forums.ps2dev.org

ok, I feel pretty dumb for asking, but how do you get the ps2 linux kit to install on an UNMODDED ps2? someone gave me a burnt copy of it, on 2 dvdRs, and I'm not sure how to get my ps2 to boot from them? will one of the exploits on these forums do the trick? If so, could you link me to which one? thanks


oh, btw, I have a network adaptor, and the HDD, and everything else i need, i think


thanks so much

The easiest way is to buy the ps2linux kit. It contains a boot disc (the RTE) which the ps2linux kernel is designed to run under. It also comes with a harddrive, a network adaptor, and a cute keyboard/mouse.

Before you start on about how linux is free, it is... but the RTE it requires to run on the PS2 is a piece of commercial software and is illegal to copy in most parts of the world.

Enjoy!

no, I already have a copy of the ps2Linux software, just not the whole kit, and I'm wondering how to get an un-modded ps2 to boot from a DVDR. Can I use one of the "exploit" methods?

You have an illegal copy of the linux kit. If you want to boot it, you need to acquire a legal copy of the disk.

It is highly unlikely you will find any assistance here to boot warez. In fact, let me start preaching for a second here to drive the point home. Warez is bad. Just don't do it. Reform yourself to live an honest life. If reforming yourself isn't possible, please move to Russia where laws are non-existant on copying software. We still won't help you in that case, but at least you can feel better about yourself, and we will feel better about you too.

oh no, I'm not a pirate, I'm merely very curious about it, and I've heard good things. I am also on a limited budget, so right now, buying the kit is not an option. It was given to me, remember.

I'm on a limited budget and am curious abuout the ferrari experience.
A friend stole one and GAVE it to me but i dont have the keys.
Can some one please help me start it so i can drive around.

Not taking the piss out of you, but a burnt copy is still a copy.. and a copy of the copyrighted RTE and hence illegal, regardless of whether money changed hands. So above is (roughly) kinda an equivalent question in terms of legality.. the catch is that one is easier to find, catch and punish...

If you were given the ORIGINAL, or even if you bought it somewhere, then all good... but then you'd have no trouble booting it..
I got no idea, but i daresay you're on your own on this one...

ok, i see your point, and I'm sorry if I've upset anyone, lol. i didnt mean to

Well, if you're poor and really wanna try PS2 linux, you can always try to port the kernel over to PS2 hardware... in fact... if I get drunk enough I just might try.

Have to get a job first though... and finish my final paper, then I got 2 months to blow on PS2!... and linux... damn Reiser4... gotta move over all the partitions and ... er.r.. convert. Oh screw it I'll just make another box.

Actually several linux kernels have already been ported to the PS2. Those are the parts that are freely distributable. He can legally have those.

What he cannot legally have without having a real Sony pressed disc is the RTE, which is an interface layer used by the ported kernels to talk to the IOP hardware. The kernels will not work without the RTE.

All that needs to be done is for someone to write their own RTE replacement, and in fact, there is a project already established to do so. Every once in awhile someone trolls on someone else to complete it.

Its called advocacy. :)

Just curious, where is this project? This is the first time I hear word of it...

soks wrote:Just curious, where is this project? This is the first time I hear word of it...

The RTE replacement? It's called TGE and it's in cvs. It's currently not functional but it'd be great if someone picked up the slack and finished it.

Ummm... TGE is on an "Academic License", is this legal... I know GPL pretty thuroughly and I'm guessing TGE is part of the kernel, or does it just work as a layer between sony's kernel and the PS2?

Because you cannot just go make a modification to the kernel and throw a difference license on it... err... that's illegal.

Hell I don't get this academic license much, sounds like you have to say "this ain't mine" but other than that do as you please, but don't use my name.

Ok, I read through the major parts (anything past section 5 sounds like lawyer jargon) and it sounds like you can redistribute the Academic License software as you please, even under a different license. (so long as you BLATANTLY GIVE CREDIT... in the source...)

Please tell me I misunderstand the license? and is TGE violating GPL or is it not a kernel mod.

The PS2Linux RTE is not GPL, it is a proprietary system interface used by the PS2Linux kernel. As such, it is closed source, and sony wants it that way. The PS2Linux kernel was designed to interface through the RTE. This is legally allowed under the GPL, as there is provision for this kind of situation.

The TGE is meant to be a replacement for the RTE. So long as it sticks to the same purpose, and avoids GPLed code, it is just as legal for it to use a non-GPL license.

Again, the RTE and TGE are NOT part of the Linux kernel. They are not modules of the Linux kernel. They are not loaded by the Linux kernel. In fact, they generally should be loaded before the Linux kernel gets loaded.

Think of it as a hardware interface abstracted into software. Just as a kernel must interface with hardware interfaces to communicate with the system, and there is no requirement to "GPL" the hardware in order to do this, the same applies to any software level interface that accomplishes the same purpose - so long as that software interface lives OUTSIDE the kernel and an appropriate API is used for communications.

Eeeww, I mean, Heh.

I thought RTE was just like a special loader that setup a few things for the kernel to go and TGE was modding the kernel to not require RTE... ok, things make sense now.

But is this layer necessary? I've never really looked at kernel code myself or what the changes for port's are (Although I hear some ports are so massive that they're not quite up to date with the x86 kernel). I mean is it just easier to replace RTE because it already exists and the PS2 Kernel is designed for it?

Although the more I think about it the more I realize I shouldn't be asking, mostly because I have to ask and this is something I should learn myself as a wannabe PS2dev. I suppose I must also learn a little more about the linux kernel while I'm at it, that is more in the actual source. It really feels limiting not to have access to PS2 linux, especially in the case of the manuals... gah, it's like you guys pull all these memory addresses out of your butts. Although it's all under NDA now isn't it =( damn north america...

Ok, no more from me... thanks for explaining the RTE/TGE thing, maybe someday I'll have enough info to try something with it.

soks wrote: But is this layer necessary? ... I mean is it just easier to replace RTE because it already exists and the PS2 Kernel is designed for it?

No its not strictly necessary, but IMHO its the way to go.

In theory, one could just develop the device drivers directly for the Linux kernel to talk to the IOP hardware without an intermediate layer. However, there are many benefits to using the TGE/RTE route, some of those benefits are the same derived by Sony.

1. By using an RTE, one can maintain a clear separate between GPL'ed code (The linux kernel and OS) and non-GPL'ed code (Proprietary in the case of Sony, or Academic Free License in the case of most PS2DEV code, with respect to IOP IRXs and RTE/TGE code). By keeping this separation, one need not worry about running afoul of licensing issues.

2. Sony already made the PS2Linux kernel changes to operate with their RTE. Focusing only on doing the RTE/TGE means not duplicating this effort.
The Linux kernel and OS stuff that Sony did was GPL'ed, so we might as well take advantage of it.

The drawbacks of using the kernel talking directly to the hardware of the IOP, is that I am not sure how that affects licensing issues with respect to GPL'ed code requiring non-GPL'ed code. If IOP IRXs are really software abstrations/layers to hardware, they may be equivalent to the RTE/TGE in legal terms. Or they may not. By funneling everything through a RTE/TGE, one only has to make sure the RTE/TGE is legally sound and not worry about anything else behind it. In other words, it adds a second layer of confidence by simultaneously minimizing and shifting the focus of the problem.

Just FYI ...

My main motivation for TGE was to bridge the gap between the ps2dev community and Kit owners. I wanted people without the Kit to just "drop in" a kernel from playstation2-linux.com and get access to all of their demos, tutorials, and documentation. A secondary goal was to extend the capabilites of PS2 Linux to support IEEE1394, audio CD playback, the remote, and other features found in the Broandband Navigator.

Anyway, IMO the fastest path to all of this was to create an Open Source replacement of the RTE, as writing a native interface within Linux would've taken a lot more time and effort. I guess there's also the plus that NetBSD users can try it out, and any other people who have tinkered directly with the RTE (not many :P).

Also, the rant at the bottom of the TGE README kinda sorta explains my goals :).

As far as the licensing concerns, I don't believe there's any licensing advantage over going with a proprietary RTE versus native Linux kernel interfaces. It's just that Sony didn't want to expose the internals of the EE's kernel or their libraries. In the Beta PS2 Linux Kit even the Linux modules that interfaced with the RTE were closed source. But ps2sdk and other ps2dev projects such as pcsx2 make that moot - those internals are already out in the open.

Wholy crap, someone wrote NetBSD code to interface with RTE?!... hrm. I see the advantages, but mostly due to the whole already existant linux community.

Yeah about keeping the EE closed and stuff, is the ps2dev kit in anyway violating the Linux Kit agreement with all the manuals that you guys get with that? Because I read that it's all a bunch of internal info so PS2-Linux developers can have fun? I mean if you use that in PS2dev isn't that illegal? or can you just claim you reverse engineered or guessed everything or something... although I also know some of you guys have real PS2 dev kits, so isn't giving out this info illegal?

Not that I hope it is, in fact I hope the opposite, I'm just wondering how it came to be that all of these libs and crap can just be handed out =)

I'd also ask about why there is a gcc patch but I assume now it's just to make .elf's and yeah... I don't need to get into those details, why I'd crap my pants.

The Sony docs in the PS2Linux kit are copyrighted materials. Obviously one cannot duplicate those documents or distribute them. However:
1. Sony docs are not the only source of legal information.
2. Any information (as opposed to code) that can be inferred from GPL'ed code that Sony or others contributed is fair game. Maybe some .h file that is GPL'ed/copyrighted as work cannot be duplicated, but simple facts such as 0xB0000000 being a base address for the HDD & SMAP registers (or whatever offsets) becomes fair use information.

As for real PS2 developers, they are definitely bound by more restrictions, especially NDAs. Thats why you see very few hang around here, and they have to watch what they say, even with respect to similar types of information.

They also have real PS2 DEV jobs during the day and don't need to do this for a hobby outside of work. On the other hand, I am sure many watch what happens here for a variety of reasons.

Interesting. =)

Thanks for all the answers and stuff.

I also saw that gorim was thinking of picking up TGE and finishing it up a bit, yay!

Anyways, I should close these forums, got 4 hours till class and I have to finish my final... OH SHIT! my lady is threatening to kill me now... I gotta go do my work =P

Of course it's 4:18 AM here =P NO SLEEP!

soks:

Something to keep in mind is that although copyrights prevent copying of the actual Sony docs in the ps2linux kit, there is no NDA preventing ps2linux kit owners from sharing the info they learned from those docs.

AH! I originally saw someone post one playstation2-linux.com that there was a license on the packaging that said "Open this and you're NDA". So I was under that impression... wow... that makes EVERYTHING make a lot more sense.

Hmm... I wonder if anyone ebaying these.