U-Boot v2016.03 released

[summers]

Sigh - does anyone else wish that the uboot install was just a tad more inteligent?

It insists on rewritting /etc/fw_env.config, when I *know* the correct value should be:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '/dev/mtd1 0x00000 0x20000 0x20000')

becuase on my machine:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', 'cat /proc/mtd
dev: size erasesize name
mtd0: 000c0000 00020000 "uboot"
mtd1: 00040000 00020000 "uboot_env"
mtd2: 00080000 00020000 "old_uboot_env"
mtd3: 00080000 00020000 "key_store"
mtd4: 00080000 00020000 "info"
mtd5: 00a00000 00020000 "etc"
mtd6: 00a00000 00020000 "kernel_1"
mtd7: 02fc0000 00020000 "rootfs1"
mtd8: 00a00000 00020000 "kernel_2"
mtd9: 02fc0000 00020000 "rootfs2"')

Sigh - I'll have to install by hand - just no right now, only when I get time.

[WarheadsSE]

Could you tell us _which_ uboot? on _which_ board(s)?

[summers]

nsa325.

Am just back - so I'll start doing the install by hand. Really just a case of checking if anything new in the enviroment variables, and then flashing the new uboot to /dev/mtd0.

Hassle for me is its rare I flash nand chips, so need to remind myself of commands etc.

Half wonder if I should just make /dev/mtd0 bigger so it includes the env variables, rather than making them a seperate partition.

[Kabbone]

So you still have stock firmware?
My NSA325 looks like this:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', ' cat /proc/mtd
dev: size erasesize name
mtd0: 00100000 00020000 "u-boot"
mtd1: 07f00000 00020000 "rootfs"
')

And there is no problem with the U-Boot updates from the repositories

[summers]

And for anyone interested - it doesn't look like the env variables have changed between 2015.10 and 2016.3. Viz:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '
diff fw_printenv.*
19d18
< mtdparts=mtdparts=orion_nand:1M(u-boot),-(rootfs)
26a26,27
> ethaddr=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
> mtdparts=mtdparts=orion_nand:0xc0000(uboot),0x40000(uboot_env),0x80000(old_uboot_env),0x80000(key_store),0x80000(info),0xA00000(etc),0xA00000(kernel_1),0x2FC0000(rootfs1),0xA00000(kernel_2),0x2FC0000(rootfs2)
')

So 2015.10 env varibles should work with 2016.03, so all you need to do is flash the new uboot to /dev/mtd0.

Now wondering if install script could be better - e.g. if you wrote the mtdparts as in the distributed uboot.env, then the fw_printenv command would work. So question is, is there a better way of supporting people like me that keep the stock flash set up. Needs some though. should be easy to check that /dev/mtd0 is correct, before rewriting /etc/fw_env.config (e.g. from /proc/mtd) - that would mean you could write /etc/fw_env.config correctly. But then what is best to do with mtdparts in the uboot env variables, e.g. should that reflect what is currently used - or set to a new value?

[moonman]

It is stated in the UBoot thread that booting (and keeping ) stock firmware is unsupported. Rescue image is provided in case you want to be able to boot from nand. If you wish to keep it still it is up to you to figure it out.
You can also stay with 2015.10 if you want, the only important change is for pogoplug v4. Mainline kernel now has device tree blob included, but the name is different so that had to be changed.

[summers]

Ah, OK so updating uboot, and changing to a device tree kernel, is incompatible with keeping the stock OS on the machine, and is unsupported. That is a pity. I decided to keep the stock firmware, for if I ever wanted to change back to it. I should be able to boot it from a modern uboot, but havn't yet tried doing that.

Anyway I'll keep applying uboot updates by hand.