AsbestOS - Marcan's Linux for PS3 - Progress Update!

[garyopa]

UPDATE: He has opened a git repo here...

http://git.marcansoft.com/?p=asbestos.git

Over the last few weeks, Marcan, famous for some of the ground-breaking Wii hacks, has been working on his own version of Linux for the PS3, that will even run on the Slim.

Not many details are out yet on how it is done, but from some of the hints on his Twitter, you need flashable/upgradable dongle with at least 64k flash, whereas most of the cheap clones out there only have 16k or 32k of storage.

And it looks like he is uploading a new lvl1 kernal via TFTP access, not sure if that means you need a PC also in the end to do the upload, or if he is doing the upload via the larger-size dongle.

Anyhow his recent tweets show that he looks to making good progress:

* AsbestOS (yeah, I’m calling it that) now works on the PS3 Slim (still doesn’t quite boot Linux, though)

* Next headache: catching *both* CPU threads from lv2.

* That wasn’t too bad. Threads caught.

* Wasted like an hour debugging a bootwrapper that was working perfectly, except noone documents this stuff. dtbImage.ps3 != zImage.ps3

* I bet you’ve never seen a Linux kernel say this: [ 0.000000] PS3 firmware version 3.4.1

* http://is.gd/fBv7U It’s alive! Mostly, anyway.

* Confirmed that it works (to the same extent) on the Slim too

* http://is.gd/fCfzu working a bit better now

* Apparently some people don't know what asbestos is (http://is.gd/fCisO). I thought everyone knew that much, given all the media attention...

* (no it doesn't stand for "As Best OS", that's utterly retarded)

* To clarify, you need at least a 64K (not 32K!) micro *or* a device that has at least 64K extra external storage (SD, Flash, EEPROM).

* For example, if you have an AVR devboard with a 32K micro, you could solder in a 64K or larger EEPROM/Flash memory and make it use that.

* Users of non-generic psjailbreak and clones are probably SOL though (that's what you get for buying essentially a dedicated piracy device).

* Any non-microcontroller devices will work. Phones, iPods, other media players or portable consoles, etc.

For more recent updates follow him here: http://twitter.com/Marcan42

@PS3HAX - Thanks for the un-official logo, I stole from your news post!

News Source: http://www.ps3hax.net/2010/09/asbest...firmware-3-41/

UPDATE: Corrected mistake regarding memory/size and updated his twitter quotes!

[Xeauron]

Oh well, those requirements rule out everyone with a minimus/maximus/teensy 1.0/AT90USB162 and probably many many more...

[talmagal]

Oh well, those requirements rule out everyone with a minimus/maximus/teensy 1.0/AT90USB162 and probably many many more...

not the x3max

although i wish i could figure out which chip is on it

[Kindred]

thats basically all the dongles lol

[sabin1981]

thats basically all the dongles lol

Yeah, exactly... pretty much 90% of them, including professional jobbies like the Minimus/Maximus and even the ORIGINAL PSJailbreak.

In the immortal words of Secret of Mana; "Way too go!"

[mgsfan]

Dingoo power is all I can say..lol

[Alundra]

Glad I choose for the PS3key.

[nolook]

teensy++2.0 should be good for this...?

[ModIT]

So it depends on what we can do with linux - does it have full access on all ressources, so that we can run hd movies (or a install xmbc).
then it would be worth to buy a new board..

but maybe someone will modify his version, to a version that fit on 16k boards with an additional patch using a usb stick...

[stevedawg85]

What if I'm using android psfreedom. Will this work?