Linux/m68k Frequently Asked Questions

Chris Lawrence

This is the Frequently Asked Questions file for the port of the Linux operating system to Motorola 680x0-based systems. It also provides some information about the Linux port for PowerPC-based Amigas, Linux/APUS. This is version 2.2.6 of this FAQ, which documents Linux/m68k and Linux/APUS kernel versions up to and including 2.0.36 (old stable), 2.2.10 (new stable) and 2.3.14 (developmental).

Table of Contents
1. What's New in this version of the FAQ
2. Introduction
What is this document?
I'm running Linux/APUS on my Amiga; why should I bother reading this FAQ?
Who Are You? What Do You Want?
Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?
Is the FAQ available in other formats?
How are FAQ revisions numbered?
What versions of Linux/m68k are covered by this FAQ?
General Linux Questions and Answers
What is Linux?
How does Linux consist of Linux and some other stuff?
What's the difference between MkLinux and Linux/m68k?
Misconceptions about Linux/m68k
The Linux/m68k port is "under development" or "experimental"
Linux/m68k isn't popular
Porting Linux/m68k to my system is useless because there is *BSD for my system
A bit about the Linux/m68k platforms
Amiga
Atari
Macintosh
Motorola VMEbus
NeXT workstations
Other systems
Who's using Linux/m68k?
3. A Brief History of Linux and Linux/m68k
MonoCPUism: Linus creates Linux
The Linux/m68k Trinity: Hamish, Roman and Jes
In Their Own Words
The Ghost of Linux Future
4. General requirements to run Linux/m68k
Processor
RAM
Hard Disk
Software
Amiga Hardware Support
Atari Hardware Support
VME Hardware Support
Motorola MVME166 and MVME167 boards
Motorola MVME162 board
Motorola MVME147 board
Other VME Boards: VME 17x, BVME4000/6000
Macintosh Hardware Support
Sun 3 Workstation Hardware Support
NeXT Workstation Hardware Support
Hewlett-Packard (HP)/Apollo Domain Workstation Hardware Support
HP 9000/300 Workstation Hardware Support
Unsupported 680x0 Hardware
Support for other processors
Definitely Unsupported Hardware: The Hall of Shame
5. Future Development
General
Amiga
Atari
VME
Other Systems
6. The Kernel
Recompiling Linux
Finding The Sources
What You Need to Recompile
How to Compile
Submitting Kernel Changes
Bug Reports
Known kernel bugs
TT-FPU bug
Amiga with GVP 16-bit RAM
Zorro II DMA Bug on A3640 rev 3.0
MC68060 performance issues
7. Common problems
I can't find the man page for XXX
How can I access my SCSI devices?
How do I access my IDE devices?
How do I use an IDE CD-ROM?
How do I use an IDE tape drive?
My SCSI bus locks up when the kernel probes for devices
I displayed a binary file, and now my console is totally screwed up
Can I use both ELF and a.out libraries/binaries in my system?
"less" behaves oddly when I press a key
What are the current major/minor device numbers for /dev/xxx?
How can I tell an a.out binary from an ELF one?
GCC complains that it can't find shared libraries while linking
How do I byte-swap an ext2 filesystem?
My kernel hangs at the login prompt
I just upgraded to 2.1.21 (or later) and modules don't work
Where can I get Linux/m68k on CD-ROM?
How do I patch my kernel?
How do I patch a generic Linux kernel tree to work with Linux/m68k?
How can I get my Jaz drive to work with Linux (or another OS...)?
When I use dpkg or tar, I get messages about a "broken pipe"
What is the current status of FPU emulation?
What about the 68LC040?
I can't boot from a ramdisk
I can't execute programs in my current directory
Video Questions
How do I choose what video mode to use with Linux?
When I run X, it complains about invalid modes
I've got fbset, but I can't create any video modes
How do I create the framebuffer device nodes?
How do I make sure that I do not damage my monitor when running X?
When I try to run the X Window System on 2.0.33, I get an error
Kernel 2.1.X doesn't compile out of the box for me
I get strange crashes with kernel 2.1.X and two IDE drives
Internationalization questions
How do I set a xxx keymap? (xxx = German, French, Swedish, ...)
How do I create a xxx keymap?
How do I set up my shell to use non-ASCII characters?
How do I use locales?
How do I use my keymap in X?
I installed glibc and now I get errors about undefined references.
ps and top do not display the associated tty numbers, just a '?'.
"make menuconfig" does not work!
For Debian
How do I use the loop-back device?
Floppies and modules
I have compiled floppy support as a module but it doesn't work
Which aliases do I put to /etc/conf.modules?
Why is there so little information on the web about the BrandX port?
How do I use my mouse in X or with GPM?
My English isn't very good. Can I read this FAQ in my native language?
How do I uncompress the pre-compiled kernels outside of Linux?
Where's Netscape for Linux/m68k?
dpkg problems with 2.1/2.2 kernels
Can I install Debian (or Red Hat) over an existing Watchtower installation?
What's the difference between glibc and libc6?
How do I install the X Window System?
How can I save the kernel messages when the system crashes?
Where can I get an MMU or FPU for my computer?
Should I use Watchtower?
8. Amiga-specific questions
Where did all my Amiga's chip memory go?
How do I access Amiga files from Linux (and vice versa)?
My SCSI bus locks up when I want to use my DAT drive
Linux recognizes my Amiga's XXX board, but it doesn't work
Amiboot dies when I start it with VMM running
How do I compile Amiboot and Amiga LILO?
How do I access floppies under Linux?
mtools
formatting
Can I use an Amiga-formatted partition as my root partition?
Can I run Linux on my Phase5 PowerUP card's PowerPC CPU?
Can I use an IDE doubler with Linux/m68k?
What video modes does my card support?
The Amiga memory device driver (z2ram)
What is the z2ram device?
Ok, now that I know what the device does, how do I use it?
Why can't I cleanly reboot my Amiga with Ctrl-Amiga-Amiga?
9. Atari-specific questions
I can't use ttyS3 and ttyS4 simultaneously on my Atari
I'm having problems with my Falcon with Afterburner 040. Any tips?
I'm having strange problems with my PAK030 board in my ST!?!
How do I access my Atari SLM laser printer?
How do I access my ACSI drives?
10. Macintosh-specific questions
Where the **** is the Mac site?
11. Other sources for information, sources and binaries
Installation Guides
Other Documents
Newsgroups
Mailing Lists
WWW sites
FTP sites
Modem
Distributions
IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
Magazines
Books
12. Famous last words
Credits
Copyright and License
  Next
  What's New in this version of the FAQ