* The masked-coder known as Randux (randux@Safe-mail.net) wrote:
> From: Bryan Vyhmeister <netbsd@bsdjournal.net>
> To: The masked-coder known as Randux <randux@Safe-mail.net>
> Cc: port-mac68k@netbsd.org
> Subject: Re: Processor Module for PB 550c
> Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 10:20:26 -0800
> 
> The 550c is listed as a supported platform for the Mac68k port. If the issue is booting, then presumably they found a way around it. I don't know why a machine that's supported under Mac68K shouldn't be able to get going with MacPPC. The 540c I've got is not supported in its native form because of the 68LC040 processor, not because of OpenFirmware. 

NetBSD/macppc is quite different--it supports PCI, and doesn't support
Nubus. That alone will make it unable to set up any of the hardware on
your machine, even if you were to find a way to make it boot.
> 
> I think you may be alright here. Hopefully the platform maintainers or people with similar machines will be able to help.
> 
> I should say for the benefit of anyone who's interested, that I am able to boot Mac OS disks from an external 600e CDROM drive on both my 540c and 3400c. I don't understand why we can't boot NetBSD MacPPD disks as well, but I haven't had any success here. (I downloaded and burned a CD for macppc-3.1 but I could not get it to boot.)

Again, it requires OpenFirmware. NetBSD/macppc won't boot even on more
modern PPC machines without getting into OF and issuing some manual
commands (i.e. not just holding down "c" when booting). The bootloader
is made specifically for OF, in addition.

I suppose it'd be possible to make a port for PPC-upgraded 68k macs that
would load a kernel using the standard NetBSD/mac68k loader, but as far
as I know no such work has been done.

-Claudio