The RAM isn’t the main problem, it’s the architecture. Mac OS X needs Open Firmware, it’s fundamentally incompatible with anything Nubus/Slot Manager based.
PowerBook 540c - Did a thing (OS 8.6)
- Thread starter frontein1
- Start date
The RAM isn’t the main problem, it’s the architecture. Mac OS X needs Open Firmware, it’s fundamentally incompatible with anything Nubus/Slot Manager based.
Ah, I forgot about that.
Well, what other sort of exotic OS can a PPC-upgraded 540 run?
Does Rhapsody require OF?
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Maybe some form of era-appropriate PPC Linux? Tagging @demik.
Yeah definitely since it's essentially just an earlier version of Mac OS X, based on OpenStep.
The Mac OS X boot loader - BootX needs Open Firmware. So just create a new BootX that doesn't use Open Firmware.
Or, you can try creating a version of Apple's disk based Open Firmware that came with Copland D11E4 for the PDM Power Macs (6100, 7100, 8100). Maybe the boot loader that loads the disk base Open Firmware can be used as the basis for the new BootX?
In either case, you might need to make changes to the Mac OS X kernel (Open Firmware and BootX can apply kernel patches). And you'll need to create a platform expert kext and maybe some drivers, like XPostFacto has. You can use the disk to store NVRAM.
Anyway, anything is possible if you throw enough time and code at it.
Thanks for correcting me, that makes sense.
A monumental task, but not impossible - just improbable
Not meaning to steal the thread... but I wanted to note this down somewhere. Since we've got G4 Minis running System 7.0 now, I wonder if we could modify the ROM or OF to allow "modern" PPC Macs to run NeXTStep and OpenStep as well....
For the 540c... it'd be really neat if we could force it to run System 6. But that would involve all sorts of hackery since it doesn't have OF available to provide hardware support outside the ROM and OS.
But a PPC upgraded 540c running System 6 would FLY!
AFAIK there is no Linux for PPC upgraded blackbirds. Mainstream Linux PPC do expect some sort of OpenFirmware. They were patches to run on OF-less PowerMacs for Linux Kernel 2.4 back then, but it didn't include the PB540
Ah that's right; it wasn't supported by m68kLinux. Maybe NetBSD PPC is a better target?
How did you manage this? I have a PowerPC card now but I can't boot Mac OS 9.0.4. I get an error "This OS can't be used with this Macintosh" just after the splash screen appears.
Did you patch the System File?
Here are some notes I wrote up. Sure glad I did this, as I already forgot what I did. Can't take credit, borrowed from others to get up to 9.1.0. Still want to get to 9.2.2, just haven't had the time to play with this since December unfortunately.
Nice. I was searching the forums and Google for these instructions last night but came up short.
It's a very artificial imposition since there's absolutely nothing architecturally about the PowerBook 500 with PowerPC that's any different from a 2300 or 5300 Series, fundamentally speaking. The upgrade card even uses the same ROM as the 2300c.
So that means the 500 series is architecturally equivalent to a PowerBook 1400, because that's the same as a PB5300? Interesting.
Yes, once upgraded to PPC. The 1400 is basically a souped up 500! They all use the PBX memory controller/bus translator connected to an '030 peripheral bus.
