ArchLinux ARM for CubieTruck : any ideas ?

[moscar]

Hello fcarolo

Thanks for testing it out. It looks like the log you posted is from a cubieboard2 but that might be because your u-boot is wrong for the Cubietruck.

The u-boot I use, I put on back in november or december last year, and I can't remeber where I got it. I actually think I compiled it myself: http://linux-sunxi.org/U-Boot

[fcarolo]

Hi moscar,

The log really looks like it came from a cubieboard2, but just because I ended up using the u-boot version from ArchLinuxARM-sun7i-latest.tar.gz and it was built for the cubieboard2. I have compiled a specific u-boot for the cubietruck (from https://github.com/linux-sunxi/u-boot-sunxi.git) but I'm still getting the same problem with the ethernet port. I'll look into it again later today and post an updated log.

On the bright side, I managed to test your kernel on a cubieboard2 and it seems to work fine.

[moscar]

Hi fcarolo,

That is strange because that ethernet driver it is loading is for the 100 MB/s NIC on the cubieboard2. The cubietruck uses the sunxi_gmac driver (not emac).

Note that sunxi_gmac is not compiled into the kernel, only as a module and you most likely have to load it manually (or in /etc/modules-load.d/) to get ethernet working on the ct.

Great news about the cubieboard2, thanks for helping out testing both devices!

[fcarolo]

Hi moscar,

I did a new test with my cubietruck, starting with a fresh SD card.

First, I erased (dd if=/dev/zero) the beginning of the card, so nothing from the old u-boot environment would interfere with the test. Then I proceeded with the installation procedure for the cubieboard2, but used a new u-boot compiled from latest sources at https://github.com/linux-sunxi/u-boot-sunxi.git. Finally, I copied your packages to the SD card (bcmdhd-fw-0.1-1-any.pkg.tar.xz, linux-sun7i-3.4.79-1-armv7h.pkg.tar.xz and linux-sun7i-headers-3.4.79-1-armv7h.pkg.tar.xz).

After booting the cubietruck, I installed your packages with 'pacman -U', edited /boot/uEnv.txt to 'machid=0x10bb' and rebooted.

The full log after reboot is at http://pastebin.com/gJ5eZ3Ec. Note that sunxi_emac driver seems to be active, statically compiled into the kernel, and I could not load sunxi_gmac. I am doing something wrong here?

[moscar]

Hi fcarolo,

Where did you get that machid from? My uEnv.txt simply looks like this:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '
root=/dev/sda1
extraargs=console=tty0 rootwait panic=10 rootfstype=ext4
')

(note I'm booting from a HDD but that shouldn't make a difference).

This is the fex I use: http://files.moscar.net/cubietruck_custom.fex.txt

Has the ethernet worked before on your cubietruck with another kernel?

[fcarolo]

Hi moscar,

First of all, please keep in mind that I'm trying to find out what is different between a cubieboard2 and a cubietruck. That is why I started with a fresh install following the current instructions for the cubieboard2, looking for what must be changed.

In the current tarball for the cubieboard2, /boot/uEnv.txt has a single line 'machid=0xf35', which is not the correct id for an A20 CPU. If I try to boot your kernel with this line, I get the following error message, as expected:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '
Error: unrecognized/unsupported machine ID (r1 = 0x00000f35).

Available machine support:

ID (hex) NAME
000010bb sun7i
000010bb sun7i
0000102a sun5i
0000102a sun5i
00001008 sun4i
00001008 sun4i

Please check your kernel config and/or bootloader.')

Omiting machid from uEnv.txt works fine, as the sunxi kernel detects the correct machine:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '[ 0.000000] sunxi: Allwinner A20 (AW1651/sun7i) detected.')

Looks like the provided /boot/uEnv.txt will have to be changed in order to have a working combination of recent sunxi kernel + u-boot + uEnv.txt.

I am looking into the fex file right now and will let you know as soon as I make some progress.

Finally, I have tested my cubietruck with one of the Android images provided by http://cubieboard.org/download/, so the ethernet port does work. I guess there is something with the hardware description in the fex.

Thanks for your time and patience,

[fcarolo]

I've got good news, moscar. Ethernet and wifi are working on my cubietruck with your fex.

I guess that, besides the kernel, we will need updated versions of u-boot.bin, sunxi-spl.bin, uEnv.txt and script.bin for the cubietruck. I'll take a look into the existing packages and how similar situations are handled today for other boards.

Again, thanks for all your help.

[moscar]

Thanks for your help testing this kernel, fcarolo.

It has now been added to the official alarm repo: https://github.com/archlinuxarm/PKGBUIL ... inux-sun7i

[dzhon]

Well, your latest PKGBUILD turns my cubieboard2 into useless brick.
Give me sometime to plug display/UART to provide further details.

[WarheadsSE]

No, you needed to alter your uEnv.txt. It was not a useless brick, is not a useless brick.

Check your system before assuming.