Fedora Core 4 for Xbox (XFedora4)

Submitted by lalee-admin2 on Mon, 07/16/2007 - 21:19

To install Fedora Core onto your Xbox, all you need is an XFedora installer disc, an HTTP Media Source, and either an Xpad, or a USB keyboard. The installer will erase F: and G: (if it exists) and use all of that space for Linux. As an Advanced User Option, you can also instruct XFedora to use the entire disk (no more Game Save area) for Linux.

The XFedora Installer is the real, out-of-box Fedora Core installer (aka "Anaconda") running on your Xbox - only the minimum required of Xbox-specific patches are applied to get Fedora Core running. You'll find that this minimalist approach is by design, as it allows you to synchronize, update, and customize your Xbox as you would any other Fedora Core machine.

Some minor gotchas and quirks to watch out for:

An HTTP Media Source is required at the moment, as the installer expects the Xbox Patch Files to be available on the locally mounted CDROM.
If you use an Interactive mode, you need to type in the Source Repository. Sorry, that's a bug in Anaconda itself. :-( A convenient one to use (which is used by the "Auto" Options) is http://mirrors.kernel.org/fedora/core/4/i386/os
Using NFS and FTP as installation Source Repositories may also be possible, but I have received some problem reports with those methods. Better safe than sorry, try to use an HTTP source. :-)
A "Loopback Root Filesystem" is is not yet available, but is actively being worked on.

The following useful patches and updates are automatically applied:

Cromwell BIOS Support: linuxboot.cfg and startup files are copied to /boot

IP Address is displayed on the login console
X.org patches, if user selected X package(s) at install time
Xbox soundcard module options added to /etc/modprobe.conf
Hard-Drive Spin Down when idle
DVD-Drive Spin Down on XFedora startup.
All patch RPMs are copied to /root
"yumfix" script is copied to /root

The yumfix script by Tejas Dinkar (Setting_up_YUM_for_FC4) allows you to quickly add third-party update repositories, such as livna, dag, freshrpms, and atrpms.

MythTV users will probably add the atrpms repository, and then do a "yum install mythtv-suite", for example.

Installation Process

NOTE: Please do not interrupt the installation process. It may be slow at times, but the Xbox is still churning. Interrupting the installation process can corrupt your hard-drive.

Starting the Xbox with this disc will present you with the Cromwell or Xromwell (a CD-ROM version of Cromwell) welcome screen. Using an Xpad, select the CDROM option. From this list, select one of the Install menu options. Use the "NoGames" options if you no longer use the Xbox to play games, and you want the ENTIRE hard-disk devoted to running Linux.

Auto - automated HTTP Install from mirrors.kernel.org, broadband required.
Interactive - as above, but you can use a keyboard to override default settings.
Auto;NoGames - install Fedora Core *without* preserving the Gaming Areas (i.e. the first 8 Gigs of the hard-drive).
Interactive;NoGames - as above, but you can use a keyboard to override default settings.

The "Auto" options allow you to install a bare-bones XFedora solution just an Xpad. The installer will download the Fedora Core packages from the kernel.org mirror.

The "Interactive" options allow you to override a wider set of supplied defaults, and require a USB keyboard to be connected. If you have made the real FC4 installation media available on an internal Web Server, this option will allow you make the necessary adjustments. Using the real FC4 installation media on a LAN web server will go through a lot faster than downloading from broadband.

For the purists, there's a fully manual installation option that will allow you to do everything by hand. With this option, you will not use the supplied kickstart file, and you will need to apply your patches manually.

In case you run into problems, Fedora Core's Rescue Mode is supplied as a menu-option on this disc to help you recover.

Running Fedora Core

After installing, restart the Xbox with this disc. You will now see the welcome screen parked on the HardDrive option. If you do nothing, the Xbox will automatically start Fedora Core -- which is useful in case you need to restart Fedora Core remotely. In the future, updated Xbox-Linux Kernels may become available. When these new kernels are installed, the /boot/linuxboot.cfg file on your hard-drive is updated. You will not need to download a new XFedora Bootdisk for the updated kernel as before.

As a convenience, the Xbox's current IP Address is displayed on the console screen. This should make life easier for people who don't have a USB Keyboard/Mouse attached to the Xbox. You can just look at the IP Address and SSH into your new Fedora Core box.

The default root password is "xfedora". Please change it on your box ASAP.

People who used the "Auto" installation methods can use the "setup" command at any time to adjust the default settings. You can also use "yum grouplist" and "yum groupinstall" to add additional package groups.

Files and Mirrors

Test 4 Installer

144594944 Bytes
md5sum: 4b4da7c1e3ab255f73a6858cea3b6671

FC4-xbox-disc1.test4.iso.bz2 Exactly the same as "Test 3" below, except the bootloader is updated to run on "1.6" xboxes. (NOTE: Untested by myself, as I have no 1.6 Xbox)
xromwell.tar.bz2 The updated Xromwell (default.xbe) boot loader, for those who only want the updated file.

Test 3 Installer

144631808 Bytes
md5sum: 476d6468a95ea0c089695e4bf9985a9e

FC4-xbox-disc1.test3.iso.bz2

LIRC 0.7.2 for Test 3

Caution: Very Experimental

LIRC 0.7.2 RPM Fixed! Compiled with gcc3.2, not gcc4
LIRCd.conf for Xbox USB Remote save as /etc/lircd.conf (?)
LIRCmd.conf for Xbox USB Remote additional config file for Mouse Mappings in X(?)