BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

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Re: BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

Postby cyberic » Sun Feb 12, 2012 2:44 pm

Another solution is to find what option in the kernel is needed to make it 'work', and recompile your arch kernel with these options..
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Re: BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

Postby kmihelich » Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:04 pm

What are the kernel patches you've come across that address this issue?
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Re: BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

Postby RunningLight » Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:09 pm

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cyberic', 'A')nother solution is to find what option in the kernel is needed to make it 'work', and recompile your arch kernel with these options..


That was my choice #2. From what I've found so far, it requires patching the source for the MMC/SD driver(s) and also changing a configuration parameter. Not difficult, just annoying. Since the patches aren't mainline I'll have to remember to do it again for each kernel upgrade.

But first...my son thinks he has a class 10 microSDHC card somewhere in his camera bag. Assuming he can find it, assuming it's big enough, and assuming it solves the timing problem I can forge ahead with the existing files and worry about making the system more resilient to card timings later.

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Re: BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

Postby RunningLight » Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:32 pm

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kmihelich', 'W')hat are the kernel patches you've come across that address this issue?


I've seen several proposals. This one comes from a TI employee

http://cgit.openembedded.org/cgit.cgi/o ... bedded.dev

Separately, I've seen a proposal to change a kernel configuration parameter but I seem to have lost my bookmark. I'll post it when I find it.

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Re: BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

Postby kmihelich » Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:36 pm

That change is already in our OMAP kernel. Let me know if you find anything else.
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Re: BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

Postby RunningLight » Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:37 am

Huzzah!

My son came up with an 8GB class 10 PNY microSDHC card. I prepared it and loaded ArchLinux/ARM to it in the same way I previously had prepared and loaded a 4GB class 4 SanDisk microSDHC card. As I reported yesterday, the boot process consistently failed with the SanDisk card. With the PNY card, however, the boot process proceeds to the expected login prompt

Arch Linux 3.1.6-1-ARCH (alarm) (ttyO2)

alarm login:


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kmihelich', 'T')hat change is already in our OMAP kernel. Let me know if you find anything else.


Thanks, kmihelich, for saving me grabbing the source only to find out the patch was already there. I would have been despondent to learn I wasn't going to be fixing anything after all. (I'm still too new to the ARM game to know what's common and what's different in the kernel codebases for different distributions. I probably should have already twigged to what you reported.)

I'm still trying to find again the suggested change in kernel configuration parameter to determine if that has been taken into account as well.

I wonder whether the change from SanDisk to PNY was a significant factor in my success? I wonder whether the change to class 10 was required or if a bump up from class 4 to class 6 (or class 8) would have sufficed? I wonder whether the boot process would have succeeded, even with this class 10 card, had the patch not been present. Too many variables, not enough time!

Fortunately, I see that the big box store (BestBuy) down the road from me has this same PNY card on sale at the moment. I can reimburse my son without too big a hit on my pocketbook.

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Kent
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Re: BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

Postby kmihelich » Mon Feb 13, 2012 5:51 am

The cards that I use are both class 4, for what it's worth. I think it's just a card thing because I have had cards that just don't work, as have many others. I don't have any reason why really.
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Re: BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

Postby RunningLight » Wed Feb 15, 2012 2:24 am

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kmihelich', 'T')he cards that I use are both class 4, for what it's worth. I think it's just a card thing because I have had cards that just don't work, as have many others. I don't have any reason why really.


Since I can now boot ArchLinux/ARM from the PNY card, I'm not going to dwell on the kernel (I'm losing confidence I have the chops anyway) but move on with my application (it's time to git 'er done).

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kmihelich', 'T')hat change is already in our OMAP kernel. Let me know if you find anything else.


As a data point, the same 4GB (and also, now, an 8GB) Class 4 SanDisk card that fails to boot ArchLinux/ARM on my BeagleBoardXM does boot both of the Angstrom Linux images that are available for validating and demo'ing the BeagleBoardXM, as I reported before, and also the OMAP3 Natty Narwhal Ubuntu 11.04 server image I downloaded on a whim last night.

Perhaps this information will help spur someone in the development team to track down the reason why ArchLinux/ARM is the odd man out.

Thanks for your input, kmihelich.

Regards,
Kent
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Re: BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

Postby cyberic » Wed Feb 15, 2012 1:19 pm

you should try to compare the two /proc/config.tar.gz versions (the one working and the one not working)
to spot the differences
Or maybe some code changed between two kernels, is there a common kernel version you could try to recompile with both sets of options?
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Re: BeagleBoard-xM - can't boot Arch Linux from microSD card

Postby RunningLight » Thu Feb 16, 2012 2:29 am

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cyberic', 'y')ou should try to compare the two /proc/config.tar.gz versions (the one working and the one not working)
to spot the differences
Or maybe some code changed between two kernels, is there a common kernel version you could try to recompile with both sets of options?


I'm an application developer. I have no dog in the fight between Arch, Ubuntu, and Angstrom, I just want at least one to work on my BeagleBoardXM. Two of the three worked out of the box, the third cost me several days and some bucks to get going. I've documented here what I did and what I found.

I agree "someone" could do what you suggest so that others don't fall into the same trap with ArchLinux/ARM as bennerhq and I did but that someone is not I. Sorry, I have other things to do.

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Kent
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