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Fedora PS3 - Install
Installing Fedora Core 5 Linux on Your PS3
One of the most exciting aspects of the new Playstation 3 has always been its potential to be so much more than simply a games console, and key in this regard has been the promise that users would be able to run Linux on the console in order to gain access to a general computing environment. Although there were many reasons to be skeptical leading up to the launch, we are happy to say that Sony has delivered on their promise, and gone even farther by making the Playstation 3 truly open to any third-party software that works within the confines of the 'Other OS' partition (for now limited to PPC Linux variants and apps). Knowing that the average Playstation user might feel intimidated by the idea of installing by hand an operating system that they are otherwise unfamiliar with, the goal of this guide is to help the Linux newbie in getting the operating system up and running on their Playstation 3. This is the first 'killer app' of the console, and it would be a shame if ignorance of Linux alone kept users away - so let's get started!
The first step in getting Fedora Core 5 up and running on your PS3 will be the preparation of the installation materials; these include a Fedora 5 DVD, the PS3 add-on CD, and a USB flashdrive needed in order to initialize the installation. Beginning with the Fedora 5 DVD, download the disc information from the Downloads page on this site (click on Downloads in the menu on the left). The total file-size will be roughly ~3.5GB, so if you know the speed of your connection, you should have a fairly good sense of how long this might take. (A good time killer might be to play some PS3 while you wait!) Once it has finished downloading, unpack the data using WinRar, and burn the unpacked files in ISO mode to a blank DVD using your favorite burning software (Nero, etc). Place the newly burned DVD aside and repeat the above process to create the PS3 add-on CD; the ISO files for the CD be downloaded from the Downloads page, and comes in at under 50MB. Now with these two discs set aside, attach the USB flashdrive to your computer and create a folder on the flashdrive named PS3. Inside of this PS3 folder, create another folder entitled otheros. Placing your PS3 add-ons CD back into your ROM drive, open/search the disc and locate the kboot folder. Inside of kboot should be a file entitled otheros.bld - take this file and copy it into the otheros folder you created on your USB flashdrive. Finally, click Downloads in the menu on the left to download the Other OS Installer. Place the downloaded otheros.self file into the otheros folder on your flashdrive. You should now have both otheros.bld and otheros.self located inside of the otheros folder, which itself is located within the PS3 folder.
Next up is preperation of the Playstation itself. This process will delete all information from your hard drive, including game saves, so if you have anything on the hard drive that you value, it would be advisable at this point that you back it up to a flashdrive or memory card of your choice. Game saves may be copied by going to Game --> Saved Data Utility on the XMB and hitting the 'x' button, followed by the triangle button on individual save data to transfer. Now that you have backed up all of your valuable information, use the XMB menu to navigate to Settings --> System Settings --> Format Utility. You will want to run the format utility, and following the prompts, set up an 'other OS' partition on the drive. Having prepared the hard drive for the installation of an additional operating system, plug in the USB flashdrive you prepared for the installation. On the XMB navigate to Settings --> System Settings --> Install Other OS. The console should automatically detect the necessary files on the flashdrive, and it is a simple matter of following the prompts given in order to install the bootloader onto the hard drive. Once you've accomplished this, head to Settings --> System Settings --> Default System and change it from PS3 to Other OS. When you next start the system, it will boot into a Linux environment.
Reboot the system. Once faced with the initial kboot command prompt, enter this text via a connected USB or USB/RF keyboard: install-fc sda It will ask you to insert the Fedora 5 DVD, which you should do at this point. Hit 'y' on the keyboard and 'enter' to begin the installation process. It will ask if a minimal or full installation is prefered - make your choice (no reason not to go full) and get ready to wait. For a short while it may appear that your Playstation is frozen, but don't panic, it isn't; after several minutes you will see visual signs that the installation is in progress. You would also be well advised to have something to occupy yourself with during the duration, because this step takes several hours to complete. Speaking of frozen, however, here is some good advice to keep in mind. If at any point when using the Playstation you feel you have a legitimate freeze, you can hold your finger over the power 'button' for five seconds in order to initiate a manual shutdown. This is far preferable to actually flipping the switch on the back of the unit or disconnecting the power cord, something that on this system you should know will lead to nothing but headaches. And this method will get the job done. Even more obscure/handy is the fact that should you ever feel yourself stuck in Linux-land, you may power down the unit (via the above method) and power it back on while keeping your finger on the power 'button' for an additional five seconds. When powered on in this method, the PS3 will always default to the XMB menu. Going back to our Linux installation, once the requisite several hours have gone by, you will notice that the DVD automatically ejects from the PS3s slot-drive. You will be asked to insert the PS3 add-on CD. Do that and hit 'yes.' Similarly to the DVD, once finished the CD will eject on its own. You will be asked to enter a password for the root login; we hit 'enter' twice to skip past this. The installation is now complete - type in 'reboot' and hit enter.
Upon rebooting, you will enter the system configuration utility; after you finish with the configuration utility you will be faced with the following login prompt:
You will be faced with this prompt every time you boot into Fedora, and your login name is simply root, followed by your password if you chose to create one. Next you will see a command prompt:
This will be the prompt you most often deal with inside of Fedora, and for the light PS3 user, only a couple of commands need be memorized. These include:
Before entering 'startx' and heading to the graphical user interface though, if you are on an HDTV you may wish to change the resolution from the default 576x384. This cannot be done from within the GUI, so now is the time to experiment with it. From the command prompt enter:
The number '3' above corresponds to a 720p resolution, so you will want to enter a different number in that spot to achieve a different resolution. The resolutions are associated as follows:
(NOTE: If your HDTV suffers from overscan, thus cropping off the edges of the screen as our older test set does, leave the -f off of your command, which stands for 'full screen' mode. For example, our best resolution is achieved by typing only: ps3videomode -v 4) Now that you've set the resolution that works best for you, enter startx into the command prompt and hit enter.
Hopefully you now find yourself within an environment that even for a lifelong Windows user, should seem very familiar. In addition, if you performed the full installation you will have OpenOffice, Firefox, several simple games, and a number of additional productivity apps already installed on the system.
You are not connected to the Internet yet, however, and thus we will end the installation guide by addressing this, while at the same time teaching you how to access a command prompt window inside of the graphical user interface. Navigating the bar on the top of the screen, go to Applications --> Accessories --> Terminal. This will open up what is known as a terminal window, and from here you will be able to enter the commands necessary to initialize the network on your Fedora install. From this terminal window you will also be able to boot into the game OS, shut down the system, or reboot exactly as described previously.
Greeted with the command prompt, enter the following exactly as written:
su -c '/sbin/chkconfig --level 345 NetworkManager on' (remember that Linux is case-sensitive.) - hit enter
su -c '/sbin/chkconfig --level 345 NetworkManagerDispatcher on' - hit enter
su -c '/sbin/service NetworkManager start ; /sbin/service NetworkManagerDispatcher start' - hit enter
Reboot the system by typing 'reboot,' ignore the kboot prompt (or hit enter), login at the login prompt by entering 'root,' set your resolution at the command prompt, and enter startx to get back into the GUI.
Congratulations! You now have a fully-functioning Linux distro on your Playstation 3. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the system - for anything you want to accomplish, a little bit of research on the Internet will show you the way. Remember that for any applications you download into Fedora, you will want to download the PowerPC-friendly versions of those apps.
FEDORA CORE 5 ON MY PLAYSTATION 3
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