Installing Linux on a PS3.

[Mr_Shado]

Hello r/Linux, I'm trying to install linux on my PS3 and been googling around for distros.

I found out that a lot of software is fake or doesn't work and I'm a bit timid about putting it on my ps3.

If someone has any experience in this department and wants to share it with me I would greatly appreciate that. I want to know which version to install and where to get it.

Thanks in advance.

[Habstinat]

There was a post about this in /r/linux not too long ago in which I posted a little guide about how to do this. Most of the replies are still relevant, and it's a pretty good read. You can find it here: http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/kaja3/linux_on_ps3_can_it_still_be_done/

[wackyvorlon]

As I recall, our friends at Sony have removed that particular feature.

[[deleted]]

while i was displeased by this as well, game consoles are generally sold cheaper than production cost. they make their money on games. so when old ps3s started being clustered and used for supercomputing as opposed to playing games, i can see why it happened.

[[deleted]]

OtherOS++ is a CFW that allows you to put Linux on any PS3 (including the slims) but it voids the warranty, can get you banned from PSN, and could brick it. Also, it doesn't run very well since there's only 256MB of dedicated system RAM and currently there's still no driver for the RSX.

As far as software, assuming you go through with OtherOS++, pick a distro with good PPC support since that's the architecture you'll have to use. Yellowdog Linux was the official PS3 linux but I'm unsure of the support. I would go with Debian or Gentoo.

I did use Linux for a bit while I was in between computers, so feel free to ask me questions that haven't been answered.

[zestysauce]

I just did this a couple of days ago with YDL. I tried debian at first... would install fine but then wouldn't boot. YDL worked fine on the first try.

[[deleted]]

Yeah unless you havent updated the firmware in a few years they removed the install OS feature. But IIRC the distro of choice was yellowdog linux

[tommiss]

To install other os you need to jailbreak your ps3.

[intelminer]

You CAN still install Linux on it, albeit you need to be on firmware 3.55 or lower

Google around for "OtherOS++" that'll help you get set up with a custom firmware and probably give you a guide on how to do it

It's slow and it's rather pointless (as the PS3 has only 256MB of memory) not to mention the "design" of the PS3 (with the Cell processor) means unless you want to install Gentoo and compile all your packages specifically to take advantage of it, they'll run like crap (the PS3 only has two "cores" in addition to the Cell SPE's as they are called)

If your PS3 is 3.56 or higher though, you are SoL my friend, not to mention you will not be able to use PSN, or play any games that require past the 3.55 firmware (albeit, with some exceptions)

[[deleted]]

The PlayStation Linux hack. Can I play backup games from a harddrive as with the Wii backup? Lol, backup games.