I'm trying to get Crux running on an Efika. I've got a bunch of files on a fat32 partition - does this need to be an ext2 partition?

hi,


what's your install method?
Are you using NFS or Nullpointer's ReadyToUse archive?

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acrux _at_ linuxmail _dot_ org

Hi,
you're supposed to install crux-ppc or any other gnu/linux distribution on a filesystem that provides all the permissions and attributes a unix system needs, like ext3/ext2, reiserfs, xfs, jfs.
FAT filesystems are not supported for the root nor any other system partition of crux-ppc or any other distro. You could try using UMSDOS (that's an overlay filesystem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMSDOS; i used it once a decade ago with slackware, but it's not adviceable at all and extremely slow).
The bulk crux-ppc kernels don't support umsdos, i don't even know whether its support is still in recent kernels; if it is you could try it compiling your own kernel.

If you're using the ready to use image, give a look here:
http://cruxppc.sunsite.dk/downloads/cru ... i-1.README
you need an ext2/ext3 filesystem on the system partition (even if it's a flash-drive you can partition it); you can play with inode density, block size or journal size (i advice the smallest journal possible on flash memories) to increase performance or reliability. I advice to mount partitions with noatime,nodiratime options.

Please ask again if you need further help on installing!

byez,

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nullpointer _at_ cruxppc _dot_ org

Hello and thankyou for your positive and helpful replies.

I now have the contents of the crux-ppc-2.2.0.2-rc1.iso on an ext2 formatted partition of my Efika hard drive and I can now reliably boot the zImage-Efika file.

I'm still looking around in http://cruxppc.sunsite.dk/downloads/ and I think I'll find the efika-sven-2007.01.07.tgz file referred to in the handbook.

I've done what I think is a successful setup - at least to the point of installing onto a new partition. Is it really necessary to compile a kernel? Isn't there already something there that I can use? If so, what is it called and what arguments should I give it after the SmartFirmware boot command?

hello erstwhile,
i'm not sure i got what you did... did you copy the install cd in one partiton and booted from there to run setup and install in another partition?

We have a slightly updated iso here:
http://www.ewb.it/~nullpointer/sam440ep ... 1-pmac.iso
and i suggest you to install packages from there... they're updated.
There is an updated handbook here:
http://cruxppc.sunsite.dk/releases/2.2. ... -beta.html
The sven patch is not needed any more with efika, we have a newer patchset that merges sven with more patches:
http://cruxppc.sunsite.dk/releases/2.2. ... _13.tar.gz
but with the latest kernels you don't need patches at all.

The "Crux way" is compiling a new kernel: efficiency, essentiality and minimalism require you to fine tune the kernel for your needs; if you're looking for a ready to use kernel please download the ready-to-use archive. You can steal the kernel and the modules from there.

Maybe that archive is the easiest way to install crux-ppc on an efika... untar everything on your root disk partition, boot from there and install/update packages from the iso linked above (when it comes to glibc install with pkadd -f).

good luck, have fun ;)

P.S.: oh i forgot... Acrux prepeared a crux-ppc 2.4 preview, so you might want to try that... I'll try to prepeare an updated ready-to-use image based on acrux's work next week!

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nullpointer _at_ cruxppc _dot_ org

If you'd like to use a FAT partition, rather than use UMSDOS, I'd say it's probably better to create a file on the disk as the root filesystem. Create your ext2 filesystem IN that file using:
Where N is the number of kilobytes you want the file to be. How to mount that as root is up to your initramfs but it's fairly easy to throw a kernel out that manages it with a simple script that will do it.

You can create a swap file on the same disk the same way, and have your entire Linux installations self-contained in single files. Great for backips or moving to other disks or using USB keys..

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Matt Sealey

Thanks for that suggestion Neko - that's something I might try after I've built up some confidence with a very basic installation.

And thankyou again to nullpointer - getting feedback like this really helps my stay on track and stay interested.

" did you copy the install cd in one partiton and booted from there to run setup and install in another partition? "

Yes, that's what I did. Compiling things like kernels and other vast reams of code may be the Crux way but it really leaves me out of the loop - I'm simply not that sophisticated a user. I have limited programming experience and one of the things I'd like to try when I manage to arrive at a reliable, working OS install on my Efika is PPC assembler but I have no confidence at all in my ability to compile anything at this point in time.

I can't help thinking that this kernel compiling thing is like buying a new car only to have the dealer give you a complimentary strobe light so that you can tune the engine properly before driving away.

Necko's suggestion is quite good but only if you have special needs ideas 'n resources... this method really kicks you back in the fantastic 90's.
On my board , i'd prefer a real and rocksolid installation using a modern filesystem.

If you need more specific CRUX PPC hints, it's available our own forum:
http://cruxppc.sunsite.dk/forum/

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acrux _at_ linuxmail _dot_ org

Thanks acrux - I needed that push to go explore the crux forum. I found this:

http://cruxppc.sunsite.dk/downloads/cru ... -1.tar.bz2

which has proved to be relatively easy to install and boot. My next goal is to have a graphical interface running on it and then one or both of Mac-on-Linux (not expecting this one to be at all easy) or EUAE. I have no idea if crux is suitable for either of these.

But for now it's just nice to have man pages to learn from!

Hello Erstwhile,
we have ports ready for MOL (well if you compile it with gcc4 you will miss the sheep ethernet driver that "bridges" your real network card with the virtualized one), and we were thinking to explore EUAE after PianetaAmiga, but we had heaps of things to do plus we had the big huge HackMeeting in italy so there was no time for that yet... i hope to play with that next week.
Anyway MOL, mac on linux, is the one thing of applications that require you to have a configured and self-compiled kernel, because during building, MOL will build its own kernel module for emulation, and it can't do that if you don't have an already configured and "make depend"ed kernel.

If you got that far, i'm sure that you're able to comple your own kernel - it's not that hard: it only involves knowing what hardware you have and which components make it up... it has nothing to do with programming.
Crux is source based (like gentoo) so installing or updating anything implies compiling it (even if that's automated by Ilenia, the port and package management system).

The ready to use archive is pretty handy, and as i wrote before you can "upgrade" it to full CruxPPC system running setup from the install cd (or from an image, a copy on hd, an nfs share it...).
You might then have luck with MOL if you get the very same kernel version, untar it in /usr/src/linux, gunzip /proc/config.gz in /usr/src/linux/.config, do a make depend, and then compile and install Mol from the port (i will send you the updated port if you can't find that on the cvs).

good luck and have fun! :)

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nullpointer _at_ cruxppc _dot_ org

uae works!

cool! ;)
let's publish the port in our repo!! :D

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nullpointer _at_ cruxppc _dot_ org

i'll sell it at 33,90 €