Install XP on PS3

[Demon Cleaner]

I just came along a tutorial how to install Windows XP on your PS3. Don't know if it works, as I've not testet it myself.

What You Need:

- PS3
- Usb Keyboard
- Usb Mouse
- Ethernet Cable
- A Windows Xp Install CD
- Nlite
- Computer with Internet (semi fast because you need to download a 700mb iso file)
- CD or Dvd Burner
- CD or Dvd
- Patience

Is a different distro already installed? If so then skip step two of preparing your PS3 Part 1.

Prepare your PS3 Part 1:

1. Plug your PS3 into your tv, plug in the power cable, plug in your keyboard, mouse, and plug in your ethernet cable
2. Turn on your PS3 Scroll Left, Go to Settings> System Settings> Format Utility> Format HDD , Read Note on Next Line
(This deletes all savedata on your PS3 backup your data
before hand with the backup utility if you don't want to lose your saves.)
Now select Either Option it doesn't bother I recommend only giving 10gb to Linux and keeping the rest for the PS3's side.

Obtain your Linux Disk:

1. Download your favorite version of Ubuntu I recommend Xubuntu 7.04 Feisty
found here http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/po...owerpc+ps3.iso
2 Burn the iso to a disk either a cd or dvd, using a program such as imgburn,nero, clone cd, etc

Preparing your PS3 Part Two:

1. Put in your Newly burned Linux Cd/ Dvd in the PS3
2. Scroll Left go to Settings> System Settings> Install Other OS, it will search and install otheros.bld off the disk
3. Scroll Left go to Settings> System Settings> Default System, Select Other OS, select otheros, and press x to reboot

Important Note:

Your console now won't boot to that XMB you're aware of, it will load kboot instead, if you want to load the XMB again just hold down the power button when you turn it on and it will change the default system to the xmb.

Installing Xubuntu:

1. Press enter at kboot
2. Wait for it to load the live distribution of Xubuntu (About 5 min)
3. Click the install shortcut on the Desktop
4. Follow all the prompts, when the window exceeds your tv screen, hold alt and left click to slide the window around.
5. Remember your username and password, it's real simple just follow all the prompts, it should take about 30-40 mins

Here’s the install prompts:

1. Select English, Forward
2. Select the city with the time zone you want, forward
3. Select your Language (English), and Keyboard (US English)
4. I recommend to Select Guided Use Entire Disk, forward
5. It’ll complain hit continue (don’t worry it’ll work)
6. Hit forward, you shouldn’t have any accounts to import
7. Enter your Name, Login Name, Password, and what Network Name you want your PS3 to be
DO NOT FORGET YOUR LOGIN OR PASSWORD, or you will have to reinstall Linux, click Forward
8. Click forward to accept all your settings you provided, it will now start self installing
9. Go find something to do for at least 30 min I think mine took 45 min to do this step.
10. When finished it will pop up a window, just click restart now

6. When it reboots take out the cd, press enter at kboot, wait, then login at the login screen with your username and password. (If it didn’t reboot right and it just displays a flashing underscore, just take the cd out, and flip the power switch in the back off then on, and it should load kboot.)

Freeing Up Some Ram:

1. Click Application> System> Services, type your password in
2. Uncheck everything but Cpu Frequency Manager, Graphical Login Manager, Hotkeys Management, and System Communications Bus
3. Consider Installing Fluxbox (Only if you feel ok with the risk of having to reinstall linux.)

Changing Screen Size:

This step is not needed if you have just a regular non HDTV as there won't be other screen options available.

1. Discover what type of TV you have, is it a lcd, a plasma, crt, old tube, and become aware of different screen sizes available.
Mine is a 32" Lcd Flat Screen, supporting at highest 720p
2. Open Terminal (Applications> System> Accessories> Terminal)
3. Type sudo apt-get install ps3pf-utils, this will install the ps3videomode command
4. Now type ps3videomode -v, this will provide all options for the command
5. Now you want to discover which video modes work, just start guessing. Personally I use ps3videomode -v 3, if you try an option and it garbles your text press the up arrow delete the number and type 1 and press enter. This should bring it back to the way it was if not press enter, and type ps3videomode -v 1.
6. Keep trying your options, if an option garbles your text it probably works but you just need to change it in the kboot.conf file before linux boots. If it displays just a black screen it's probably a bad mode, try another.
7. Now to assign our video mode at startup do the following.
8. type sudo su, you should now be root be careful in this mode as you can screw some stuff up and have to reinstall
9. type nano /etc/kboot.conf, This opens the kboot in a text editor. Add ps3fb:modex at the end of each quote, it should look like the following. Remember to change the xx to whatever video mode you decided upon.

Linux=’/boot/vmlinux blah blah blah quiet splash video=ps3fb:modex’
Old=’/boot/vmlinux blah blah blah quiet splash video=ps3fb:modex’

10. Now Press Control-X, y, save as kboot.conf by pressing enter
11. Now type sudo reboot

Installing Qemu:

1. Open Terminal (System> Accessories)
2. type sudo apt-get install qemu, press y

Installing Windows XP:

1. Create a folder on your desktop labeled Windows or whatever
2. Open the folder, right click in the blank space, and click open terminal here

Create HDD Image for Qemu:

1. In terminal type qemu-img create xp.img 2G, this creates a 2gb hdd for use in qemu

Create Windows Xp Install Disk with Nlite:

1. Google around for a good guide for making a decent Nlite iso with minimal system requirements. My disk is down to about 95 mb in size, but it can go much further lower in size, this is just with some of the minor crap removed.

Moving your finished Nlite iso to your PS3:

1. When finished copy the ISO to your PS3 either by usbstick ipod, burning the iso file to a disk (not the iso), or whatever means you got.
2. When done put it in the Windows folder you made on the desktop, this should be the same folder as xp.img
3. rename it to something simple such as xpinstallcd.iso

Running Qemu:

1. Open the Windows Folder, right click, click open terminal here
2. type qemu -cdrom xpinstallcd.iso -hda xp.img -m 64M -boot d , Note the 64 is the amount of ram you would like to reserve for Qemu, remember you’re running Linux already and more isn't always better
3. A new window should open running a virtual machine (emulation) of a X86 Processor which can Run XP
4. After XP is installed all you need to do to run XP is to type qemu -hda xp.img -m 64M

Transfering Files to XP:

1. Make a iso of the files with a tool such as poweriso, magiciso, etc
2. Copy the file to your ps3 put it in your Windows folder on your desktop, and mount it as a cdrom. Here's what the command may look like: qemu -cdrom files.iso -hda xp.img -m 64M
3. Copy the files off your CD drive in XP

[Harrison]

Not the clearest tutorial in the world but very interesting all the same. So basically you are not really installing XP onto the PS3 as such, but instead installing Linux and then running XP via emulation in Linux. So it is going to be quite slow.

[Buleste]

The real question is......WHY??????

[Harrison]

Why not?

Like everything else, it is there so why not try it.

[Buleste]

Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. Ask Richard Gere's Gerbil.
In fact visit The Dawin Awards page.

[Harrison]

But that site just proves you wrong. People do anything and everything possible because they can. It's human nature. How would we otherwise know that something can kill us unless someone has already been unfortunate enough to die trying?

[J T]

But that site just proves you wrong. People do anything and everything possible because they can. It's human nature. How would we otherwise know that something can kill us unless someone has already been unfortunate enough to die trying?

I think I might die of boredom. I can see the appeal, but it's not for me. I'd prefer to be playing games on my games console (if there were any decent ones for PS3 LOL ZOMG ROFL *JOKE*)

Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. Ask Richard Gere's Gerbil.
In fact visit The Dawin Awards page.

Bwahahaha. Gotta love gratuitous references to that sort of thing.

[Tiago]

Can we just grab the HD from someone that allready have XP in PS3 and copy the full HD? The hardware is the same (ps3) so it should work.... or not?

The problem is to find that HD...

[Harrison]

I would suspect each PS3 formats the HD so it will only work with that PS3. Is that right?

[Tiago]

Does the MBoard/CPU knows if the HD was previously formated? I guess is like a PC, it doens't know.

So if you change the HD, just like a PC, it should work with the new SO, or whatever is inside the HD. You only need (?) to setup the HD, like in PC BIOS. ??

In PC if you replace the HD with other SO prepared for a different hardware, the SO will work anyway, it could have some problems/conpatibilities with the new hardware, but it will work...
In PS3 the hardware is allways the same ... only the size of HD is different... so it should work... (?)