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So, here's what makes this tricky.

To get this far, you need to use two kernels. The kernel that's on the Debian m68k netinstall ISO image (5.somethingorother) and the Mac-specific kernel (4.14) found here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/linux-mac68k/files/

The Debian kernel needs to be used to install Linux. If you try to use the Mac kernel, it won't work because the installer will complain that the running kernel doesn't match the version on the CD. If you try to proceed anyway, it will crash when trying to start up the partitioner (probably because it can't load kernel modules for the filesystem type).

However, after_installing, if you try to use the Debian kernel to boot up, you will get a kernel panic because it can't find the root filesystem. I think this happens because the Debian kernel doesn't come compiled with the modules for the Mac's SCSI controller.

You can use the Mac kernel to boot up. Attached to this toot is a screen capture of what that looks like.

Now, if you look at that screen capture in the previous toot of this thread, you'll see that it fails to load kernel modules, then times out waiting for the hard disk (even though it's booting from it?!?!?) and then fails to remount the root filesystem as read/write.

I think this all happens because it can't load the kernel modules, because the running kernel is a different version from the kernel on disk! It's like trying to put two incompatible puzzle pieces together.

"But Scott!", you say, "why not just install an old version of Debian, that uses kernel 4.14 (or something close to it)?

Well, thanks to this bug: https://lists.debian.org/debian-68k/2020/04/msg00019.html
if you try and install an old version of Debian m68k on a IIfx, halfway through the installation it will switch your keyboard layout and prevent you from finishing the installation.

And all the CD snapshot images with this bugfix also have kernel version 5.

Also, as far as I know, there's no way to mount Linux partitions (ext4) on Classic Mac OS, so I can't make changes to any files from there.

I can boot into rescue mode with init=/bin/bash - but I still can't mount the root filesystem as read/write while in that mode.

My only idea is - since the installer can boot using the standard kernel, it must have the right modules in place. Perhaps we can boot from the install ramdisk, and break into a console from there and... I dunno, copy whatever files it needs to make the standard kernel able to recognize the HD? Or maybe we can modify the ramdisk somehow or build a new one to "bootstrap" and then run the OS from the HD instead of running the installer?

That's beyond my Linux skill level at the moment, though ​

So for now, unfortunately, that's probably the end of this project. Unless anyone here has any ideas or suggestions? ​

*hacker voice* I'm in ​

I was about to give up, but y'all came through with plenty of great suggestions, and I'm finally able to declare this experiment a success. We did it! ​

Basically, what I did was copy the HD image that Linux was installed to, from my BlueSCSI to my MacBook Pro. Then I downloaded and installed a trial of Paragon extFS (https://www.paragon-software.com/home/extfs-mac) which let me mount the image.

From there I was able to copy the initrd.img created by the Debian installer to my MacBook, and then back over to the IIfx, on the Mac OS 7 partition.

Then I booted Linux into Rescue mode and modified the /etc/login.defs file to time out after 600 seconds (10 minutes) instead of 60 seconds (1 minute). Now that I was using the correct initial ramdisk, I was able to mount the root partition as read/write, allowing my changes to be saved.

Finally, I was able to boot Linux normally, and log in without any errors ​

but but but I just want to post the obligatory Neofetch screenshot...this is gonna take like another 48 hours to install ​

It's my bedtime anyway so I think we're just gonna go with it and see how far along it is tomorrow ​

Here's some performance / quality-of-life tweaks I've made so far, to make Linux on the IIfx run a little better:

- set the hardware clock configuration to localtime, so that the clock stays in sync when switching between Mac OS and Linux
- disabled journaling on the root filesystem, improved performance significantly and fixed a lot of random timeouts/errors
- switched from a swap partition (which never worked, would always time out when mounting) to a swap file (256 MB, works just fine)
- switched the login/PAM password algorithm to md5 and increased login timeout, can now login in seconds instead of 2.5 minutes

Got any other suggestions?

EDIT: solved! https://chaos.social/@Uilebheist/109750857877605079
Thanks @Uilebheist @maddler @VacuumTrauma @rastilin @starlily and everyone else who replied ​

Original post follows:

Does anyone know how to solve this error (see attached photo)?

How do I add more space to /run/systemd? It isn’t in /etc/fstab.

This happens whenever I try and install anything with apt, it wants to upgrade libc6.

There's still one really annoying bug that I'm experiencing when running Debian Linux 11 on my Mac IIfx.

I use a "USB Wombat" (https://www.bigmessowires.com/usb-wombat/) which is a device that has ADB on one end and USB on the other. The ADB side plugs into my IIfx, and the USB side plugs into a hub, which then plugs into one side of a K/M switch (the other side plugs into my MacBook Pro).

The K/M switch has a USB keyboard and mouse attached to it. By pressing the button on the switch, I can make the keyboard and mouse switch between controlling my MacBook and controlling the IIfx.

The bug is that it only partly works on Linux. What do I mean by that? Well, it doesn't work at all when I do a normal boot. Typing on the keyboard does nothing, and the activity light on the Wombat doesn't even light up.

However - if I boot Linux into single-user mode, or rescue mode, then the keyboard works just fine (and the activity light on the Wombat lights up as I type).

apt-get update had been running for 90 minutes and was at 98% complete and then the power went out in my building

guess this is the universe telling me i need to go take a walk, or something

EDIT: power's back, and now the 20 minute linux boot dance will take even longer because it has to check the HD for errors!

It’s time for the moment you’ve all been waiting for (or at least the moment I’ve been waiting for) since I started my Linux-on-68K adventures…

…the obligatory Neofetch screenshot

@smallsco

DUUUUUUUDE! My favorite distro running on my grail machine from the early 90s!

How long does it take for neofetch to run?

Please post a video to #PeerTube! :D

@RL_Dane It takes like... 45 seconds or so? It's definitely slow, but it's also quite a lot faster than everything _else_ on this machine ​

I can see about getting a video together. Do you know of a retrocomputing-themed PeerTube instance I could use?

@smallsco

Not per se, but definitely check out
https://diode.zone
https://dalek.zone
and the *ever* excellent @tilvids https://TILVids.com

@RL_Dane @smallsco

75MB of memory? I'm pretty sure my Android TV's *remote* has more memory than that!

We love retro computing over at #tilvids feel free to make an account, let me know the username, and happy to give you some upload space. Congrats on your retro-accomplishment!

@tilvids I have (finally) set up an account, @smallsco@tilvids.com ​

Could you please enable me to upload? I haven't forgotten about @RL_Dane 's request to see how long it takes for Linux to boot and run Neofetch on my old Mac, and I finally got around to making the video this morning! Just need to upload it now.

@smallsco@oldbytes.space @smallsco@tilvids.com @RL_Dane

You should be all set. Looking forward to seeing some videos!

@tilvids

Woot woot!

@smallsco@oldbytes.space @smallsco@tilvids.com

@RL_Dane @tilvids

Published... it's transcoding now, so it should show up in a bit ​

I had to re-encode it 3 times locally just to get it small enough to upload, and I'm already at over half my quota ​ so PeerTube probably won't be a permanent home.

@smallsco @RL_Dane

(just for good measure though, I bumped your space up a bit)

@tilvids @RL_Dane Thank you! It also looks like the space used dropped, I went from 1.1 GB down to 534 MB, so I guess it takes transcoding on the server into consideration as well ​

I'll try the YouTube tip for next time, that sounds a lot less painful!

@tilvids

Is the #PeerTube server software smart enough to use the original video if it's smaller than its own efforts at transcoding?

If so, I think @smallsco could save even more space through careful transcoding with h265 or the new Ogg codecs. If you throw enough CPU power at the problem, the new codecs can do a lot of space-saving magic.

...

@RL_Dane @janbeta @smallsco

Looks like @janbeta is only using about 1/4 of the space so far, so should still be ok?

@tilvids @janbeta

Aye, but that's 1/4 of his space for a single video, so that's probably why he hasn't posted more ^__^

Will the YT auto re-uploader delete old videos if there isn't room?

But anyway, I don't want to speak for Jan. He can respond if he's concerned about the quota, otherwise no worries. :D

Thanks to you both for the excellent work and content.

(And kudos to @smallsco for that video of the slowest fastest computer of all time. XD)

@RL_Dane @janbeta @smallsco

I'm not actually sure what happens...though I think it probably just stops uploading.

This is where #tilvids is going to eventually have to come up with a process for getting creators running their own instance, which we then federate with. My plan is for TILvids to be a good place for creators to start, and an easy destination for people to come to, but as creators grow encourage them to start their own instances that they control (but we trust to federate with).

@tilvids @janbeta @smallsco

That's a lovely idea. Kind of like a federated Nebula service within #PeerTube.

Unfortunately I do recall Jan saying self-hosting wouldn't be an option for him due to the cost/quality of internet access in his area. I feel pretty spoiled having a pretty decently fast (around 130/57 mbps at the moment) home-cellular uplink for $50 a month from T-mobile.
Not a terrible price AND I get to tell the cable tycoons to go take a hike

@RL_Dane @janbeta @smallsco

Yeah I totally understand, and want to continue to try to support creators that just can't manage to run their own instance, so long as we have enough donations to do so.

That said, running your own instance via a VPS is honestly pretty affordable. You can get a pretty capable system for around $10 a month. I'd also like to see the #tilvids community eventually step up and create redundancy instances like the one we already have set up.

Lots of potential ideas!

@tilvids @janbeta @smallsco

Wow, that's pretty cheap. How much storage do you typically get for ten clams?

@RL_Dane @janbeta @smallsco

Contabo has some good options. $8.50 per month for 200GB of storage and 32TB transfer per month.

@tilvids @janbeta @smallsco

Wow, that's really decent. I'll keep that in mind for future experiments! ;)

@RL_Dane @janbeta @smallsco

Right, that's where I think the model I'm trying to push is potentially really powerful. Scaling #tilvids up to hundreds of TB is just not feasible, but using it as an entry-point for an "YouTube alternative" that helps new creators get started and vetted, and then federate with them on their own instance once they have some velocity really could be a strong model.

@tilvids @janbeta @smallsco

That's a cool idea, and I was wondering what your eventual game plan would be, as scaling up without, ya know, the force of tons of soul-sucking VC is nigh-impossible.

I think my only regret is that you're federating within #PeerTube, but not *with* Peertube at large -- but I do understand why, and the desire to curate high-quality content.

@RL_Dane @janbeta @smallsco

Yup. I really like the idea behind PeerTube federation in theory, but in practice it's leading to a lot of instances being littered with garbage content, and it's leading PeerTube to have a reputation being defined as such...which is a shame, because it has so much potential. I want to try a different model to see if we can fix that.

@tilvids @janbeta @smallsco

I think on the whole #PeerTube is a lot like 2006-2010 YouTube*, and that's not a bad thing. I think there's a big difference between #PeerTube's big ball of wax content and #Odysee's big festering wound of fascism and alt-right trash. #SorryNotSorry

But yeah, I can totally understand why (like Nebula) you want to curate content to serve a particular purpose, rather than the Cable Access hodgepodge model (which has its own benefits, for sure).

Edit: typo

@tilvids @janbeta @smallsco

*kind of like how Mastodon is a lot like 2006-2010 era #BirdSite