Debian On C3xxx (merged Topics)

[TheWalt]

*takes sl-c3100 out of drawer*

Glad I never got around to putting this up on Ebay.

*clicks next to start Titchy install*

[Chero]

OK, impressions. I get the impression that this is not normal:

-My SD card won't appear in /dev
-udev isn't installed

Can't do much else at this point. If somebody could post their install steps, it'd be appreciated. This looks really neat, but it is horribly broken for me

I did a reinstall and had the same problem. (tried 3 times, don't know what went right during the first install and can't be repeated )
BTW : I used dhcp during the installation.  
Adding some drivers to /etc/modules solves most problems (SD, wifi, keymap, lan, bluetooth-usb, mouse).
Still figuring out what else I'm missing.
Could somebody post his /etc/modules and the output of "lsmod" over here ?

Chero.

[Chero]

OK, impressions. I get the impression that this is not normal:

-My SD card won't appear in /dev
-udev isn't installed

Can't do much else at this point. If somebody could post their install steps, it'd be appreciated. This looks really neat, but it is horribly broken for me

I did a reinstall and had the same problem. (tried 3 times, don't know what went right during the first install and can't be repeated )
BTW : I used dhcp during the installation.  
Adding some drivers to /etc/modules solves most problems (SD, wifi, keymap, lan, bluetooth-usb, mouse).
Still figuring out what else I'm missing.
Could somebody post his /etc/modules and the output of "lsmod" over here ?

Chero.

Well, those suffering from this problem :

- change /etc/modules to load the following :
loop
zaurus

- install udev :
apt-get install udev

reboot.

All solved.

[maximusz]

Hello,
I tried Debian but could not get to full install with my SL-C3100- I only spent an hour or so playing around.
Is it possible to get someone to copy their hard drive and install it on my 3100 if the partitions are the same? I know the file might be large, but I would be willing to host it for other newbie members to download.
If not, any ideas on how much work it would take to get the install as seamless as the full PDAxii13?

.....oh yeah.... I would be willing to pay for a hard drive copy with instructions on how to install and/or to help make Titchy an easier install.

[ZDevil]

Actually installing Debian can be as easy as installing Cacko, pdaXrom (non-uboot versions) and Angstrom.

There is an alternative way to install the base system without using network connection  (up to step 5).  

*** The "10-step-self-help guide to enjoying a popular penguin" ***
[Please let me know if any of the step is not described accurately]
[Don't give up if things fail; you can always use the original method described in the Titchy Linux wiki http://wiki.neilandtheresa.co.uk/Titchy_Linux/Installing, although it requires network connection all the way through]

Just start from here: http://www.bigbridgezau.sakura.ne.jp/dev/debian/

#1 Preparation work:
A. Prepare the installer:
Download 4 things and copy them to the root of SD:
updater.sh
gnu-tar
zImage-2.6.17-cpufreq-fastfpe.bin  OR  zImage-2.6.20-cpufreq.bin  (This is the kernel; rename it to zImange.bin)
hddrootfs.tar.gz  (This is the base system and Etch; rename it to hdimage1.tgz)

B. Prepare the disk:
(This is not absolutely necessary, do it at your discretion)
To ensure a good clean install, you may want to reformat the whole disk into one big root partition first
Enter the [D]+ emergency mode (i.e. remove power sources, press [D] and , put back AC and battery, power on);
Reformat your microdrive/internal CF by fdisk /dev/hda;
Delete all partitions (d);
Add primary partition 1 (n);
Change the type of the partition (t): partition 1 is 83 (Linux);
Write to the partition table and sync the disk (w);
Now format the partition into Ext3 format: mke2fs -j /dev/hda1
Ready to proceed to #2

#2 Reboot the Z while pressing [OK] to enter the flash menu

#3 Just flash as usual by choosing "4" and then "SD" and then "Y"

#4 If things go well (they should), then kernel will flash and the big tarball will decompress to /dev/hda1.  This may take an hour.

#5 Installation will complete itself and reboot the machine. Debian is ready to go! (default root login: root; root password: kuroadmin)

(From now on you will need network connection to update and upgrade the system)
#6 Set up your network profile in /etc/network/interfaces and /etc/resolv.conf, blacklist hostap if you are using Ambicom WL1100C (for details see this post: https://www.oesf.org/forum/index.php?act=fi...&pid=168621 ).
You can then do the postinstallation steps as descibed in "After installation" in the titchy linux wiki: http://wiki.neilandtheresa.co.uk/Titchy_Linux/Installing

#7 To upgrade from Etch ("stable" but a bit dated) and Lenny ("testing" and the new stuff), change "etch" to "lenny" in /etc/apt/sources.list

#8 apt-get update

#9 apt-get dist-upgrade

#10 Wow!

Plus two desserts:

#11 If you fancy playing with over/underclocking, grab the dvfm binary (not the armel.zip) from the japanese link above.

#12 If you feel like trying different (Angstrom) kernels, three versions are available: 2.6.17-fastfpe-cpufreq, 2.6.20-cpufreq, 2.6.22-cpufreq.  
Remember to use the same updater.sh from the download location of the kernel!  
More discussion this way: https://www.oesf.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=24815.
And be CAREFUL: do NOT flash the kernel with the big installation tarball, because your disk may get reformatted and wiped clean and overwritten with a clean install!

[tux]

Actually installing Debian can be as easy as installing Cacko, pdaXrom (non-uboot versions) and Angstrom.

There is an alternative way to install it without using networking.  

*** The "10-step-self-help guide to enjoying a popular penguin" ***

Just start from here:

#1 Download 4 things and copy them to the root of SD:
updater.sh
gnu-tar
zImage-2.6.17-cpufreq-fastfpe.bin  OR  zImage-2.6.20-cpufreq.bin  (This is the kernel; rename it to zImange.bin)
hddrootfs.tar.gz  (This is the base system and Etch; rename it to hdimage1.tgz)

Snipped...


#4 If things go well (they should), then kernel will flash and the big tarball will decompress to /dev/hda1.  This may take an hour.

#5 Installation will complete itself and reboot the machine. Debian is ready to go!

#6 You can then do the postinstallation steps as descibed in "After installation" in the titchy linux wiki: http://wiki.neilandtheresa.co.uk/Titchy_Linux/Installing

Snipped...

  I'm feeling very dim this morning, so please excuse me if my questions have already been answered elsewhere in the threads.  

gnu-tar:- where from, what is it? (I don't think they sent me the memo!  ) (I suspect I'm being really dim on this one!)

zImage files:- the one from the TitchyLinux? Is it in your list? If so, which one? If not, will it work with the corresponding updater.sh?

hddrootfs.tar.gz  (This is the base system and Etch; rename it to hdimage1.tgz). Where do you recommend we get this from?

Last question,  , do we need to partition our drive beforehand, does it use the partitions it finds or does this process partition it for us?

(I cheated, that was three last questions!  )

I think your post and the answers to the questions would make a good base for a Wiki page. Do you want to write it yourself or would you prefer to let me start it off?  

Cheers for yet another interesting and helpful post.

[ZDevil]

Oops. Sorry, I left out the URL. It's there now.  

[tux]

 My brain cells have started talking to each other again!  

There is a  Japanese web site called Big Box. Here is a link to their TitchyLinux  (Big Box Titchy pages.

(ZDevil has just put in a link to the Debian section of the site while I was typing this!) Thanks ZDevil.  

All the files in ZDevils post are available here.  

So I only need the answers to these questions:

zImage files:- the one from the TitchyLinux? Is it in your list? If so, which one? If not, will it work with the corresponding updater.sh?

Last question,   , do we need to partition our drive beforehand, does it use the partitions it finds or does this process partition it for us?

I'm going to try this tonight! Which should give me the answers to some of them!  

Cheers

[ZDevil]

@tux
You don't need the installation files from the titchy wiki, except perhaps the zaurus-hardware-support. The files in BigBridgeZauWiki are a complete set.

Perhaps a repartition (into one big root partition) is needed for a clean install. Last time I tried this method but found the original swap partition (/dev/hda5) done under titchy got ignored and cannot be mounted. The device node is simply missing.

[ZDevil]

I think your post and the answers to the questions would make a good base for a Wiki page. Do you want to write it yourself or would you prefer to let me start it off? Cheers for yet another interesting and helpful post.

Perhaps we better test this before posting in the wiki to avoid confusing the enthusiastic beginners.

[tux]

I think your post and the answers to the questions would make a good base for a Wiki page. Do you want to write it yourself or would you prefer to let me start it off? Cheers for yet another interesting and helpful post.

Perhaps we better test this before posting in the wiki to avoid confusing the enthusiastic beginners.

  Quite right!   I'm testing at this moment. Just putting the files on a 128MB SD card, freshly formatted to Fat 16.  I'll scribble notes as I go.  

 Maybe adf could try this method and see if his 16GB microdrive is recognised?  I'm very tempted to invest in a SanDisk one and set that up.  

Am I correct in assuming that this could be done from a CF card?  

Later...

[ZDevil]

I've just updated Post #200. Please test. I've installed twice with this method and it worked.

[ZDevil]

BTW I've made a little poor slideshow specially for installing Debian using titchy's method:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50659119@N00/...157702606/show/

Click on the pictures and you'll see the descriptions.

[DavidFong]

I found this method a much easier way to install Debian on my Zaurus 3200, thanks for the info ZDevil!

Other than wishing my Zaurus had 128, rather than 64, megabytes of RAM, I am a little concerned
that the bigbridgezau.sakura hard-disk image has not swap-space at all. After having spent a lot of time
downloading the base-system/XFCE and upgrading to lenny, is there any way to shrink the root partition
to create some swap space?

Oh, and I too am looking for a light-weight i.e. fast-loading, organizer/datebook/addressbook which will import my KO/PI
entries.

Cheerio, David.

Actually installing Debian can be as easy as installing Cacko, pdaXrom (non-uboot versions) and Angstrom.

There is an alternative way to install the base system without using network connection  (up to step 5).  

*** The "10-step-self-help guide to enjoying a popular penguin" ***
[Please let me know if any of the step is not described accurately]
[Don't give up if things fail; you can always use the original method described in the Titchy Linux wiki http://wiki.neilandtheresa.co.uk/Titchy_Linux/Installing, although it requires network connection all the way through]

Just start from here: http://www.bigbridgezau.sakura.ne.jp/dev/debian/

.....

[ZDevil]

I found this method a much easier way to install Debian on my Zaurus 3200, thanks for the info ZDevil!

Other than wishing my Zaurus had 128, rather than 64, megabytes of RAM, I am a little concerned
that the bigbridgezau.sakura hard-disk image has not swap-space at all. After having spent a lot of time
downloading the base-system/XFCE and upgrading to lenny, is there any way to shrink the root partition
to create some swap space?

Oh, and I too am looking for a light-weight i.e. fast-loading, organizer/datebook/addressbook which will import my KO/PI
entries.

Cheerio, David.

That's what I seem to see: the simple method doesn't create a swap partition for you.
But a swapfile will just do the job. And that's not a big deal at all if you are using microdrive, although some users may worry about wearing issue of internal compact flash.  But i suppose it's much easier to talk about this in theory than to actually see it in real life. And the prices of memory cards just keep diving. So who cares?