. Currently, .Nx*M requires the use of .Tn "Open Firmware" to boot. Open Firmware is a command environment using the FORTH language which the .Nx kernel uses to gether information about your system, and to control some of your devices. This means that PowerMacs and clones that lack Open Firmware cannot boot .Nx on the \*M platform. Most machines introduced by Apple and the clone-makers after August 17, 1995 have Open Firmware and are supported.
p Apple made several revisions of this Open Firmware environment, and each has various quirks and problems that we must work around. The single hardest step of installing .Nx*M is to set up Open Firmware properly. Open Firmware versions 1.x and 2.0.x act similarly and the same set of instructions applies to them. Open Firmware version 2.4 is slightly different with regards to booting. Open Firmware version 3 is altogether different.
p At present, .Nx*M does not support the PPC 601 microprocessor, which means that the PowerMacintosh 7200 and 7500 models are not supported. The PowerMacintosh 7500 may be upgraded to a PPC 604, G3, or G4 microprocessor via a daughtercard replacement, in which case .Nx will run on this system.
p The minimal configuration requires 8 MB of RAM and ~80 MB of disk space. To install the entire system requires much more disk space, and to run X or compile the system, more RAM is recommended, as .Nx with 8 MB of RAM is very slow. Note that until you have around 16 MB of RAM, getting more RAM is more important than getting a faster CPU. . .Ss2 Supported models Find your model from the list below and take note of its Open Firmware version: .(tag 8n t Em "Open Firmware 1.0.5 or 2.0.x"
p .(bullet -compact Apple PowerBook (2400, 3400, G3, and G3 Series) t Apple PowerMacintosh/Performa (4400, 54xx, 5500, 6300/160, 6360, 6400, and 6500) t Apple PowerMacintosh (7300, 7500 (with CPU upgrade), 7600, 8500, 8600, 9500, and 9600) t Apple PowerMacintosh (G3 .Dq Beige models with ATI RageII+: Desktop, Mini Tower, and All-in-One) t APS Tech (M*Power 604e/200) t Motorola StarMax (3000, 4000, 5000, and 5500) t Power Computing (PowerBase, PowerCenter, PowerCenter Pro, PowerCurve, PowerTower, PowerTower Pro, and PowerWave) t UMAX (J700, S900) t UMAX (Apus 2000, Apus 3000, C500, and C600) .bullet) t Em "Open Firmware 1.1.22"
p .(bullet -compact Apple Network Server (500 and 700) .(Note Users have reported that the .Nx kernel does not work well with the on-board MACE-based ethernet (the one that requires an Apple AAUI dongle). If your system does not have the Apple PCI Ethernet Card, you may need to purchase and install another ethernet card in your Apple Network Server. .Note) .bullet) t Em "Open Firmware 2.4"
p .(bullet -compact Apple PowerMacintosh (G3 .Dq Beige models with ATI Rage Pro: Desktop, Mini Tower, and All-in-One) .bullet) t Em "Open Firmware 3"
p .(bullet -compact Apple iMac; Bondi Blue (Rev A and Rev B, 233 MHz), 5 Flavors (Rev C and Rev D, 266 MHz and 333 MHz), and Slot Loading t Apple PowerBook (G3 Series (bronze keyboard)) t Apple PowerMacintosh (G3 (Blue and White), G4 (PCI), G4 (AGP), and G4 Cube) .bullet) . .Ss2 Unsupported models .(bullet -compact -offset indent Systems with Open Firmware, but using a PPC 601 microprocessor (PowerMacintosh 7200 and 7500 (without CPU upgrade)) t Systems with a PowerPC microprocessor, but lacking Open Firmware .(bullet -compact Apple PowerBook (1400, 2300, and 5300) t Apple PowerMacintosh/Performa (52xx, 53xx, 62xx, and 63xx (except 6300/160 and 6360 which are supported)) t Apple PowerMacintosh/Performa (61xx, 71xx, and 81xx) t PowerComputing (Power 100 and Power 120) .bullet) t Systems with broken Open Firmware (Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh) t Systems with a Motorola 68k microprocessor (these systems are supported by .Nx Ns /mac68k ) t Systems upgraded from any of the above (unless the motherboard is replaced as part of the upgrade) t Systems released during the year 2000 (future releases of .Nx*M will support these systems) .bullet) . .Ss2 Supported devices .(bullet -offset indent Ethernet .(bullet -compact On-board 79C950-based MACE Ethernet interface
q Em mc0 t On-board bmac Ethernet interface
q Em bm0 t On-board gmac Ethernet interface
q Em gm0 t Apple PCI Ethernet Card (option for Apple Network Server)
q Em tlp t Asante Mac 10/100 PCI Rev A, part number 09-00169-01
q Em de t Farallon Fast EtherTX 10/100, part number PN996L-TX
q Em de t SMC Etherpower II (9432TX)
q Em epic t SMC 83c170
q Em epic t 3Com 3c905
q Em ex t Intel EtherExpress PRO/10+ PCI LAN Adapter
q Em fxp t RealTek 8029 Ethernet
q Em ne t VIA Technologies VT86C926
q Em ne t RealTek 8139
q Em rtk t Lite-On PNIC
q Em tlp t D-Link DFE-530TX
q Em vr t Many other PCI and Cardbus Ethernet interfaces, such as Tulip-compatable
q Em de No and Em tlp , 3Com
q Em ep , SMC
q Em epic , Intel
q Em fxp , NE2000-compatable
q Em ne , and RealTek
q Em rtk t Many USB Ethernet interfaces
o .Em aue , .Em cue , and .Em kue
c .bullet) t SCSI .(bullet -compact On-board NCR 53c94 SCSI controller
q Em esp t On-board MESH SCSI controller
q Em mesh t Adaptec PCI controllers 291x, 2920, 2930C, 294x, 295x, 39xx, 19160, 29160 and AIC-78xx
q Em ahc t AdvanSys 1200[A,B], 9xx[U,UA] SCSI controller
q Em adv t AMD 53c974
q Em pcscp t NCR/Symbios 53C8xx
q Em ncr No or Em siop t Many other PCI SCSI controllers should work, but no one has tried them t Most SCSI disk/tape/CD-ROM devices should work .bullet) t IDE .(bullet -compact On-board IDE controlers t Many PCI IDE controllers should work, although no one has tried them t Most IDE disk/CD-ROM/ATAPI devices should work .bullet) t Input devices .(bullet -compact Most ADB keyboards, mice, trackballs, and trackpads t Most USB keyboards, mice, trackballs, and trackpads t Most PS/2 keyboards, mice, and trackballs (middle button on 3-button mice may not work) .bullet) t Video .(bullet -compact On-board video on most models
q Em ofb .(Note Several models have been reported to not work with .Nx if the on-board video is in use, such as the Performa 54xx, 6360, 6400, PowerMacintosh 9500/150, 9500/180, 9500/200, PowerComputing PowerTower, and UMAX C600 and Apus 3000 .Note)
p t PCI frame buffers which have Open Firmware support (ATI, IMS, and Matrox have several models which work) .bullet) t Serial ports .(bullet -compact On-board serial ports (the modem and printer ports)
q Em ttya No and Em ttyb .(Note The on-board serial ports can be used for console, although many users have reported problems trying to run ppp or other high speed serial applications .Note)
p t Some USB, PCI, and Cardbus serial ports should work, but no one has tried them .bullet) t USB devices .(bullet -compact Most MI USB devices should work (such as disks, printers, input devices, and ethernet interfaces) .Lk http://www.netbsd.org/Hardware/usb.html .bullet) t PCMCIA and Cardbus cards .(bullet -compact Most MI PCMCIA and Cardbus cards should work, although very few have been tested with .Nx*M .Lk http://www.netbsd.org/Hardware/cardbus.html .Lk http://www.netbsd.org/Hardware/pcmcia.html .bullet) t PCI cards .(bullet -compact Most MI PCI cards should work, although very few have been tested with .Nx*M .Lk http://www.netbsd.org/Hardware/pci.html .bullet)
p .(Note While the .Nx kernel may support the various Cardbus, PCI, PCMCIA, and USB devices you may have, Open Firmware does .Em not unless it has a specific Open Firmware ROM. This means you cannot boot from these devices. Some Adaptec SCSI controllers have bootable Open Firmware ROMs. .Note) .bullet) . .Ss2 Unsupported devices .(bullet -offset indent On-board audio t Floppy disk .(Note Though .Nx*M can boot from a floppy, there is no kernel support yet .Note) t FireWire (IEEE 1394) t Advanced power management (cannot put system to .Sq sleep ) t Multiple processors .(Note Although .Nx*M can boot with more than one processor present, it will not use the additional CPUs .Note) t AirPort t On-board video capture .bullet) . .Ss2 Supported boot devices and media . Each version of Open Firmware supports different devices and media that you may boot from.
p Go to the .Nx*M Model Support webpage and look up your system. Take note of the comments about your model and keep these in mind during the rest of this installation procedure. .Lk http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/macppc/models.html