Connect the USB drive carrying the boot loader to the PS3 and turn it on. Go to the 'Settings' menu from the mXMB menu, then click 'System Settings,' then finally 'Install Other OS.' Follow the on-screen instructions to start the boot into the other OS. Insert the Installation Disc containing the boot loader's Linux distribution. Ah, the PlayStation 3. People getting shot. People standing in line for days just to get their hands on one. I noticed a lot of you are trying to install Ubuntu on this badboy, so I am going to show you how to cross-install Ubuntu Linux / Debian Linux on your PlayStation 3 from an existing Linux system.
Most people are unaware that when they purchased their shiny new PS3, that not only were they given a ticket to the latest technology for groundbreaking games, and high definition movie playback, but were also given the ability to turn this gaming monster into a productive educational personal computer, simply by installing Yellow Dog Linux, which is in all intents and purposes a free operating system. There are many versions of Linux which people can use, although this guide will focus on the one that Sony themselves are said to recommend which is known as Yellow Dog Linux. The process itself is not too complicated although you will need a USB mouse and keyboard plus enough hard disk space to install Linux on. The version of Linux that we are using in this guide is version 6.0 which is available FREE from and the mirror that we found to be the best was the very first primary one on the list from the United states.
Follow the instructions on that page to download and burn Linux onto onto a DVD.WARNING. Before going any further with the installation of Linux, make sure that you have fully backed up any data from the hard disk in your PS3 that you want to keep, such as game saves or music and pictures. These can be backed up using a USB pen drive or external hard disk if the files are large. The main reason for doing this is due to the hard disk in your ps3 has to be split into two sections to allow Linux to run from one of them completely separate from the gaming part of your system. This is known as a partition and in order for your PS3 to accomplish this it will have to erase all data on your internal hard disk.
Once this is done, using the XMB, go to: Step one: SYSTEM FORMAT DRIVE PS3 HDD Step two: ALLOT 10GB TO OTHER OPERATING SYSTEM Step three: YOUR PS3 WILL RESTART, LOG IN AND INSERT LINUX DVD INTO DRIVE. Step four: CLICK ON ‘OTHEROS.BLD’ TO INSTALL. Step five: DEFAULT SYSTEM OTHER OS The PS3 will now always boot up in the other operating system, although there is a simple trick if you want to get back into the XMB. When your PS3 is turned off just hold down the power button for a few seconds and you should hear 2 beeps which means that it will reset into the XMB with default resolution. The installation of Linux from here on is straight forward as you are given prompts of what to do and when to do it by the installation process as it progresses, and once this has all finished you will be able to re-intall all of your backed up data.
Yellow Dog Linux itself is a good thing to have although its applications in the real world are quite restricted unless you know how to get the most out of it. There are many guides on the internet explaining how to do this, however these concepts are too complicated for the scope of this simple guide.
Version: 10.3 & 11.1 The information below is targeted to openSUSE 11.1 while most of it applies for older releases as well 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. 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. Software Requirements. Note: available on full installation media only (not on Mini CD for Network install) Other OS Bootloader from older releases:.
Preparation Preparing Media 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 Instructions. 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.
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. It is also not recommended to run on-line update during the installation-checking for the Internet connection is OK. This is especially true for 11.1 as the OSS/Non-OSS are both pointing to the wrong repository (see below). Also, the graphic driver cannot access to H/W acceleration features of the graphic chip (i.e., no 3D) therefore it is best NOT to install KDE4 and use some lightweight window manager.
For example, I installed KDE3 then switched to IceWM for day-to-day use. Note that this limitation is for ALL distros NOT just OpenSUSE. 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. For some reason, the above change will not take effect (at least in 11.1) if done at the installation time (changing boot loader option) Install PS3 Specific Packages The ps3-utils package is available for OpenSUSE.
You can easily install 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. For 11.1, this is automatically done during installation process. Adding additional repositories. For 11.1, OSS and Non-OSS point to the wrong repository (download.opensuse.org instead of powerpc.opensuse.org). Use Yast/Add-on Products to add these: Use YaST/S/W Repositories to disable the OSS and Non-OSS repositories pointing to download.opensuse.org.
The Update repository seems to be correct even though it is pointing to download.opensuse.org. Unfortunately, not a lot of packages (rpm) are built for ppc architecture but it is recommended to add Packman as many goodies can be found there (e.g., video/audio codecs, enhanced-version of many applications, etc.) The list of additional repositories is here including Packman: Pick a mirror site near your location and use Yast/Add-on Products and S/W Repositories to add Packman repository. Once you have the desire repositories setup, it is time to run the update (YaST/S/W Management, click on Package, All Packages, Update is newer version available). Even though you now have the correct codecs, you probably cannot play video on your PS3 as the video driver only provides basic graphic capability. Adobe has not provided a flash library used for web video such as youtube therefore, you need to install either GNASH or SWFDEC. However, I have never been able to play video on youtube with neither gnash nor swfdec and the problem may be caused by the video driver?
Known Problems General issues. The kernel tries to autodetect the best resolution for your screen. In case you end up with a black screen and your monitor is out of sync try pressing '1'.
This will switch the resolution to 720p. However, this will not affect the kernel you are going to boot via kexec.
In case you want to manually specify a resolution append the following to the kernel commandline 'video=ps3fb:mode:', where specifies the video mode you want to use. The ps3vram driver crashes during installation and in the system. If you have an installation and want to get it running again you need to remove the function enableps3vramswap in /etc/init.d/boot.swap.
OpenSUSE11.1 has a fixed ps3vram driver that works with firmware 2.5 and above!. If you do not repartition in the game os before booting to the otheros, you will not be able to start ps3-boot-game-os. That means you cannot go back to game os but with the 5s power button method and loose some ps3 settings ( tested with ps3 fw 2.53 and opensuse 11.1 dvd otheros.bld). Do not use lvm for the root filesystem even if /boot is on a separate partition.
The bootmanager petitboot does not support this. Using lvm for other mountpoints like /usr or /home is ok. In 11.1, the OSS and Non-OSS repository wrongly points to download.opensuse.org instead of powerpc.opensuse.org. There are situations where an external keyboard/mouse may stop working.
If this happens to you, try disconnecting unneeded USB devices before booting. In my case, a wireless keyboard stopped working after login when the Singstar microphones were also plugged into the PS3.
20:14, 27 November 2009 (UTC) More Troubleshooting. Anything missing in this wiki page?. Still having questions?
- Ask on the. Found a bug?
- Please report it in our Resources. Other Distros on PS3. Open Platform for PLAYSTATION®3. Yellow Dog Linux. Fedora. Ubuntu And you can get Xubuntu here: PS3, PLAYSTATION, Memory Stick and any other trademarks that appear on this page are owned by their respective owners, but you already knew this.