be welcomed
by firstboot in order that you may conduct additional system tests and
configuration. See the next section for details.

* www.terrasoftsolutions.com/support/solutions/ydl_5.0/ for assistance.

FIRSTBOOT

Firstboot walks you through Acceptance of the License Agreement, Date and
Time settings, System User, and Sound Setup.

License Agreement - Please read and accept this document.

Date and Time - If your PS3 will always be connected to the internet,
selecting NTP will make certain your clock is accurate. If not, manually
set the Date and Time.

System User - Create one user account for your initial login and immediate
access to the system. Additional users may be added later. Choose a
password that is at least 8 characters, both letters and numbers and is
not based on a dictionary word. Do not use your birthday, your child's
name spelled backward, nor the name of your spouse followed by the
year you were married. The security of your computer is only as strong as
your passwords.

Sound Setup - You must have audtio cables attached to your monitor/TV in
order to hear the output. Press the play button and confirm that music was
heard.



RUNNING YELLOW DOG LINUX

Login


At the graphical prompt, enter the username and password created during
firstboot's System User query. You will then enter the graphical user interface to
Yellow Dog Linux, featuring the Enlightenment "E17" desktop environment.
With Linux, no one desktop environment is locked to the operating system,
granting end users room for creativity, choice, and a variety of features.

Other desktop environments such as KDE and Gnome are available with the
YDL Install DVD or from on-line repositories. KDE offers a tightly integrated
productive environment for office and education. Gnome generally caters to
those who desire greater room for customization. Gnome is installed by default
and may be selected at log in.

Yellow Dog Linux defaults to the Enlightenment "E17" desktop environment.

Enlightenment

Enlightenment "E17" is an alternative desktop manager to KDE and Gnome,
offering a completely customizable interface, integrated functionality, access
to all the traditional applications, and a lighweight, intuitive, yet robust
graphical interface.

While unique in many respects, E17 offers familiar operating system features
such as a start (YDL logo) menu, productivity applications, and the ability to
customize the desktop environment to your liking.

To learn more about Yellow Dog Linux and the E17 desktop environment,
review the included Quick Start Tutorial, presented as the home page of your
FireFox web browser:

YDL Menu ==> Applications ==> Internet ==> Firefox

The same tutorial is also available on-line:
www.terrasoftsolutions.com/support/configuration/

SUPPORT

Installation Support is provided through YDL.net Enhanced accounts. To
purchase a YDL.net Enhanced account, visit:
www.terrasoftsolutions.com/store/
... and select the "Yellow Dog Linux" icon. Once purchased, you may proceed
to www.ydl.net create your new YDL.net Enhanced account. Once logged in,
follow the Help links to Support on the left side bar.
HOWTOs, Lists, and Forums
A guide to free, on-line support is available at Terra Soft's website:
www.terrasoftsolutions.com/support/
Technical Support
To learn more about Terra Soft's technical support offerings, visit:
www.terrasoftsolutions.com/services/
 
Can this not be split up 50/50. I have an 120gb drive and dont want to restrict either to just 10gb (what about downloads and what not for either). Plus I want to partiton a drive strictly for media as well. Can this be done.

Pretty sure you can't....and you won't really use linux for much...at least 99% of the people that have it installed don't. Including me. So just make the 10gb the linux part...trust me.

I do not know if Yellow Dog is free anymore, but if it is not, I do have a free copy downloaded that can be shared. If you are interested, I will send the files to you. Contact me via PM.

You might want to take this out....if it isn't free anymore (which I don't think it is) then now it is considered warez and that is off limits in this forum. (I will delete this quote, if/when you take it out)
 
Pretty sure you can't....and you won't really use linux for much...at least 99% of the people that have it installed don't. Including me. So just make the 10gb the linux part...trust me.



You might want to take this out....if it isn't free anymore (which I don't think it is) then now it is considered warez and that is off limits in this forum. (I will delete this quote, if/when you take it out)

The copy that I downloaded did say I can legally share with anyone.
 
I thought Linux distros had to be free due to the GNU general public license?
 
wow, they charge for OSS? I was contemplating YDL until I read this. Boo on them. E17 is sweet tho, but thats free too for other distro's.
 
So has anyone else done this? Had it running for awhile? Do you use it much or does it just sit there?

I currently have a 40gb PS3 as my BD player and was just curious.
 
Who said anything about them charging for OSS?

http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/store/index.php?submit=software&submitimg[software][ydl]=1

It has a price tag. Since I am at work, this is the only method of obtaining YDL that I am capable of finding while still here.

Also, as in the OP, Its 100% open source. Now I know that other distros charge a small fee for a disc and to ship it, but not $99 or even $49.

If there are other methods of obtaining it that comply with the forum rules, then hook it up.

Edit: I see a little more now. 5.0x appears to be available and free somewhere online, but I'm not finding any other such things for 6.x anywhere.
 
So has anyone else done this? Had it running for awhile? Do you use it much or does it just sit there?

I currently have a 40gb PS3 as my BD player and was just curious.

I will be installing over the weekend!
 
Edit: I see a little more now. 5.0x appears to be available and free somewhere online, but I'm not finding any other such things for 6.x anywhere.

6.0 is not out yet, however it will be soon. When you buy this from Terra Soft, you actually just buying a service account, and as part of the service you can download the 6.0 version of YDL early. The $70 YDL account gets you:

Lifetime email account.
Secure webmail interface.
POP3 and IMAP support.
German, English, French, & Spanish language support.
A personal Calendar and blog.
Custom Folder and Address Book.
Early access to YDL ISOs.
Private access to full set of public YDL ISOs
Access to YDL Board Support Packages.
Private yum server.

And if you bothered to look, which you clearly did not, you would find that YDL provides a list of mirrors for the OSes:

http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/ftp_mirrors.shtml

ISO go up on the public mirrors two weeks after they can be downloaded by paying YDL account members.
 
Anyone know how to reformat this thing from inside linux? I'm running off YLD right now and want to reformat. I haven't used linux in almost a year and forgot most of the commands.
 
Any chance any updates/versions come out that are more optimized for running on the PS3?
 
Any chance any updates/versions come out that are more optimized for running on the PS3?

Some of you are horrible at clicking links and reading. A new version of YDL (6.0) is coming out in 3 days.
 
well I have a question for anyone who is actually using Linux on the PS3. What are you using it for? I am interested in using my PS3 as a teamspeak server for when I am playing PC games. is this at all a good app for running on my PS3 or should I just build a cheap computer and run that as my server?
 
No video acceleration, terrible resolution options, starved for ram.

PS3 Linux is nothing more than a novelty of "oh isn't that cute" at this point in time. Sony's restriction of the RSX is quite frankly, appauling. How dare they use Linux to pimp and hype the PS3s power. "Not only is it a gaming console, but a fully featured supercomputer!" Yea, a fully featured supercomputer that performs about as well as an Intel Pentium III because its running everything in the framebuffer.

PS3 Linux offers very little to most users who aren't specifically looking to number crunch with the cell.
 
PS3 Linux is nothing more than a novelty of "oh isn't that cute" at this point in time.

This may be true if you're expecting to use a ps3 as a desktop. For a media player though, VLC rocks. The original PS3 OS pretty much limits video playback to divx and xvid, along with small (less than 2 gb) vc1 files.



On YDL resolution changing:

It is sort of a bitch to change resolutions in YDL 5.02. To change resolutions, you have to modify the kboot config (kboot.conf off the top of my head, I am a linux noob) which is located in the etc directory. Copy one of the entries there and name the label to something you'd want to call it (ydl1080p is what I use). For mode, you will have to look up what numbers represent modes in linux as I don't know them all. The one for my tv which is 1080p, is 5. But wait! It's linux! It can't be that easy! You have to add 128 to the mode number to get full screen.


So, to recap, put this at the bottom of your kboot.conf file:

Code:
ydl1080p='/dev/sda1:/vmlinux-2.6.16-20061110.ydl.1ps3 
		initrd=/dev/sda1:/initrd-2.6.16-20061110.ydl.1ps3.img 
		root=/dev/sda2 init=/sbin/init video=ps3fb:mode:133 rhgb'

and then obviously change the default line to default=ydl1080p.

After this, /etc/X11/xorg.conf needs to be modified as well. The official tutorial told me to add

Code:
"1920x1200" "1920x1080" "1280x1024" "1280x768" "1280x720" "720x576" "720x480"

for the three Modes lines. Doing this caused my screen to wrap. So instead I just deleted the default entry in the three modes lines, and instead put only "1920x1080". This fixed my problems and allowed YDL to run in 1080p full screen without black borders.


For people asking about ydl 6.0, it won't be available to the public until march 3rd, like it says on the official site. Pretty lame, obviously. I wouldn't be rushing to get a freshly-beta copy of YDL though if I were you, as many bugs are likely present in it.
 
No video acceleration, terrible resolution options, starved for ram.


This used to be the case, not anymore. PS2DDEV has created drivers that access RSX. which has been working since 1.9. There are issues on 2.10, hopefully this will be resolved
 
ok I see some are actually using the Linux stuff on the PS3 so I will ask again.

Is the PS3 running Linux well suited for a Team-Speak server? I ask this because I would like to run a TS server but I don't want to have an additional computer running 24/7 and my PS3 always is so I figured that if this works I would have a viable solution. I would just try it but I wanted to ask before I formatted my HD or went out and bought a bigger HD for my system.

On a side note if I do get a bigger HD for my ps3 how would I go about transferring all the files from it to the new HD? Do all the Demos have to be re-downloaded and installed?
 
ok I see some are actually using the Linux stuff on the PS3 so I will ask again.

Is the PS3 running Linux well suited for a Team-Speak server? I ask this because I would like to run a TS server but I don't want to have an additional computer running 24/7 and my PS3 always is so I figured that if this works I would have a viable solution. I would just try it but I wanted to ask before I formatted my HD or went out and bought a bigger HD for my system.

On a side note if I do get a bigger HD for my ps3 how would I go about transferring all the files from it to the new HD? Do all the Demos have to be re-downloaded and installed?

Best way is to hook up an external drive (HD, Flash drive) or if I am not mistaken you can transfer via the network (unsure).

I'd like to know what 6 is like.
 
ok I see some are actually using the Linux stuff on the PS3 so I will ask again.

Is the PS3 running Linux well suited for a Team-Speak server? I ask this because I would like to run a TS server but I don't want to have an additional computer running 24/7 and my PS3 always is so I figured that if this works I would have a viable solution. I would just try it but I wanted to ask before I formatted my HD or went out and bought a bigger HD for my system.

On a side note if I do get a bigger HD for my ps3 how would I go about transferring all the files from it to the new HD? Do all the Demos have to be re-downloaded and installed?


Sounds like a great idea, it should be possible but I believe bandwidth would be more of an issue if your hosting for 12 or more users
 
Linux on the PS3 is so slow it aint worth it.

Tell that to the users that are playing 720p & 1080p MKV's with the RSX drivers

Anyone even know if YDL 6.0 is/was released yet?

It's in beta from what I have gathered

Yellow Dog Enthusiasts,

YDL v6.0 was today delivered to the beta test team comprised of TSS staff,
individuals from chip vendors and Power OEMs, and community members. YDL v6.0
is a complete rebuild against the CentOS foundation with select Fedora 7
components.

The final shipping version will include:
- Kernel 2.6.23.
- Glibc 2.5, GCC 4.1.1.
- Select components of the IBM Cell SDK 3.0.
- Enlightenment E17 graphical environment.
- Gnash open source Flash replacement.
- Codeina, the Fluendo multi-media installer.
- Ekiga open source VOIP phone.
- Pidgin replacement for GAIM.

... with support for the Apple PowerPC G4 and G5 product line, Sony PS3, and
IBM System p series machines.

--TSS Staff

http://lists.terrasoftsolutions.com/pipermail/yellowdog-general/2008-January/021919.html
 
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