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OG Xbox Forums => Software Forums => *nix OS on Xbox => Topic started by: shortstuff22090 on April 03, 2004, 01:28:00 PM

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: shortstuff22090 on April 03, 2004, 01:28:00 PM

hello i am currently working on a fully made from scratch distro.  this xbox linux distro will be built from the ground up using the linuxfromscratch.orgbook.  this distro will be the first to be built just for the xbox.  it will have all the nessasary customizations for it and it will run a lightweight gui (XFCE4 and alternatively fluxbox/windowmaker).  the way people will install new programs will be  by running a program that grabs a binary compiled on an xbox with xbox customizations from my personal server.   this way installation of things will be fast yet users will still experience the speed of fully optimised linux.  another thing is the install process.  the install process will be done with a live xbox linux cd that will run an install script. itll grab a list of packages that have been precompiled for xbox.  then the user will select the stuff they want to be installed.  after that the script will download a base system and then install all the users customizations.  this way every user can select what they want and dont wany.  ive started building the system today and i will continue to work on this if people are interested so give a shout out and give some suggestions and we'll take it from their.

EDIT: so far i have gotten the system to boot and im working on the install cd minilinux.  

This post has been edited by shortstuff22090 on Apr 10 2004, 09:41 PM

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: Code-X on April 03, 2004, 11:57:00 AM

Sounds good, Always nice to have loads of choices . What would the main purpose of this Distro be, GUI/Desktop or Pro/Server. I'm always willing to help if you need any.

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: shortstuff22090 on April 03, 2004, 02:01:00 PM

its main purpose is a gui/desktop but its posed to be fast and lightweight. ill probly still have a pro option with server builds and stuff of that sort.  but i wont put as much emphasis into that part.  only help wit i need right now is a cool name. lol

This post has been edited by shortstuff22090 on Apr 3 2004, 10:03 PM

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: chilin_dude on April 03, 2004, 12:10:00 PM

Sounds good to me, me being a linux n00b I like the idea of a lightweigh GUI as i am used to windows  
Have you programmed any of it yet or are you just starting?
Sounds like if its specifically for xbox it should run better than others  

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: shortstuff22090 on April 03, 2004, 12:24:00 PM

i have started it but sumthing happened so im restarting the install as i speak.  itll probly run about the same as gentoox but since its gunna be made from scratch it wont carry any extrabaggage from the pc version.  im not sure how much better itll run but im hopping alot... btw thanx for the input..

EDIT:  also im thinking of ways to do the program installation system.  im thinking ill just donwload the source do a compile remove all the source files and then just have the binarys + the make file be tar+gziped and then downloded. ill just have the program untgz it and run make install or something of that sort

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: Clockface on April 04, 2004, 05:24:00 AM

This is a great idea! I've never used Linux before, but I thought I would try, as I wanted to play Unreal Tournament, which is so much better than Unreal Championship (the XBox version of UT), so my mate downloaded Dyne:bolic (or whatever it's called), but it wouldn't work on my XBox due to my having a Focus chip, so he downloaded Gentoonx, which suffered from the same problem. Eventually, Gentoonx came up with a fix, but you need to connect your XBox to the net for ages (apparently) to install the fix, and I only have a dial up connection (which is why I had to get a mate to download the Linux versions), so I never bothered.

Anyway, if you do put together your own version of Linux, will it have a virtual keyboard, work with the Focus chip and run games (although I realise that there are no 3D card drivers yet for the XBox, so I'll have to use UT in software mode)?
If so, it'll be great.

Also, will it run from CD, like Dyna:bolic, or will it need installing on a hard disc? And will there be any chance of it corrupting anything on the hard disc - I got the impression that Gentoonx could do this (or even affect the BIOS in the mod chip), which is why I first tried the Dyna:bolic disc.

Good luck and thanks.

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: shortstuff22090 on April 04, 2004, 10:05:00 AM

this version will have focus suport and support for games and stuff.  i dont think UT will work on xbox because of the lack of 3d support.  ive been thinking about games and ive decided that a good thing would be to have the install ask if you want winex.  if it is yes then on the first "real" boot into it itll download and compile a cvs version.  binary is no question cuz under the liscense its released under no binarys can be used.  i wont worry bout a cd version till after i have it working on xbox.  thanx for the input

PROGRESS: Im at the part where i compile the kernel.  cvs is being gay though and its not letting me download the kernel patches...

any ideas for a cool name?

UPDATE: haha seconds after writing this i got cvs to work so right now im compiling the kernel

keep your fingers crossed!

This post has been edited by shortstuff22090 on Apr 4 2004, 05:12 PM

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: BlaCkAdDa on April 04, 2004, 09:12:00 PM

Sounds like the type of Linux I want to install on my xbox,
something lean and mean out of the box, that is easy to install, yet I can quickly add the progs & games I want to add.

Xbox Linux Lite sounds like a good name to me. or Lite-X ? :beer:

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: fire2501 on April 04, 2004, 10:32:00 PM

Mlinux Lite! good name and it stands for (monster linux lite)

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: shortstuff22090 on April 05, 2004, 10:27:00 AM

hey  thanx for the suggesstions.  right now ive got kinda a problem.  the base system is installed but i cant get it to boot yet.  i cant get the device files made for the xbox linux partitions, and it wont boot without them.  i tried making them by hand with no luck so im trying to get devfsd working but no luck wit that so far.  however i will need to take a break this week until thursday or friday due to me beeing ill.  thanx for the feedback...

ALSO the install cd will most likely be based off the slothbox install cd...

This post has been edited by shortstuff22090 on Apr 5 2004, 05:32 PM

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: shortstuff22090 on April 10, 2004, 02:38:00 PM

thot i'd give an update on how my distro is going...  i have gotten it booting and working so im grateful for that.  when i ran into a hard time with making the distro i started on the install cd... im about half way done with the install cd and now that ive gotten my distro booting im gunna start installing xbox specific software such as xbv...  hope people havent lost interest, its only been bout a week.  as soon as i get my server fixed ill host a website for this project.  btw this will be an rpm distribution (all rpms made for the xbox of course).  pleez give feed back on what u think so far. it should progress alot in the next week as i am off of school for easter break.  

This post has been edited by shortstuff22090 on Apr 10 2004, 09:41 PM

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: Clockface on April 11, 2004, 08:03:00 AM

This is great news! As BlaCkAdDa implies, it could be the Linux instillation us newbies and casual users are hoping for, especially since it's creator (you) will hopefully be keeping an eye on this board to answer any comments and queries.

Four things spring to mind at the moment, for me:

1)  I take it we won't have to flash our BIOS's to get it to run (probably a stupid question, but I understand that some XBox Linux versions might require it, and I don't know if my (cheap, Aladin) chip supports flashing (I think it was a write-      once chip).

2)  I've heard that exiting Linux wrongly can corrupt your hard disc, is this true for your version?

3)  Will there be a virtual keyboard and redefinable joypad support?

4)  How well does WINE run under your installation? I've heard that Half Life runs under WINE, have you tried it on your Linux instillation?

Thanks.

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: shortstuff22090 on April 11, 2004, 11:44:00 AM

1) no linux needs your bios to be flashed.  its just an option for a linux only system.  i have not started on a custom bios for my distro yet.  that will come later.  right now it will just be launched via xbe.

2) linux can only ruin ur harddisk if you do sumthing wrong like delete stuff off your xbox drive.  i think back when mandrake was an xbox distro they had a bug in the fatx driver that could ruin ur harddrive but that isnt present in the current kernel patches.

3) yes their will be an onscreen keyboard and xpad mouse support.

4) wine will run probly the same as other distributions.  i have no complete answer as i havent gotten into xfree yet as this distro is still in its early stages.  

so far i have a working console up and running but not much more then that.  right now ive been trying to get the xbox things like xbv up and running.  unfourtanantly i got a bunch of things installed but i fubbarred it so i reverted back to a hard disk image of right after i got it too boot.  thank god i backed it up to cd =)  i will work on this alot today and throughout this week.  thanx for the feedback  

P.S. im still looking for name suggesstions
how do u like yxl = yourxboxlinux
since when its done it'll be fully customisable...

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: Clockface on April 11, 2004, 12:27:00 PM

Thanks for the answers, I have one more question - will your version have DOS emulation (I hope so!), which I understand is very advanced and accurate under Linux? If so, can you make it as fast as possible, please?

By the way, regarding a name, why not call it Lynx?

It could stand for Linux on Your New XBox.

Or if you remove all of the X's from the phrase XBox Linux, and rearange them, you get:

Bolinu, which sounds like a French wine.

Personally, I'd call it something like Tux-Box, after that Penguin that you see on Linux sites.

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: Code-X on April 11, 2004, 12:57:00 PM

Lynx would be a cool name, Any thoughts on a Window Manager yet.

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: shortstuff22090 on April 11, 2004, 01:55:00 PM

window manager will probably be fluxbox or windowmaker, but i will include xfce4 for the newbies to linux.  i probably wont have kde included  as it takes up alot of memory and it runs so slow its not worth it.  i will have it so u can install either flubox/windowmaker or xfce4 or both.  xfce4 is pretty light so thats good.  right now im taking a break. ive been working for about 2 hours installing libs and stuff of that sort.  and right now i have pretty much a base system with nothing installed. maybe like a pro release or sumthing.  im going to do another backup then continue to install XFree86.  this is going to be one hell of a distro!

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: shortstuff22090 on April 12, 2004, 04:24:00 AM

yes thats why i didnt say i liked lynx.  lol.  for now i guess i will have no name.
well i almost screwed myself cuz i got caught up in working and i forgot to make abackup then it froze.  i used gentoox's sparkle and that worked so thats a relief.  heh now i know i wont have to make a filesystem rescue cd cuz shallax's works wit my distro.  well no sense reinventin the wheel

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: madskillz22 on April 15, 2004, 10:57:00 AM

heh the name is madnix.  linux brought to you by madskillz.  =).  dont really care if u like it or not.  anyway some real news.  ive been working on alot of things lately and my distro is running.  its not much right now but its nice.  currently i have xfree86 running with xfce4 or fluxbox.  i have written a script to change video modes from 640x480 to 800x600.  thats all thats supported right now. i have a file thats /etc/xbox/settings and hopefully thats where people will be able to customize their boot process. so far i have things like what led sequence you want and whether or not to display network settings (ip address) on boot. during the install process the installer will ask questions and will construct a settings file from these questions...

 my package system will probably be something like slackware's .tgz packages.  this is probably the easiest way to get packages on it.  right now im compiling programs such as mozilla-firefox, mozilla-thunderbird, gaim, and some others. i will construct tgz packages from them.  ive decided that for now i'll make an installer that will untar a basic skeleton of the linux system.  then it'll mount it and install the user's selected packages onto that skeleton system.  this way everyone gets what they want and nothing more.  im making a site and it should be up by tomorrow or saturday.  i decided not to make a public release until i get all the installer stuff and everything working.  however if anyone who is good with linux wants to take a test drive of what i have now give my a pm or something and ill hook you up.  just dont blame me if things dont work...

payce
~MaDsKiLLz

EDIT: also i have opened an irc channel on irc.freenode.net called #madnix

Title: New Distro In Progress
Post by: Clockface on April 22, 2004, 09:59:00 AM

It's been a few days since this post was updated, so I was wondering how the project was progressing? Any idea when a download will be available? And will it work with the Focus chip?

Thanks.