maemo.org - Talk - Introducing ubiboot N9 (multiboot OS loader)

Juiceme,

can you please properly document all the steps needed to boot another OS which is not any of the built-in ones? It's basically trial and error with the current documentation.

Thanks, I will try to improve documentation then :)

Can you specify which tasks and parts of the process exactly are the difficult ones? Of course it is difficult to me to know, as it is always hard to see mistakes in own work... (which is why we have peer review :p)

peterleinchen

2016-01-03 22:05

Re: Introducing ubiboot N9 (multiboot OS loader)

I guess the most misleading may be the definition of location where the second-level kernel is stored on device.

Excerpt from my config:

Code:

# The first OS is usually Nitdroid.

# This section lists the Nitdroid specific switches and kernels

G_OS1_NUM=3

G_OS1_AUTOBOOT=0

G_OS1_PARTITION=5

G_OS1_NAME="Nitdroid"

G_OS1_1_LABEL="E-yes Nitdroid kernel -

 zImage_pr13"

G_OS1_1_FILE="/boot/Nitdroid/boot/zImage_pr13"

#G_OS1_1_FILE="/boot/Harmattan/boot/zImage_pr13"



G_OS1_2_LABEL="E-yes Nitdroid kernel, L2 cache fix -

 zImage_pr13-l2fix"

G_OS1_2_FILE="/boot/Nitdroid/boot/zImage_pr13-l2fix"

#G_OS1_2_FILE="/boot/Harmattan/boot/zImage_pr13-l2fix"

G_OS1_3_LABEL="E-yes Nitdroid kernel, ADB/USB -

 zImage_pr13-adb_usb"

G_OS1_3_FILE="/boot/Nitdroid/boot/zImage_pr13-adb_usb"

#G_OS1_3_FILE="/boot/Harmattan/boot/zImage_pr13-adb_usb"

G_OS1_4_LABEL=""

Nitdroid base system is located on my device on partition #5 (G_OS1_PARTITION).
The kernel (second-level, to-be-booted) may be where ever you like.
For convenience juiceme created links (named after the definition of G_OS1_NAME) on first-level system under /boot:
so /boot/Nitdroid defines /dev/mmcblk0p5

In my case the kernel is on
/dev/mmcblk0p5/boot/
see
G_OS1_2_FILE="/boot/Nitdroid/boot/zImage_pr13-l2fix"

but in former times I had in on partition #2:
G_OS2_PARTITION=2
G_OS2_NAME="Harmattan"
#G_OS1_2_FILE="/boot/Harmattan/boot/zImage_pr13-l2fix"

marmistrz

2016-01-04 07:27

Re: Introducing ubiboot N9 (multiboot OS loader)

Yeah, the paths are confusing should be documented. How is it with preinits? Will it suffice to modify the target system's /sbin/init or more trickery is required? Are there any thing which have to be done? (The preinit is needed due to the watchdog kicking in)

I seem to spend far much time wondering about how to properly set up the boot process.

juiceme

2016-01-04 15:04

Re: Introducing ubiboot N9 (multiboot OS loader)

Quote:

Originally Posted by marmistrz (Post 1493578)

Yeah, the paths are confusing should be documented.

I agree, the paths and other defines are a bit confusing. The reason they are used like in ubiboot.conf is that the file is sourced from the ubiboot init and loader scripts.
Moreover, the partition definitions correspond to the physical partition layout of the device which is something else as the way the partitions are mounted in various OS'es...

Quote:

Originally Posted by marmistrz (Post 1493578)

How is it with preinits? Will it suffice to modify the target system's /sbin/init or more trickery is required? Are there any thing which have to be done? (The preinit is needed due to the watchdog kicking in)

I seem to spend far much time wondering about how to properly set up the boot process.

Again, you do have a point there. The reason I have not paid that much respect to the watchdog setup is because in my devices I have turned all watchdogs off :D
Reason for that is simple; if I have a potential lockup, I want to see the kernel oops... :p

marmistrz

2016-01-04 15:33

Re: Introducing ubiboot N9 (multiboot OS loader)

Quote:

Originally Posted by juiceme (Post 1493633)

And is it possible to turn all watchdogs off? I heard ubiboot wakes them back again.

juiceme

2016-01-04 16:39

Re: Introducing ubiboot N9 (multiboot OS loader)

Quote:

Originally Posted by marmistrz (Post 1493640)

And is it possible to turn all watchdogs off? I heard ubiboot wakes them back again.

No, I don't think so. If the dogs are removed with flasher (--enable-rd-mode --set-rd-flags=no-omap-wd,no-ext-wd,no-lifeguard-reset) then they should remain off.

However this might be dependent on the actual HW revision of the device...?

pasko

2016-01-25 19:04

Re: Introducing ubiboot N9 (multiboot OS loader)

Hi.
I think the 'nand chip'/'omap2-onenand'/'whatever' is showing symptoms of ageing in my backup device (possibly a refurbrished one).....

Code:

[86115.653320] init: xsession/sysuid main process (8139) killed by FPE signal

[86115.653656] init: xsession/sysuid main process ended, respawning

[86409.535064] omap_device: smartreflex.1: new worst case activate latency 0: 2105712

[86443.541137] onenand_wait: correctable ECC error = 0x5555, addr1 0xa, addr8 0x0

[86443.541687] onenand_wait: correctable ECC error = 0x5555, addr1 0x4, addr8 0x8

[86443.541931] onenand_wait: correctable ECC error = 0x5555, addr1 0x4, addr8 0x10

[86443.546508] onenand_wait: correctable ECC error = 0x5555, addr1 0x4, addr8 0xc0

[86443.551147] onenand_wait: correctable ECC error = 0x5555, addr1 0xa, addr8 0x0

[86443.553894] onenand_wait: correctable ECC error = 0x5555, addr1 0xb, addr8 0xc

[86443.557708] onenand_wait: controller error! state 7 ctrl 0x0400 intr 0x8000

[86443.557769] onenand_write_ops_nolock: write failed -5

.... and I would like to ask:
Is it possible to use ubiboot to avoid the use of partitions mtd0 --> mtd6? I think this could help to extend the device's life a bit :).
I'm running nandtest command and all six show r/w errors.
Maybe only using /dev/mtd0 as bootloader to redirect the process somewhere else would help?
Regard.

peterleinchen

2016-01-25 19:11

Re: Introducing ubiboot N9 (multiboot OS loader)

Not really knowing what I speak of, but:

we all have those errors in kernel log.
And as long as the error is correctable -as I understood the discussion (somewhere on TMO)- it is not a problem. So I do not think about it...

tioubxancur

2016-05-09 15:19

Re: Introducing ubiboot N9 (multiboot OS loader)

I use the latest version of ubiboot with 6 boot options, i'd like to use one with this menu of only 3 OS (meego, android, sailfish) mainly because this looks more clean and i dont use the others anyway.
How do I do it?

juiceme

2016-05-09 18:57

Re: Introducing ubiboot N9 (multiboot OS loader)

1.) get the toolkit from https://toosa.swagman.org/svn/animatronics/
2.) the essentials are described in the README file

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