Easy Wii Linux: Instant PC

Hello, everyone! I have enjoyed very much Easy Wii Linux, and (speaking to linus) was wondering what kernel configuration options you used. i would love to know how you built it so that i can learn from it and maybe even build my own version from scratch ( not a competitor, just my own, personal version, unless you want it released) using a different distro as a base, such as gentoo.

well, just a huge thanks, you have brought a whole new world of personal computing to my wii, and i think you very much for that!

@theamazingplant2

Start with a snapshot of kernel 2.6.32 apply mikep5 and farter patches. Then build following the ramdisk kernel directions on gc-linux. If you want to explore or copy the EWL initrd(initial ramdisk), just comment out the umount lines in /etc/rc.local. The key file of initrd is /sbin/init. This is the file that mounts the linux disk image and switches root to it. Finally the default .config from the mikep5 patch will work fine. But it does spit two errors that are easy to follow back and change. If you are so inclined.

ok. thanks a whole lot linus!

So I've been reading through this. I tried editing the file like flits said. But no matter what I do, I cannot figure out how to get the WiFi to work. I got everything loaded, but the WiFi just won't work.

When I type in my SSID and password, it says it's setup, and then when I click "yes," it shows a progress bar and takes away checking the connection, but then it finally says the same thing it did before. "you have completed the configuration, but it doesn't appear to completely work"

Can anyone help me any further than flits already has? I've been trying to get a Linux distro to work, and I finally got one to work, and now I can't figure out how to setup the WiFi.

Any help?

Opera 9.64 can be used with easy wii linux

[arc.opera.com]

however some of the configuration is hard to set because you cant see all the
configuration panel since the screen is so small, but it should be possibly to set
the virtual viewport to a larger size and scroll around the screen, at least while
configuring opera. when i find the config file to edit to do this i will post back,
unless someone knows and posts, in which case i will thank you in advance.

iceweasel if painfully slow. but opera is acceptable, better with the swap on.
much better once the UI is configured cleaner, its very configurable.

just tar -xzf the .gz file from above , change to the directory and ./opera
might want to rename the directory first , its a long filename.

there does not seem to by any easy way to specify a virtual screen, but i found you can just right click and drag the window in the desktop selection buttons of JWM.

Additionally i recomend the bash completion be turned off, as it seems to put about 150K of script code in the environment varibles, which gives it a pause. You can just chsh to /bin/sh , which kinda sucks buts fast, or rename the bash completion file/folders in /etc.

Im typing this right now from opera on the wii , without the swapon.

also apt-get install rdesktop works great , try using the -f option and you have a tiny little windows on your tv.

also i prefer the apt-get install links browser over w3m , but the links2 browser in graphics mode on the console framebuffer has made the display corrupted.

free says i have 2.8M free and 28.9M cached with swapoff right now.

I also managed to pick up some HD wii cables (480p) and the screen is much more readable. I replaced one of the bootmii binaries with the kernel image on my SD card and now when i select boot mii from hombrew channel easy wii linux starts up, no need to press button on wii or use GC controller.

Why isn't this distro more popular and referenced in the Wii Linux FAQs?

Quote
robocyclon
but the links2 browser in graphics mode on the console framebuffer has made the display corrupted

Have you tried it in both rxvt and xterm?

Hey I tried you distro, works really great. But I'm interested in how did you configure your xserver, because I didn't see any xorg.conf or files from the cube driver. And in your distro, screen and colours works really great.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2012 10:23PM by Strece.

Is it possible to save files to the FAT partition that the linux image is on?

My friend is using his Wii as his only computer, so it'd be great if he could download things for use with homebrew applications onto the memory card.

If it is not possible, is it possible to run Easy Wii Linux from a separate partition?

@Strece EWL uses Farter's Frame Buffer Drivers so it doesn't need an xorg.conf

@q885 You cant install EWL to a partition because of how the kerenl is built, but you can access the FAT partition by taking the umounts out of /etc/rc.local.

Thanks! Will try,

Is there a way to boot EWL from the system menu or via the Hoembrew Channel without manually interacting with with BootMii? I hate getting up :)

Booting from the Homebrew Channel

Step 1:
If you rename EasyWiiLinux.elf to ppcboot.elf and place it in the bootmii folder. When you start the Wii with a SD card is in EWL will boot. No system menu unless you get off the couch and eject the card.

Step 2:
BootMii Configuration Editor available from the Homebrew Browser. Switching the "BootMii Active" setting from enabled to disabled renames the bootmii directory to ~bootmii. Now if you have it disabled when you replace ppcboot.elf, and you start your Wii with the SD card in. It will boot to the system menu. From here you can start the Homebrew Channel, enable bootmii using configuration editor then Launch BootMii from the HBC menu and it will run EWL. This works but only the first time. After that you need to eject the card to get to the system menu.

Step 3:
nano /etc/rc.local. You need to rename the bootmii directory to ~bootmii just like the configuration editor does. Add the line "mv initrd/mnt/bootmii/ initrd/mnt/~bootmii/" right before "umount -l /initrd/mnt". Shutdown and restart EWL and it will rename the directory, and from then on every time it loads and it finds the bootmii directory it will be renamed.

Hi, Linus. I was able to successfully install and boot your EWL distro, and I registered here because I have a few questions about it to ask you.

1. I might be getting an old apple bluetooth keyboard as a hand-me-down from my father, and I was wondering if the bluetooth drivers present in EWL would be compatible enough for me to use it with the wii. It's actually ironic that I have 3 spare keyboards and NONE of them are usb, they're all p/s 2 (or however you write it).

2. I was able to run apt-get to install chromium, but I've no idea how to actually launch it. Obviously, I'm an absolute newb at linux and have mostly NO idea what I'm doing, beyond what explanations that have been in this thread.

3. As suggested earlier in the thread, I've been using Putty to SSH into EWL, so that I can use my computer's keyboard to do terminal stuff. However, the connection keeps closing, saying that the software aborted the connection. What gives?

Everytime i load dillo,there always a dns error.How do i fix it?

Everytime i load dillo,there always a dns error.How do i fix it?

How do i make wifi to work.

How do i fix Dillo DNS Error?

And how do i make Wifi to work?

Everytime i load dillo,there always a dns error.How do i fix it?

@JoelGP1 & Mc123
Important Connectivity Information:
If you are actively using a wiimote as an input device. It may take a few moments for WiFi to connect after wiimote first syncs.

"wminput" the daemon that enables the wiimote to be used as a mouse, has a bug. If it is running and you don't have a wiimote synced WiFi may not work. If you are using a USB mouse; you can either connect a wiimote and let it sit eating batteries, or select "Kill Daemon" from "Wiimote" in the "System" menu.

@JoelGP1
All bluetooth devices that are supported by linux kernel version 2.6.32 should work fine, and Chromium is too resource intensive.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2012 08:35PM by linus.