Mac-Mini is booting Gentoo Linux

used these notes
Install 10.5 to the whole disk
run bootcamp from Applications/Utilities and make a Windows partition
install rEFIt
reboot, reboot again
boot gentoo x86, use parted to make root in the fat32 partition bootcamp made
reboot - run rEFIt partition utility to remake MBR
boot gentoo, make file system

parted output

Partition Table: gpt

Number  Start   End     Size    File system  Name                  Flags
 1      20.5kB  210MB   210MB   fat32        EFI System Partition  boot
 2      210MB   23.7GB  23.5GB  hfs+         Untitled
 3      23.7GB  60.0GB  36.3GB  ext2                               boot

......... carry on with install

I used the make.conf from this useful page

mac_mini kernel config

Compiling away .....
come one, compilaroo

grub-install --no-floppy /dev/sda3

whee I now have Gentoo Linux booting on the mac mini

it's currently in VESA 1920x1440x32

added "directfb" to the use flags

emerge mplayer

I'm on 17 of 103 packages .....
80 of 103 ... come on giddy up

mplayer doesn't work using directfb 'initialization error' - maybe return to that later - intel 954gm is the device

works fine in fbdev mode but that doesn't do -fs -zoom properly. -xy 1024:768 works but goes a bit stuttery
fbdev2 doesn't work with -fixed-vo

so emerge xorg-x11

ideally I want to be in 1920x1440x32 and scale everything up to fs, fingers crossed that X11 will win !


.......


fail - X11 couldn't find its driver and I had to give up the MacMini

X -config /root/xorg.conf.new 

X.Org X Server 1.7.6
Release Date: 2010-03-17
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
Build Operating System: Linux 2.6.32-gentoo-r7 i686 
Current Operating System: Linux mini1 2.6.32-gentoo-r7 #3 SMP Mon Apr 19 11:31:59 BST 2010 i686
Kernel command line: root=/dev/sda3 vga=0x318 video=uvesafb:1024x768-24@72,mtrr:3,ywrap
Build Date: 19 April 2010  12:47:20PM
 
Current version of pixman: 0.17.2
        Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
        to make sure that you have the latest version.
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
        (++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
        (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(==) Log file: "/var/log/Xorg.0.log", Time: Mon Apr 19 12:54:28 2010
(++) Using config file: "/root/xorg.conf.new"
FATAL: Module i915 not found.
xf86TokenToOptinfo: table is NULL
xf86TokenToOptinfo: table is NULL
error setting MTRR (base = 0x80000000, size = 0x10000000, type = 1) Inappropriate ioctl for device (25)
(EE) AIGLX error: dlopen of /usr/lib/dri/i915_dri.so failed (/usr/lib/dri/i915_dri.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory)
(EE) AIGLX: reverting to software rendering
error setting MTRR (base = 0x80000000, size = 0x10000000, type = 1) Inappropriate ioctl for device (25)

it's right, there's not much in /usr/lib/dri/

maybe that MTRR thing is significant, I need to boot with a LiveCD and find oot, Sabayon Linux 5.2 is rather nice, that looked great (but no shell on the media centre version I booted)

so, until next time ........