Linux on N64

[fixxxer575]

I've seen versions of Linux for PS1, PS2, and xbox but not one for N64. Is there a way to put Linux on a N64?

[atom]

Not really. Theres no point to it anyway, the n64 is super weak by todays standards and has no hard disk!

[benzaldehyde]

..!

..!

..!

That's the best worst idea I've ever heard...

Alas, it might have been possible were the 64DD released worldwide, but it was never meant to be. That, and without any mouse or keyboard peripherals, or the hard disk, would render this niegh impossible. If you're still interested, the XBox would be your best bet; just try to find an old one.

[KeepGood]

Not true.

There was a Linux project for the N64. There is still source available for it.  There used to links at the Debian site for it.

And as for it being a terrible idea, thats a load os crap.  The Nintendo 64 hardware is incedibly power (even to todays standards, thus the reason Linux was being ported to it).

The Nintendo 64 runs on SGI hardware, the main CPU being an R4x00 (a full 64bit CPU) with the addition of a lovely (and rapid) graphics card.  It doesnt matter about the lack of RAM due to how fast the information is passed round the system.

Remember the film Jurassic Park was created on SGI Indy workstations which are based on the same hardware as the Nintendo 64.

;-)

[atom]

Im sorry but you really dont know what you speak of, even being a 64bit cpu it was only like 75mhz if i remember correctly. (I remember trying to install windows 98 on my comp with a 66mhz cpu) So what if someone started linux for it, whats the purpose? To edit files that dont exist? Maybe you could use your n64 joystick to slowly punch in letters in a terminal based text editor to save on your memory card then print to your... nothing, sorry. I don't see the n64 being capable of running a decent version of linux with anything similiar to KDE. Yeah, the n64 does have a decent graphics chip, its a gaming unit! Won't help it run linux at all.

edit: i wont even get into the upgradeably 8mb of rdram

[Endymion]

Not true?

Linux on an N64 is a terrible idea. And it has nothing to do with the (lack of a) hard disk.

Linux on an Xbox is an even worse idea. I know it's great to have a working web server and all, but personally, I'd rather have a working console. Especially when an actual computer to do the Linux type things can be bought for as cheap or cheaper than such a console.

[CZroe]

It was a 90MHz CPU and a 90MHz RCP ("Reality Co Processor" AKA "3D Accellerator" AKA Video Chip. Coined the RCP90 weapon in Goldeneye 007). It blew away all PCs with a similar setup at the time (166MHz Pentium non-MMX CPU + 3Dfx Voodoo1 & 24-32MB EDO RAM and 1.4GB HDD was the tip-top of the line).

There was a mouse for the N64. It was used extensively in the Mario Artirst line of games. As for reading and writing files, the N64 could read and write to the cartridge I/O. This means that the V64jr 512 could provide 64MB of storage. The homebrew N64 Pro could do it also. As for benefits, it's like you idiots all think an OS must provide a generic application environment. NOT TRUE. THere are many recovery utilities for PC which use a disk-bootable Linux distro for their operating environment, although you never gain control of that. I've used bootable linux distros for recovering files, cloning hard drives, using a PC + 802.11b card as an access point (Sputnik. Feature is not available under Windows), PVR functions (MythTV) and even having a general browsing desktop without a hard drive (Knoppix).

Basically, consider this:
Rather than make a decent NES emulator, why not simply make the Linux version bootable? You'd never even have to know it's Linux. Of course, there is a decent NES emulator and you can load it with a GameShark or a backup unit

Remember all the WindowsCE native games on the Dreamcast? For example, Williams Arcade Classics. Shortly after the was released on the Internet, someone removed the games from the distrobution and added a WindowsCE MP3 player to create the first Dreamcast MP3 player. Same thing. You can now code for the platform without knowing a thing about it once someone gets the basic OS operating on it.

[Endymion]

The prob with that is, I don't want to be assed to install Linux on an N64 to do what I want to use an N64 for--play N64 games. I can't think of a facet peculiar to the N64, be it size, heat, power constraints or whatever, that I have a need for it to do other things in the first place. Maybe there is a third world country where someone needs an N64 to do the things Linux can do, but pretty much  the big thrust of all the Linux applications as they have been made is to get a web server going. Woo hoo.

The great thing about the N64 is that I don't need to run a virtual machine on it to get Perfect Dark working.

[dum dum]

while the idea of reusing a spare device with a 90MHz cpu in it is tempting, doing the hardwork to make it happen is not. while most if not all digital computing devices could be reprogrammed to be used until they die of hardware failures, in reality only a minority of fanatics and the clueless actualy care.
theres no reason why you couldn't take an atari 2600 and full up the cart slot with ram and an I/O device for networking, but the question of "why?" comes to mind.

oh yeah, to some other posts-
i used to have win98 running just fine on a 66MHz machine - sure games are out of the question, buts its still usable (in terms of it was usable when it was new and running win3.1)

i had a voodoo1, it seems better than the n64 video (max n64 texture size in 64x64 pixels?) but then again lots of stuff was made for the n64 and little was made for the voodoo specificly

[CZroe]

The prob with that is, I don't want to be assed to install Linux on an N64 to do what I want to use an N64 for--play N64 games. I can't think of a facet peculiar to the N64, be it size, heat, power constraints or whatever, that I have a need for it to do other things in the first place. Maybe there is a third world country where someone needs an N64 to do the things Linux can do, but pretty much  the big thrust of all the Linux applications as they have been made is to get a web server going. Woo hoo.

The great thing about the N64 is that I don't need to run a virtual machine on it to get Perfect Dark working.

That's just it: You wouldn't "install" it. Just like Williams Arcade Classics on DC, the OS is transparant to the user. You just boot, the OS loads, the game executes and you never even know there was an OS involved.

Back in the day, the N64 could emulate NES and Game Boy games and the PSX couldn't. You could fit every known NES game on a CD and boot them on your N64 with a Dr. V64. You could even use a Dr. V64jr to load games on the N64 from a CD using a PSX with that Bung PS parallel port device that also had a GB cart slot and functioned with the GB eXchanger. There was PLENTY of reason for that Too bad an actually good NES emulator wasn't released until well after the N64 died. Hell, I even tried SNES9x on the N64 (GOOD GOD that's slow!). There were tons of utilities for save management and such. I don't see any problem at all with the added functionality.

Also, when Linux was only running in a virtual machine on XBOX, it wasn't considered "XBOX Linux" so I wouldn't expect an true N64 implementation to be a simple VM either

dum dum: Well, the N64's textures were usually more limited by cartridge space than anything else anyway. That's why the inferior PSX was always lauded for it's superior textures N64 always resorted to blurring and filtering insanely low resolution textures.

[Endymion]

That's just it: You wouldn't "install" it.

Point? I wouldn't be using it, either.

Tell me how using an N64 to do this is going to get me anything better than the real deal which I have in droves? (Which in turn makes the N64 useful to me when it can play the carts I have for it.) I don't want an mp3 player that magically works, "loads without installing," or what have you, from an N64. Ever heard of an iPod?

dum dum sums it up appropriately: "because you can" isn't enough of a reason.

[CZroe]

It's not just because you can, it's because it adds useful functionality. EXACTLY why people modify their XBOXes to play Progressive Scan DVDs, SNES games and stream media from their PCs. This functionality was added way-back-when... Before the XBOX was the platform of choice for such functionality. Having a Dreamcast as a MP3CD Player back when all you could get was a Rio Volt for $179 or some Hong Kong player that didn't support VBR was a VERY big deal for your home theater.

The Gamecube has enjoyed many homebrew games which are simple ports of their Linux versions. Soon, the authors will not even have to do that. They just plug their Linux game into a "Gamecube Game Creator" and there it is. GC is a Power PC platform, so there are many games that will run natively on it.

[fixxxer575]

Not true.

There was a Linux project for the N64. There is still source available for it.  There used to links at the Debian site for it.

And as for it being a terrible idea, thats a load os crap.  The Nintendo 64 hardware is incedibly power (even to todays standards, thus the reason Linux was being ported to it).

The Nintendo 64 runs on SGI hardware, the main CPU being an R4x00 (a full 64bit CPU) with the addition of a lovely (and rapid) graphics card.  It doesnt matter about the lack of RAM due to how fast the information is passed round the system.

Remember the film Jurassic Park was created on SGI Indy workstations which are based on the same hardware as the Nintendo 64.

;-)

Is there still a web site for the N64 Linux project?

[Endymion]

It's not just because you can, it's because it adds useful functionality.

EXACTLY what I've already got elsewhere. AGAIN as I said, PERHAPS there is a third world country somewhere such that an N64 is the best, most powerful piece of technology they will ever lay eyes on to do anything remotely sophisticated with--which kind of begs the question where they're getting everything else to put this together with--but I am not in such a place, nor do I gather is anyone else likely to be reading this. When you don't have a use for useful functionality why not just play Rogue Squadron on the thing? Or is it worth it to "load/install/wave a magic wand" to run it through Linux instead? It isn't like they're going to the moon with this.

GC is a Power PC platform, so there are many games that will run natively on it.

Y'know, having used Linux on PPC, and used PPC pretty much exclusively for the past nine years, I have a soft spot in my heart for hearing something like this, but I also know the many games you speak of don't amount to anything worthwhile. Lack of optimization, lack of native assembly and dependence upon x86 libraries, and all-around lack of PPC programming experience means if you have a PPC, it's running its proprietary business a la GameCube, or it's running the Mac OS--that is, unless of course you don't mind stepping back ten years figuratively speaking for your gaming fix.

[fixxxer575]

I don't want to hear if you think it's a good idea or not I just want to know if it's possible and where I can learn more about it.

[CZroe]

Endymion:

Like I said, the end use doesn't have to do anything with the final Linux-based product except "play it" JUST LIKE Rogue Squadron. I mean, what if someone wanted to make a homebrew Rogue Squadron for GC and did it with using a Linux PPC compiler? He'd just have to make a self-booting DOL that INCLUDES Linux. The game player never even knows.

Besides end-users, developers have a great deal of use for it too.

Oh, and is anyone still working on GCLIB or has everyone moved to gc-linux?

fixxxer575:

Just about every info link I find dead-ends. Not much

http://www.n64dev.50megs.com/

Linux Kernel 2.3.99-pre3
With a bit of hacking it will compile.. but need to add some extra stuff to the kernel to handle the n64 hardware, set up a framebuffer, etc. examples in arch/mips/*. To try compiling, do:

make ARCH=mips CROSS_COMPILE=mips-linux- config
It will ask for the configuration, select CONFIG_EXPERIMENTAL=y, cpu=R4300, little endian=n,compress_rom_fs=y,everthing else set to no
Then: make ARCH=mips CROSS_COMPILE=mips-linux- clean dep zImage

http://www.dextrose.com/_forum/showthread....ux&pagenumber=2

[Vertigo]

Yes, you may want to trot this discussion on over to dextrose.com as it's more suited there, and there'd be a more likely group of people willing to help you out and be knowledgable on the subject.
And this isn't a console mod really, is it.