Installing Debian on Efika PPC

Complete installation guide for Debian PowerPC on Efika hardware. This guide preserves installation knowledge as Efika documentation becomes increasingly scarce online.

Prerequisites

Efika PPC hardware
USB keyboard and monitor
Network connection via Ethernet
Debian PowerPC netinstall ISO

Installation Steps

1. Prepare Installation Media

Download the Debian PowerPC netinstall image:

wget https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current/powerpc/iso-cd/debian-12.0.0-powerpc-netinst.iso

2. Boot from Installation Media

[Detailed steps would go here]

3. Partition Configuration

Recommended layout for 2.5" HDD:

/ (root)  - 10GB ext4
/home     - remaining space
swap      - 256MB

4. Network Configuration

The Efika’s onboard 100Mbps Ethernet should be detected automatically as eth0.

5. Package Selection

For a minimal build host:

Standard system utilities
SSH server
Build essential packages

6. Post-Installation

Update and install build dependencies:

apt update
apt install build-essential git

Verification

Confirm PowerPC architecture:

uname -m
# Should output: ppc

Troubleshooting

Issue: Network not detected

The MPC5200B’s FEC Ethernet controller requires the fec_mpc52xx kernel module.

Issue: Slow boot times

This is normal for the 400MHz processor. Expect 2-3 minute boot times.