Ubuntu Linux On The PlayStation 3

[ha14]

Hi

The PlayStation 3 is a video game console created by Sony Corp. Aside from playing games, it also offers an option to install other operating systems such as Linux. Without losing any of the machine's native gaming goodness.


Running linux on a playstation 3 is not a hack, it doesn't require any hardware modification, won't disable any feature on your Playstation 3 and is not difficult to do.

What's needed for the transformation:
•A CD-R ( or DVD-R, DVR-RW ).
•USB Keyboard and mouse.
•USB drive or memory card if you want to backup your data beforehand.
•Component or HDMI cable if you plan on using the linux GUI ( ie, not use your Playstation 3 as a headless server ).


For installing Linux, you will need to format your hard-drive thus losing all the data on it. Fortunately, Sony made a backup utility so you can backup your game's save data, game demos and other files very simply. So first backup your data if you'd like to. Plug in a usb-hardrive or a memory card and In the XMB, go to Settings -> System Settings -> Backup Utility, follow the on-screen instructions.

Setting up OtherOS:
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/
Many distributions have released this bootloader file for the PS3. Some distributions like Ubuntu even bundle it on the CD image.

For the rest, you can download a free application like ImgBurn and select "Write image file to disc", then select the downloaded ISO file in the "Source" area, selecting your CD/DVD writer as the destination and finally clicking on the large button at the bottom to burn the image file to the disc.


Once the backup is done and the image has been burned on a CD/DVD, go back to the XMB, and then:

Settings > System Settings > Format Utility > Format Hard Disk.

Choose Yes.
Select "Custom partition setting"
and then "Allot 10GB to the Other OS" (Make sure to select atleast 10GB for the OtherOS)
followed by "Perform a Quick Format."
Reboot the PS3 by pressing X on your controller.



You can now insert the Ubuntu CD on your Playstation 3

Settings > System Settings > Install Other OS

Hit X when prompted to start the installer.

This step actually install a bootloader on your system from the CD, it doesn't install the other operating system.

Next, Settings > System Settings > Default System ,select "Other OS" and reboot.
Don't forget to plug in your keyboard and mouse.

You will then see a command prompt kboot: on the screen, just press enter to boot from the CD.

From now on, it's a normal Ubuntu install, just click on the installer on the desktop, select the 10GB drive and wait, and then wait some more. The installation is quite slow, much slower than on a comparable computer ( I blame the blu-ray drive ).




https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PlayStation_3

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=316047



When you reboot your PS3 now, it will boot the OtherOS bootloader (in our case, Ubuntu) and this will load the Ubuntu installer. Once it is loaded, you should see a command terminal with a "kboot:" prompt.

There is, however, a trick to getting back to the native PlayStation OS. To make the switch, reboot the console, and at the boot prompt, type "boot-os-game," or ps3-boot-game-os then press Enter. This brings the PS3 back to game land.

If you are stuck and cannot access a terminal, turn off your PS3, and when turning it on again, hold the Power button for a few seconds. Your PS3 should beep and boot into the XMB. This will reset the PS3's system settings and you will be able to revert back to the PS3's XMB without any problems.

The latest Ubuntu versions should pick up most of the PS3's hardware automatically, especially the Ethernet card. Just connect it to your router and start browsing and installing packages using Synaptic or another frontend.

With Ubuntu installed, you can use your PS3 to run programs such as OpenOffice for spreadsheets and word processing, Firefox for Web surfing and VLC for movie playback. In short, your console will be able to do anything a normal PC can do!!!!

[safeguy]

Interesting...I would love to try this if I had a PS3 lol.

[hellnoire]

Anyone got any complaints if I install Ubuntu on a potato/pepper hybrid?

[luffy]

You should try openSUSE on PS3. It works really well.

[YuMeng]

Unfortunately PS3 Slim cannot support Linux..