It ’s easy to forget that the PS3 is a fully - equipped microcomputer in your keep room attached to your business firm ’s good monitor . set up Ubuntu can help you remember , and play SNES games in the process .
It still kind of surprises me ( in a good mode ) that Sony was , from the commencement , very o.k. with PS3 owners tinkering with Linux on their PS3s . A modified release of Yellow Dog Linux was uncommitted from the very starting time , and some very handy hard drive partition and dual - iron boot utility are baked right into the PS3 ’s XMB ; Ubuntu gets installed on an wholly separate segmentation of your PS3 ’s laborious phonograph record , so your default option system does n’t get touched and switch between Ubuntu and the XMB is a objet d’art of bar .
There is a flipside to this coin , however . Since the PS3 ’s Cell Processor is PowerPC based , you wo n’t be able-bodied to use any Linux software that ’s compose for x86 , which is , unfortunately , most of it . However , Ubuntu has always had a PPC distro , and most of the basic stuff will work just all right . you may even load up a PPC - pile up Super Nintendo Emulator , SNES9X , and meet some classic games pretty easy on your Sixaxis controller couple via Bluetooth . Also , doing web browse and other basic calculation is a lot more born and elegant on Ubuntu run on your TV than in the PS3 ’s somewhat limp internet browser .
Another downside is public presentation - the PS3 obviously has a lot of hardware muscle , but there are no Linux drivers to take full vantage of the Cell processor ’s multi - core architecture , or the PS3 ’s computer hardware graphics acceleration . Plus , Ubuntu can only see and use 221.7 MB of the PS3 ’s 512 MB of Aries the Ram for some reason . So it wo n’t be a speed devil ( and you wo n’t be able-bodied to flirt HD video recording or anything ) , but it ’s definitely functional for the basics .
And , even over two years into the PS3 ’s living , doing all of this still requires a fair amount of Linux flake forum sifting , which I have humbly take upon myself to do so you do n’t have to . And conceive me , you do n’t . So let ’s get started !
What You ’ll Need :
•Ubuntu 8.10 PS3 Install Disc Image
• Blank certificate of deposit
• USB hard thrust formated to FAT32 to backup your PS3 data
• USB keyboard and mouse ( wireless if potential )
Install Ubuntu 8.10
1 . put in an alternating OS requires you to pass over the hard magnetic disc wholly , so you ’ll want to back up your PS3 data point - this include plot save , downloaded game and the hard drive installs many game require . For this , you ’ll need a FAT32 - arrange USB phonograph recording ( Mac HFS+ volumes wo n’t process ) . This wo n’t preserve your trophy , so if losing them will be a catastrophe for you , go to Game - > Trophy Collection , press triangle and opt “ Sync with Server . ”
2 . plug away in your platter and go to configurations - > System configurations - > Backup Utility in your XMB . opt Back Up and select your USB disk . The datum will be saved at /PS3 / EXPORT / BACKUP . It film about 25 minutes for me . When you ’re done installing Ubuntu , the first time you switch back to the XMB you ’ll want to use the Backup Utility to restore your reliever .
3 . Now you ’re ready to install Ubuntu . This Ubuntu help oneself pagecan serve , but like it aver at the top , it was written for Ubuntu 7.10 , so some thing may change . Our guide here is using 8.10 . I would use the alternative install disc , because some common people say the graphical hot atomic number 48 install can give them some problem . The substitute install disc is the exact same thing , only with old - school day DOS - y graphics . Grab that(I recommendthe inundation , which will blaze down as tight as your link will let it ) and burn the ISO file to a CD .
4 . Drop that CD into your PS3 , and go to preferences - > System preferences - > Install Other bone . This will deploy the dual - boot loader kboot in a matter of seconds , and ask you if you want to restart into the the Other OS ’s install saucer . Make certain your PS3 is connected to the web via ethernet ( wi - fi could possibly work , but it might confuse the Ubuntu instllaer ) , stop up in your USB keyboard , which you ’ll need , and say yes .
5 . With the keyboard , follow the fugly text - only instructions for the Ubuntu 8.10 installer to deploy the system . Everything is self explanatory , and at almost every bend , you should be able-bodied to pick out the default option . The installer will look like it ’s hung up at several points , but it ’s not , so let it do its thing . Install will take about 45 minutes , and when it ’s done , absent the install disc , and you ’ll boot into a just ol’ Ubuntu desktop .
Pair Your Sixaxis or Dual Shock via Bluetooth
One reward of using Ubuntu over , say , the PS3 - specific Yellow Dog distro is that it ’s easier to wirelessly match your PS3 controller with a little downloadable utility . For these steps , you should switch to your PS3 running Ubuntu .
A wireless USB keyboard and shiner here are essential , but stick with wireless USB over Bluetooth . Logitech ’s MX1100 mouse worked immediately with Ubuntu without any futzing , but the Logitech DiNovo Edge BT keyboard I had was a dissimilar storey - Ubuntu ’s Bluetooth utility found it and paired with it , but I could n’t get it to actually typewrite . I ’m sure there ’s a direction , but that ’s some forum strain you ’ll have to do on your own . or else I used an onetime Apple keyboard I had laying around with the USB extension cord .
1.This threadspells out most of the process , and it ’s the germ of the computer software you ’ll need to download . GrabSixaxis Bluetooth Package.tar.gzand unzip it on your Ubuntu background .
2 . Double click to set up the packages within , first the “ bluez-sixaxis-bin_powerpc.deb ” package and then the one named “ bluez-sixaxis_rc1.1_all.deb . ”
3 . Now , with your control turned off , go to Applications - > Accessories - > Sixaxis - gui in Ubuntu and start the app . pick out “ Setup Menu ” and then “ Setup first connection ” and stick to the statement . Do n’t press the PS button until it tells you to . The Inner Light will keep blink even after it ’s join .
4 . After that ’s done , you may connect this or any of your other controllers by simply go to “ link up Sixaxis to personal computer ” under “ Task computer menu . ” But to use it with the SNES aper you ’re about to install , you have to do one more thing :
5 . Under “ Task menu ” choose “ Enable Keyboard and Mouse ” and then pick “ Fake Joystick . ” This will pair your comptroller as a Linux joystick . After that , you ’ll have to disconnect ( with “ Turn Off Sixaxis ” ) and re - get in touch your controller .
Install SNES9X Emulator
SNES9X work fairly well on the PS3 , with a few minor caveats , which we ’ll get to below .
1 . Open up a terminal windowpane in Ubuntu and typecast the following command :
sudo apt - get install snes9express snes9x - decade
This will instal the emulator .
2 . When it ’s done , “ snes9express ” will seem under Games in Ubuntu ’s practical software launcher . Fire that up .
3 . To configure it properly , do the pursuit : under the ROM tab , take the folder that house all your SNES ROMs ( for game you already own as a Kyd , of course ! ) ; under Sound , check that “ Thread Sound ” is choose , or else everything will sound horribly garbled ; under picture , see to it “ Scale , ” “ Hi - Res ” and “ Full Screen . ”
4 . Getting SNES9X to agnise your Sixaxis read a petty routine more juju , but even then , there is still some weirdness . To config , go to the Controllers tabloid and press “ Devices . ” Change the unveiling of “ Pad 1 ” ( and “ Pad 2 ” if you ’re using two ) from “ /dev / js0 ” to “ /dev / input / js0 ” and hit close . Do n’t attempt to Configure Button Maps … for the joystick .
5 . Go back to ROM , choose your game , and murder Power , and it should start up .
Here , though , are the aforementioned caveats : the PPC version of SNES9X on the PS3 chokes hard when you render to employ an alternate release constellation for your control ( it will take the constellation , but just wo n’t act any games ) . But it ’s nonremittal configuration , while kooky , is still playable . You ’ll just have to find out where each SNES clit is map for each secret plan . You ’ll have trouble with something like Street Fighter 2 , but simpler games like F - Zero , Pilotwings and RPGs like Earthbound ( ! ! ! ) are totally playable .
And , less damaging , full full - screen does not come out to work ( or at least I could n’t get it to do work ) on the PS3 . But you may still hale the window as big as it will get and get the same effect , just with your Ubuntu desktop visible behind .
So , all in all , this wo n’t be as elegant as dusting off your old SNES and plug it in , but it ’s fun to squeeze all of the potential drop out of your PS3 and see it diddle some vintage classics .
Tips
If Ubuntu locks up on you at any time , do n’t trip the main baron permutation on the back : all you have to do is hold down the even power push on the front for five seconds to force a shutdown .
And , theoretically , all you have to do to get back to the XMB is eccentric “ boot - biz - os ” at the kboot prompt . This has yet to work for me . Instead , big businessman down the PS3 ( so the power twinkle is red ) , and then hold down the big businessman clitoris for 5 - 10 second until it beep a few times , then let go . This will reboot back into XMB by default ( you may have to re - pick out your TV resolution , but do n’t care , all the rest of your contour should be saved ) . If you ’re done playing around with Linux for a while , you’re able to simply set the PlayStation atomic number 76 as the default in your XMB System options .
Further Tinkering
A couple of things that are potential , but I have not fully tested :
typeset Ubuntu to Your Exact TV closure
This threadwill help there - in my default installation on my Samsung 720p LCD , Ubuntu was sufficiently high - Re , but with a black border an inch or two thick around the edges . If you ’re see with Linux config files though , you could plunk into the xorg.conf ( which is blank by default in Ubuntu 8.10 , much to my initial mental confusion ) and fine-tune it to the exact firmness of purpose of your TV .
Using the Sixaxis as a black eye
I do n’t think this works by default option , but if you want to trench the USB computer mouse and use the PS3 controllers analogue stick , see this threadfor more guided xorg.conf config file tweaking . I tried it but the buttons were oddly mapped , so I render up . Many have gotten it to work though .
Oh , and I think you guys will bask this : while search this article and diagnosing some problems with using the Sixaxis with SNES9X , I found perhaps thegreatest momentin geek troubleshooting forum history . But thanks to this guy , I was capable to get it work on , so mad props to him and his Olive - Garden - fueled troubleshooting .
As of JAN/06/2008 @ 11:43AM Eastern Standard Time – For some reason , SNES9EXPRESS does not care it if i release JOYSTICK on , i have to go to JOYSTICK tab and turn it off for the Emulator to run without an error computer code 1 . I will look further into this and see if i can make sentiency of it .
- ( UPDATE ) * conk out to Olive Garden for tiffin , go to get a few ideas rattle around in my brain before i take another thrust at this .
GamingguidesHow ToLinuxPlayStationSonyUbuntu
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