FAQ
 
 

Frequent asked Questions

 
GENERAL
     
 
Q:
Is MOL really an emulator?
 
A:

No, not really. Very few things are actually emulated. Technically it is a "virtual" machine with custom device drivers.
 

 
Q:
Is MOL the same thing as Wine on x86? What are the differences?
 
A:

No, MOL and Wine are quite different. Wine is an implementation of the Win32 API (that is, you do not need Windows to run Wine). MOL is a "virtual" machine. Theoretically, MOL allows you to boot any (PowerPC) OS within MOL (what is more or less specific to the OS is the boot-loader and a set of custom device drivers interfacing the "virtual" hardware of MOL). At the moment, MOL can run MacOS, MacOS X and Linux.
 

 
Q:
Is MOL similar to VMWare on x86?
 
A:

With the reservation that I have never tested VMWare, yes. MOL does not emulate hardware though (according to the rumors, VMWare does this (?)).
 

 
Q:
Does MOL run on non-Apple hardware?
 
A:

It does. MOL runs for instance on the Pegasos board, the Teron board and on AmigaOne hardware. In short, MOL should run on any PowerPC hardware (with the except of 601-based systems). However, the EULA of MacOS prohibits its usage on non-Apple hardware (it is of course perfectly legal to use MOL to boot a second Linux though).
 

 
Q:
Does it run on i386 hardware?
 
A:

No, MOL can only run on PowerPC hardware since no emulation is performed. However, adding a PowerPC emulator for x86 is under consideration.
 

 
Q:
Why can't I boot with shift down to disable extensions?
 
A:

You can. However, it might be necessary to press shift a couple of times (and then keep it down). Why? The first key press after/during the console switch might go to the X server and not to MOL. For the same reason, modifier keys sometimes get stuck after a console switch (the key up event is sent to the wrong VT). Pressing the key in question shold make it usable again.
 

 
Q:
Why is my Mac drive locked under MOL? /etc/molrc has is set to -rw.
 
A:

You probably have it mounted under Linux. Use the mount command to see if your Mac partition(s) are mounted. Then umount them before starting mol.
 

 
Q:
Why must I press a key to switch virtual console?
 
A:

Old X-servers (Xpmac and possibly others) only checks a for console switch requenst after an event has been received (i.e. ADB mouse movement or keypress). Thus, it might be necessary to press a key to make the switch actually happen.

     
 
OHTER QUESTIONS
     
 
Q:
I have a FAQ... How do I add it to this page?
 
A:
Send it to .