Having recently acquired a PS3, I decided to install Linux on it. If you are only interested in playing games, specifically newer games that require a graphics accelerator, then don’t bother. If you are looking for something that has the potential to be the next XBMC, can run many emulators, and has a ton of built in apps including Thunderbird (e-mail) and Open Office (MS Office equivelant) then this is something you need to do. Unfortunately for us, Sony only allows other operating systems to use a fraction of the processing power the PS3 has to offer. This means that linux can run a tad slow but is still able to run the majority of apps I was interested in.

Linux On Playstation 3   Linux On Playstation 3

Read on for instructions…

Things you will need:

  • PS3 with 1.60 firmware or greater
  • Linux (I used Yellow Dog Linux 5)
  • Bootloader
  • Blank DVD
  • USB Flash Drive
  • USB Mouse
  • USB Keyboard

Instructions:

  1. Download and burn Yellow Dog Linux to the DVD
  2. Create a directory on your flash drive called “/PS3/otheros”
  3. Make sure the bootloader is named “otheros.bld” and put it in the “/PS3/otheros” directory
  4. Insert the flash drive into the PS3
  5. On the PS3, go to Settings > System Settings > Install Other OS
  6. On the PS3, go to Settings > System Settings > Default System and choose Other OS
  7. Remove the flash drive 
  8. Insert the keyboard and mouse into the PS3
  9. Restart the PS3
  10. Follow the instructions. Allow the installer to format the hard drive, this will not affect the Playstation 3 OS.

Linux is now installed.

Note: I own all the games shown running in emulators in Linux