NetBSD/macppc Model Support

This page lists the Apple and clone PowerPC machines that users have reported working. See NetBSD/mac68k for earlier Macintosh computers based on the Motorola 680X0 CPU. The version of NetBSD for which support for a system was added are marked in brakets and coloured blue, for example (7.0). Systems for which support is only currently available in NetBSD-current are marked (-current). NetBSD/macppc -current snapshots are available on nycdn.NetBSD.org.

NetBSD requires you to boot from Open Firmware. Many older machines have Open Firmware versions that do not default to using the built-in screen or on-board video for console. This table lists suggestions of what each model typically uses. For more information, see How do I figure out my input-device and output-device?

Models lacking Open Firmware are not yet supported in NetBSD. Currently, mkLinux is the only free unix to support them.

Table 1. NetBSD/macppc Model Support

Model	CPU/speed (XXX MHz or X.XX GHz)	Logic Board (code name)	OF vers	s u p p o r t e d	u n s u p p o r t e d	u n k n o w n	Reason/ Remarks
Apple PowerBook models
PowerBook 1400,2300,5300	603e/100, 117, 133, 166	M2	n/a				No PCI bus (no Open Firmware)
PowerBook 2400/180	603e/180	Comet	2.0.1
PowerBook 2400/240	603e/240	Mighty Cat	2.0.1
PowerBook 3400	603e/180, 200, 240	Hooper	2.0.1				Internal HD boot-device /bandit/ohare/ata/ata-disk@0:0 may need to zap PRAM before entering Open Firmware on-board ethernet works but is not bootable due to lack of openfirmware support Boots only from floppy or internal hard disk!
PowerBook G3	G3/250	Mainstreet	2.0.1
PowerBook G3 Series	G3/233, 250, 292	Wallstreet	2.0.1				See footnote
PowerBook G3 Series	G3/233, 266, 300	PDQ	2.0.1				You may need to hold down Command-Option-O-F before the startup chime
PowerBook G3 Series (bronze keyboard)	G3/333, 400	Lombard	>3
PowerBook G3 (FireWire) (1.5.1)	G3/400, 500	Pismo	>3				See footnote
PowerBook G4 (Titanium) (1.5.1)	G4/400, 500	Mercury	>3				See footnote
PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) (1.6)	G4/550, 667	Onyx	>3				See footnote
PowerBook G4 (DVI) (1.6)	G4/667, 800	Ivory	>3				See footnote
PowerBook G4 (1 GHz/867 MHz)	G4/867, 1.0		>3				is untested, but should work
PowerBook G4 (12-inch) (2.0)	G4/867		>3				The internal modem is not supported yet
PowerBook G4 (17-inch) (2.0)	G4/1.0		>3				The internal modem is not supported yet
PowerBook G4 (12-inch DVI) (2.0)	G4/1.0		>3				The internal modem is not supported yet
PowerBook G4 (15-inch FW 800)	G4/1.0, 1.25		>3				See footnote
PowerBook G4 (17-inch 1.33GHz)	G4/1.33		>3				is untested, but should work
PowerBook G4 Family (2.0)	G4/1.33, 1.5		>3				The internal modem is not supported yet CPU speed can be set via sysctl
Apple Power Macintosh models
4400 and 7220	603e/160, 200	Tanzania	2.0.2				See footnote
5500,6500	603e/225, 250, 275, 300	Gazelle	2.0.3				See footnote
(Performa)52xx,53xx,62xx,63xx	603e/75, 100, 120	Codyceps	n/a				No PCI bus (no Open Firmware), See below for 6360,6300/160
(Performa)54xx,6400	603e/120, 160, 180, 200	Alchemy	2.0				See footnote
6300	603e/160	Alchemy	2.0				Only 160 MHz model works
(Performa)6360	603e/160	Alchemy	2.0				See footnote
20th Anniversary	603e/250	Alchemy	2.0.3				See footnote
61xx,71xx,81xx, WGS 9150	601/60, 66, 80, 100, 110, 120	PDM, BHA, ColdFusion	n/a				Nubus (no Open Firmware)
7200 (7.0)	601/75, 90, 120	Catalyst	1.0.5				PPC601 platinum video
7300	604e/166, 180, 200	TNT (Inertia?)	1.0.5				output-device /chaos/control
7500	601/100	TNT	1.0.5				PPC601 output-device /chaos/control
7600	604e/120, 132, 200	TNT	1.0.5				output-device /chaos/control
8200	601/100, 120	Catalyst	1.0.5				PPC601 is untested, but should work platinum video
8500	604/120, 132, 150, 180	Nitro	1.0.5				output-device /chaos/control
8550 Workgroup Server	604/132, 604e/200	Nitro	1.0.5				output-device /chaos/control CD-ROM may not work on "external" esp bus as shipped
8600	604e/200	Nitro	1.0.5				output-device /chaos/control
8600	604e/250, 300	Kansas	1.0.5				output-device /chaos/control
9500 (1.5)	604/120, 132	Tsunami	1.0.5				output-device/ATY,mach64 May need to disconnect the internal cdrom drive to boot from any device
9500	604/150, 604e/180, 180DP, 200	Tsunami	1.0.5				See footnote
9600	604e/200, 200DP, 233	Tsunami	1.0.5				See footnote
9600	604e/300, 350	Kansas	1.0.5				See footnote
Power Macintosh G3 (Desktop, Mini Tower, AIO) (ATI RageII+)	G3/233, 266, 300	Gossamer	2.0f1				See footnote
Power Macintosh G3 (Desktop, Mini Tower, AIO) (Rage Pro)	G3/266, 300, 333	Gossamer	2.4				See footnote
Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White)	G3/300, 350, 400, 450	Yosemite	>3				Adaptec 2930 SCSI card only works with (1.5) and later
Power Macintosh G4 (PCI Graphics)	G4(7400)/350, 400	Yikes!	>3
Power Macintosh G4 (AGP Graphics) (1.5)	G4(7400)/350, 400, 450, 500	Sawtooth	>3
Power Macintosh G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) (1.5)	G4(7400)/400, 450DP, 500DP	Mystic	>3				Support for second CPU available in 2.0
Power Macintosh G4 Cube (1.5)	G4(7400)/450, 500		>3
Power Macintosh G4 (Digital Audio) (1.5)	G4(7410)/466, 533DP G4(7450)/667, 733		>3				Support for second CPU available in 2.0
Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver) (1.6)	G4(7450)/733, 800DP, 867		>3				Support for second CPU available in 2.0
Power Macintosh G4 (Quicksilver 2002)(1.6)	G4(7445)/800 G4(7455)/933, 1.0DP		>3				Support for second CPU available in 2.0
Power Macintosh G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors)	G4(7455)/867DP, 1.0DP, 1.25DP		>3				Support for second CPU available in 2.0
Power Macintosh G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003)	G4(7455)/1.25, 1.25DP		>3				Support for second CPU available in 2.0
Power Macintosh G4 (FW 800) (1.6.1)	G4(7455)/1.0, 1.25DP, 1.42DP		>3				Support for second CPU available in 2.0 ATA 100 bus not supported in (1.6.1)
Power Macintosh G5	G5(970)/1.6, 1.8, 2.0DP		>3				PPC970 (a.k.a. G5) CPU supported in 5.0
Power Macintosh G5	G5(970fx)/1.8DP, 2.0DP, 2.5DP		>3				PPC970 (a.k.a. G5) CPU supported in 5.0
Power Macintosh G5	G5(970MP)		>3				PPC970 (a.k.a. G5) CPU supported in 5.0
Apple Network Server
ANS 500(1.5)	604/132		1.1.22				See footnote
ANS 700 (1.5)	604/150, 604e/200		1.1.22				See footnote
Apple Xserve models
Xserve (1.6)	G4(7455)/1.0, 1.0DP		>3
Xserve (Slot Load) (2.0)	G4(7455)/1.33, 1.33DP		>3
Xserve G5	G5(970)/2.0, 2.0DP		>3				PPC970 (a.k.a. G5) CPU supported in 5.0
Apple iMac models (See TIL 58669)
iMac (Bondi Blue) (rev A and B)	G3/233	Columbus	>3
iMac (5 Flavors) (rev C and D)	G3/266, 333	Lifesavers	>3
iMac, iMac DV (Slot Loading) (1.5)	G3/350, 400	Kihei	>3
iMac (Summer 2000)(1.5)	G3/350, 400, 450, 500		>3				Two reports that the Firmware Update 4.1.9 causes ATA4-related problems in (1.5.2)
iMac (Early 2001) (1.5.1)	G3/400, 500, 600		>3
iMac (Summer 2001)(1.6)	G3/500, 600, 700		>3
iMac (Flat Panel), iMac (17-inch) Flat Panel	G4(7441)/700, G4(7445)/800		>3				is untested, but should work
eMac(1.6)	G4(7441)/700		>3
iMac (17-inch 1GHz)	G4(7445)/1.0		>3				is untested, but should work
eMac (ATI Graphics) (1.6.1)	G4(7441)/800, 1.0		>3
iMac (USB 2.0) (2.0)	G4(7445)/1.0, 1.25		>3
eMac (USB 2.0)	G4(7447A)/1.25		>3				is untested, but should work
iMac G5	G5(970)/1.6, 1.8		>3				PPC970 (a.k.a. G5) CPU supported in 5.0
Apple iBook models (See TIL 88039)
iBook, iBook SE (1.5.1)	G3/300, 366	P1	>3
iBook (FireWire) iBook SE (FireWire)	G3/366, 466		>3				untested, but should work
iBook (Dual USB) (1.5.1)	G3/500	Marble	>3				The internal modem is not supported yet
iBook (Late 2001)(1.6)	G3/500		>3				The internal modem is not supported yet
iBook (14.1 LCD)	G3/600		>3				untested, but should work
iBook (16VRAM) (1.6) iBook (14.1 LCD 16VRAM)	G3/600, 700		>3				The internal modem is not supported yet
iBook (Opaque 16 VRAM) iBook (32 VRAM) (1.6.1) iBook (14.1 LCD 32 VRAM)	G3/700, 800		>3				The internal modem is not supported yet
iBook (Early 2003)	G3/800, 900		>3				untested, but should work
iBook G4 iBook G4 (14-inch) (2.0)	G4(7457)/800, 933, 1.0		>3				The internal modem is not supported yet
iBook G4 (Early 2004) iBook G4 (14-inch Early 2004)	G4(7447A)/1.0, 1.2		>3				untested, but should work
iBook G4 (Late 2004) iBook G4 (14-inch Late 2004)	G4(7447A)/1.2, 1.33		>3				The internal modem is not supported yet
Apple Mac mini
Mac mini (3.0)	G4(7447A)/1.25, 1.42		>3
Macintosh Clones
Motorola Starmax
Starmax 3000	603e/160, 180, 200, 240	Tanzania	2.0.2				See footnote
Starmax 4000	604e/160, 200	Tanzania	2.0.2				See footnote
Starmax 5000 (ATI)	603e/225, 250, 275, 300	Tanzania II	2.0.2				See footnote
Starmax 5000 (Twin Turbo)	603e/300	Tanzania II	2.0.2				untested, but should work
Starmax 5500	604e/200	Tanzania II	2.0.2				See footnote
Power Computing
Power	601/80, 100, 110, 120	ColdFusion	n/a				Nubus (no Open Firmware)
PowerCurve	601/120	Catalyst	1.0.5				PPC601 is untested, but should work
PowerBase	603e/180, 200, 240	Alchemy	2.0				output-device /bandit/ATY,mach64_3D_pcc
PowerCenter	604/120, 132, 150, 166, 180	Catalyst	1.0.5				platinum video
PowerCenter Pro	604e/180, 210, 240	Catalyst	1.0.5				See footnote
PowerTower	604/166, 180, 604e/180, 200	Catalyst	1.0.5				output-device /bandit@F2000000/ATY,XCLAIM@D may not boot if using on-board video
PowerTower Pro	604e/180, 225, 225DP, 250, 250DP	Tsunami	1.0.5				See footnote
PowerWave	604/120, 132, 150	Tsunami	1.0.5				output-device /bandit/ATY,XCLAIM
UMAX
Apus 2000, C500	603e/140, 160, 180, 200, 240	Alchemy	2.0				See footnote
Apus 3000, C600	603e/160, 180, 200, 240, 280	Alchemy	2.0				See footnote
J700 (Centauri)	604/150, 604e/180, 200, 233	Tsunami	1.0.5				See footnote 1 See footnote 2
S900 (Pulsar)	604/150, 604e/180, 200, 225, 233, 240, 250, 250DP	Tsunami	1.0.5				See footnote 1 See footnote 2
APS Tech
M*Power 604e/200	604e/200	Tanzania	2.0.2				See footnote

Footnotes

PowerBook G3 Series (Wallstreet)

Very picky about timing of holding down keys to enter Open Firmware
MediaBay CD-ROM boot command: boot ide1/@0:0,\OFWBOOT.XCF
Floppy drive must be in left MediaBay
Boot with Open Firmware command: boot fd2:,\OFWBOOT.XCF

PowerBook G3 (FireWire), PowerBook G4 (Titanium), PowerBook G4 (Gigabit Ethernet), and PowerBook G4 (DVI)

See the various FAQ entries: PowerBook (FireWire), PowerBook G4 (Titanium), and BootROM 4.1.8 and Woah, my machine just powered off!
The built-in keyboard and trackpad are not supported in NetBSD 1.5 and earlier, you should use NetBSD 1.6 or later.
The internal modem is not supported yet.

PowerBook G4 (FW 800)

The console under radeonfb generates garbled output if kernel is not built with the option RADEONFB_ALWAYS_ACCEL_PUTCHAR.

PowerPC 601-based machines

Support was added for PowerPC 601-based machines in NetBSD 7.0.
The PowerMac 7200 and 8200 series machines, the original 7500 machines, and the PowerComputing PowerCurve are powered by a PowerPC 601 microprocessor. The rest of the chipset is essentially the same as the other early PCI PowerMacs.
The 7500 machines originally shipped with the 601 on a daughtercard which could be replaced with a 604, G3,or G4 processor. For NetBSD, the 7500 can run with either the original 601 or a replacement daughtercard. The 604 cards are now about US$30.
The 7200 and 8200 machines have the 601 processor soldered onto the motherboard. The processor cannot be replaced, but a PCI CPU processor upgrade card (G3 or G4) could be added. This upgrade card hasn't been tested with NetBSD and may or may not work.

Apple PowerMacintosh 4400 and 7220, Motorola Starmax 3000 and 4000, and APS Tech M*Power 604e/200

Apparently System Disk does not support these machines (see below).
The PowerMacintosh 4400 and 7220 on-board video has output-device /bandit/ATY,264VT
The Motorola Starmax 3000 and 4000 on-board video has output-device /ATY,264VT@11
The APS Tech M*Power 604e/200 on-board video has output-device screen
You may need to swap the IDE cables to boot from the CD-ROM. Open Firmware apparently can only boot from the first IDE controller on these motherboards and the CD-ROM is attached to the second. Once booted, NetBSD can access the hard drive on the second IDE controller.

Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh

Apparently System Disk does not support these machines (see below).
Defaults to serial console and display won't sync (see post for more info)
Can't boot from internal SCSI bus (Open Firmware hangs when trying to access SCSI)
Can't boot from network (no built-in ethernet)
May be able to boot from floppy or internal IDE hard drive

Apple Performa 5500 and 6500

Apparently System Disk does not support these machines (see below).
The on-board video has output-device /bandit/ATY,264GT-B
The 5500 (and maybe the 6500) sets the display to the lowest brightness setting (black) when entering Open Firmware. To use the on-board video display you must put the following patch in your nvramrc:

cpoke 0a7 0f3000032
cpoke 093 0f3000033
cpoke 03e 0f300003a

You may need to either enter this with BootVars or over a serial console. See the NetBSD/macppc nvedit HOW-TO for more help patching your nvramrc.

Apple Performa 54xx, 6400, and 6360

Apparently System Disk does not support these machines (see below).
Open Firmware output-device defaults to ttya, but ttya is the internal modem (if installed). Thus, if you have an internal modem, use Boot Variables to set console to ttyb.

NetBSD/macppc may not be able to boot if you use the on-board video (see below).

Apple PowerMacintosh 9500/150, 180, 180DP, or 200

Open Firmware output-device defaults to ttya
Open Firmware output-device, see below
NetBSD may not boot if screen/kbd are used (use ttya for your console)
May need to disconnect the internal cdrom drive to boot from any device
May only be able to specify SCSI ID 0 as boot device (need confirmation)
The 180DP daughtercard works, but only using one processor by default. To use both CPUs you need to use the NetBSD/macppc 2.0 or later kernel called netbsd-GENERIC.MP.

Apple PowerMacintosh G3 (Beige G3, Revision 1, Open Firmware 2.0f1)

This model is notoriously difficult to boot.

Best results are if you set the Open Firmware boot-device and boot-file variables instead of attempting to use them on the Open Firmware command line. After setting these variables, you'll need to reset-all to store the settings.
Open Firmware cannot boot from SCSI or IDE hard drives without first running System Disk
The first time you try to boot from a floppy, it will fail. Try a second time.
Open Firmware cannot boot from slave IDE devices
Zip drives may cause booting problems
You may not be able to boot from your internal hard drive unless you set it up as your boot-device, for example:
```
0 > setenv boot-device ide0/disk@0:0
0 > setenv boot-file netbsd
0 > reset-all
```
You may not be able to boot from your internal CD-ROM drive unless you set it up as your boot-device, for example:
```
0 > setenv boot-device ide1/disk@0:0,ofwboot.xcf
0 > setenv boot-file netbsd_GENERIC_MD.gz
0 > reset-all
```

Apple PowerMacintosh G3 (Beige G3, Revision 2, Open Firmware 2.4)

This model is notoriously difficult to boot.

Best results are if you set the Open Firmware boot-device and boot-file variables instead of attempting to use them on the Open Firmware command line. After setting these variables, you'll need to reset-all to store the settings.
Open Firmware cannot boot from SCSI or IDE hard drives without first running System Disk
Open Firmware cannot boot from floppy drive
Open Firmware can't seem to boot from CD-ROM even after running System Disk
Zip drives may cause booting problems
Best is to netboot the installer and install to the IDE hard drive. See the post by Fabrice Delambre.
You may not be able to auto-boot your system
You probably need to use the 0 bootr command instead of boot or to insert a delay by setting up your boot-command
```
0 > setenv boot-command begin ['] boot catch 999 ms cr again
0 > reset-all
0 > 0 bootr
```
You may not be able to boot from your internal hard drive unless you set it up as your boot-device, for example:
```
0 > setenv boot-device ide0/disk@0:0
0 > setenv boot-file netbsd
0 > reset-all
```
You may not be able to boot from your internal CD-ROM drive unless you set it up as your boot-device, for example:
```
0 > setenv boot-device ide1/disk@0:0,ofwboot.xcf
0 > setenv boot-file netbsd_GENERIC_MD.gz
0 > reset-all
```

The G3/300 with an Apple 53c875 Ultra Wide SCSI host adapter, can be booted with:

0 > setenv boot-device /pci/Apple53C875Card/sd@0:0
0 > setenv boot-file netbsd
0 > reset-all

Apple Network Server 500 and 700

Must use serial console (Open Firmware defaults to "Port 2" on the back of your machine)

Your serial console settings should be 38400 bps, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, no flow control, and you can typically use a standard Mac "printer" cable to connect two Macs (even m68k-based Macs). See the NetBSD Serial Port Primer for additional help.
ttya is labeled "Port 2" on the back of the machine, ttyb is labeled "Port 1"

Built-in mc0 ethernet does not work (gives timeout errors)
To install pre-1.5 versions of NetBSD you need to add a driver to the kernel for the SCSI controller. Aris Colp has provided versions of boot.fs and ncr.c that you can use to generate a 1.4.2 bootable system (you'll need to compile a kernel with the ncr driver on another machine)

Models without video on the motherboard

Several models shipped without video on the motherboard. Their video is provided by a card in one of the PCI slots. Open Firmware uses a different device path depending on the model of the card and the PCI slot it is located in. Therefore, these are only suggestions as to what your output-device is. If they don't work, you will need to consult How do I use a PCI video card?

Make	output-device
9500/150,180,180DP,200	`/bandit@F4000000/ATY,mach64@D`
9600/200,200DP,233	`/bandit@F4000000/IMS,tt128mbA@F`
9600/300,350	`pci2/@F`
PowerTower Pro	`/bandit@F4000000/IMS,tt128mb8@F`
Umax S900	`/bandit/IMS,tt128mb`

Models which cannot use the on-board video

Several models have on-board video which doesn't cooperate with Open Firmware, preventing it from booting NetBSD/macppc. You will need to use a serial console or third-party PCI video card to run NetBSD/macppc on your system.

Performa 54xx, 6360, and 6400
PowerComputing and PowerTower
Umax C600 and Apus 3000

Models using Platinum Video

Support for on-board Platinum Video was added in NetBSD 8.0.
Earlier versions of NetBSD must use a serial console or third-party PCI video card.
To enable platinum video, use output-device platinum
Something to note when using the platinum video driver is that serial and video console outputs cannot be used simultaneously. If platinum video is enabled, it will take over the console during the kernel boot process and serial console I/O will stop working at that point.
These models can use the on-board Platinum Video driver:

PowerCenter
PowerMacintosh 7200 and 8200

Models not supported by System Disk

The models listed below are not supported by System Disk. It will complain at you if you try using it. Instead, you should use Boot Variables to set any Open Firmware settings, such as your output-device defaults.

PowerMacintosh 4400 and 7220
Motorola Starmax 3000, 4000, 5000, and 5500
APS Tech M*Power 604e/200
Performa 5500 and 6500
Performa 54xx, 6400, and 6360
PowerComputing PowerBase
Umax Apus 2000, Apus 3000, C500, and C600
Umax S900

PowerComputing PowerCenter Pro

Can't boot from Adaptec UltraSCSI card (it doesn't support Open Firmware)
For the Mac DB15 video connector, use output-device pci1/@D
For the PC HD15 video connector, use output-device /bandit/ATY,mach64_3D_pcc

Motorola Starmax 5000

Apparently System Disk does not support these machines (see above).
Open Firmware output-device for screen is /bandit@F2000000/ATY,RAGEII_M@11 (may not sync up monitor properly)
May need to unplug ZIP drive
May only be able to use SCSI or IDE, not both
SystemDisk doesn't help with SCSI/IDE issues

Umax C500, C600, Apus 2000, and Apus 3000

May need to disconnect the internal cdrom drive to boot from any SCSI device
Matthew Reilly reports that System Disk does help allow his C500 to boot from a SCSI drive, even though it claims it doesn't support this model (see above).
NetBSD/macppc may not be able to boot if you use the on-board video on the C600 or Apus 3000 (see above).

References

FAQ for macppc: http://www.NetBSD.org/ports/macppc/faq.html
Apple Hardware Reference: Hardware Developer Notes
SystemDisk Tutorial (for setting up Open Firmware): http://www.NetBSD.org/ports/macppc/SystemDisk-tutorial/
Model information (Apple and clones): http://www.info.apple.com/support/applespec.html
http://www.everymac.com/systems/index.html
http://www.lowendmac.com/ppc/index.shtml
http://www.lowendmac.com/imac/index.shtml
http://www.lowendmac.com/powerbooks.html
http://eshop.macsales.com/Tech/index.cfm?load=newertech.html (Newertech GURU 2.9)
News archive: http://www.macinfo.de/archiv/archiv.html

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Footnotes

References