PS3 And Linux (No Longer Supported)

Introduction

These notes are mainly for myself and probably won't help anyone else to install their own Linux to their PS3, but here's some installation history and notes how I managed to install Linux to my PS3. Keep in mind that the PS3 Slim edition does not support installing a second operating system. Here's a video about my PS3 with Linux.

Update

Update: Linux is no longer supported by PS3 (March 2010):

http://www.platformnation.com/2010/03/28/ps3-droppin-linux-support/

http://kotaku.com/5504123/ps3-loses-linux-support

Note: If you have the older PS3 and if the firmware is less than v3.21 (April 2010), then you should still be able to install Linux, but of course playing PS3 games online won't be possible.

My Installation History

I have PS3 40 GB version and an HD TV (LG 32LT75) among other things. I needed to burn three Linux installation discs (I used DVD+R discs as I happened to have them at home) to install Linux successfully to my PS3. First I installed Ubuntu 7.10 Alternate Power PC version mentioned in source [1] and tried installing all the three available kernels listed by the installation program. Then I tried to install Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop Power PC version mentioned in source [2], which didn't work and I had difficulties getting back to the PS3 operating system. Then I found source [3], installed Ubuntu 7.10 Alternate Power PC version mentioned there, copied otheros.bld file to my USB stick to the PS3/OTHEROS/ directory, and followed the rest of the instructions there.

Before Installing a Linux

If you install Linux to your PS3, you will lose all your PS3 settings, demos, photos, etc. You will also lose some of your hard drive space for Linux. If your Linux installation doesn't work, and you want to try installing Linux again with another installation disc, you need to partition your hard drive again, and you lose your PS3 settings, demos, photos, etc. again (unless you put a different Linux installation disc in and use that installation disc to format only the Linux part of the hard disk before installation). Before you install Linux to your PS3, you can backup your PS3 files (but not PS3 settings) (see below). Before you install Linux to your PS3, you need to create a partition to your PS3 hard drive (see below).

Backup Your Files

To backup your PS3 files, with your PS3, go to Settings, System Settings, Backup Utility.

Create a Partition to Your PS3 Hard Drive

To create a partition to your PS3 hard drive, with your PS3, go to Settings, System Settings, Format Utility. There you will need to decide, do you want to give 10 GB of your PS3 hard disk space to your Linux operating system or to your PS3 operating system. Formatting took over 2 hours with my 40 GB hard disk when I chose to use 10 GB for Linux.

Install Linux

Insert your USB stick (which contains the otheros.bld file mentioned above) and with your PS3 go to Settings, System Settings, Install Other OS. After scanning your PS3 should mention "The following installer items were found:" and "Title /PS3/OTHEROS/otheros.bld" and "Location USB Device". Insert your Ubuntu installation disc and in PS3 select "Start". With your PS3, go to Settings, Default System, and select Other OS. Restart your system while the Ubuntu installation disc is still inside PS3. You should see text "This is an Ubuntu Live CDROM" among other text lines. Press Enter key to start the installation. You should be asked various questions, such as your language, location, and keyboard layout. At some point of installation I selected guided partitioning for entire disk and selected "/dev/ps3da" and later, when asked, I selected PSUbuntu as my hostname. I selected some screen resolutions when asked. When the installation was ready, at some point I saw text "Sending SIGKILL to all processes", but the installation program couldn't shut down, so I forced it to shut down with the off/on button. When I started Ubuntu I saw text "Reading files needed to boot..." but at some point my television said "No Signal". When restarting Ubuntu several times didn't help, I tried installing it again, but this time I didn't make any selections for screen resolutions when asked. But when I started the second installation of Ubuntu the screen resolution was too low for me, see section "Screen Resolution Problems" for my solution.

Set Linux as Your Main Operating System

With your PS3, go to Settings, Default System, and select Other OS.

Set PS3 as Your Main Operating System

If you have selected Linux as your main operating system, turn on your PS3 and at the Kboot screen, type boot-game-os (and press Enter). Or press off/on button until you hear a 'beep' sound (if you are having problems, you may need to press the off/on button until you hear the 'beep' sound twice).

Screen Resolution Problems

After installing Ubuntu Linux, I noticed the resolution was too low (probably 576 x 460 pixels). I searched for a bit, and found pages that gave me a bigger resolution:

http://psubuntu.com/2007/02/16/fullscreen-mode-for-your-1080p-hdtv/

http://psubuntu.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13

http://www.edepot.com/playstation3.html

And here's what I did (warning, it's "dangerous" changing your Linux settings files in the sense that if you can't make Linux work anymore, you may need to use hours in forums asking for help or even give up, and install Linux again):

I selected Applications, Accessories, Terminal.

In Terminal, I opened kboot.conf file with nano:

sudo nano /etc/kboot.conf

And added these five lines to kboot.conf (the UUID information on the last line is hidden on this document and replaced with "..." just in case for security, do not chance your UUID to "..."):

message=/etc/kboot.msg

default=linux

timeout=100

root=/dev/sda3

linux='/boot/vmlinux initrd=/boot/initrd.img video=ps3fb:mode:5 root=UUID=... quiet splash'

I opened xorg.conf file with nano:

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

And added these lines to xorg.conf replacing the already existing lines in the "Screen" section:

Section "Screen"

Identifier "Default Screen"

Device "Generic Video Card"

Monitor "Generic Monitor"

DefaultDepth 24

DefaultFbBPP 32

SubSection "Display"

Depth 24

FbBPP 32

EndSubSection

SubSection "Display"

Depth 15

Modes "1024x720" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

EndSubSection

SubSection "Display"

Depth 16

Modes "576x384" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"

EndSubSection

EndSection

Internet Connection Problems

I also had Internet connection problems, that is, I couldn't connect to the Internet. I tried rebooting my ADSL modem, router and PS3 and also on a Linux forum gave my network related information with the use of commands dmesg, ifconfig -a and route -n. When that didn't work, I looked at System, Administration, Network, Wired Connection, Properties and noticed "Enable roaming mode" was ticked (selected), so I unselected it as it might be used for wireless connections. I also chose "Automatic configuration (DHCP)" and when I had clicked OK, I was able to tick "Wired Connection" and at least my wired Internet connection started working using my Ethernet cable.

Language Support Issues

After installing Ubuntu, the Finnish language characters weren't behaving correctly on some applications (e.g. IRC clients), so I went to System, Administration, Language Support and added the Finnish language there.

Upgrade Problem

After using the upgrade function to move to Ubuntu 8.04 the system stopped doing anything after the text "Booting system...", so I installed the earlier version of Ubuntu again. I may try to install a newer version of Ubuntu later if there will be a new installation disc for a newer version instead of using the upgrade function.

Ubuntu Linux Installation Pages

[1] https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PlayStation_3

[2] http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/custom/20071025-gutsy-ps3/

[3] http://psubuntu.com/installation-instructions/

What is Linux?

Linux is free operating system, made by many people. If you install another operating system, such Linux, to your PS3, then your PlayStation 3 will become more like a computer, because with Linux you can read and send email, create OpenOffice documents (with OpenOffice.org you can export the documents for example as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and PDF documents), etc. Of course with your PS3 you need a USB mouse and a USB keyboard to easily use Linux. Linux has many versions called distributions, so Ubuntu Linux is only one of the Linux distributions you can install to your PS3.

Linux can be difficult to install (it may take several hours or even days) especially if it's your first time installing an operating system to a machine. You may need to buy proper burnable optical discs (for example DVD+R discs) and you may need to learn how to burn Linux installation discs, so it might take a while to install Linux to your PS3. If you already have a PC with an operating system (for example Linux or Windows), then you might not need to install Linux to your PS3. But if you have no computers at home, then you may be curious getting a free operating system installed to your PS3. More info about Linux in general:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux

http://www.linux.org/info/

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