Debian Newby Help

[louigi600]

I've tryed quite a few roms on my Z's starting fron sharp original, Cacko, OE and pdaXrom.

Although pdaXrom is the on that so far I've used most happly I find it on the whole far from satisfactory.

I've spoken to a few happy Z debian users and adding it to my limited x86 debian experience (but very simple with apt) I've decided to give it a try.
I'd like to try it on my C1000.

I found this debian Z rootfs : http://matrixmen.free.fr/zaurus/debian/zau..._071201.tar.bz2
would this be a good starting point ?

Does that rootfs also contain the kernel to be used ? ... if not where do I get a stable and uptodate kernel ?

Without making drastic changes to the current installation on my C1000 can I use u-boot to boot whatever kernel must be used without having to recompile it ? ... or is it necessary to use the original sharp boot loader ?

My idea would be to put the rootfs on SD and use  u-boot to load kernel from flash and mount root from SD.

If u-boot is a no go without recompiling kernel where can I get a good kexec working alternative ?

[canguy247]

Hey louigi,

Have a look at this post: zdevil's debian install

It sounds like what you want is to boot using a kernel compiled for the orig. sharp boot loader.  You then just need the kernel that boots from the correct sd card partition.

Also, the newest kernel is 2.6.24.4-yonggun.  There is a pinned topic in this forum pointing to it.

Good luck,

Canguy

[louigi600]

Not really ... I've pdaxrom r198 currently on my C1k and that's not using the original sharp kernel or boot loader ither.

I'll have a look at zdevils post anyway ... I might give him a buzz on skype too.
But I think zdevil was an ex  pdaxii user (and hence sharp boot loader and kernel 2.4 user) so his tutorial might not be applicable for u-boot and 2.6 kernel users.  .... But having a quick look at it I find reference to direct use with u-boot (good) ... well done zdevil.

I know I'm presenting myself here as a debian newby ... but please read carefully what I wrote because I do have some experience with the other distros.

[canguy247]

Not really ... I've pdaxrom r198 currently on my C1k and that's not using the original sharp kernel or boot loader ither.

I'll have a look at zdevils post anyway ... I might give him a buzz on skype too.
But I think zdevil was an ex  pdaxii user (and hence sharp boot loader and kernel 2.4 user) so his tutorial might not be applicable for u-boot and 2.6 kernel users.  .... But having a quick look at it I find reference to direct use with u-boot (good) ... well done zdevil.

I know I'm presenting myself here as a debian newby ... but please read carefully what I wrote because I do have some experience with the other distros.

Well have a read then...yonggun is not supplying uboot kernels anymore.  I also have to switch if I want the newest kernel.  Uboot was just too difficult for pure noobs.

Canguy

[2or0]

Not really ... I've pdaxrom r198 currently on my C1k and that's not using the original sharp kernel or boot loader ither.

I'll have a look at zdevils post anyway ... I might give him a buzz on skype too.
But I think zdevil was an ex  pdaxii user (and hence sharp boot loader and kernel 2.4 user) so his tutorial might not be applicable for u-boot and 2.6 kernel users.  .... But having a quick look at it I find reference to direct use with u-boot (good) ... well done zdevil.

I know I'm presenting myself here as a debian newby ... but please read carefully what I wrote because I do have some experience with the other distros.

I am not building the kernel for uboot because many newbies have the trouble with it. If you want, you can use kernel 2.6.24 which was built for uboot as well as sharp boot loader. Take a look: http://yonggun.tistory.com/66

[louigi600]

Time goes by but the issues are still the same as far as I can see ... the one I keep on striking is:
Z really needs a POSIX compliant boot loader ... I mean we do not have anything worth while calling a boot loader.

U-boot is the closest to being worth while ... but for Z only a fraction of it's functionality is actually working.
I've tryed fixing u-boot in a better way for Z ... but I'm just a too crappy programmer to do it on my own.

OK .... I'm left over with kexec ... anyone have a good guide on how to boot up debian with kexec ?

[louigi600]

I am not building the kernel for uboot because many newbies have the trouble with it. If you want, you can use kernel 2.6.24 which was built for uboot as well as sharp boot loader. Take a look: http://yonggun.tistory.com/66

Well at least there is some old kernel .... thanks for the hint 2or0
Just another thing if u-boot is able of passing boot device to kernel why is there 3 different kernels for 3 different boot devices ?


Supposing I want to compile an uptodate kernel without going into all the bitbake OE or whatever other build tool I should be using.
Where do I get the patches necessary to build a kernel suitable for debian starting from a vanilla one ?

Yea using the build tool would make my life easier ... but :
you loose the feel of what you're doing,
debugging build problems becomes more complicated,
customizing becomes more complicated ....

So can someone put me on the right road to build my own kernel ?
Currently what's the newest stable kernel for debian on Z ? (stable vanilla is @ 2.6.25 and I have it on my laptop .... for debian on Z i found sharp bootpoader images for 2.6.24.4)

BTW: I tryet booting the rootfsimage with the u-boot kernel 2.6.24 bothe on SD and mmc but I get kernel panic (even with the correct fstab) and actually I can boot with the pdaxrom kernel .... so I guess there is something wrong with 2.6.24 u-boot image.
Well not a full boot but no kernel panic for not mounting root .... but then it jams.

[louigi600]

I made the newer kernels (2.6.24.4) into ppc boot images for u-boot but still unable to boot from sd/mmc.

I then put the debian root on CF and I was able to boot.

I still haveto press "2" while powering up  to have u-boot pass the correct boot device to kernel (which still defaults to mtdblock2).
Zdevil might like to make some adjustments to his quickstart guide which on the whole is quite good.