[GUIDE] NEW Method: Booting from USB on PowerPC Macs

[DistroHopper39B]

After digging deep into Open Firmware, I think I have discovered a method to booting from USB on PowerPC Macs that works flawlessly* on every NewWorld Mac made after 1999. This method doesn't rely on having a USB flash drive that happens to play well with Open Firmware or any externally powered hub like previous methods do; rather, it probes the USB ports after boot. All it requires is a PowerPC Mac and any USB flash drive with a PowerPC OS (Mac OS X*, Linux, BSD) installed on it.

*Only some versions of Mac OS X boot cleanly from USB. The Mac OS X 10.5 installer seems to reliably work on every machine I tried it on, 10.4 seems to work on some machines and hang on others, and everything before that probably won't work. For everything but 10.5 I'd recommend using CD/DVD media in general, which lines up perfectly with 10.5's requirement of dual-layer DVDs.

For this process, you'll need 2 pieces of crucial information; the partition number and USB port ID. The partition number is pretty easy to get; you can find it in Disk Utility -> your USB partition -> Info -> Partition Number. For Mac OS X USB drives, the correct partition number is usually 3.

The USB port ID is a little bit more difficult. The easiest way to find it is this method:

1. Disconnect all USB devices from your Mac.
2. Connect a USB keyboard to your Mac. If it has a hub, make sure nothing's plugged into it.
3. Boot to Open Firmware by holding Command-Option-O-F at startup.
4. At the 0 > prompt, type:
   dev usb0 ls
5. If there are any keyboard@X values, stop here. The number after usb is your port ID. If not, type dev usb1 and ls and keep incrementing that number until you find some. If you're on a laptop, make sure there are no mouse@X values, since the internal keyboard and touchpad are sometimes connected via USB.

Now, shut down your Mac by typing shut-down at the prompt. Unplug the USB keyboard and connect the USB drive you want to boot from to the same port you just had the keyboard connected to. If you're on a desktop, reconnect the keyboard to a different port, and boot the computer back into Open Firmware.

It's now time to actually boot the Mac from USB. To do this, you need to issue this command:

probe-usb boot usb<port ID>/disk:<partition number>,\\:tbxi

An example of this command with a port ID of 1 and a partition number of 3:

probe-usb boot usb1/disk:3,\\:tbxi

If you're lucky, Mac OS X (or Linux, or BSD) will now boot.

 

[lazd]

Thanks for this guide! I can confirm this works on an original clamshell iBook M2453. I used dd (with rdisk of the USB drive for the of argument) to copy the Tiger PPC ISO to a Memorex 64GB USB 3 thumb drive, then used:

probe-usb boot usb0/disk:3,\\:tbxi

This got me into the installer where I was able to use Startup Disk and Disk Utility. Of course, the installer was not patched so it’s not going to install, but I could use utilities.

I was also able to get Mac OS 9.2 from the OS 9.2.2 boot kit to boot after copying it to the USB drive with the same dd method. It blinks the ? disk icon for several seconds, then begins booting, though it bombs 1/4 way through startup (even with extensions off):

probe-usb boot usb0/disk:*,\\:tbxi

 

[mortlocli]

Ta..must try this out!!

 

[SDRLS]

Oh I'm going to have to pull my cube out and try this. It's been without an OS for a couple years now since I tossed Knoppix on it.

 

[mortlocli]

Yes - I found this to work..with a few quirks...quite likely on my part?

Using an iBook.
I checked the usb drive via DU, and got Disk1 as diskID.
Id tried the test with the keyboard but both times (only two USB ports) I got a result with that 'mouse@x' factor.
..so I thought - theres only two USB ports - so if the first try fails and can change a number and try again.

..so tried usb0/disk:1
got a 'no go' so changed to usb1/disk:1
and got a 'go' but couldn't read patition,

then tried
usb1/disk:3

..and SUCCESS - it worked.

Not sure why I was getting DiskID : Disk1..and Im sure yesterday I did try Disk3..?
But hey - lets just put that down to 'Operator Error!!'

The thing is - this is quite workable - so big THANK YOU, DistroHopper!!

 

[Rairii]

I recently obtained an iBook G3, my first powerpc mac.

I've mainly been poking my way around exploring OF by searching the detokenised forth dumps, etc.

Thanks for this post, now here's my improvement:

probe-usb multi-boot

Running this will wait a few seconds then show the boot manager, which will show attached USB storage devices too (there's a nice USB icon used for each USB drive found to boot from).

No need to enumerate partitions manually

For my iBook G3, I had to use a USB hub as other people have mentioned is sometimes required.

 

[DistroHopper39B]

I recently obtained an iBook G3, my first powerpc mac.

I've mainly been poking my way around exploring OF by searching the detokenised forth dumps, etc.

Thanks for this post, now here's my improvement:

probe-usb multi-boot

Running this will wait a few seconds then show the boot manager, which will show attached USB storage devices too (there's a nice USB icon used for each USB drive found to boot from).

No need to enumerate partitions manually

For my iBook G3, I had to use a USB hub as other people have mentioned is sometimes required.

That only works if the touchpad on the device is connected through ADB internally (which laptops up to about 2003 are); after that, you can't control the boot menu because USB input devices instantly break when you run probe-usb for some reason.
Also, aren't you the guy who ported Windows NT 4 to the Wii and is trying to port it to PowerMacs? I've been following your progress, it's cool you found my post! Keep up the good work!

 

[Rairii]

yeah, makes sense, would probably need to fix the used keyboard/mouse if they're USB devices after using probe-usb...

I think the psuedo-hid keyboard device would need to be closed and reopened. (multi-boot should reinitialise the mouse properly? or maybe it doesn't work properly because the old device entry is still in the tree?)

Did some tests and this seems to work:

probe-usb dev keyboard open multi-boot

Without the last "multi-boot" (for testing keyboards at the OF prompt) both the ADB keyboard and an attached USB keyboard works; and with the last "multi-boot" both the ADB mouse and an attached USB mouse works.

 

[DistroHopper39B]

yeah, makes sense, would probably need to fix the used keyboard/mouse if they're USB devices after using probe-usb...

I think the psuedo-hid keyboard device would need to be closed and reopened. (multi-boot should reinitialise the mouse properly? or maybe it doesn't work properly because the old device entry is still in the tree?)

Did some tests and this seems to work:

probe-usb dev keyboard open multi-boot

Without the last "multi-boot" (for testing keyboards at the OF prompt) both the ADB keyboard and an attached USB keyboard works; and with the last "multi-boot" both the ADB mouse and an attached USB mouse works.

Hmm, this doesn't seem to work correctly on my PowerMac; neither the mouse or keyboard work correctly there in multi-boot. On my Titanium PowerBook the mouse seems to work for a few seconds and then cuts out, which is more than before but not what I'd call usable. It probably depends on the computer/OF version whether this method works and it might have to do with the keyboard and mouse used as well. The ideal solution would be to only probe a single USB port but I haven't figured out a method for that that results in functional USB drives yet (probing a single USB port results in no "open" method on drives)

 

[Rairii]

maybe it is an Open Firmware version thing. "dev usb1 probe" for me works fine.

 

[DistroHopper39B]

maybe it is an Open Firmware version thing. "dev usb1 probe" for me works fine.

That works for me, the USB drive shows up, but if I navigate to it and run `words`, "open" and "close" are missing and I can't actually boot from the device.

 

[DistroHopper39B]

See this image

 

[Rairii]

does the same thing happen when using a USB hub?

 

[mortlocli]

Im using a G4 iBook and using this method I just installed FreeBSD from a usb stick..and Rairii's
'probe-usb multi-boot'
worked surprisingly easy first pop.

Figuring out FreeBSD is the tricky bit ..but T2-sde will be my next OS to try.

(Oh.. including the 'ports' makes a longer install.. for those that wanna try.
Also I used the FreeBSD snapshot.
Current issue is the overheating..which I sorted with an Imac running MXlinux...so will be looking into that with FreeBSD. )

..so big thanks from me to Rairii - given me more adventure games (OS) to try on my iBook.
Seems to have removed that CD/DVD boot up hurdle...but Ive only tried FreeBSD..so far.

oops - I forgot to mention a factor that may have some importance.
As a MXlinux user on my old iMacs, I used the included 'MX Live Usb Maker' to create the FreeBSD stick. Theres two options - one for Antix/MX and I used the other - 'Image mode'.
Using:
FreeBSD-13.3-BETA3-powerpc-disc1.iso

 

[oharag]

I do not know if this is a live [post but here it goes.

I have a 2005 Powerbook G4.

I recently booted it up to see if it would work. It had Tiger 10.4.? on it. I was intrigued to look at other ways to upgrade to a newer version to get access to things missing on Tiger. I came across Sorbet 1.5 which is a version of 10.5 Leopard with some 10.6 items (Snow Leopard). The image that is downloaded is a copy of a HD with full blown MacOSX - so you think it would be easy to boot into this and format the PB HD and install Sorbet - No no it is not.

I tried everything on the nets - and above - I cannot het Tiger 10.4 or Leopard 10.5 or DVDs or USB to boot.

My first question: Does the USB have to be 2.0 or older? I'm using USB 3.1 and I read it gives PPC fits. Though I inserted on my PB (before I fried the OS install) and it mounted on desktop.

Oh I fried my PB Tiger OS install - now I'm desperate to find a bootable solution DVD/USB to format HD and install a new OS - hopefully Sorbet - but at this moment I'll take anything.

I Dled Tiger and Leopard Install DVDs from Mac Garden/Internet Archives - they won't boot - even when I selected startup CD when my OS was working. They won't show up when holding Option Key - and they won't boot using OF commands. I tried installing to USB - I just can't get this to work using all the OF command see or elsewhere. Seems to work flawless for everyone else.

What's weird - Sorbet IS a Hard Drive Image - when I get info on my Mac mini M1 it says -> bootable.

I'm starting to be extremely disappointed in Apple's implementation of booting on my old PPC PB. Using commands when it should just boot if it can't find an OS on HD.

Please help:
- Again does USB have to be 2.0? Is Usb 3.1 my issue here (again it mounted onto desktop before I fried OS).
- I know the USB I insert the USB 3.1 (Sorbet - Tiger Install - Leopard) is USB1 (I can see the light glow when I issue a command). It said Partition 14 on get info on my Mac M1. I type in the commands above - no go.
- I got at least the attempt to boot into USB using command boot ud:,\\:tbxi but it goes into a grey screen and then nothing. Again booting from Sorbet USB that has MacOSX HD image on it - I mean everything System Apps User etc...
- DOES ANYONE have a link to a Apple specific DVD or USB image that can at least boot allow for formatting - and hopefully reinstalling a OS - Tiger/Leopard - I just want to fix this for now.

Please help me. Every DVD iso download is an Install Disk only - it doesn't seem to be bootable. I launched Install Tiger DVD before I fried my Tiger OS - it asked for reboot - and then conveniently went back to HD. Now I can't even boot into anything - if I go to HD (because it is fried) I see a bunch of gibberish.

Shame on Apple for this fiasco.