Hi All,

I tried installing MorphOS 3.17 on a PowerMac G5 (June 2004) and MorphOS boots just fine from the CD but it does not detect any of the two installed SATA HDDs

Configuration:

PowerMac7,3 EMC:1969C
CPU: Dual 2.0GHz 970fx
Video: Radeon 9600
RAM: 8 GB (8x1GB)
HDDs: 2x Maxtor 7Y250M0 250GB (Apple-branded)
PCI-X add-on: Intel 82564 Gigabit Ethernet (non-Apple)
Airport Extreme

All utilities I could find in the live-CD MorphOS image are only showing CD0: as the single storage device present.

One of the HDDs in the G5 has multiple partitions with Mac OS X versions 10.3, 10.4 and 10.5 and all of them boot and work just fine, detecting both HDDs.

I am a newbie on MorphOS (and any other Amiga-related things) so if this is a simple/common issue, I am sorry and please provide me with a link to the FM so I can RTFM.

Thank you very much !

Have you tried Tools/UnitControl? Are there no entries for ide.device?

It only shows the Optical drive

Morphos_Tools-unitcontrol-230307.png

What happens if you remove the Intel card?

Removed the Intel network card and same thing - only CD0: shows up in Unit Control.

FYI: The Intel network card was detected just fine by MorphOS. Chipset: RC82545GM, PCI-X 133MHz

Is this the correct way to boot the MorphOS CD with ramdebug ? Do I need to add anything more so it shows everything it tries to do with the SATA buses ?
boot cd:,\boot.img ramdebug

Thanks !

You could try to add edebugflags=init

Loading cd:,\boot.img or cd:,\\boot.img causes a "Invalid memory access" OF message and a hung.
Working PowerMac G5 CD boot command:

boot cd:,\\:tbxi ramdebug edebugflags=init

But running "getramdebuglog ram:morphos.log" from the terminal created no new file in the ram disk.

Will try again.

The right img is in mac_ppc64/boot.img

t's cracy, but I had now a similar problem on the exact same machine (MOS 3.17)! Suddenly, at next reboot, Quark-kernel could'nt find his MorphOS-Systempartition and hangs after loading kernel (blowers are going down, so kernel is loaded succesfull) without any message. Also Amiga-Amiga-CTRL will do reset ).
It depends not to the HD - first bootpartition (HFS) with bootimage is found (naturaly), and Mac-Partition with OSX loads normal too.
I've also a CF-Card with a 2nd, complete systeminstallation (bootpartition and systempartition MOS 3.15) at IDE-Bus, but the same problem. Changed to new HD to be sure , but does'nt have any effect.
Both, CF and HD, I can see dir of boot-partion in OF.

I tried also booting from CD -> same issue! Kernel hangs after booting.
It looks like that G5 does'nt "allow" to boot MOS-System from any media! So I'd got a hunch that this issue could'nt be located to HD, CF or CD.
Then tried to boot with edebugflags=init and it worked(!!) for some reboots. But some reboots later the same problem occured again. Removed HD and booting from CF (only with edebugflags=init) works again. Tested HD in other G5 - is OK and boots there complete!

And then I reset PRAM (Option+P+R) and all works fine again!!!
I'm not sure, whether this is the same issue to psergius problem, but, maybe, that will help too.

Crazy - what a chance that this happens right now to this thread. I never had such a behaviour on all my Macs since all the years I'm useing MorphOS.......

Just figured out trying to boot with:
boot cd:,\mac_ppc64\boot.img ramdebug edebugflags=init
from a message on qemu-ppc and came here to report and jacadcaps already had the solution posted :)

So, I booted with the above flags and ALL DISK PARTITIONS ARE SHOWING ON THE DESKTOP :)
Will save the debug log if anyone wants to see it and then install MorphOS and see if it boots from HDD.
Will report once it's working (or not).

AmigaHarry2 - this machine should have had a very clean PRAM as I just replaced the dead PRAM battery a day before. But I'll try zapping some more if it still gives me troubles, thanks !

Conclusion:
For PowerMac G5 (June 2004) - PowerMac 7,3 EMC: 1969C dual 2.0GHz, the only way to boot MorphOS 3.17 from the CD so all SATA drives are detected is to enter OpenFirmware and:
boot cd:\mac_ppc64\boot.img ramdebug edebugflags=init
No comma after cd:, single \, all flags required.

It boots, if formats the drive, it installs everything, then after reboot you get a gray screen and it refuses to load MorphOS from the HDD and hungs there.

Fix: boot from OpenFirmware as follows (2nd HDD in my case, MorphOS is the only OS on the disk)
boot sd1:\boot.img ramdebug edebugflags=init

Then edit bootinfo.txt and update <boot-script> line to:
boot &device;:\boot.img ramdebug edebugflags=init

Then HFSSetMacBoot Boot:bootinfo.txt
And after that MorphOS will boot just fine from the OS selector menu when starting the mac with the Alt/Option key pressed.

Thank you all !

It seems that your HD is'nt spinning up quick enough to be recognized by Quark-Kernel.
Had in the past such problems on a G4 notebook and also now the G5 discribed above. (The notebook was a "special hybrid" produced by Apple during model change with some curiosities in OF - therefore no typical PB).

Very fine that it works now, but to be curious:
Have you tried another HD?

My imac g5 20 inch Isight after putting a samsung 850 EVO SATA ssd that I had in the pc no longer gave me problems and has a very GOOD speed and silence under morphos it has been mounted for 6 months considering it is already at least 5 years old and many hours of on and constant use from 10 hours a day on
I'm practically done with the 3.5-inch hard drives with many years of age and rotation of the disks
sooner or later they jump and better not use them anymore this kind of discs

[ Edited by cip060 12.03.2023 - 11:02 ]

Amigaharry2 - it's a PowerMac G5. The HDD does not spin down. I can see the contents of the HDD just fine from within OperFirmware, the boot command actually loads the boot image from the SATA disk itself but it will either start without seeing anything SATA or just crash if I use any other command line. It's a bug, not a feature :)

Have not tried another HDD, those are original Apple-branded ones with their firmware.

I know, it's a PM G5 - I have the same modell as described earlier - and with exact the same problem. Therefore I asked.
I think it's a timing-problem ( and no matter whether this HD is apple-branded or not).

Meanwhile I changed HDD on this G5 and it works normal again - no need fo edebugflags any more....