Debian to RAM

[audiocrush]

Okay maybe this is the wrong forum to ask for debian support but...
I have a strange problem:

My NAND is completely empty except for the uboot on mtd0

I have a working archlinuxARM on my usb flashdrive that boots with several error messages -.- but it works once it's loaded

now I want to install a system on this empty NAND... I have no Idea how I can manage this because every tutorial for installing a system on a sata or flashdrive or even the nand assumes that I have a working system on my NAND flash

so ahm... what can I do?

[kmihelich]

Yes, it's very much the wrong forum to ask for Debian support.

[WarheadsSE]

Ask @ Jeff Doozan's debian forum.

[audiocrush]

hmm.. and if I would like to flash archlinuxARM to NAND?

is there any possibility to realize this without a working system on the NAND?

[WarheadsSE]

It's possible, yes, but not simply, and you'll need to be familiar with the inner workings of linux.

[audiocrush]

familiar with every-day console-jobs - check!
familiar with kernel && 1337-stuff - nope or... not yet ;D

can you describe it to me as you would describe it to a professional?
I think I'll get it.. maybe it'll take a bit more time but... basically it shouldn't be that hard^^

[john3voltas]

Hi audiocrush,
I don't know if I understood your question properly.
You mean you want to install ALARM to a USB device (HDD or Flash disk) not connected to your plugdevice?
If so, you need a PC with a working linux install and you can almost follow the install steps on the wiki.

Please be aware that I am a newby to linux/plugdevices/etc.
But I've done this myself a couple of times in the past.
In order to do as below, you will need to have "wget" and "tar" installed on your linux PC, which most linux dists have anyway.

Loging in as root while you follow these instructions will make things easier.
0-run "su -l root" and provide your root password when requested.

Find out how your USB device is named in your linux PC.
1-run a "fdisk -l" on your linux PC and it will show you it's disks/partitions.
2-plug the USB device on your linux PC and again run a "fdisk -l" and it will show you that there is a new disk in there.
It could be /dev/sda if your internal HDD is scsi/ide or it can be /dev/sdb if your internal HDD is SATA.
Make sure you don't do anything else written in here until you are positive of your USB device.

Create your partition in the USB device.
3a-Run fdisk /dev/the_name_of_your_usb_device (i.e /dev/sdb)
3b-type o. This will clear out any partitions on the drive.
3c-type p to list partitions. There should be no partitions left.
3d-now type n, then p for primary, 1 for the first partition on the drive, and then press ENTER, accepting default values.
3e-exit by typing w.

Format your USB device
4-run mkfs.ext2 /dev/the_name_of_your_usb_device (i.e /dev/sdb)

Mount your USB device's new partition on your linux PC
5-create a new directory in /tmp by running "mkdir /tmp/usb-device"
6-mount the device to /tmp/usb-device by running "mount /dev/sdb1 /tmp/usb-device"

Download ALARM to the USB device
7-move to the USB device just mounted partition with "cd /tmp/usb-device"
8-download ALARM by running "wget http://archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinuxARM ... est.tar.gz"
9-untar ALARM by running "tar -xzvf ArchLinuxARM-armv5te-*.tar.gz" # This will take a long time.
10-erase the tar.gz after untaring by running "rm ArchLinuxARM-armv5te-*.tar.gz"
11-to make sure usb activity has finished, run "sync" # Takes a while when using a flash drive

Unmount your USB device so that you can unplug it from the PC and plug it into the plugdevice
12-move out of your usb device by running "cd /".
13-unmount your usb device by running "umount /dev/sdb" or whatever name your usb device has.

Exit ROOT mode as done in step 0
14-run "exit"

Now you can take the usb device and use it in your plugdevice.
Hope I haven't forgotten any steps.
And, please, make sure you don't do anything until you are sure of your usb device's name in your linux PC
Cheers