iBook Boot Issue (was Re: PowerBook G3 Wallstreet Hang Using Debian Kernel)

Hi Riccardo,

On 11/2/25 2:22 AM, Riccardo Mottola wrote:
> Hi Stan,
> 
> Stan Johnson wrote:
>>
>> I'm able to reproduce the hang on my Wallstreet (266 MHz, 512 MiB) 
>> using an updated Debian SID and the Debian kernel/initrd. However, the 
>> hang doesn't happen on my PowerBook Lombard or Pismo. As you've 
>> reported, the symptoms are that the screen goes blank and the 
>> backlight stays on, and the system freezes (Linux doesn't boot). 
> 
> I wonder if there is a connection with the freezes I am seeing on my 
> iBook first generation. I was running 6.5 kernel with no issues, working 
> framebuffer and X11.
> What videocard does your Wallstreet have? ATI Rage LT ? I think It quite 
> similar to the Rage (non-128) I have.

According to Linux, my Wallstreet has a "3D RAGE LT PRO". My Lombard is 
similar to your iBook; the Lombard also has a "3D RAGE LT PRO".

> 
> Latest 6.16 kernel from Debian freezes during boot, the output is not 
> black... but who knows what is around with VRAM. Using debian snapshots 
> I determined that 6.12 also works for me. Further investigation in the 
> future.
> 
> Are you able to test with debian snapshots. Your use of video=ofonly is 
> interesting, need to check in the bootloader how to do it. It supports 
> only two kernels, it is cumbersome.

Which bootloader are you using? Your system appears to be a New World 
Mac, so either Yaboot or GRUB is supposed to work (though as far as I 
know, GRUB doesn't work if you want to be able to boot Mac OS 9 or Mac 
OS X from the GRUB menu). Also, GRUB doesn't work at all on the Lombard, 
so it might not work on your iBook (I'm not sure since I don't have an 
iBook to test). If you're using Yaboot, you can specify as many kernels 
as you want (same as in GRUB).

With Yaboot, you can edit the yaboot.conf file directly. You can use 
"mac-fdisk -l" or "parted -l" to determine your Apple_Bootstrap 
partition, then mount that partition (e.g. "mount /dev/sda9 /mnt" if 
your Apple_Bootstrap partition is /dev/sda9). I usually keep a copy of 
the last working yaboot.conf in /etc and in the Apple_Bootstrap 
partition as yaboot.conf.old and then edit the real yaboot.conf directly 
(if you make a mistake, you can boot into Mac OS X by holding down the 
option key at boot, then mount the Apple_Bootstrap partition there to 
fix yaboot.conf or copy yaboot.conf.old back to yaboot.conf).

I no longer use ybin to update yaboot.conf, I just edit yaboot.conf 
directly. I use symbolic links in each Linux /boot directory so that 
/boot/vmlinux points to whatever kernel I want to boot, and 
/boot/initrd.img points to the appropriate initrd.img file, if I'm using 
an initrd.img (I'm currently not, so that's commented out for Debian 
SID). Other options, such as video options, are commented out except for 
whatever I want to use or test.

Here's the yaboot.conf file I'm using for my Lombard PowerBook. I'm able 
to boot from CD, Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, Debian SID, Gentoo or Debian 7 from 
the Yaboot menu. For Debian SID, the resulting Linux command line is this:

# cat /proc/cmdline
root=/dev/sda12 ro video=atyfb:1024x768

----- cut here -----
## yaboot.conf generated by debian-installer
##
## run: "man yaboot.conf" for details. Do not make changes until you have!!
## see also: /usr/share/doc/yaboot/examples for example configurations.
##
## For a dual-boot menu, add one or more of:
## bsd=/dev/hdaX, macos=/dev/hdaY, macosx=/dev/hdaZ

device=hd:
boot=/dev/sda9
timeout=100
install=/usr/lib/yaboot/yaboot
magicboot=/usr/lib/yaboot/ofboot
enablecdboot
macos=hd:10
macosx=hd:11
# defaultos=macosx

image=/boot/vmlinux
	label=Debian_sid
	partition=12
	root=/dev/sda12
	read-only
#	initrd=/boot/initrd.img
#	append="video=ofonly"
	append="video=atyfb:1024x768"

image=/boot/vmlinux
	label=Gentoo
	partition=13
	root=/dev/sda13
	read-only
#	initrd=/boot/initrd.img
	append="video=atyfb:1024x768"

image=/boot/vmlinux
	label=Debian_7
	partition=14
	root=/dev/sda14
	read-only
	initrd=/boot/initrd.img
	append="video=atyfb:1024x768"