How to install Debian in RS6000?
Posted by pyuen22 on Fri 25 Aug 2006 at 10:23
From the server room, I found an old RS/6000 43P Model 150 installed with AIX 4.3 (i.e. it works.) I decided to give it a try to install a Debian powerpc version on it. But I ran into problems booting it.
Put the CD on. the 43P ignored the disc. Okay change the boot sequence.
Oh. RS/6000 is using firmware rather than bios ... so i follow the IBM suggestions that when the code E1F1 appears. I should press "F1" then the System Management Services (SMS) should come out and let me to choose the boot sequence.
However, the SMS did not appear. Googled and followed suggestions from other websites and pressed "F8" ... Still SMS did not appear. So I am stuck at here.
Can anybody could give me some suggestions? or a step by step guide for installing Debian on a RS/6000?
Depending on the terminal type, you may need to press the number 1, not F1 to get the menus to respond during the system boot.
According to my official IBM AIX5L for Unix Professionals Notebook, it's not actually clear what buttons to press. To get to the SMS firmware menu you should press F1 or 1, but then again you may need to press F4/4 or F5/5...
Good luck.
* AIX is fun, someone once described it as a wierd proprietary IBM "thing" with a very good POSIX compatability layer bolted on top.
--
"It's Not Magic, It's Work"
Adam
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Then still no luck on booting up the debian floppy or CD ... i decided to upgrade the firmware from TCP99XXX to TCP05287 ... Upgrade firmware successfully. But still not interest to boot the debian floppy or CD.
By checking the configuration on the SMS menu. It never say this machine has a Cdrom. But the boot device menu does say there is an integrated cdrom on it.
still investigating without clue ... anybody could help.
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Cheers,
Dominic.
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Or is it impossible to install lilo/grub on that machine? (I've never used one)
Tomas
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Tried Dominic's sysmanage.img
At the ok prompt i typed ...
0> boot floppy:,\linux root=/dev/fd0 load_ramdisk=1 ok 0>
then nothing happens. beware i am using a terminal, i reckon it should works under a monitor. Question is. How can i set to use monitor rather than using a terminal to enter the SMS menu? ... or i should see the debian installer come out from the terminal?
Thanks.
~Pat.
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To enter the SMS menu, when you see the white screen "PowerPC", press some "1"s until you see the main menu.
Then, enter the boot sequence "7", then "1" as boot/install device
Now, choose the CDROM, - this is my hardware -, then SCSI, then "1" to catch the first cdrom device in the Open Firmware device list.
In few seconds you should boot you debian cdrom.
At the next prompt, I specified...
boot: expert64 video=matrox:vesa:0x117
... then you'll start the d-i setup :-)
Good luck !
..._
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