OtherOS OpenSUSE 11.1 Bootloader for PS3 Linux Available

216w ago - I came across this site looking for Linux, but this looked like it would be better perhaps.

Hardware Requirements
• A computer to download and copy files on to media.
• Playstation3 with: USB Keyboard and Mouse (A Wireless USB Keyboard & Mouse is even better)
• Any of the following recording media: USB Flash or HD drive, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, BD-R, or BD-RE disc. If the PS3 has memory card slots: Memory Stick, SD memory card, or CompactFlash.

Download: OtherOS OpenSUSE 11.1 Bootloader for PS3 Linux / openSUSE Installation Media for PPC

Note: Just as with any system, having both a keyboard and mouse simplifies things a lot. But it is possible to install with only a mouse, and possibly even simpler with only a keyboard!

Tip: With only a mouse it is possible to copy-paste characters from Help tabs.

Instructions
Download the PPC edition of OpenSUSE and burn it to a DVD or CD media using your favorite burning tool.

Preparing the PS3
Note: Updating your PS3 to the latest firmware is recommended before proceeding

To keep game settings/progress and downloads do (only tested with latest firmware)
• Attach an external (USB) drive
• Select Settings -> System Settings -> Backup.

• Select Settings -> System Settings -> Format Drive. Create two partitions one for the PS3s normal use and one for openSUSE. Note that you will lose any non backuped game info.

• Restore backup (same menu)
Note: When restoring the complete backup messages from PS3 sounds like it will restore the complete disk as it was before the partitioning, but it will not.
• Remove the external (USB) drive (assuming it doesn't also contain your otheros.bld file).

• Insert the media that contains the otheros.bld (see technical note below) file structure which should be your OpenSUSE install media but could also be anything. A USB key or drive is probably easiest but in theory any valid media would be fine.
• Select Settings -> System Settings -> Install Other OS. The PS3 will display the installers it can find. If it can't find the otheros.bld file then your file structure is probably wrong.
• Click OK to start the installer.
• Follow the instructions of the Sony installer.
• To boot into the Other OS, select Settings > System Settings > Default System > Other OS. This causes the 'Other OS Bootloader' to be loaded on every boot.

To forcefully boot the PS3 back to Game OS hold down the Power button for about 5 seconds or more. With a keyboard you can use the ps3-boot-game-os command to reboot to the PS3 Game OS. Now it's even possible to switch back to Game OS from within petitboot by selecting "gameboot".

• Caution: Holding down the power button for 5 seconds resets many PS3 settings!

Technical Note
During the PS3 OtherOS install step, your media should have the following folder structure, It is a requirement to use single-byte characters only.

PS3/otheros/otheros.bld

If for some reason that file structure is not available on your OpenSUSE install media, it is possible to download the Bootloader seperately (see Software Requirements) and it can be installed from a separate media such as an USB key or drive.

PS3 bootloader also can be updated from inside OpenSUSE or the bootloader itself with the following command:

# ps3-flash-util -w

Installation
• Insert openSUSE installation media in the PS3
• Boot Other OS, select Settings > System Settings > Default System > Other OS.
• Select the "install" boot option from boot screen and press enter
• Graphical installer will start, just follow on-screen instructions

Note: it is not recommended to enable Online Repositories during installation as the PS3 might run out of memory. Please add Online Repositories *after* the installation using YaST. This no longer applies for openSUSE 11.1 as it utilizes the ps3vram driver to use video memory as additional swap space

Post Installation
Video Resolution Fix

The default resolution of the PS3 under OpenSUSE Linux is too small to be usable and the normal tools (sax2) do not work. The solution is to modify the kernel boot parameters by modifying the file /etc/kboot.conf adding the values video=ps3fb:mode:4 as follows:

default=openSuSE
timeout=20
openSuSE="/dev/ps3da5:/vmlinux initrd=/dev/ps3da5:/initrd quiet panic=42 sysrq=1 video=ps3fb:mode:X"

Where 'X' is a value selected from the table (pictured below).

So for example, if you want 1080i at YUV 60Hz, the line would look like this:

openSuSE="/dev/ps3da5:/vmlinux initrd=/dev/ps3da5:/initrd quiet panic=42 sysrq=1 video=ps3fb:mode:4"

For overscan (fullscreen) mode, add 128 to the mode value.

To turn dither mode on, add 2048 to the mode value.

Install PS3 Specific Packages
The ps3-utils package is available for OpenSUSE. You can easily it with

# zypper install ps3-utils

Do not install the kernel-ps3 package. This is only a "bootstrap" kernel for the early part of the ps3 boot process.