Mac....mac...linux?

[Mothyboy]

Ok. It's a _Mac_ emulator, it emulates Macs, and some forms of Linux can run on 68k Macs....so could Basilisk II boot up into Linux that run on 68k Mac, such as Debian or RedHat 5.1?

[Mac Emu]

No, Basilisk II is not a complete Mac emulator. It was only designed to run the Mac OS. It's missing MMU emulation and Linux68k requires a MMU to run (just like why Basilisk II cannot use virtual memory, Ram Doubler, etc.).

It's not (currently) possible to run A/UX or any standard 68k Linux on Basilisk II due to the lack of MMU support and probably SCSI support too.

If you want to run a Unix-type terminal on Basilisk II, I suggest using the freeware MacMinix or try buying a copy of MachTen. I've verified that both of these run on Basilisk II as they don't require a MMU or installation on a SCSI hard drive.

http://www.pliner.com/MacMinix
http://www.tenon.com/products/machten

[The Balance Of Judgement]

There are some types of Linux that can be run on Basilisk however Basilisk II does not support Partitions on HFV files, so even if you loaded them up in SoftMac which does support full SCSI mode on Disk Images, Basilisk II would most likely not understand it and think the file is corrupt.

There are some Linux distro that will work on Basilisk, such as mklinux 68k and netbsd, since they do not require a MMU, but rather at least a 030 and FPU. But you will need a physical SCSI card and disk inside your machine to make it work, like I do.

Currently I have my mac on a real Quantum 700MB Trailblazer, which was taken from a Workgroup Server and it runs quite nice, however a bit slow since it's an older drive.

So, if you have a real dedicated hardware scsi disk and want to try it you can, but it's not going to look that great compared to Mac OS and the installation instructions are not easy to follow, it requires some technical knowledge.

[Mac Emu]

NetBSD for 68k Mac require a MMU (PMMU). I don't think there is a MKLinux for 68k (please prove me wrong!). A 68k Linux that doesn't require a MMU is uClinux, but it doesn't currently run on Mac.

[GA]

I have been playing about in this area too recently...

I'm not too experianed with programing but, what exactly would be required to modify the Basilisk II souce to include MMU (PMMU) support?

The ablity to play around with linux within the contained enviroment of an emulator has always been entreeging to me, also the ablity to remove a lot of the mess that has, for me personaly, put me off using linux.

[Marc]

You would, in all honesty, as well use Virtual PC to experiment with Linux. Development looks dead on all Mac Emulators now. Although it would be amazing to use A/UX again...

[phirkel]

I have been playing about in this area too recently...

I'm not too experianed with programing but, what exactly would be required to modify the Basilisk II souce to include MMU (PMMU) support?

The ablity to play around with linux within the contained enviroment of an emulator has always been entreeging to me, also the ablity to remove a lot of the mess that has, for me personaly, put me off using linux.

To add an MMU you would need a LOT of work. We're talking emulating a custom IC for Macintosh computers. It would require a lot of programming, and most of it in Assembler (for any sort of speed), or some very convoluted C/C++. VB programmers need not apply.

What do you mean by mess? Throw in a hard disk, use some bootloader to load GRUB/LILO (I use the Windows NT bootloader because, well, it works). SOmething messes up? Throw in the Distro's disk and use fdisk or a similar utility. People seem to think Linux causes so much trouble, but if you're semi-competant, it shouldn't be an issue.

[Marc]

What do you mean by mess? Throw in a hard disk, use some bootloader to load GRUB/LILO (I use the Windows NT bootloader because, well, it works). SOmething messes up? Throw in the Distro's disk and use fdisk or a similar utility. People seem to think Linux causes so much trouble, but if you're semi-competant, it shouldn't be an issue.

Indeed, I first used Linux through RedHat 4.0 on x86. It wasn't dramatically simple to set up using fdisk and FIPS, but was pretty easy for a novice like myself to set up. RedHat is now at version 9.0 and in terms of ease of use, is in a completely different planet now. It's no Windows nor MacOS in terms of useabilty, but is stll VERY doable to set up and use.

[The Balance Of Judgement]

If you want to play with Linux on the 68K basilisk II, there are 2 versions of Linux that are actual Mac OS applications and will run inside BII.

I don't have the names handy but a google search will show them up.