Linux/m68k Frequently Asked Questions

Chris Lawrence <faq@linux-m68k.org>

1. What's New in this version of the FAQ

2. Introduction

• 2.1 What is this document?
• 2.2 I'm running Linux/APUS on my Amiga; why should I bother reading this FAQ?
• 2.3 Who Are You? What Do You Want?
• 2.4 Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?
• 2.5 Is the FAQ available in other formats?
• 2.6 How are FAQ revisions numbered?
• 2.7 What versions of Linux/m68k are covered by this FAQ?
• 2.8 General Linux Questions and Answers
• 2.9 Misconceptions about Linux/m68k
• 2.10 A bit about the Linux/m68k platforms
• 2.11 Who's using Linux/m68k?

3. A Brief History of Linux and Linux/m68k

• 3.1 MonoCPUism: Linus creates Linux
• 3.2 The Linux/m68k Trinity: Hamish, Roman and Jes
• 3.3 In Their Own Words
• 3.4 The Ghost of Linux Future

4. General requirements to run Linux/m68k

• 4.1 Processor
• 4.2 RAM
• 4.3 Hard Disk
• 4.4 Software
• 4.5 Amiga Hardware Support
• 4.6 Atari Hardware Support
• 4.7 VME Hardware Support
• 4.8 Macintosh Hardware Support
• 4.9 Sun 3 Workstation Hardware Support
• 4.10 NeXT Workstation Hardware Support
• 4.11 Hewlett-Packard (HP)/Apollo Domain Workstation Hardware Support
• 4.12 HP 9000/300 Workstation Hardware Support
• 4.13 Unsupported 680x0 Hardware
• 4.14 Support for other processors
• 4.15 Definitely Unsupported Hardware: The Hall of Shame

5. Future Development

• 5.1 General
• 5.2 Amiga
• 5.3 Atari
• 5.4 VME
• 5.5 Other Systems

6. The Kernel

• 6.1 Recompiling Linux
• 6.2 Known kernel bugs

7. Common problems

• 7.1 I can't find the man page for XXX
• 7.2 How can I access my SCSI devices?
• 7.3 How do I access my IDE devices?
• 7.4 My SCSI bus locks up when the kernel probes for devices
• 7.5 I displayed a binary file, and now my console is totally screwed up
• 7.6 Can I use both ELF and a.out libraries/binaries in my system?
• 7.7 "less" behaves oddly when I press a key
• 7.8 What are the current major/minor device numbers for /dev/xxx?
• 7.9 How can I tell an a.out binary from an ELF one?
• 7.10 GCC complains that it can't find shared libraries while linking
• 7.11 How do I byte-swap an ext2 filesystem?
• 7.12 My kernel hangs at the login prompt
• 7.13 I just upgraded to 2.1.21 (or later) and modules don't work
• 7.14 Where can I get Linux/m68k on CD-ROM?
• 7.15 How do I patch my kernel?
• 7.16 How do I patch a generic Linux kernel tree to work with Linux/m68k?
• 7.17 How can I get my Jaz drive to work with Linux (or another OS...)?
• 7.18 When I use dpkg or tar, I get messages about a "broken pipe"
• 7.19 What is the current status of FPU emulation?
• 7.20 I can't boot from a ramdisk
• 7.21 I can't execute programs in my current directory
• 7.22 Video Questions
• 7.23 When I try to run the X Window System on 2.0.33, I get an error
• 7.24 Kernel 2.1.X doesn't compile out of the box for me
• 7.25 I get strange crashes with kernel 2.1.X and two IDE drives
• 7.26 Internationalization questions
• 7.27 I installed glibc and now I get errors about undefined references.
• 7.28 ps and top do not display the associated tty numbers, just a '?'.
• 7.29 "make menuconfig" does not work!
• 7.30 How do I use the loop-back device?
• 7.31 Floppies and modules
• 7.32 Why is there so little information on the web about the BrandX port?
• 7.33 How do I use my mouse in X or with GPM?
• 7.34 My English isn't very good. Can I read this FAQ in my native language?
• 7.35 How do I uncompress the pre-compiled kernels outside of Linux?
• 7.36 Where's Netscape for Linux/m68k?
• 7.37 dpkg problems with 2.1/2.2 kernels
• 7.38 Can I install Debian (or Red Hat) over an existing Watchtower installation?
• 7.39 What's the difference between glibc and libc6?
• 7.40 How do I install the X Window System?
• 7.41 How can I save the kernel messages when the system crashes?
• 7.42 Where can I get an MMU or FPU for my computer?

8. Amiga-specific questions

• 8.1 Where did all my Amiga's chip memory go?
• 8.2 How do I access Amiga files from Linux (and vice versa)?
• 8.3 My SCSI bus locks up when I want to use my DAT drive
• 8.4 Linux recognizes my Amiga's XXX board, but it doesn't work
• 8.5 Amiboot dies when I start it with VMM running
• 8.6 How do I compile Amiboot and Amiga LILO?
• 8.7 How do I access floppies under Linux?
• 8.8 Can I use an Amiga-formatted partition as my root partition?
• 8.9 Can I run Linux on my Phase5 PowerUP card's PowerPC CPU?
• 8.10 Can I use an IDE doubler with Linux/m68k?
• 8.11 What video modes does my card support?
• 8.12 The Amiga memory device driver (z2ram)

9. Atari-specific questions

• 9.1 I can't use ttyS3 and ttyS4 simultaneously on my Atari
• 9.2 I'm having problems with my Falcon with Afterburner 040. Any tips?
• 9.3 I'm having strange problems with my PAK030 board in my ST!?!
• 9.4 How do I access my Atari SLM laser printer?
• 9.5 How do I access my ACSI drives?

10. Macintosh-specific questions

• 10.1 Where the **** is the Mac site?

11. Other sources for information, sources and binaries

• 11.1 Installation Guides
• 11.2 Other Documents
• 11.3 Newsgroups
• 11.4 Mailing Lists
• 11.5 WWW sites
• 11.6 FTP sites
• 11.7 Modem
• 11.8 Distributions
• 11.9 IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
• 11.10 Magazines
• 11.11 Books

12. Famous last words

• 12.1 Credits
• 12.2 Copyright and License