Making your Choice

Using yaBoot Introduction You have to use yaboot-static instead of yaboot, because yaboot won't compile on PPC64.

There are two ways to configure yaBoot for your system. You can use the new and improved yabootconfig included with yaboot-1.3.8-r1 and later to automatically set up yaboot. If for some reason you do not want to run yabootconfig to automatically set up /etc/yaboot.conf or you are installing Gentoo on a G5 (on which yabootconfig does not always work), you can just edit the sample file already installed on your system.

yabootconfig/ybin won't work on IBM. You have to install yaboot another way: Using yaboot on IBM If your root filesystem uses the JFS filesystem, be sure to add ro as a kernel parameter. JFS must be able to replay its log in read-only mode before it gets mounted read-write.

Default: Using yabootconfig
Alternative: Manual yaBoot Configuration

Default: Using yabootconfig

yabootconfig will auto-detect the partitions on your machine and will set up dual and triple boot combinations with Linux, Mac OS, and Mac OS X.

To use yabootconfig, your drive must have a bootstrap partition, and /etc/fstab must be configured with your Linux partitions. Both of these should have been done already in the steps above. To start, ensure that you have the latest version of yaboot installed by running emerge --update yaboot-static. This is necessary as the latest version will be available via Portage, but it may not have made it into the stage files.

# emerge --update yaboot-static

Now run yabootconfig. The program will run and it will confirm the location of the bootstrap partition. Type Y if it is correct. If not, double check /etc/fstab. yabootconfig will then scan your system setup, create /etc/yaboot.conf and run mkofboot for you. mkofboot is used to format the bootstrap partition, and install the yaboot configuration file into it.

You might want to verify the contents of /etc/yaboot.conf. If you make changes to /etc/yaboot.conf (like setting the default/boot OS), make sure to rerun ybin -v to apply changes to the bootstrap partition.

Now continue with Rebooting your System.

Alternative: Manual yaBoot Configuration

First make sure you have the latest yaboot-static installed on your system:

# emerge --update yaboot-static

Below you find a completed yaboot.conf file. Alter it at will.

## /etc/yaboot.conf
##
## run: "man yaboot.conf" for details. Do not make changes until you have!!
## see also: /usr/share/doc/yaboot/examples for example configurations.
##
## For a dual-boot menu, add one or more of:
## bsd=/dev/hdaX, macos=/dev/hdaY, macosx=/dev/hdaZ

## our bootstrap partition:

boot=/dev/hda2

## ofboot is the openfirmware way to specify the bootstrap partition.
## If this isn't defined, yaboot fails on the G5 and some G4s (unless 
## you pass the necessary arguments to the mkofboot/ybin program).
## hd:X means /dev/sdaX (or /dev/hdaX).

ofboot=hd:2

## hd: is open firmware speak for hda
device=hd:

delay=5
defaultos=macosx
timeout=30
install=/usr/lib/yaboot/yaboot
magicboot=/usr/lib/yaboot/ofboot

#################
## This section can be duplicated if you have more than one kernel or set of
## boot options - replace 2.6.9 with your kernel-version
#################
image=/boot/kernel-2.6.9
  label=Linux
  root=/dev/hda3
  partition=3
  sysmap=/boot/System.map-2.6.9
  read-only

macos=hd:13
macosx=hd:12
enablecdboot
enableofboot

Once yaboot.conf is set up the way you want it, you run mkofboot -v to install the settings in the bootstrap partition. Don't forget this! Confirm when mkofboot asks you to create a new filesystem.

If all goes well, and you have the same options as the sample above, your next reboot will give you a simple, five-entry boot menu. If you update your yaboot config later on, you'll just need to run ybin -v to update the bootstrap partition - mkofboot is for initial setup only.

For more information on yaboot, take a look at the yaboot project. For now, continue the installation with Rebooting your System.

Using yaboot on IBM

On IBM hardware you cannot run yabootconfig or ybin. You have to proceed the folowing steps:

Install yaboot-static
Run 'dd if=/usr/lib/yaboot/yaboot.chrp of=/dev/sdXX' (fill in XX with your disk and partition for the RPeP partition; this was in our example /dev/sda1)
Next construct your own yaboot.conf file and place into /etc. (Take a look at the config above, look into the man page of yaboot.conf or look at the below yaboot.conf example)
Assuming your boot device in OF is pointing to the harddrive you prep boot partition is on then it'll just work, otherwise at IPL time, go into the multiboot menu and set the boot device to the one with your prep boot partition.
That's it!

device=disk:
partition=2
root=/dev/sda2
default=2.6.8-gentoo-r3
timeout=50

image=/boot/vmlinux-2.6.8-gentoo-r3
      label=2.6.8-gentoo-r3
	  append="console=ttyS0,9600"
	  read-only