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jasonyates · Apr 27, 2003, 09:59 AM

I run it on my SE/30. Not very useful at 16mhz, but it impresses the girls.

MacGorilla · Apr 27, 2003, 10:14 AM

Originally posted by jasonyates:
I run it on my SE/30. Not very useful at 16mhz, but it impresses the girls.

LOL wow! And here I was proud to get it to boot on my LC III!

gatorparrots · Apr 27, 2003, 10:26 AM

Originally posted by jasonyates:
I run it on my SE/30. Not very useful at 16mhz, but it impresses the girls.

Well, maybe UNIX chicks.

bradoesch · Apr 27, 2003, 11:40 PM

Originally posted by gatorparrots:
Well, maybe UNIX chicks.

Do they really exist?

Chuckit · Apr 28, 2003, 04:16 PM

Originally posted by bradoesch:
Do they really exist?

Yes.

Graymalkin · Apr 29, 2003, 04:59 AM

I was actually buggered by Mac68k Linux today. My friend has an LC580 he wanted to run it on so being the Unix guy all my friends come to with stuff he asked me to help. I got NetBSD working on a Dreamcast so I figured the 580 wouldn't be a problem. I was a little misled with my confidense. I couldn't figure out what in the hell I had to download to run the system. The myriad of Sourceforge and homepage links led to the same confusing mass of files. Do you guys have any links to decent documentation or at least a list of files I need and where to get them?

bradoesch · Apr 29, 2003, 04:49 PM

Originally posted by Chuckit:
Yes.

There's 1, here's to hoping for more.

thefamousmred · Apr 29, 2003, 10:13 PM

I've gotten both NetBSD and Linux running on one of my IIci's. Both were a bit of a pain.

NetBSD was at 1.3 or 1.4 at the time, and although I actually got X running on the machine, I never could get it to run in color. Newer versions (1.6+) might help in this regard.

Linux was a pain in the ass because I didn't know where to start. After a bunch of false starts I found the Debian build for m68k, which was pretty helpful. It has a decent installer, which made life much easier. After installing Debian I managed to upgrade the kernel with the stuff from Sourceforge, and life was good.

I made the mistake of trying to run a full GUI (KDE or GNOME, I forget which) after I got Linux installed. Bad idea. I'm not sure if it was a misconfiguration or what, but the GUI was slow. Glacially slow. Like 5 minutes for a menu to show up after you clicked it. Other than that it was fun.

malbicho · Apr 30, 2003, 12:22 PM

Originally posted by Graymalkin:
Do you guys have any links to decent documentation or at least a list of files I need and where to get them?

it was a pain for mee too, as it was a pain when i first discovered that the debian 68k port would have not run on my old cpu.

anyway, some links, probably you already know:

http://www.linux-m68k.org/
http://www.mac.linux-m68k.org/
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconVall...2602/m68k.html <-- patches and other useful stuffs
http://www.jagshouse.com/Linuxm68k.html and http://www.jagshouse.com/Linuxm68k.html <-- many other links

these are the places where i found good documentation. good luck

Rainy Day · May 3, 2003, 11:16 AM

My friend has an LC580

Not going to run BSD without a full 68040 CPU. The 68LC040 is not supported under BSD or, AFAIK under Linux either. I don't think NetBSD has their FPU emulator working and, in any event, some 68LC040's have a mask error which makes FPU emulation completely impossible under any circumstances.

Usually the CPU is socketed, so if you can find a full 68040 CPU, it's just plug-n-play.

bradoesch · May 3, 2003, 11:46 AM

Originally posted by Rainy Day:
Not going to run BSD without a full 68040 CPU. The 68LC040 is not supported under BSD or, AFAIK under Linux either. I don't think NetBSD has their FPU emulator working and, in any event, some 68LC040's have a mask error which makes FPU emulation completely impossible under any circumstances.

Usually the CPU is socketed, so if you can find a full 68040 CPU, it's just plug-n-play.

So is the difference between a 68040 and 68LC040 kinda like the difference between a DX and SX model of of 386 or 486 processor?

Rainy Day · May 3, 2003, 01:56 PM

So is the difference between a 68040 and 68LC040 kinda like the difference between a DX and SX model of of 386 or 486 processor?

I view "Intel Inside" as a warning label, so i don't know anything about them or what the difference between a DX and SX might be, but i can tell you that the difference between a 68040 and 68LC040 is the latter lacks an FPU (LC stands for "low cost").

A software emulator called SoftFPU was written for the 68LC040, but due to the mask error on some 68LC040 chips, isn't compatible with every 68LC040. NetBSD began a similar emulator, but i don't think it was ever finished. No software solution can workaround the mask problem on those particular chips. Beyond that, it'd be glacially slow on the chips which it would support. Better to buy a full 68040 on eBay.

There's 1, here's to hoping for more.

How about the Techno-Talking Babes? At least one of them is an avid Linux user, although i can't recall which one offhand. Another prefers MacOS. I don't recall the preferences of the other two.

bradoesch · May 5, 2003, 12:06 PM

Originally posted by Rainy Day:
I view "Intel Inside" as a warning label, so i don't know anything about them or what the difference between a DX and SX might be, but i can tell you that the difference between a 68040 and 68LC040 is the latter lacks an FPU (LC stands for "low cost").

A software emulator called SoftFPU was written for the 68LC040, but due to the mask error on some 68LC040 chips, isn't compatible with every 68LC040. NetBSD began a similar emulator, but i don't think it was ever finished. No software solution can workaround the mask problem on those particular chips. Beyond that, it'd be glacially slow on the chips which it would support. Better to buy a full 68040 on eBay.

OK, I think the idea is pretty much the same. I assume FPU (floating point unit?) and math coprocessor (Intel world stuff) are similar. The SX machines had a special slot to hold a math coprocessor if so desired though.

Rainy Day · May 5, 2003, 12:30 PM

I assume FPU (floating point unit?)

Yes.

and math coprocessor (Intel world stuff) are similar.

Yep. That would be the same thing.

The SX machines had a special slot to hold a math coprocessor if so desired though.

Older members of the 68K family used to use a separate chip too (although sockets for them were often omitted from the motherboards, sockets could often to be found on Mac EtherNet cards).

I think the 68040 was the first of the 68K family to include CPU and FPU in one chip. The 68LC040 came out after the original 68040. It seemed to be an after-thought (although it may have been part of Motorola's plan all along, i dunno). I thought i read in the trade press at the time that the 68LC040 was introduced as a way to recycle 68040 chips which failed their FPU test after manufacture, but i won't swear to that. Subsequently, 68LC040's were manufactured without an FPU in their masks.