Swapping A Large Cf Card For The Microdrive - With Titchy

[tux]

 I don't think any one will be surprised that I'm brave to the point of rashness!

I've just shoved a 16GB sandisk into my 3200. Apart from the usual tricks of losing screws on the carpet and finding them again by kneeling on them, it was quite a smooth process.   Thanks to iamasmith's detailed post and pictures.  I'm not too panicked by the spare screw that I didn't find until after re-assembly!  

I did suffer a few pangs when the machine wouldn't boot though! Eventually I got some signs of life. It booted with the power supply plugged in, gave in with a kernel panic. But it did recognise the sandisk.

It was actually behaving as if coming out of suspend under Titchy and naturally enough falling over because the sandisk didn't possess the titchy files. That is partly my reason for posting here rather than in the hardware/modding threads.

Should I have fdisked the sandisk and set up a linux partition system before installing? Should I have flashed back to cacko or sharp before installing? At the moment the only 'normal' thing I have been able to do is to get into the fn+m+d menus. I'm using the 'clear the hard disk utility', which seems to be working, but obviously very slow with 16GB to go at.

My next step will be to see if I can get to the ok+power menu at restart. Hopefully I'll then be able to install Titchylinux. If not I'll try the fn+b+d menus to fdisk and partition the card.

Are these problems because I had Titchy flashed? What do you think?

I'll be keeping you posted and may well redo the surgery, to replace the 'extra' screw if nothing else.  

I think it is worth thinking about what you have currently flashed before trying this little adventure though.  


I'm off to watch some dancing...

I'll be back to report.

Well the boot screen correctly identifies the CF drive and the 16GB is reported correctly. I even managed to wake it up without external power plugged in. I suppose I'd better try the rescue system, if I can persuade the thing to let me in...Perhaps if I sacrifice Biff's goat!

[tux]

 Maybe the threat to sacrifice Biff's goat did it!

After a few cycles around the remove power, battery, play octopus with the keyboard, replace power, battery and keep playing octopus: nothing happened. After my last attempt I tried ok+power.  

It let me in. Don't ask me why it decided to work this time, I have no real idea. Perhaps it just needed leaving unpowered, unplugged and unloved a bit longer.  

It went through to the start of the Titchylinux install process.    So far:

kernel flashed/updated
drive formatted
extracting the debian installer
booted into the installer
.....

Well I suppose, about an hour from now I'll know if I'm back to tinkering with Debian to get this nice stable system working just as I want.

I'm going to partition with a swap of 1GB to see if that helps when I get to compiling.

I would be interested to see what happens to other folk who do this bit of surgery with Titchy onboard.

Oh well, here is to another late night!    


Suggestions for what to do with the Hitachi 6GB microdrive. It got mounted by my desktop and I could do all sorts of things with the files? I already have 4GB and 2GB microdrives from the olden days, it's amazing what turns up in the Computer Exchange Shop in my city. There was even a 5000D once!

[ZDevil]

Congrats on your reborn mighty Z!

You buddy will be fine if you take enough care of it.  Mine took the surgery when it nagged to have OpenBSD. I was being extremely carefully when performing the transplantation (a link is in my signature).  Then I threw in the puffy fish and it was very happy.

I think it is not absolutely necessary to have such a big swap partition, unless you think you will be compiling really really really big guys without your microdrive most of the time. The microdrive is still tremendously useful.

In order to avoid extensive and excessive writing on the internal flash card, I have set up two swap partitions: a 512MB in the flash and another 512MB in the microdrive. And all the sources actually live in the latter.

So this is how I do my native compilation:
First I plug in the wifi CF, do a apt-get build-dep to pull down all the dependencies and the source, replace the wifi CF with the microdrive and move the source codes to the microdrive,
then I turn on the swap on the microdrive and turn off the one in the flash card if possible,
and the whole compilating process happens in the microdrive, not the flash card.

Yet if I go compile KDE I may need to turn on both swap partitions ... Or actually I would be better off using a Debian cross toolchain on my laptop.

[tux]

 Thanks ZDevil.

What you say about the swaps makes sense. I'll wait to set it up properly until I have upgraded to lenny and installed gparted.

I suppose I might work using my usb Lan dongle and leave a microdrive in the CF slot?   I also have hankerings to get Scratchbox working on my desktop. Yet gutsy gibbon comes out this week; so there's another call on my time!

But for now, I have to restore the system to where it was on my Hitachi. One thing about all my trials of the install methods, I know most of the steps off by heart!   Speaking of the system, I really like my slight experience with sylpheed. So much so, that I have started to use it on my desktop.

I'm a little anxious about the 'missing' screw. An expert friend of mine will be dropping in soon and two sets of hands on the screwdrivers and tweezers are much more efficient than one. But, I might be better leaving a working system alone!  

Cheers, the pre-gui system is finishing it's install shortly, I'll have to pay attention to the next stage.

[tux]

 Here we are again, reinstalling.

I made some wrong choices in the upgrade to lenny and ended up booting into an unusable X-system. I couldn't get out to a terminal screen!  

Note to self: and to anyone else who is watching... Set up an ssh server as soon as you can. Then login as root through that.

If I'd done that I'd have been able to sort out the problems without going through the set up again!

2nd Note to self,etc.: when reinstalling, remove the dists and pool directory from the SD card. It may just be superstition, but I do have problems if I leave them on.

Harking back to the problems I reported in the first post in this thread: If I plug in or remove the power adapter while the machine is powered up, it switches off or reboots. Is this a legacy of my surgery on the machine? I'll find out when I dis-assemble, replace the 'missing' screw and check all the screws and connections. With tweezers, magnetised screwdriver and skilled supervision!!

Cheers
 

[Hrw]

tux: show 'cardctl ident' output of that card please

[ZDevil]

Honestly, I don't think the issue here has anything special to do with swapping the microdrive itself. I got Debian set up on my Sandisk 16GB CF just in one shot.

Here is how it goes in my case: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50659119@N00/...157702606/show/

The only difference I did it last time is I did manual partitioning (to set up a 512MB swap partition instead of the "guided" 17x MB) from the shell in the installer menu. Apart from that everything works as expected...

I agree it is a good idea to wipe out the extracted  image on the SD card to have a clean installation environment.

Good luck!

[tux]

tux: show 'cardctl ident' output of that card please

 Sorry Hrw,

can't do this at the moment. I've only just got the bare install on and it doesn't have pccardctl yet!   I've got to break off and participate in normal life for a few hours. As soon as I am back in Z land I'll post the information.  

But ZDevil has this card and may very well post before I can get back to you.   The information might even be in the original Titchy thread.  

Any way I'll get back to you after my little interlude of driving, dance-teaching and grocery shopping!  

I hope this request means some possible interesting bits and pieces from you!

[ZDevil]

Here is the output of pccardctl (cardctl is present in Etch but not Lenny):

Code: [Select]

#pccardctl ident 0
Socket 0:
  product info: "SanDisk", "SDP", "5/3 0.6", ""
  manfid: 0x0045, 0x0401
  function: 4 (fixed disk)

[tux]

Here is the output of pccardctl (cardctl is present in Etch but not Lenny):

Code: [Select]

#pccardctl ident 0
Socket 0:
  product info: "SanDisk", "SDP", "5/3 0.6", ""
  manfid: 0x0045, 0x0401
  function: 4 (fixed disk)

 Apologies to Hrw, I tried pccardctl, forgetting that I hadn't yet updated to lenny!  I was on the way to make a trip though.  

Just to confirm, the info posted by ZDevil is almost identical to that on my machine when I do the cardctl command. Actually, there was one small differenc: ZDevil has ,  "" at the end of his first line, I don't.

Hope this is of some help to you.

Just got back in and I'm going to slowly go through the install, upgrade and install the gui.

Cheers  

[tux]

 Looks like my problems are to do with the surgery I performed.  

But nothing to do with the card that has been swapped in.  I have a working lenny system, complete with X-windows.  

The battery is no longer making a firm contact in the compartment. So sometimes the connection is not there to power up. When the power adapter is in, I think it makes the connection clean enough to boot. When I remove it, it loosens the connection and powers off! Sometimes the battery makes a firm enough connection to power up and when I put in the power adapter,  it jiggles the battery connection off!  

Maybe I should shim it!  

Well, sometime next week my hardware and database guru and I will be getting together, so I suppose we might disassemble it far enough to get that SD miniboard screw back in and reseat the back cover more exactly.

I always was fumble-fingered, much better with my feet!

That appears to be the answer. I slacked off the screws, retightened and squeezed the battery compartment end. There was a click, fastened everything properly and up to now, normal operation.

[tux]

 My problems seem to be solved!  

I got together with my hardware guru and we dis-assembled the machine. His screwdrivers are better quality than mine. (I'd love to swap the screws for allan key ones though!) We got the missing SD board refitted with the missing screw in and re-assembled. A bit more squeezing and checking and we got the back on and partially tightened. Then, battery in and checks. All was fine. So final tightening, not too tight though!, and checked again. A good fit all round and the machine is now booting normally and suspend/resume is working fine.

Two tips for anyone doing this or similar:

1) a blob of 'blue-tack' will hold the battery switch in position during re-assembly

2) magenetise at least one screwdriver.



In conclusion: careful refit of the base cover is the secret, take your time.