Swap file

[zygo]

Hi all, I want to say first that this site has been very helpfull in getting my ps3 up and running ydl 6.1. And would like to give a big WOOT and thankyou.

O.K. I'm having an issue though. I would like to add a swap file to an external drive; say to a usb thumb drive . But I can not find anywhere on how to do this. I did find a Howto but it was for 5.0. I'm a noob when it comes to terminal commands, so any help would be appreciated.

[ppietro]

Hi all, I want to say first that this site has been very helpfull in getting my ps3 up and running ydl 6.1. And would like to give a big WOOT and thankyou.

O.K. I'm having an issue though. I would like to add a swap file to an external drive; say to a usb thumb drive . But I can not find anywhere on how to do this. I did find a Howto but it was for 5.0. I'm a noob when it comes to terminal commands, so any help would be appreciated.

Since you're using 6.1, I'd use the new ps3vram feature for swap instead of a USB thumb drive. It's much faster - and you can leave your hard disc swap partition active at the same time. The fast ps3vram swap will get used first, since it has a higher priority.

There's good instructions on how to set it up here:

http://us.fixstars.com/support/solution ... swap.shtml

Cheers,
Paul

[icebreakingfool]

I've been trying to enable the ps3vram as swap. As I understand this will utilize the 256mb of ram associated with the graphics card and allow YDL to use it as a very fast swap space, effectively increasing my ram to 512mb. However I run into problems following the instructions on fixstars site. Any help would be appreciated. I'm currently running YDL 6.1.

Code: Select all

[root@localhost ~]# cd /etc/init.d
[root@localhost init.d]# wget http://us.fixstars.com/support/solutions/ydl_6.x/ps3-vram-swap
--16:56:03--  http://us.fixstars.com/support/solutions/ydl_6.x/ps3-vram-swap
Resolving us.fixstars.com... 66.7.161.3
Connecting to us.fixstars.com|66.7.161.3|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 781 [text/plain]
Saving to: `ps3-vram-swap.1'

100%[=======================================>] 781         --.-K/s   in 0s     

16:56:03 (22.6 MB/s) - `ps3-vram-swap.1' saved [781/781]

[root@localhost init.d]# chmod 755 ps3-vram-swap
[root@localhost init.d]# chkconfig --add ps3-vram-swap
[root@localhost init.d]# chkconfig ps3-vram-swap on
[root@localhost init.d]# service ps3-vram-swap start
/dev/mtdblock0: No such file or directory
swapon: cannot stat /dev/mtdblock0: No such file or directory
[root@localhost init.d]# swapon -s
Filename                                Type            Size    Used    Priority
/dev/ps3da3                             partition       522104  163664  -1


whats going on here?

[ppietro]

I've been trying to enable the ps3vram as swap. As I understand this will utilize the 256mb of ram associated with the graphics card and allow YDL to use it as a very fast swap space, effectively increasing my ram to 512mb. However I run into problems following the instructions on fixstars site. Any help would be appreciated. I'm currently running YDL 6.1.

Code: Select all

[root@localhost ~]# cd /etc/init.d
[root@localhost init.d]# wget http://us.fixstars.com/support/solutions/ydl_6.x/ps3-vram-swap
--16:56:03--  http://us.fixstars.com/support/solutions/ydl_6.x/ps3-vram-swap
Resolving us.fixstars.com... 66.7.161.3
Connecting to us.fixstars.com|66.7.161.3|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 781 [text/plain]
Saving to: `ps3-vram-swap.1'

100%[=======================================>] 781         --.-K/s   in 0s     

16:56:03 (22.6 MB/s) - `ps3-vram-swap.1' saved [781/781]

[root@localhost init.d]# chmod 755 ps3-vram-swap
[root@localhost init.d]# chkconfig --add ps3-vram-swap
[root@localhost init.d]# chkconfig ps3-vram-swap on
[root@localhost init.d]# service ps3-vram-swap start
/dev/mtdblock0: No such file or directory
swapon: cannot stat /dev/mtdblock0: No such file or directory
[root@localhost init.d]# swapon -s
Filename                                Type            Size    Used    Priority
/dev/ps3da3                             partition       522104  163664  -1


whats going on here?

Which ISO did you install? If you used yellowdog-6.1-ppc-DVD_20090201_NEW_PS3.iso, ps3vram is unavailable. This ISO was created without ps3vram support for a few PS3 models that wouldn't start if it were enabled.

Cheers,
Paul

[icebreakingfool]

I see...I did install the NEWPS3 version. Is it worth installing the other version for the swap access? Also under gameOS it lists the device name as PS3-553 (I think) is this one of the affected models? Is there a next best option to the vram? I read somewhere that a dedicated flash USB drive is faster than a USB hard drive. Is this correct?

Thanks a bunch. You guys have really helped me get my PS3 up and running, not to mention you've taught me some linux which I've been meaning to learn for awhile now....

[ppietro]

I see...I did install the NEWPS3 version. Is it worth installing the other version for the swap access?

It depends how much you have installed. If this is a fairly fresh install, then - yes - it's worth installing the other version for the swap access.

The note from Fixstars about this is here:
http://us.fixstars.com/support/solution ... rnel.shtml

However - Fixstars uses PS3 shipping box model numbers. According to some of our forum members:
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=4580&p=23788#p23788

This would correspond to CECHL01 for the US.

I discuss the versions a little here:
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=5237&p=29386#p29386

So - if you do have one of these models - the CECHLxx - you would normally have to use the non-ps3vram YDL installation. However - recently - on the Fixstars advisory page - they've edited the advisory to read:

Boot Issue with the 80GB and 160GB PS3 Running YDL 6.1 - ISSUE FIXED

There is some debate as to what this means. It could mean that if you use the non-ps3vram ISO, the issue is fixed. However - they've only added the ISSUE FIXED text recently - after the latest PS3 GameOS firmware updates came out. So - it could also mean that the PS3 Firmware has fixed this issue and you don't need to do this anymore. (i.e. you could use the older ISO with ps3vram support)

Frankly - I'm not sure exactly which is true. If I had one of these affected models, I'd try it to see what happens. Personally, I'm leaning towards the latter - but I can't say for sure.

Cheers,
Paul

[icebreakingfool]

Thanks for the post. Sorry I can't help you out though, I don't have one of the affected models. I think I will go ahead with the reinstallation once I download this bohemoth file again.

[ppietro]

As a follow-up - we did get clarification about the "ISSUE FIXED" message.

What this means is that the issue has been fixed in the next release of YDL. However - for the time being - it's still there. So - if you have one of the affected models, you have to use the ps3vram-disabled "NEW" ISO.

Cheers,
Paul