Blackrhino USB install with Kernelloader

[dwegiel]

Can someone help me put some use into my old ps2 standing on the shelf? I do not know much about Linux, so please put the directions in a simple format for me to follow. But first, I also need a few answers.

1) Is DHCP supported?
2) What is the minimal space needed on a USB drive to make a full install with x-windows?
3) Are hubs supported?

I am using a fat ps2 v7. Thanks for your help.

[deba5er]

1) DHCP is supported. I use static IP though even with my DHCP router, and things work fine.
2) I think my ps2linux distro base package (which has x-windows, but not the auto-start scripts in /usr/local/bin) expands to around 300MB or so. With the /usr/local package it comes out to around 600MB.
3) My usb hub works fine (4-way splitter) so at least some hubs work.

For the FAT PS2, I HIGHLY recommend getting an IDE hard drive and PS network adapter. Used IDE drives are cheap and plentiful, although the network adapter is getting scarcer (it is still found on ebay, amazon, etc.)

USB PS2-Linux is difficult to install and reads/writes files at a theoretical maximum of 12 Mbps, which is a couple factors slower than hard drive access. PS2-Linux is slow enough, that the USB version is likely to disappoint. For slim PS2 owners who have no choice, if kernelloader is updated with a new network driver, maybe network-based boot will be possible to speed things up.

[zin0099]

ok where is the kernal loader i have both fat and slim ps2
and a ps3 with linux so it would be cool to tell others that i have 3 computers

-eeepc windows xp
-ps3 ubuntu 8.10
-ps2 black rhino that's if someone could tell me how

[deba5er]

ok where is the kernal loader i have both fat and slim ps2 and a ps3 with linux so it would be cool to tell others that i have 3 computers -eeepc windows xp -ps3 ubuntu 8.10 -ps2 black rhino that's if someone could tell me how

MegaMan created the kernelloader - http://kernelloader.sourceforge.net/linux.html He did a great job documenting how to install as well. I highly recommend the IDE HDD, network adapter in the FAT PS2 for PS2 Linux. The slim is not working that well at the moment. I did a bit of compiling, configuring, tweaking to make a ps2linux distro - http://www.4shared.com/dir/8728191/2...b/sharing.html http://www.4shared.com/dir/10437217/...ux_Distro.html The second link has the base and the /usr/local/* bzip2 files which if you read the comment file in the same directory, should give you out-of-the-box browsing, music playing, file manager, photo viewing features that you would otherwise have to setup yourself. Tonight I'm quite pleased with myself as I've compiled and am entering this post from dillo 2.1.1 on PS2-Linux. I'll upload a package shortly. I compiled with https, although I still like my old hacked version 0.86 for the tabs, the new version works better with the psx-scene site.

[barf]

I compiled with https, although I still like my old hacked version 0.86 for the tabs, the new version works better with the psx-scene site.

Did you also compile in AirTunes?

http://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/speakers.php

[deba5er]

@barf - unfortunately Airfoil speakers for Linux does not have source code, and is only available as x86 or x86-64 binaries. Without the source code I can't try to compile the mipsel architecture binaries. Here's more info: http://getsatisfaction.com/rogueamoe...kers_for_linux

[dwegiel]

deba5er: So you are the creator of that distro??? NICE! OK, the reason I don't want Linux on my IDE drive, is becuase fo HDLoader. 40 GB is filling up QUICKLY! I really don't care for the speed, since all I want to do is browse a bit of the net. So, can you please assist me? I don't care if it is slow (how much slower can it be than if ran from the HDD?). Just please tell me. I need some other use for FMCB other than playing backups!

[zin0099]

any chance of useing the ps2 controller as the mouse?

[dlanor]

MegaMan created the kernelloader - http://kernelloader.sourceforge.net/linux.html He did a great job documenting how to install as well. I highly recommend the IDE HDD, network adapter in the FAT PS2 for PS2 Linux. The slim is not working that well at the moment.

Why not ?

To most other homebrews there is virtually no difference between coding for a slim or a fat console, except that you can't use IDE HDD on most slims. I don't see why there should be any extra difficulty for Linux-related stuff, unless someone copied the USB-bug of CodeBreaker (the only major issue I'm aware of for the slim models).

I did a bit of compiling, configuring, tweaking to make a ps2linux distro - http://www.4shared.com/dir/8728191/2...b/sharing.html http://www.4shared.com/dir/10437217/...ux_Distro.html The second link has the base and the /usr/local/* bzip2 files which if you read the comment file in the same directory, should give you out-of-the-box browsing, music playing, file manager, photo viewing features that you would otherwise have to setup yourself.

But isn't that's exactly the same linux distro found by both links, except that the first one also contains lots of other packages ?

Tonight I'm quite pleased with myself as I've compiled and am entering this post from dillo 2.1.1 on PS2-Linux.

Sounds good.

I'll upload a package shortly. I compiled with https, although I still like my old hacked version 0.86 for the tabs, the new version works better with the psx-scene site.

I'm not sure what package update you're speaking of here. A completely new distro, or just some patch for the web-browser. Please clarify.

Anyway, I just downloaded the main archives you mentioned (base & usrlocal) as well as the comment files stored in the same folder, but reading those files left me a bit wondering, as their initial text lines were these:

Basic items I forgot to do or require customization:

Initial passwords for "adent" and "root" - "changeme"

First you should be booted off of an initrd or another partition. In this example, you already are running ps2-linux on /dev/hda1 and created a partition, mounted at /mnt/hda3 (at least 1GB, recommend more as this unpacks to more than 600MB). You must have the ability to run "tar" and "bzip2" to unpack these files.

To summarize what I find objectionable about this, you apparently assume that everyone who will want to install this OS for a PS2 is already running some version of Linux, either on the PS2 or on a PC, which I find absurd. Surely you must be aware that the vast majority of computer users are running some variant of Windows, and we are not about to change that just to manage an installation for the PS2. And as for requiring Linux already working on the PS2, that is even worse, since the whole point was to get started with Linux on the console.

I obviously have no problem with the unpacking (using WinRAR) and other obvious tasks, such as using a normal Windows text editor instead of 'vi', but it is still unclear to me if some of the stuff described in that text really requires Linux components or if those things also can be done using normal Windows tools.

If you want a wider range of users to be able to use Linux on their PS2 consoles, as seems apparent from some of the things you said in those comment files, then you need to write new documentation telling those users (even somewhat noobier ones than I) how to accomplish the installation using a normal PC running a standard Windows OS. And then how to launch their new PS2 OS without previous experience of any Linux tools on the PS2 or their specific usage.

The most confusing entry of all in those text files is probably this one:

4) BOOT ONTO /dev/hda3 from Megaman's kerneloader

Here you seem to assume that the user already has, and knows how to use, a kernel loader which you do not even clearly describe whether it is included in your distro or where else to get it if not.

For someone like me, who has seldom dabbled with Linux at all, and then only for very brief tests, this all seems very confusing. And that's for me, with many years of computing experience. I can only guess at how confusing it will be for most real noobies.

These are just my first impressions after downloading your distro and reading those texts. I'll be back sometime later when I've had time to try actually installing the stuff onto a USB drive.

Btw: On second thought I need to ask if the stated usage of "/dev/hda3/" really refers to a USB drive. It seems a bit odd, especially as you explicitly mention partitioning, something we do not normally do on USB drives used with a PS2. Here single-partition usage is the norm. So what gives ?

Best regards: dlanor

[dwegiel]

zin0099: Please try to keep my thread on-topic, ok? Anyways, yes, you can. Browse around in the ps2linux forums - http://playstation2-linux.com/. I can't find the exact thread, but I'm sure you'll find it.

dlanor: 0_o.... what? Seriously, I understand nearly nothing from that. I should have also stated that I am a n00b. I know what kernelloader is. I've used it to set up my HDD install. Here's what you guys need to tell me:

1) Tell me the partitions to make on my USB drive, and what to do with the damned distro.
2) Kernelloader settings/args
3) Commands to type into the Linux shell
4) Imagine you were saying this to a guy who just migrated from windows to linux.