How to install Fedora 7 on PS3

[billb]

Installing Fedora 7 PPC on the PS3 is not difficult, but this information is scattered all over in various posts and websites. You can also install Fedora 8 on the PS3, but this presents some difficulties that don't exist with Fedora 7. So here's a guide to installing Fedora 7 on your PS3 ...

Get the Install DVD:

You can download the Fedora 7 install DVD disc image from one of the mirrors here:

http://mirrors.fedoraproject.org/pub.../Fedora/7/ppc/

The install DVD iso will be located in this folder (note that not all the mirrors have the ppc version):

/linux/releases/7/Fedora/ppc/iso

This is the filename to look for:

F-7-ppc-DVD.iso

Once you have downloaded the ISO, you can optionally confirm it has no errors using a sha1sum utility:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sha1sum

Here's an example of how it should look:

$  sha1sum F-7-ppc-DVD.iso
78e6c82656dc07cd8c19351894e767b9b60e9cf3  F-7-ppc-DVD.iso

If the long string of numbers and letters is different you have a problem with your file and you'll need to download the ISO again.

DVD burning:

Once you're sure you have the correct ISO file you're ready to burn the DVD. On Windows machines, many DVD burners come with a program called Nero. You'll need to use the "Burn image to disc" option in Nero and select your F-7-ppc-DVD.iso file. Note that you can't simply burn the ISO image (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_image) file itself to a data DVD.

If you have a Windows machine but don't have Nero or any other DVD authoring software, you can use http://www.imgburn.com/. It is free and very easy to use (load ImgBurn, insert disc, select image, check verify after writing, click write, done). Actually, I would use imgburn instead of anything else you might already have.

A list of open source, free, and commercial optical disc authoring software for various operating systems can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...oring_software

Get the bootloader:

Currently in the Fedora 7 release notes it says that "A suitable boot loader image is located on the Fedora 7 install media." But there is no PS3 boot loader on the media for F7 or F8.

A working boot loader is on the Cell Addon CD located here:
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kern...le/geoff/cell/

You can just download the bootloader by itself instead of getting the CD (.iso file) if you want. As new versions are released the location will change -- at this time it's in the CELL-Linux-CL_20080201-ADDON/PS3/otheros folder (RIGHT-CLICK HERE). The file name is otheros.bld. Right-click on it to save the file, then you'll need to copy it to media in this exact location: /PS3/otheros/otheros.bld

You can use a data CD/DVD, memory stick, compact flash, secure digital, or USB flash drive. Note that USB flash drives or any of the memory cards must be in FAT or FAT32 format for the Game OS to read from them. All memory cards I have seen are already formatted FAT or FAT32 out of the box, so you probably don't need to worry about that. If you have multiple media with the bootloader inserted in your PS3 there's no way to select a specific one during install, so make sure you have only the one you want to use inserted.

Note that there are some guides still on the web that claim you need to use a "otheros.self" file in addition to the "otheros.bld" file. This is no longer necessary since PS3 firmware 1.60 (currently we have 2.10).

Install the bootloader:

Once you have the bootloader downloaded and copied to your media in this location:

/PS3/otheros/otheros.bld

Insert your media and select the menu item Settings > System Settings > Install Other OS. Select Start to begin the installation. This should only take a few moments since it is just installing the bootloader to the PS3's flash memory.

Format the PS3 hard drive:

WARNING: If you have any data (games, PS1/2/3 saved games, videos, etc.) on your PS3's hard drive you need to back it up before formatting so you can restore it later. Otherwise you WILL lose everything. If you don't have anything worth saving, don't worry about it. An external USB 2.0 hard drive works great for backing up all your stuff.

See the format utility notes here:
http://manuals.playstation.net/docum...atutility.html

Sony has currently allowed us two different options for formatting the PS3's hard drive:

Allocate 10 GB to the Other OS and the rest to the Game OS.

or

Allocate 10 GB to the Game OS and the rest to the Other OS.

So even if you have replaced your PS3's internal hard drive with a 160 GB drive, you still only have these two options. Since 10 GB isn't much once you start installing many PS3 games and addons, I use 10 GB for the Other OS (Linux) and the rest for the Game OS. If you don't intend to download many PS3 games or addons you may want to use the 10 GB for Game OS option. This cannot be changed at a later time without re-formatting again, though, so think about it first.

Once you have your drive formatted, proceed to Part 2.

[billb]

Installing Fedora 7 PPC:

You have your install DVD ready, you've formatted the PS3's hard drive (and possibly restored any backups you made afterward), you've installed the bootloader, and you're ready to install Fedora 7...

While in the Game OS, insert the Fedora 7 install DVD. Now change your Default System to Other OS (see http://manuals.playstation.net/docum...ultsystem.html).

The system will reboot and in a moment you should be presented with a black screen and white text. At the kboot prompt, type:

linux64 video=ps3fb:mode:X (where X is the video mode number you want to use)

0:auto mode
YUV 60Hz 1:480i 2:480p 3:720p 4:1080i 5:1080p
YUV 50Hz 6:576i 7:576p 8:720p 9:1080i 10:1080p
RGB 60Hz 33:480i 34:480p 35:720p 36:1080i 37:1080p
RGB 50Hz 38:576i 39:576p 40:720p 41:1080i 42:1080p
VESA 11:WXGA 12:SXGA 13:WUXGA

full screen mode: <video mode ID> + 128
dither ON mode : <video mode ID> + 2048

For example, on a typical display that supports 720p, you would enter:

linux64 video=ps3fb:mode:3

Note that using linux instead of linux64 will produce the same result, as in:

linux video=ps3fb:mode:3

Also, if you don't want to bother with mode numbers, you may be able to use video=720p or video=1080i instead. For example:

linux video=720p

If you're installing on a SDTV and have no HD modes available, you'll need to use mode 1, or just type linux by itself. The installer will run in low-resolution mode and there will be a black border around the screen which prevents you from seeing all the buttons. Use the F12 key to proceed past the various prompts instead.

You can also install in text-only mode with: linux text

NOTE: If you want to use a monitor with the PS3's HDMI output, either using a HDMI -> HDMI or HDMI -> DVI cable, the display must have support for HDCP or you'll get nothing but a black screen.

Installation notes:

From this point the install will go basically the same as any other Fedora 7 install ... to get an idea of what to expect, see the Fedora 7 tour on fedoraproject.org.

When you reach the point where you set up partitions, pay attention to which drives are selected if you have other media like flash drives, external USB drives, memory cards, etc. inserted. By default it will delete any Linux partitions on all these drives and use them. In most cases you'll want to UNCHECK all drives but the PS3's internal drive (ps3da).

At this time you'll need to begin making choices based on how you want to use your Fedora 7 PPC on PS3 install. Here are some notes about my install (geared mostly towards running games & emulators, copied from an earlier post):

I selected "Software Development" during install, and left the Office and Server options unchecked. Checking "Software Development" is a good idea even if you don't do any software development -- it makes it much easier to install applications that must be compiled from source.

I set SELinux to disabled thinking it might affect performance (?).

Unchecked SSH on the Firewall so all ports closed.

After installing:

Change your video mode using the PS3 video guide. Normal methods for setting the resolution in the GUI don't work on the PS3.

I found a useful "personal setup guide" regarding Services in Fedora 7:
http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/mjm-services-f7.html

I disabled the following services:

* anacron
* atd
* avahi-daemon
* bluetooth
* cpuspeed
* cups
* hidd
* hplip
* ip6tables
* iprinit
* iprdump
* iprupdate
* isdn
* mcstrans
* mdmonitor
* nfslock
* pcscd
* restorecond
* rpcbind
* rpcgssd
* rpcimapd
* sendmail
* setroubleshoot
* smartd
* sshd
* yum-updatesd

(all disabled in Runlevels 3 and 5, except gdm is enabled in 3 and not 5)

For additional software I added the Livna and Dribble repos in this way:

Livna - go to http://rpm.livna.org/rlowiki/MyStartingPage
Click on Fedora 7 repository RPM and install...

Dribble (http://www.dribble.org.uk)

$  su
<root password>

#  rpm -ivh http://dribble.org.uk/repo/dribble-release-5-3.noarch.rpm

I read somewhere that I shouldn't use Livna AND FreshRPMs because of compatibility issues, so I left it at that.

I installed swfdec and the mozilla plugin from the above repos and flash video on Youtube works now.


Update your install:

There are a couple of PS3-specific issues that have been fixed since the initial release of Fedora 7. One thing fixed is the PS3 will now properly shut down. Install updates as you normally would with Fedora. Note that this will initially take a rather long time due to number of updates. Reboot after updating.

$  su
<root password>

#  yum update

More PS3 related guides on fedoraforum:

Instructions for changing the video mode once you have installed:
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=162637

Installing the Java plugin for Firefox:
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=163332

How to get Fedora 8 on PS3:
http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=171869

Returning to the GameOS:

To return to the GameOS, at the kboot prompt on startup, simply type:

game

If you're using the graphical bootloader "petitboot", you won't see the kboot prompt. Press the DEL key to return to the Game OS.

From the command line while Fedora 7 is running:

$  su -
<root password>

#  boot-game-os

The PS3 may be forced to return to the GameOS by holding the power button for more than 5 seconds at power on. This resets your PS3 to factory default audio & video settings.

[Jblank0]

Does wifi work on f7 if not is there any guide to make it work

[billb]

Does wifi work on f7 if not is there any guide to make it work

Yes, using open (unsecured), 64-bit, or 128-bit WEP encryption. WPA and WPA2 are not supported as far as I know (see here).

We don't have a guide written for it here yet, but the process is very similar to Yellow Dog 5 so you may want to refer to the YDL guides for now:

http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/su...i-config.shtml
http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/su...cryption.shtml

[Jblank0]

i'm tryinf to install fedora 7 in my ps3 using an ipod as a hard drive but is giving an error:

INvalid argument during write on /dev/sdc

[Jblank0]

I install fedora 7 but it is too slow.
Is there anything i can do to make it faster

[billb]

I install fedora 7 but it is too slow.
Is there anything i can do to make it faster

Disable some or all of the services I mentioned in the guide -- it helps quite a bit. Otherwise, can you be more specific about what is too slow?

Re: your question about Flash: Adobe doesn't provide a Flash player for PPC Linux, so we have to use an alternative player. To view Flash videos on youtube, first add the Livna repo as described in the guide, then from a terminal window:

su
<root password>

yum install swfdec swfdec-mozilla

When that is completed, restart Firefox if it is already running. After restarting Firefox, you can enter this in the address bar to confirm that the plugin was installed.

about:plugins

If it shows up you should be able to play Flash videos on some sites (including youtube) but not all of them. Also, you'll be able to get some of those wonderful flash advertisements you've been missing.

Gnash is another alternative that may work, but I normally use swfdec.

[Jblank0]

when i open more than two applications it takes a wild to load up and when i try to switch between the aplications it takes a while. I probably need more ram or something like that

[Jblank0]

When i shut down, the ps3 doesn't turn off all the way. Is there anything i need to edit to fix this

[billb]

When i shut down, the ps3 doesn't turn off all the way. Is there anything i need to edit to fix this

There's a closed bug report about this here.

If you haven't already, you can try updating:

su
<root password>

yum update

If this is your first update it will take a rather long time.

[seripg]

Ok so I'm kind of new to this forum and linux but I have installed Fedora 8 fine. My major problem is that I can't get it to run in anything over ps3videomode -v 2. I have a Sony 52 inch LCD TV it's connected through HDMI cable. Anyone know of something I can do to increase it?

[billb]

Ok so I'm kind of new to this forum and linux but I have installed Fedora 8 fine. My major problem is that I can't get it to run in anything over ps3videomode -v 2. I have a Sony 52 inch LCD TV it's connected through HDMI cable. Anyone know of something I can do to increase it?

Do you just get a blank screen when you try the other modes? What specific model # TV is it?

[seripg]

I don't get a blank screen. I just get a bunch of grabled pixels at the top of the screen, if I change it from the terminal screen in the GUI. If I do CTRL+ALT+F1 I can change the resolution alright but when I go back CTRL+ALT+F7 back to the GUI it's still in ps3videomode 2. When I change the video mode in the yaboot.conf file and reboot, it still boots up to ps3videomode 2.

My TV is a Sony KDL-52W3000. Any ideas? Thanks for your help.

[billb]

I don't get a blank screen. I just get a bunch of grabled pixels at the top of the screen, if I change it from the terminal screen in the GUI. If I do CTRL+ALT+F1 I can change the resolution alright but when I go back CTRL+ALT+F7 back to the GUI it's still in ps3videomode 2. When I change the video mode in the yaboot.conf file and reboot, it still boots up to ps3videomode 2.

Getting a garbled display while trying to change the resolution in the GUI is expected.

Do your changes to /etc/yaboot.conf stay there when you reboot? Post or PM me the contents of your /etc/yaboot.conf file so we can make sure that's correct first.

[seripg]

After reading your post I realize that I was editing the wrong file. I edited the one under /boot/yaboot/yaboot.conf instead of etc/yaboot.conf. Thanks much! On the last line I just changed it to "video=ps3fb:mode:133 rhgb quiet" and it's coming up nicely at 1080p fullscreen. Thanks again, Billb you rock! Now I just need to figure out how to get the wireless ethernet working.