Basilisk II for Linux - Getting it Going From Start to Finish

Tutorial by Marc Hoffman

Introduction...
When I set out to find out how to get Basilisk II running on Linux, I was like a fish out of water. I asked around for advice on how to do this, and even asked for a tutorial on how to get Basilisk II running on Linux, from start to finish. I didn't find any takers. So, I set out to create one myself. I've been learning Linux for the past few weeks, and now I wish to share the fruits of this study. Following is a step by step tutorial on how to get Basilisk II/Linux up and running, from compiling the source code to installing Mac OS 7.5.3. This tutorial covers installation on Red Hat Linux 6.1, but should be adaptable on other flavors of Linux. Because there is really no clear-cut standard for a graphical user interface on Linux, I will stick to the command line wherever possible.

Before getting started, here's a list of some utilities that you'll need.

- Basilisk II, a free 68k Macintosh emulator
  - Download the "Source Distribution in .tar.gz" format (note: this is the source code, and not the completed, ready-to-run program; this tutorial will explain how to compile and install Basilisk II/Linux from this source code). The reason that I chose to compile the source code instead of downloading the pre-formatted installer was that I ran into difficulties with the Basilisk II mouse later on down the road; after freshly compiling the source code, however, the mouse problems went away.
- A valid Macintosh ROM image. You need to own your own Macintosh in order to legally use a ROM image with Basilisk II. Please don't ask me to send these images out; all requests will be ignored. To find out how to obtain a Macintosh ROM image, please check out my online tutorial here.
- Mac OS 7.5.3, a version of the Mac OS that is freely downloadable. This archive is made up of 19 separate downloadable parts, the average size of each being about 1.5mb. Once transferred onto Basilisk II, these parts will assemble into one. Make sure that you download the *.hqx (or Binhex) versions of the software, which are in the files in the right-most column. Make sure that your web browser only downloads the files. Don't decompress them in any way.
- A startup disk that is able to boot Basilisk II. I have just such a disk image HERE, which contains Mac OS 7.0.1 and a copy of Stuffit Expander that will aid in the installation of Mac OS 7.5.3.
- X Window System (also known as "X" or "X11" for all the Unix-Purists out there). This adds a graphical interface to Linux, giving it the point-and-click ease of the Mac OS (well, that's the theory anyway...but that's another story :-). Red Hat Linux 6.1 ships with X-Windows.

Getting Started...
First of all, we need to boot Linux into the proper mode. Keep in mind that most of the following steps can be accomplished in non-root mode, but in order to install Basilisk II, you need to be in either root mode or SuperUser mode. I recommend doing the latter, as it saves time in not having to log off and log back in under root. If your Linux system doesn't automatically boot into X-Windows, type startx at the command prompt to launch X-Windows.

1. Go to a command prompt. You should see something similar to this:

`[username@localhost username]#`

Since my login name is "marcrh", my command line appears as "marcrh@localhost marcrh". What we need to do next is create the directories is which Basilisk II will be installed, and where the ROM files and disk images will be placed.

2. Type the following at the command prompt, and hit the Enter key:

`mkdir b2`

This will create a directory called "b2" in your home directory on your Linux hard drive.

3. Type the following two lines, again hitting the Enter key after each line:

`cd b2`
`mkdir segments`

What this does is to create a directory called "segments" inside of the "b2" directory. For future reference, the "segments" directory is going to house the Mac OS 7.5.3 install segments.

4. Now, copy the Macintosh ROM image to the "b2" directory. The complete path to where this ROM file will be located is:

`/home/your_username_here/b2`

Again, on my system, the path looks like this:

`/home/marcrh/b2`

5. Download the Basilisk II source code from the Basilisk II homepage. Again, make sure that you download the Source Distribution (.tar.gz) format. Download it to the "b2" directory.

6. Download the Mac OS 7.5.3 file segments to the /home/ your_username_here/b2/segments directory. Remember to download the "BinHex" versions, and not the "MacBinary" files.

7. Download the special startup disk that I have composed here. Save this to the "b2" directory.

Compiling the Source Code...
Now that we have all the files in the right places, it's time to start the process of creating the Basilisk II program that will eventually turn into our magical Macintosh emulator! The source code can be considered the "building blocks" of the main Basilisk II program. We simply have to put these blocks together to form the main program.

1. We need to navigate to the directory where the Basilisk II source code is kept. At the command prompt, type the following and hit Enter; again, substitute your login name for "your username here":

`cd /home/your_username_here/b2`
`ls`

This will take you to the "b2" directory that we created earlier, and will also display its contents. You should see a file in this directory named something similar to "BasiliskII_src_30012000.tar.gz". As Basilisk II is an on-going venture, the name may vary slightly from the name above.

2. We now need to decompress this archive, as it is compacted in order to save space. Type the following making sure to note upper case and lower case (Linux is case sensitive, so it has to be just right), hitting Enter afterward:

`tar xvzf BasiliskII_src_30012000.tar.gz`

Remember that the name of the archive will be different as Christian Bauer updates the program and releases new versions. Make sure that the name typed above matches whatever name you see when you performed the "ls" command. You will see some files scroll up the screen.

3. Now type ls, and you should see the contents of the directory. The one directory you are looking for is the Basilisk II directory. As of this writing, the directory is named "BasiliskII-0.8". Again, as Mr. Bauer updates Basilisk II, this name may change.

4. Type the following, again making note of case:

`cd BasiliskII-0.8/src/Unix`

This will move you to the directory that contains the source code for the Linux version of Basilisk II.

5. Now type the following in the terminal window:

`./configure`

You will begin to see text scroll up the screen. This is normal. When the process is complete, you will be returned to the command prompt.

6. Now type:

`make`

and hit Enter. More text will start to scroll. Both the "make" and "configure" processes may take some time to complete, depending on the speed of your computer. Again, when the process is complete, you will be returned to the command prompt.

7. Now, in order to install the software in the right directories, we will need to go into "SuperUser" mode, which is similar to "Administrator" mode in Windows NT. Type the following and hit enter:

`su`

You will now be asked for a password. This is the root password of the Linux system. Enter it, and hit enter.

8. Now type:

`make install`

This will complete the process of making the installer. You're ready to go!

9. Close up the command line window.

Create the Macintosh Hard Disk...
In order for us to install Mac OS 7.5.3 onto Basilisk II, we need make a Macintosh hard drive to install the OS onto. This is where those 19 files that you downloaded earlier come into play. They are all segments of one large "disk", and when they are assembled, they will form the installer for Mac OS 7.5.3.

1. If you haven't already done so, open up a command prompt and type:

`BasiliskII`

This will launch Basilisk II.

2. If all goes well, you should see a copyright notice stating "Christian Bauer, et al". Soon afterwards, you should see the main Basilisk GUI configuration screen. Click on the "Volumes" tab across the top of the screen.

3. Now, click the "Add" button and you should see something similar to the requester below in Figure 1. Make sure that you are in the /home/your_username_here/b2 directory. The requester may put you in the /home/your_username_here/b2/bin directory, in which you will have to back navigate up one level.

4. Type in the size (in megabytes) of the Macintosh hard disk that you would like to create. I suggest at least 150mb for this tutorial, but you can always go larger. This step is circled in red in Figure 1.

5. Type the title that you would like to call this new disk. For this example, I typed in "MacOS_7.5.3.dsk". Again, this step is shown in Figure 1. Click "OK" once you are finished with this step. The hard disk will be created.

6. Now that we have created this new hard disk, we need to tell Basilisk II where to find it. Click on the "Add" button and navigate to the /home/your username here/b2 directory and choose the new disk that we just created, the one named "MacOS_7.5.3.dsk" and click "OK".

7. Click on "Add" once more, and choose the "basilisk_linux_disk.dsk". These two steps will add both disks to the emulated Mac's startup. When you're finished, your screen should look similar to Figure 2 below.

Figure 1: Creating the Macintosh Hard Drive Image

Figure 2:

8. Click on the "Memory/Misc" tab across the top of the screen. This is shown in Figure 3 below. This screen allows you to set how much memory the emulated Macintosh will use. Using 16mb to 32mb should be just fine, depending on how much memory your Linux system has.

9. Set the "Mac Model ID" to "Mac IIci (MacOS 7.x)". This will ensure compatibility with Mac OS 7.5.3, and the Mac OS 7.0.1 bootup disk. This step is circled in red in Figure 3.

10. Set the "ROM File" path to your "b2" directory that we created earlier. This should be in the "/home/your_username_here/b2" directory. Since I named my rom file "ROM", my directory appears as:

`/home/marcrh/b2/ROM`

This step is also circled in red in Figure 3. Have courage...we're almost to the finish line :-).

Figure 3: Set the memory, CPU, ROM file location and Macintosh Type

Booting into Basilisk II and Copying the Segments...
You are now ready to boot Basilisk II on your Linux machine. The next part of this tutorial will outline the steps to transfer the files from the "segments" folder on your Linux hard disk to the Mac's hard disk, and then show how to install these files onto the 150mb (or greater) Macintosh hard disk that we created earlier. So, let's get started!

1. If you haven't already, hit the "Start" button in the bottom left corner of the Basilisk II setup screen (shown above in figure 3). This will launch Basilisk II, which should now boot right off the System 7.0.1 disk that you downloaded from the OS Emulation HomePage.

2. You will see several warnings. The first will tell you that the Mac can't find an appropriate driver for AppleTalk, and will instead use the built-in LocalTalk driver. This is fine, and you should click "OK".

3. The next warning will tell you that your disk is "Unreadable on this Macintosh", and it will ask you if you would like to initialize it. Type a name for the disk. For this tutorial, the disk is named "Mac OS 7.5.3". Click "Initialize", and then click "Continue". The emulated Macintosh will now format the hard disk for use within Basilisk II.

Once the Macintosh is finished booting, you should see four icons on the Mac's desktop: "Linux_Basilisk_Disk", "Unix", "Mac OS 7.5.3", "Stuffit Expander Alias", and "Trash". The Linux_Basilisk_Disk is the disk that the Mac just booted off. The Mac OS 7.5.3 disk is the disk that we will be installing the Mac OS onto. The Stuffit Expander Alias is the program that will be used to decode and decompress the 19 files segments so that we can install them onto Basilisk II. And finally, the Unix disk is Basilisk II's doorway back to the Linux file system. We shall use this, in concert with Stuffit Expander, to copy the segment files from the /home/your username here/b2/segments directory to the Mac OS 7.5.3 disk.

4. Double-click on the "Stuffit Expander Alias" icon. This will launch Stuffit Expander (you will know that Stuffit Expander is loaded up and running when you see the little "grinder" icon in the upper right corner of the Mac's screen [].

5. Go to the "File" menu, and choose "Preferences". A new window should appear on the Mac's screen containing various icons along its left hand side. Click once on the "Destination" icon. This is circled in red in Figure 4 below.

6. Now on the right side of the screen, click the "Use" bullet option. This will bring up a file requester. Click the "Desktop" button. This will display a listing of drives available on the Macintosh. Click ONCE on the "Mac OS 7.5.3" drive, and then click "Select Mac OS 7.5.3" at the bottom of the requester. This will select our blank Macintosh hard disk as the destination for the 19 file segments to be decompressed and copied to. Once this step is completed, your screen should look something similar to Figure 4 below. Note that the destination is circled in red.

7. Click "OK". Click on the "File" menu and choose "Quit".

Figure 4: Set the Stuffit Default Folder

8. Double click on the "Unix" disk icon on the Mac's Desktop. This will open up the a window that shows the Mac's view into your Linux file system. To make things a bit more readable, click on the "View" menu at the top of the screen, and then choose "By Name". This will organize the files and folders into a format similar to that shown in Figure 5 below.

9. Click ONCE on the triangle next to "home". This will expand the contents of the home directory on your Linux system.

10. Again, clicking only once, click the triangle next to the folder with your username. On mine, the folder is called "marcrh". This will again expand to more options.

11. Find the "b2" folder, and click the triangle next to it. Things should start to look very familiar now, as this is our directory that we created that houses all the Basilisk II files.

12. Find the "segments" folder, and click the triangle next to it. Now, we have our Mac OS 7.5.3 file segments visible. Steps 9 through 12 are shown in Figure 5 below.

13. Select all 19 segments inside the "Segments" folder (you may need to scroll in order to do this). You can either click and drag a box around all the segments, or you can shift-click and select them that way. Once they are all selected, drag them over to the "Stuffit Expander Alias" icon, and wait until it turns dark. Let up on the mouse button.

14. You may see a message telling you that the files you are about to unstuff are read-only, and that you will not be able to modify them. This is fine. Click "Yes" or "OK". Stuffit Expander will now proceed to decode and decompress the files to the Mac OS 7.5.3 hard disk. Depending on the speed of your computer, this may take some time. Feel free to go get some coffee....

Once this process is complete, close up all windows on the Mac's desktop and proceed to the next section.

Figure 5: Decompress the Files.

Installing Mac OS 7.5.3
Yes, we're actually ready to start the Mac OS 7.5.3 installation process! The next few steps will outline this process, which is fairly easy from here on out.

1. Double click the disk on the Macintosh's desktop labeled "Mac OS 7.5.3".
2. A window should appear with all the file segments that we just copied over from the Linux hard disk. Find the first segment labeled "System 7.5.3 01of19.smi", and double click it. This icon should be fairly easy to spot as it is the only one colored blue. It is also circled in red in Figure 6.
3. A license agreement will come up. Press "Agree".
4. The 19 installer segments will assemble into one disk that will be mounted on the Macintosh Desktop, called "Sys7.5 V7.5.3 CD Inst". Double click this disk.
5. You should see an icon called "Installer". Double click it.
6. A welcome screen will pop up. Press "Continue".
7. The next screen that pops up will have a box in the upper left that should have the words "Easy Install". Click on this box, and make sure that "Custom Install" is highlighted. This is shown in Figure 7 below, circled in red.
8. The options will change on the window to show several options marked by "x" boxes. On the very first option, "System Software", click the triangle to the left of the "x" box to expand the list of options.
9. In the options that are shown, click in the box next to "Universal System for any Macintosh". This is circled in red in Figure 7 below.
10. Make sure that the "Destination Disk" option at the bottom of the requester reads "Mac OS 7.5.3". If it doesn't, then use the "Switch Disk" button to change it.
11. Click "Install". The rest is automatic, as the installation will take place without your having to attend to the computer.
12. When the installation completes, click "Quit", and then go to the "Special" menu and choose "Shut Down". This will cause Basilisk II to exit.

Figure 6
The First .smi File

Figure 7
Universal Install

Booting from Mac OS 7.5.3...
The last steps to take involve some cleaning up, and then booting 7.5.3 under Basilisk II.

1. Launch Basilisk II again.
2. Click on the "Volumes" tab.
3. Click on the "Basilisk_Linux_disk.dsk", and then click "Remove". This will remove the the 7.0.1 disk from Basilisk II's start up.
4. Click "Start" in the bottom left corner.
5. Presto! You're now booting Mac OS 7.5.3 under Basilisk II.

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