Problems booting Ubuntu on old Macintoshes with SCSI disk instead of IDE

lorenzo ayuda lorenzoayuda at gmail.com
Tue Jun 20 17:47:36 BST 2006


Hello to every one!

Five years ago I installed my first Linux on my Macintosh 7500 (a very old
Macintosh with SCSI disks instead of IDE). I Installed Suse Linux 6.4 and
7.1 for PPC. Now I use Ubuntu on x86 machines but I would like use Ubuntu on
my old PowerMac 7500 too.

I have tried to install Ubuntu and other recent distributions on my Mac.
Ubuntu is the only one that complete all the installation. but when I try
boot, it can not initialise the system.

I think I know what is happening. In old Macintoshes it is necessary the Mac
OS to initialise the computer. Then a tool launch the kernel and linux begin
to work.

When I install Ubuntu. I launch the kernel with an additional file as
ram-disk. This to thing are done when Mac OS system is runing. The launcher
load the kernel and the randisk from the hard disk and launch this kernel
with this ramdisk.

My Macintosh and all old macintoshes have SCSI hard disks instead IDE.
I think the kernel, on Ubuntu and Kubuntu distribution, has the SCSI modules
compiled separately. Then on installation time this scsi modules are loaded
from the ramdisk. But on booting time there is not ramdisk and then the
kernel can not load the SCSI module and can not mount the main disk.

If my theory is true then the solution for the old Macintoshes could be
integrate the SCSI modules on the kernel for PPC distribution (or in another
kernel for old macintoshes). I do not have too much experience to try
recompile the kernel. And I think more people have the same problem as I.
For this I would like propose to discuss the convenience of integrate the
SCSI module in the kernel of PPC distribution to offer a solution to owners
of old Macintoshes.

I do not know if this is the place to discuse and propose this class of
thing.

Do you could help me?

Sorry by my pour english.

Regards, Lorenzo
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