Arch Linux ARM on N900

[Skry]

Ok, uboot-n900-tools in the repo. Changed behavior presented in here (https://github.com/archlinuxarm-n900/uboot-n900-tools/commits/master) for the interested. For the uninterested:

Add to fstab, adjust if necessary:

ubi0:rootfs /mnt/maemo ubifs defaults,noatime,bulk_read,no_chk_data_crc 0 0
/dev/mmcblk1p2 /mnt/maemo/home ext3 defaults,noatime 0 0
/dev/mmcblk1p1 /mnt/maemo/home/user/MyDocs vfat defaults,noatime,uid=1000,gid=100,umask=022 0 0


As root, emmc and nand partitions unmounted:

echo "options ubi mtd=rootfs" > /etc/modprobe.d/ubi.conf
echo "softdep ubi pre: omap2" >> /etc/modprobe.d/ubi.conf
mkdir /mnt/maemo
mount -a
ln -s /mnt/maemo/etc/bootmenu.d /etc/bootmenu.d
ln -s /mnt/maemo/etc/default/bootmenu.item /etc/default/bootmenu.item


I tried to reproduce all the stupid user errors I've heard happening with u-boot, so far it's been working fine and safe, for me. I'm dead tired, so don't copypaste, I didn't :P

EDIT:
Oh well, setting up everything in fstab drops to emergency mode, module dependencies have to be defined manually, I'll get back to this asap.

EDIT2:
Corrected and updated, update your fstab and do trough the steps again. Let me know if some issues arise.

[AhmadMhd]

Hello everyone

@Skry
Thanks for the hard work

It's really amazing to have arch linux on N900

@Skry
have a question please :)
I did the following
1- formated mmcblk0p5 (logical) to ext4
2- untar then sync your unofficial image to the above partition.
3- installed U-boot (the version that supports booting kernel 3.x)
4- added boot menu item in /etc/bootmenu.d/30-Arch.item

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${EXT_CARD}p1"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait init=/bin /systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

5- then u-boot-update* :)

But when I try to boot to Arch I get "Kernel Panic"
What am I doing wrong ?

actually I don't know how to deal with U-boot
I didn't understand the part about U-boot
and where do I have to put the "uImage" and how to boot correctly
Please guide me, what should I do to successfully boot Arch

Thanks :)

EDIT: forgot to say that I've manged to chroot to /dev/mmcblk0p5 successfully

[Skry]

Thanks for the hard work

It's really amazing to have arch linux on N900 You're welcome, it is amazing indeed. :)

ITEM_DEVICE="${EXT_CARD}p1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait init=/bin /systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"[/CODE]


Change${EXT_CARD}p1 -> ${EXT_CARD}p5
andinit=/bin /systemd -> init=/bin/systemd
and it should boot.

You don't need to copy uImage anywhere if you configure uboot to look under /boot for it, like you've already done. Good luck.

[AhmadMhd]

Change${EXT_CARD}p1 -> ${EXT_CARD}p5
andinit=/bin /systemd -> init=/bin/systemd
and it should boot.

You don't need to copy uImage anywhere if you configure uboot to look under /boot for it, like you've already done. Good luck.

I changed to ${EXT_CARD}p5 :)
but init=/bin/systemd was right, (writing mistake :) )


I did the fixes you told me to do, But when you boot to Arch
U-boot says
mmc0 is current device
** Bad partition 5 **

after this when I run
run emmcboot

I have a Kernel Panic
Kernel Panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount rootfs on unknown-block(179,5)
(this is one of the lines)

btw : I tried multiple versions of u-boot with no luck
current version is "2012.04-2"
Also tried version "2012.10-rc3-1"

NOTE: when Kernel Panic happens, N900 can't be powered off using power button, you have to remove the battery which is bad :(
and also chroot worked fine, I tried doing pacman -Suy and it worked

I think I'm missing some part of U-boot boot, but I don't know what is it :(

Thanks in advance. :)

[AhmadMhd]

@Skry

I changed to ${EXT_CARD}p5 :)
but init=/bin/systemd was right, (writing mistake :) )


I did the fixes you told me to do, But when you boot to Arch
U-boot says
mmc0 is current device
** Bad partition 5 **

after this when I run
run emmcboot

I have a Kernel Panic
Kernel Panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount rootfs on unknown-block(179,5)
(this is one of the lines)

btw : I tried multiple versions of u-boot with no luck
current version is "2012.04-2"
Also tried version "2012.10-rc3-1"

NOTE: when Kernel Panic happens, N900 can't be powered off using power button, you have to remove the battery which is bad :(
and also chroot worked fine, I tried doing pacman -Suy and it worked

I think I'm missing some part of U-boot boot, but I don't know what is it :(

output of fdisk -l
Disk /dev/mmcblk1: 998 MB, 998244352 bytes
93 heads, 35 sectors/track, 598 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 3255 * 512 = 1666560 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/mmcblk1p1 * 1 599 973824 b Win95 FAT32
Partition 1 has different physical/logical beginnings (non-Linux?):
phys=(0, 32, 33) logical=(0, 58, 19)
Partition 1 has different physical/logical endings:
phys=(121, 92, 35) logical=(598, 91, 21)

Disk /dev/mmcblk0: 32.0 GB, 32015122432 bytes
4 heads, 16 sectors/track, 977024 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 64 * 512 = 32768 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/mmcblk0p1 1 405884 12988280 b Win95 FAT32
/dev/mmcblk0p2 688258 950401 8388608 83 Linux
/dev/mmcblk0p3 950402 974977 786432 82 Linux swap
/dev/mmcblk0p4 405885 688257 9035936 5 Extended
/dev/mmcblk0p5 * 405885 593384 5999992 83 Linux
/dev/mmcblk0p6 593385 688257 3035928 83 Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order

EDIT:Also removed boot flag from mmcblk0p5, also didn't work :(
Also replacing ${EXT_CARD}p5 with ${INT_CARD}p5 didn't help

Thanks in advance. :)

[Skry]

@AhmadMhd

Uh, since I usually refer to how devices are named in reality, I understood you had everything on uSD-card, sorry. You see, Maemo swaps mmc device numbering around, so, change to ${INT_CARD}p5 and root=/dev/mmcblk1p5

[jd4200]

I'm quite interested in trying this, especially seeing as you, Skry, and many others have put in a lot of effort, thanks a lot, since the last time I looked at this project a long time back.

I've got a few questions that hopefully some one can answer in order to clear my confusion up, sorry if I they've been answered elsewhere but I've not been able to find them:

What is the difference between the official rootfs, and the one provided by Skry? Is the unofficial just fine tuned towards the N900?

Once setup, am I free to 'pacman -Syu' once in a while, or are there any packages I must hold off from updating (the kernel especially)?

I've got a lot of free hosting space & bandwidth on my dedi., & free domains if you fancy centralising this and moving away from dropbox/other file hosters.

[AhmadMhd]

@AhmadMhd

Uh, since I usually refer to how devices are named in reality, I understood you had everything on uSD-card, sorry. You see, Maemo swaps mmc device numbering around, so, change to ${INT_CARD}p5 and root=/dev/mmcblk1p5

Great
I get U-boot console this time
but when I run

run emmcboot

It works :D


Thank you very much @Skry
Now there is one more Arch user on N900 :-]

I'll try to contribute to this project :)
keep up the great work.

[Skry]

I'm quite interested in trying this, especially seeing as you, Skry, and many others have put in a lot of effort, thanks a lot, since the last time I looked at this project a long time back.
Yeah, I've spent countless nights with this one, you're welcome. Hopefully you decide to give it a go.

What is the difference between the official rootfs, and the one provided by Skry? Is the unofficial just fine tuned towards the N900?

Mine has kernel for N900 and my integration packages included. I also included dialog to make use of the wifi-menu, so one can just simply extract it and boot. No need to play around in chroot unless one wants to.

Once setup, am I free to 'pacman -Syu' once in a while, or are there any packages I must hold off from updating (the kernel especially)?

You're perfectly free to -Syu all you like, no need to hold anything back. Also, everything is optional and split, so you can pick what you want, grab everything or simply do things your way.

Repositories are also split, currently to base which includes only the few essential packages, and to extra where majority of the integration, special tools and modified packages are. There is going to be two more, testing and neon. So, there is no forced dependencies to anything, and no right or wrong way to setup your system, the choice is all yours.

I've got a lot of free hosting space & bandwidth on my dedi., & free domains if you fancy centralising this and moving away from dropbox/other file hosters.

I certainly do fancy doing just that. I've put a lot of personal time into this but unfortunately money is something I can't invest. PM me or query me at IRC and we can discuss this further.



Thank you very much @Skry
Now there is one more Arch user on N900 :-]

I'll try to contribute to this project :)
keep up the greate work.
Great! Welcome :)

[ArchiMark]

Greate
I had the same Error :)
but this time when I run

run emmcboot

It works :D


Thank you very much @Skry
Now there is one more Arch user on N900 :-]

I'll try to contribute to this project :)
keep up the greate work.

Can you please clarify, is Arch installed all on your microSD card or ?

From your partition info, it seems like it is on your card....but from some comments read, I'm not sure...

Hope to get Arch installed on my 900 soon.....

Thanks.

[jd4200]

Yeah, I've spent countless nights with this one, you're welcome. Hopefully you decide to give it a go.
......


Great thanks for the info., I've been using Arch on my systems for years, can't wait to have it in my pocket.

PM sent.

[caveman]

Ok, uboot-n900-tools in the repo

I just had a chance to try this. I configured the default mountpoints in /etc/default/u-boot-update-bootmenu as follows:

BOOTMENU_FAT_DIR="/media/sd-mmcblk1p1"
BOOTMENU_CFG_DIR="/etc/bootmenu.d"
BOOTMENU_BOOT_DIR="/boot"
BOOTMENU_MAEMOBOOT_DIR="/maemo/boot"
BOOTMENU_OPTBOOT_DIR="/media/sd-mmcblk1p2"
BOOTMENU_TMP="/tmp"

and updated the u-boot bootmenu. No errors :-) Well done, Skry!

[Skry]

We now have hosting, thanks to jd4200!

[AhmadMhd]

Can you please clarify, is Arch installed all on your microSD card or ?

From your partition info, it seems like it is on your card....but from some comments read, I'm not sure...

Hope to get Arch installed on my 900 soon.....

Thanks.

Wlecome dude

so you need to install Arch on emmc

1- Partitioning

First things first , you have to know how to partition your emmc
The easiest way is to use BackupMenu

- Install BackupMenu from the repos :)

when done

- Open N900 keyboard, reboot then enter BackupMenu

- Chose Mass storage mode (press d)
Now you have direct access to partitions in the emmc :)

- Use gparted (easy) or cfdisk

you should keep the 1st partition as fat32 cuz it has u-boot config on it (bootimg.img.d and .src)
unless you change the config dir ( which I want to learn how ^_^ )
and be careful
<< consider making backup, use BackupMenu >>

- I recommend using Extended partition type ( since MBR only allow for 4 primary partitions in the same device )

extended partitions starts numbering from 5
mmcblk0p5 (first partition in Extended )
mmcblk0p6 (second partition)
and so on..

(Skip making swap partition now , you can do it later)

2- Format your partition
after partitioning you should format the partition to ext2/3/4

If formating from PC (recommended)
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb5
else from N900
mkfs.ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p5

3- Mount the partition

if you are mounting from your PC (recommended)
mount -t ext4 /dev/sd?? /mnt/arch
(if you don't know what "sd??" mean just ask :] )
/dev/sdb5 ( in my case :) )

OR from your N900

mount -t ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p5 /mnt/arch

4- Extract FileSystem (also sync)

cd /mnt/arch

tar xzvf Arch-Skry-Unofficial-Img.tar.gz; sync

This may take some time ( faster if you do it from PC )


5- Install and configure U-boot

Install u-boot version (that spports booting 3.x kernels)
add boot entry in /etc/bootmenu.d/Arch.item

example

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p5 rootwait init=/bin /systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

This should work if you untar the image FileSystem on /dev/mmcblk0p5
run

u-boot-update-bootmenu

reboot

- Chose Arch from the menu

- Then run in U-boot console

run emmcboot

Done.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
For testing.

I wrote a simple script to chroot to this arch from maemo.

arch-chroot.sh
------------------------------------------------------------------------

echo "==> Mounting FS"
mount /dev/mmcblk0p5 /mnt/arch

echo "==> Mounting proc, sys, dev/pts/, dev/ "
cd /mnt/arch
mount -t proc proc proc/
mount -t sysfs sys sys/
mount -o bind /dev dev/
mount -t devpts pts dev/pts/

echo "==>Chroot to Arch"
chroot /mnt/arch /bin/bash
echo "Done!"

When done from Arch chroot, run
exit


close-arch.sh
------------------------------------------------------------------------

cd /mnt/arch
echo "==> Umounting proc, sys, dev/pts/, dev/ "
umount proc/
umount sys/
umount dev/pts/
umount dev/

echo "==>Closing Arch chroot"
cd && sleep 5
umount /mnt/arch || umount /dev/mmcblk0p5
echo "Done!"


Have Fun :D

[AhmadMhd]

We now have hosting, thanks to jd4200!

Great :D

I think I can help

If the packages has a small size.
I can provide a mirror using my free webspace. (for direct links)
which you can access and modify using ssh :)

[ArchiMark]

THANK YOU for your incredibly helpful post!

I think a lot more people will try installing Arch as a result of it.

Most grateful to you...

Will give it a go later today...

:)

[AhmadMhd]

THANK YOU for your incredibly helpful post!

I think a lot more people will try installing Arch as a result of it.

Most grateful to you...

Will give it a go later today...

:)
@ArchiMark
You are very welcome. :)

Many thanks to @Skry ;)

[Skry]

u-boot-update-bootmenu

reboot

- Chose Arch from the menu

- Then run in U-boot console

run emmcboot

There is something wrong if you need to do it like this, simply choosing a menu item should start the kernel.

[jd4200]

There is something wrong if you need to do it like this, simply choosing a menu item should start the kernel.

It was the same issue I was having. No matter how much debugging or re-flashes of the kernel, re-installtion of uboot, or using SD card/emmc could fix it.

I've eventually got it to work by doing a complete emmc/kernel flash, and reinstalled u-boot.
I can't see how, but older versions of u-boot-* must be lingering around on the device no matter how much it is removed.

[AhmadMhd]

It was the same issue I was having. No matter how much debugging or re-flashes of the kernel, re-installtion of uboot, or using SD card/emmc could fix it.

I've eventually got it to work by doing a complete emmc/kernel flash, and reinstalled u-boot.
I can't see how, but older versions of u-boot-* must be lingering around on the device no matter how much it is removed.

@Skry
That may be true

cuz I've installed older version of u-boot before the new one.

but is there any way that I can save the u-boot configuration in a different partition than MyDocs (in /etc for example)

[ArchiMark]

Wlecome dude

so you need to install Arch on emmc

1- Partitioning

First things first , you have to know how to partition your emmc
The easiest way is to use BackupMenu

- Install BackupMenu from the repos :)

when done

- Open N900 keyboard, reboot then enter BackupMenu

- Chose Mass storage mode (press d)
Now you have direct access to partitions in the emmc :)

- Use gparted (easy) or cfdisk

you should keep the 1st partition as fat32 cuz it has u-boot config on it (bootimg.img.d and .src)
unless you change the config dir ( which I want to learn how ^_^ )
and be careful
<< consider making backup, use BackupMenu >>

- I recommend using Extended partition type ( since MBR only allow for 4 primary partitions in the same device )

extended partitions starts numbering from 5
mmcblk0p5 (first partition in Extended )
mmcblk0p6 (second partition)
and so on..

I'm working on partitioning now....

My N900 looked like this in GParted when first connected:

- Nokia N900 - FAT - 29GB (3.84GB Used)

- DISK2S2 - FAT - 2.15GB

- Linux Swap - FAT - 805.3MB

Made some modifications in GParted and looks like this right now:

Partition File System Mount Point Label Size Used Flags

/dev/sda1 FAT Nokia N900 4.88GB 3.24GB lba

/dev/sda4 extended 22.12GB
/dev/sda5 ext3 22.08GB 527.58MB
unallocated unallocated 36MB

/dev/sda2 ext3 /media/sda2 2.00GB 350.30MB

/dev/sda3 linux-swap 768MB

unallocated unallocated 63.97MB


Any recommendations for changing the partitions shown above???


(Skip making swap partition now , you can do it later)

As you can see already had one....should I change it?....


2- Format your partition
after partitioning you should format the partition to ext2/3/4

If formating from PC (recommended)
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb5
else from N900
mkfs.ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p5

Is it OK to do this in GParted?.....

3- Mount the partition

if you are mounting from your PC (recommended)
mount -t ext4 /dev/sd?? /mnt/arch
(if you don't know what "sd??" mean just ask :] )
/dev/sdb5 ( in my case :) )

OR from your N900

mount -t ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p5 /mnt/arch



So, what does 'sd' mean in this case??....

And I can do this from terminal on PC?

4- Extract FileSystem (also sync)

cd /mnt/arch

tar xzvf Arch-Skry-Unofficial-Img.tar.gz; sync

This may take some time ( faster if you do it from PC )

So, you recommend downloading Arch file to PC and then 'tar' it over to N900?


5- Install and configure U-boot

Install u-boot version (that spports booting 3.x kernels)
add boot entry in /etc/bootmenu.d/Arch.item

example

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p5 rootwait init=/bin /systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

This should work if you untar the image FileSystem on /dev/mmcblk0p5
run

u-boot-update-bootmenu

reboot



Hope it's OK that I already had installed U-Boot.... :)

- Chose Arch from the menu

- Then run in U-boot console

run emmcboot

Done.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
For testing.

I wrote a simple script to chroot to this arch from maemo.

arch-chroot.sh
------------------------------------------------------------------------

echo "==> Mounting FS"
mount /dev/mmcblk0p5 /mnt/arch

echo "==> Mounting proc, sys, dev/pts/, dev/ "
cd /mnt/arch
mount -t proc proc proc/
mount -t sysfs sys sys/
mount -o bind /dev dev/
mount -t devpts pts dev/pts/

echo "==>Chroot to Arch"
chroot /mnt/arch /bin/bash
echo "Done!"

When done from Arch chroot, run
exit


close-arch.sh
------------------------------------------------------------------------

cd /mnt/arch
echo "==> Umounting proc, sys, dev/pts/, dev/ "
umount proc/
umount sys/
umount dev/pts/
umount dev/

echo "==>Closing Arch chroot"
cd && sleep 5
umount /mnt/arch || umount /dev/mmcblk0p5
echo "Done!"


Have Fun :D

Thanks for your help!

[AhmadMhd]

I'm working on partitioning now....

Any recommendations for changing the partitions shown above???

I think this is good :)
In my opinion 22GB is big, unless you plan for something else.



As you can see already had one....should I change it?

No, you don't have to
you can use current instead :)

OR as @Skry sayd
you can make swap in you SD ( for optimal performance )




Is it OK to do this in GParted?.....

Why not ( I think it works )
But I like using mkfs.ext4




So, what does 'sd' mean in this case??....

You can see in gparted the name of the device and partition
and I think n900 should be /dev/sdb
The partition where arch will be installed may be /dev/sdb5
This depends on your connected devices.
do you get it now ? :)


Partition File System Mount Point Label Size Used Flags
/dev/sda1 FAT Nokia N900 4.88GB 3.24GB lba
/dev/sda4 extended 22.12GB
/dev/sda5 ext3 22.08GB 527.58MB
unallocated unallocated 36MB
/dev/sda2 ext3 /media/sda2 2.00GB 350.30MB
/dev/sda3 linux-swap 768MB
unallocated unallocated 63.97MB


I don't know why its /dev/sda here :(, it should be /dev/sdb
but be careful please ( you may damage your internal PC HDD )



And I can do this from terminal on PC?

Sure ( thats what I recommend )



So, you recommend downloading Arch file to PC and then 'tar' it over to N900?
Yeah, Faster and more efficient.



Hope it's OK that I already had installed U-Boot.... :)

Good, but make sure you have the correct version at pali site (https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/)



Thanks for your help!

You are very welcome my friend. ;)

[caveman]

This is my current setup as a reference. There are 2 independent installations, at both SD and eMMC.

eMMC partition table:

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/mmcblk0p1 33 524320 16777216 c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/mmcblk0p2 884866 950401 2097152 83 Linux
/dev/mmcblk0p3 950402 974977 786432 82 Linux swap
/dev/mmcblk0p4 524321 884865 11537440 5 Extended
/dev/mmcblk0p5 524353 884865 11536416 83 Linux


SD partition table:

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/mmcblk1p1 * 1 2022 7761889 83 Linux


u-boot item files:

Nokia-N900:~# cat /etc/bootmenu.d/arch-*


ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM @ EMMC"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M verbose"

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM @ SD"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${EXT_CARD}p1"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"


Regarding swap, the best performance will be achieved by using the swap partition on a different disk than the system. Eg, if running from the SD, use swap on the eMMC, or the other way around.

Be careful when messing with things at this level, specially MyDocs partition, since u-boot keeps stuff there. I learned that the hard way ;)

[ArchiMark]

I think this is good :)
In my opinion 22GB is big, unless you plan for something else.

Thanks....agree that 22GB is big....so, maybe I'll cut it in half and make another partition....





No, you don't have to
you can use current instead :)

OR as @Skry sayd
you can make swap in you SD ( for optimal performance )

OK....






Why not ( I think it works )
But I like using mkfs.ext4

I see.....



You can see in gparted the name of the device and partition
and I think n900 should be /dev/sdb
The partition where arch will be installed may be /dev/sdb5
This depends on your connected devices.
do you get it now ? :)

Yes, think I get the idea....thanks....



I don't know why its /dev/sda here :(, it should be /dev/sdb
but be careful please ( you may damage your internal PC HDD )

Hmmm....it could be this way due to fact that I'm actually using my little OpenPandora as my 'PC'.... :)

It just has a small NAND and then I have 2 SD cards in it. The SD cards are showing up in GParted as mmcblk0 and mmcblk1.

Only other drive listed in GParted is the Nokia....it does not list the internal NAND....

So, think I'm OK.......hopefully.... ;)







Sure ( thats what I recommend )

Got it....


Yeah, Faster and more efficient.

Got it....



Good, but make sure you have the correct version at pali site (https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/)

Thanks for the link....I did see that site....
However, I also read somewhere (Pali's U-Boot thread?...) that the version we want is in Extras-Testing now....so, got it and installed it from there....hope that's OK, if not, I'll need to reinstall....





You are very welcome my friend. ;)

Greatly appreciate all your detailed help...makes a big difference....thanks!

[ArchiMark]

This is my current setup as a reference. There are 2 independent installations, at both SD and eMMC.

Why 2 independent installations?.....

eMMC partition table:

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/mmcblk0p1 33 524320 16777216 c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/mmcblk0p2 884866 950401 2097152 83 Linux
/dev/mmcblk0p3 950402 974977 786432 82 Linux swap
/dev/mmcblk0p4 524321 884865 11537440 5 Extended
/dev/mmcblk0p5 524353 884865 11536416 83 Linux


SD partition table:

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/mmcblk1p1 * 1 2022 7761889 83 Linux


u-boot item files:

Nokia-N900:~# cat /etc/bootmenu.d/arch-*


ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM @ EMMC"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M verbose"

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM @ SD"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${EXT_CARD}p1"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"


Thanks for all this info.....

Regarding swap, the best performance will be achieved by using the swap partition on a different disk than the system. Eg, if running from the SD, use swap on the eMMC, or the other way around.

Understand about swap location.....

But still a bit confused about what is SD vs eMMC.....

Be careful when messing with things at this level, specially MyDocs partition, since u-boot keeps stuff there. I learned that the hard way ;)

Understand....and that is one reason why I'm asking questions here...trying to avoid making a big mess of n900....have been there before with n900 and other devices in the past.... ;)

Thanks!

[caveman]

Why 2 independent installations?.....


This is my testbed. I started with the SD, and then created a new install in the eMMC.


But still a bit confused about what is SD vs eMMC.....


SD is the external memory card; eMMC is the internal 32Gb memory card.
This can be really confusing at times, since maemo uses reversed numbers from u-boot and ARCH.

[ArchiMark]

This is my testbed. I started with the SD, and then created a new install in the eMMC.



SD is the external memory card; eMMC is the internal 32Gb memory card.
This can be really confusing at times, since maemo uses reversed numbers from u-boot and ARCH.

Thanks for your explanations....


Meanwhile, not sure if it's just that battery went dead or if I borked my n900, after GParted said it completed making new partition successfully, the n900 disappeared from GParted and then display went black on n900.....

Disconnected n900 from Pandora and now when I try to start up n900 nothing happens... ;-(

Assume it's reflash time, right?.....

Assuming I get n900 working again, I think it's probably best to try installing Arch on SD card first.....

Oh well....

UPDATE

Fully recharged battery and tried booting up n900 again...now it boots up normally!....

So, that's good news.....but think I'll still try to install to SD card first....

[AhmadMhd]

@ٍSkry
how is it going :)

I tried the sgx driver but X couldn't start ( I've enabled the powervr.service with no luck ).

So I reverted back to unaccelerated driver
X starts BUT the touch coordinates on the screen are inverted ( tab on high area --> the cursor goes down )
Am I the only one having this issue :(

Thanks!

[Skry]

@ٍSkry
how is it going :)

I tried the sgx driver but X couldn't start ( I've enabled the powervr.service with no luck ).

So I reverted back to unaccelerated driver
X starts BUT the touch coordinates on the screen are inverted ( tab on high area --> the cursor goes down )
Am I the only one having this issue :(

Thanks!

Not that good, life is rough.

Like I've said, I can't promise that SGX stuff would work. It should, but if it's not I probably can't help. I'll take a look at the log..

Touchscreen axes are inverted because you don't provide calibration data. There is package n900-configs that includes input device configuration file for Xorg, including calibration options amongst other things.

[Skry]

@AhmadMhd

You are missing the omapfb.vram kernel boot argument, so you don't have any memory assigned for fb1 and fb2. So, add omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M to boot arguments and try SGX again, should work, though it's unstable with Xorg 1.14 currently.

[ArchiMark]

Back again.... ;)

I've untarred Arch rootfs file onto my microSD card....kept partitioning simple to get this going....figure I can always redo this if I want once I have successfully gotten Arch to run....

So, now onto to Step 5.....have some questions please...


5- Install and configure U-boot

Install u-boot version (that sports booting 3.x kernels)
add boot entry in /etc/bootmenu.d/Arch.item

example

Code:
ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p5 rootwait init=/bin /systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"This should work if you untar the image FileSystem on /dev/mmcblk0p5
run

Code:
u-boot-update-bootmenu

reboot



Question 1

Where do I create the bootmenu item?

Do you mean from inside the /etc/bootmenu.d/ directory on the microSD card where I untarred the rootfs file or ?


Question 2

Only have 2 partitions on my microSD card as follows:

/dev/mmcblk1p1 vfat

/dev/mmcblk1p2 ext2


So, should my bootmenu item look like this:


Code:
ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p2"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext2"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p2 rootwait init=/bin /systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"


Thanks!

[jd4200]

Where do I create the bootmenu item?

Do you mean from inside the /etc/bootmenu.d/ directory on the microSD card where I untarred the rootfs file or ?

Not on the microSD, no.
All the uboot menu items go in /etc/bootmenu.d/ on the phone itself.


Question 2

Only have 2 partitions on my microSD card as follows:

/dev/mmcblk1p1 vfat

/dev/mmcblk1p2 ext2

So, should my bootmenu item look like this:


Code:
ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p2"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext2"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p2 rootwait init=/bin /systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"


Thanks!
Assuming you have extracted Arch to the ext2 parition, (I don't know if u-boot reads FAT?), I believe you just need to change:
root=/dev/mmcblk1p2
to
root=/dev/mmcblk0p2
as the block numbers are not the same as in maemo.

Give that a try, just don't forget to run u-boot-update-bootmenu afterwards.

[ArchiMark]

Not on the microSD, no.
All the uboot menu items go in /etc/bootmenu.d/ on the phone itself.


Assuming you have extracted Arch to the ext2 parition, (I don't know if u-boot reads FAT?), I believe you just need to change:
root=/dev/mmcblk1p2
to
root=/dev/mmcblk0p2
as the block numbers are not the same as in maemo.

Give that a try, just don't forget to run u-boot-update-bootmenu afterwards.

Thanks for your help!

Yes, I extracted to the ext2 partition....

Updated Arch.item per your comments...

However, now, having problem trying to run 'u-boot-update-bootmenu'.....

Do I run this command while in Terminal in maemo on n900 or u-boot when I start up n900?

When I try doing it in terminal on n900 I get:


$ u-boot-update-bootmenu
~sh: u-boot-update-bootmenu: not found


Thanks for your help!

[jd4200]

However, now, having problem trying to run 'u-boot-update-bootmenu'.....
You run that inside maemo terminal: any time you make any changes to the files in /etc/bootmenu.d/ you need to run that.

If it saying command not found, have you installed u-boot-tools and u-boot itself (not from the repositories)?
https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/u-boot-tools_2012.10-rc3-1_armel.deb

Edit: You really need to read the first post of this thread VERY carefully.
From the other thread it seems you have installed u-boot from the repositories, which is broken.

You need to completely remove u-boot, and install the versions from here (https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/).
this (https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/u-boot-flasher_2012.10-rc3-1_armel.deb), this (https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/u-boot-tools_2012.10-rc3-1_armel.deb), and this (https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/u-boot-bootimg_2012.10-rc3-1_armel.deb).


Install U-Boot

Get U-Boot.
Get your system to boot to Maemo first. This is the most trivial part of the installation, and you need to get this done and tested before continuing. I don't want or need any reports of not being able to boot.

NOTE:
U-Boot in Fremantle repos currently can't boot 3.x kernels, see here for a proper build.

[ArchiMark]

You run that inside maemo terminal: any time you make any changes to the files in /etc/bootmenu.d/ you need to run that.

If it saying command not found, have you installed u-boot-tools and u-boot itself (not from the repositories)?
https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/u-boot-tools_2012.10-rc3-1_armel.deb

Edit: You really need to read the first post of this thread VERY carefully.
From the other thread it seems you have installed u-boot from the repositories, which is broken.

You need to completely remove u-boot, and install the versions from here (https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/).
this (https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/u-boot-flasher_2012.10-rc3-1_armel.deb), this (https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/u-boot-tools_2012.10-rc3-1_armel.deb), and this (https://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pali/u-boot/u-boot-bootimg_2012.10-rc3-1_armel.deb).

THANK YOU for all your detailed input...really helps!

I have read the first post several times, while it is good overview, it is not that detailed for dummy like me.... :rolleyes:

- Yes, installed U-Boot from testing repo as I thought it was the right version.....

- Didn't realize that the U-Boot flasher file didn't include everything... :o

So, will do as you instruct and try it again.... :)

[jd4200]

If all else fails, start from scratch and follow this tutorial:
http://tinyurl.com/archn900

[ArchiMark]

If all else fails, start from scratch and follow this tutorial:
http://tinyurl.com/archn900

THANKS!

Wish I'd seen that sooner.....

Meanwhile, I tried installing U-Boot as per your instructions....

Got following error message in terminal:


....blah, blah, blah......

Generating u-boot image for kernel 'u-boot-2012.10-rc3-1.bin'...
Adding bootmenu entry for: 'U-Boot 2012.10-rc3-1'

Configuration file: /etc/bootmenu.d/Arch.item:
/usr/bin/u-boot-update-bootmenu: /etc/bootmenu.d/Arch.item: line 6: INT_CARD: not found
/usr/bin/u-boot-update-bootmenu: /etc/bootmenu.d/Arch.item: line 6: rootwait: not found
Setting up u-boot-tools (2012.10-rc3-1) ...
Errors were encountered while processing:
u-boot-flasher_2012.04-2_armel.deb


Just noticed on the blog page that there's one more file to install?


(root) apt-get install fiasco-image-update-ask


I did not install that file...did that now....
Re-ran U-Boot install, but now I see that it updated kernel to another version....is that OK?

Also, per blog page, I edited my Arch.item file to say 'EXT_CARD' instead of 'INT_CARD', since I'm using SD card....

Did 'u-boot-update-bootmenu' too...

Now I get the following message:


....blah, blah, blah......

Generating u-boot image for kernel 'u-boot-2012.10-rc3-1.bin'...
Adding bootmenu entry for: 'U-Boot 2012.10-rc3-1'

Configuration file: /etc/bootmenu.d/Arch.item:
/usr/bin/u-boot-update-bootmenu: /etc/bootmenu.d/Arch.item: line 6: EXT_CARD: not found
/usr/bin/u-boot-update-bootmenu: /etc/bootmenu.d/Arch.item: line 6: rootwait: not found



Please advise....

Thanks!

[Skry]

@ArchiMark

Error you got is pretty straightforward, fix the menu item. There are plenty of examples how it should be done mentioned already, it's not that complicated. If you can't make it, please at least post the contents of the file so we can actually help, but do know that the inability to resolve problem like this will probably mean a very hard learning curve ahead with Arch.

@no-one in particular

I may sound like an *******, but U-Boot has been discussed already in this thread many times, even though this is not a thread for U-Boot. I understand that it can be a pain to set up, but this thread will not be of any help to anyone, nor constructive in any way, if its filled up by 20 pages of U-Boot errors mostly caused by inability to read instructions. So, the U-Boot thread has very detailed instructions, and in my book, it has every bit of info you may need to have in setting it up. This thread has many useful posts and even examples how it should be done. If someone feels this is not enough, both we and maemo.org have a wiki, feel free to make a documentation of the matter everyone can understand.

[ArchiMark]

Skyry & Others,

My apologies for my recent posts about U-Boot issues, etc.....

FWIW, I did set up Arch by myself to dual boot with Win7 on the little Fujitsu U820 convertible tabletPC that I had a while back.....so, I have successfully installed Arch before as well as other linux distros in the past.

This is also reason that I am interested in getting Arch running on the n900....

I will try to work on this myself...

Thanks.

[Skry]

Don't take it that way, like I said, post the contents of the item file and we'll help.

[ArchiMark]

Don't take it that way, like I said, post the contents of the item file and we'll help.

Thank you, Skry...appreciate it.....

Here's content of item file....


ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM (SD Card)"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="$(EXT_CARD)p2
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext2"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb, vram=0, 3M, 1:3M, 2:3M quiet"


So, looking at this now, I think one mistake is that it should be 'mmcblk1p2' as I just check info after doing 'mount' in terminal ??.... :o

So, just tried making this change and doing 'u-boot-update-bootmenu' again, but I get the same error message as before about line 6: EXT_CARD not found and rootwait not found......

So, if you think there's mistake in Arch.item let me know and I'll try it again...

Also, per previous post, I did let kernel update happen....so, uninstalled it and re-installed the u-boot packages....but no change, when trying to run Arch...

If Archi.item not it, then thinking maybe I need to delete everything and start fresh....

Thanks!

[Skry]

ITEM_DEVICE="$(EXT_CARD)p2


I already knew what's wrong with your config from the error you posted. Now, look very closely at that line, whats missing? Are all characters what they should be?

omapfb, vram=0, 3M, 1:3M, 2:3M

Spot the differences: omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M


So, looking at this now, I think one mistake is that it should be 'mmcblk1p2' as I just check info after doing 'mount' in terminal ??.... :o


Already stated multiple times, in instructions and otherwise, mmc devices get swapped in Maemo. So, mmcblk0 is emmc in Maemo only, otherwise it means sd-card and is what you want in your config.

With the above fixed, it should work

[ArchiMark]

I already knew what's wrong with your config from the error you posted. Now, look very closely at that line, whats missing? Are all characters what they should be?



Spot the differences: omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M




Already stated multiple times, in instructions and otherwise, mmc devices get swapped in Maemo. So, mmcblk0 is emmc in Maemo only, otherwise it means sd-card and is what you want in your config.

With the above fixed, it should work

THANKS, Skry, for all the help.....

I see that I missed the " at the end of the 'EXT_CARD' line at 'p2'....


As for the second error regarding 'omapfb.vram', that was a typing error here on the forum post, not in Arch.item..... :o

Now, after doing 'u-boot-update-bootmenu', I get the following:


line 3: EXT_CARD: not found



-------------------UPDATE 2----------

I looked at other example and saw that I had () instead of brackets {} around EXT_CARD.

Also, re-read your post and changed mmcblk1p2 to mmcblk0p2 and

and ran u-boot-update-boot menu again...Now, I still get:


Error: Invalid file - missing kernel or script file


-------------------UPDATE 3----------

Rebooted n900 to see what would happen and good news is now I do see a boot item listed for Arch......bad news is that when I selected it and tried to boot it, nothing happened...just ended up at the prompt #....

Searched on the error message: Invalid file - missing kernel or script file on the U-Boot thread and there's a post regarding it....

http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1166011&postcount=107

And there's some comments on it after this post.....but not clear to me the fix....

[ayazpak]

can any body here give detail instructions how to add bootmenu entry through xterm?

[ArchiMark]

can any body here give detail instructions how to add bootmenu entry through xterm?

Per Skry's message above....don't think it's wise to get into such discussion on this thread.....I will try to message you info on your question...I'm already in hot water here, as we say.... :rolleyes:

[Estel]

No hot water, it's just that U-Boot have own, separate thread. No reasons for avoiding using it for U-Boot related problems.

[ArchiMark]

No hot water, it's just that U-Boot have own, separate thread. No reasons for avoiding using it for U-Boot related problems.

Good point, but question now is whether my most recent issue (see prior post...) is due to U-Boot problem or other problem?

:confused:

[AhmadMhd]

@AhmadMhd

You are missing the omapfb.vram kernel boot argument, so you don't have any memory assigned for fb1 and fb2. So, add omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M to boot arguments and try SGX again, should work, though it's unstable with Xorg 1.14 currently.
True
but still unstable _ sometimes the X hangs :)

btw : did you consider providing a mirror for your repo :rolleyes:
What is the size of the packages in your repo ?

Thanks!

[Skry]

True
but still unstable _ sometimes the X hangs :)

Yes, like I said. If someone wants to fix it, driver source is on my github repo.

btw : did you consider providing a mirror for your repo :rolleyes:
What is the size of the packages in your repo ?

Approx 20MB. I'll be moving it to new host asap, and after that anyone willing can keep a mirror IF he is ready to keep it up to date.

[ayazpak]

I booted into Archlinux, but in command mode instead of GUI mode. Any solution?

[Skry]

I booted into Archlinux, but in command mode instead of GUI mode. Any solution?

That's how it's intended to be. Read the instructions.

[AhmadMhd]

Approx 20MB. I'll be moving it to new host asap, and after that anyone willing can keep a mirror IF he is ready to keep it up to date.

20MB is pretty small and easy to handle
Tell us when you have the hosting :)

I'll try to have a look at the driver source.

Thanks!

[Skry]

20MB is pretty small and easy to handle
Tell us when you have the hosting :)

Will do.

I'll try to have a look at the driver source.

You probably will need to look at the kernel driver source too, available on the same location.

Btw, everyone, if you feel you can help with something like the above, don't be shy. I'm increasingly busy with other stuff so, can't do everything by myself.

[Keneraali]

What's the best desktop engine to use with Arch? And how to get right click working?
I've tried E17, lxde and I'm now using Xfce

[caveman]

What's the best desktop engine to use with Arch? And how to get right click working?
I've tried E17, lxde and I'm now using Xfce

The desktop is a matter of taste. Currently I am using e17.

right mouse button emulation: http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...&postcount=299
Option "EmulateThirdButton" "1"
Option "EmulateThirdButtonTimeout" "750"
Option "EmulateThirdButtonThreshold" "30"

[Skry]

What's the best desktop engine to use with Arch?

Depends on what you are intending to do with it, what kind of functionality you need and are used to. Many seem to like E17 and I too find it quite good. Personally I don't have any DE installed, and I mostly use tiling window manager everywhere I actually need to do something: dwm, spectrwm and awesome being my usual choices. Naturally these require some creativity, especially with keyboard shortcuts.

And how to get right click working?

In addition to what caveman described, it's possible to map right and middle clicks to shift+click and fn+click with xbindkeys and xdotool.

I've tried E17, lxde and I'm now using Xfce

Isn't that a bit heavy?

[Skry]

New repo is now functional.

$ cat /etc/pacman.d/alarm-n900
Server = http://alarm-n900.org/$repo
Server = http://dl.dropbox.com/u/49989728/arch-n900/$repo

Also, I noticed that X crashes appear even with the regular fbdev driver. Not sure what to do about this, might need to revert to 1.13.

[caveman]

Also, I noticed that X crashes appear even with the regular fbdev driver. Not sure what to do about this, might need to revert to 1.13.

I have been experiencing this as well. Here are the partial logs for reference:


(EE)
(EE) Backtrace:
(EE)
(EE) Segmentation fault at address 0x4
(EE) BUG: triggered 'if (inSignalContext)'
(EE) BUG: log.c:502 in LogVMessageVerb()
(EE) Warning: attempting to log data in a signal unsafe manner while in signal co
ntext.
Please update to check inSignalContext and/or use LogMessageVerbSigSafe() or ErrorFSigSafe().
The offending log format message is:

Fatal server error:

[sojab0on]

I have got an problem i just managed to extract the arch rootfs to my 16gb micro sd card and i created an u-boot menu item file with following in it

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM (SD Card)"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${EXT_CARD}p1"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 rootwait
init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

now when i use the u-boot-update-bootmenu command from xtem in root it give back then following

configuration file: /etc/bootmenu.d/20-archlinux.item
'rror: unkown file system 'ext4

what can i do to correct this and be able to run arch linux on my n900

thanx for the advance

[caveman]

now when i use the u-boot-update-bootmenu command from xtem in root it give back then following

configuration file: /etc/bootmenu.d/20-archlinux.item
'rror: unkown file system 'ext4


My guess is that you are running maemo's kernel. You may try installing kernel-power-bootimg, as it supports ext4, and retry under kp.

Or use ext3 on the uSD.

[Skry]

re Xorg issues..

It seems the same issue is present for raspi folk, and even someone using chromebook, there's an issue opened at archlinuxarm issue tracker for it. So, nothing to do but wait for update that fixes it or revert to 1.13.

EDIT:
https://github.com/archlinuxarm/PKGBUILDs/issues/446
http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=38568&p=320464

[int_ua]

there's an issue opened at archlinuxarm issue tracker for it. Can you please add the link?

[syrjala]

Also, I noticed that X crashes appear even with the regular fbdev driver. Not sure what to do about this, might need to revert to 1.13.

I'm surprised that you got the fbdev-sgx driver to work w/ more recent X servers at all. Mainly I would expect that you'd need to forward port all the dri2 changes from the harmattan xserver that never made it upstream.

[Skry]

Forward port for 1.13 was done by Marko Saukko, all I did was a tweak for 1.14 and corrected some paths here and there to match dss changes in more recent kernels, packaging etc. For kernel driver, I bluntly removed dependency to dss bits that appeared to be not upstreamed. I'm not sure at all it's done right, or if it's enough but at least it's been usable for 2D, and the few GLES tests I've done, did work.
So, we have usable driver, which is somewhat faster and more featurefull than the plain fbdev to use until someone comes up with a better one. Unfortunately I don't possess the skills to do that.

[syrjala]

Forward port for 1.13 was done by Marko Saukko, all I did was a tweak for 1.14 and corrected some paths here and there to match dss changes in more recent kernels, packaging etc. For kernel driver, I bluntly removed dependency to dss bits that appeared to be not upstreamed. I'm not sure at all it's done right, or if it's enough but at least it's been usable for 2D, and the few GLES tests I've done, did work.
So, we have usable driver, which is somewhat faster and more featurefull than the plain fbdev to use until someone comes up with a better one. Unfortunately I don't possess the skills to do that.

I was refering to dri2 patches in the xserver itself, not in the driver. I suspect the result is less than good if the xserver's dri2 code is taken from upstream. But it's possible that the problems won't become visible unless you have a GLES based compositor.

As far as the kernel goes, IIRC the whole vsync infrastructure never got fully upstreamed. That may mean that page flipping either won't work, or blows up as well :)

[Skry]

I was refering to dri2 patches in the xserver itself, not in the driver. I suspect the result is less than good if the xserver's dri2 code is taken from upstream. But it's possible that the problems won't become visible unless you have a GLES based compositor.

Yes, less than good seems to be the case here. Actually, compiling with -DCOMPOSITE etc does not even work currently, so the support is not there.

As far as the kernel goes, IIRC the whole vsync infrastructure never got fully upstreamed. That may mean that page flipping either won't work, or blows up as well :)

That is exactly what the state currently is :) However, I've seen it cause (visual) trouble only with hildon-desktop for far.

[nokiabot]

whats going up?? update a bit abt achivments and still to be achived:)

[Skry]

whats going up?? update a bit abt achivments and still to be achived:)

I'm busy and currently have very little time to put into this, if at all.

Some goals to achieve / ideas / todo:

Cleanup all PKGBUILDS etc and put them to github so my absence can be compensated if necessary.

Package Xorg 1.13. Fbdev is broken apparently upstream, so this needs to be done to restore functionality. I will try to do that at some point if no one else is going to.

Update all neon builds.

In addition to neon builds of packages, provide also egl/gles2 builds (like Cairo, Enlightenment, etc)

Provide Weston with fbdev backend, and maybe something else too supporting framebuffer at compile time, like netsurf.

Sort Pulseaudio mess. Currently call audio works but anything else makes PA go 80% CPU time. Needs packaging.

SGX binaries need repackaging. This will probably end in me compiling mesa too.

New rootfs, especially since netctl is out.

Get people involved, I can't handle this currently by myself.

So, what I'm doing? I'm working on Awesome configuration for touchscreen devices, partially inspired by Hildon desktop. I've also been doing some theme work in that department, and otherwise.

Kernel side is completely in other hands, so we're going with the current 3.5 until upstream kernel is usable.

I guess that's about it. Comments, questions and suggestions are very welcome.

[Android_808]

skry, are the android drivers for sgx in better shape? just wondering if maybe using them with libhybris would sort out some of your issues.

[Skry]

skry, are the android drivers for sgx in better shape? just wondering if maybe using them with libhybris would sort out some of your issues.

No idea, I can take a look.

Edit:
If I understood correctly, this would require us to use Android kernel.

[radiochickenwax]

I'm busy and currently have very little time to put into this, if at all.

Get people involved, I can't handle this currently by myself.


Just some quick thoughts: How can we help? Say we could recompile and package some things like Xserver 1.13... or even less useful packages. How can we get them into a repo? I saw you'd started this git page (https://github.com/archlinuxarm-n900/mission), but I didn't see many files there.

I'm just running your rootfs from the original on my spare n900 with a broken usb port, trying to test it out. Currently the X crashes/freezes are my biggest problem.

[Skry]

Just some quick thoughts: How can we help? Say we could recompile and package some things like Xserver 1.13... or even less useful packages. How can we get them into a repo? I saw you'd started this git page (https://github.com/archlinuxarm-n900/mission), but I didn't see many files there.

You can:
a) make a PKGBUILD and send it to me.
b) once I've setup the github page properly and placed more content in there, do a pull request.
c) request membership to our github organization, if you feel like maintaining something.
d) send me prebuilt packages with an explanation, what and why.

I'm just running your rootfs from the original on my spare n900 with a broken usb port, trying to test it out. Currently the X crashes/freezes are my biggest problem.

I'll try to fix this asap, I need to try out new TI Graphics SDK first, if the driver in there is OK I'll be offering you Xorg 1.12 (driver is compiled for that one). If not, you'll get the 1.13 with the current half working driver.

This might not be the solution most would want, but if TI driver works fine enough I'll go with it. I don't have the skills to fix the current Nokia derived one and no one capable is interested, and at least TI updates theirs four times in a year, already supporting kernels up to 3.8. I'm also pretty f*ing tired dealing with this issue, constantly.

[radiochickenwax]

I need to try out new TI Graphics SDK first, if the driver in there is OK I'll be offering you Xorg 1.12 ... This might not be the solution most would want...

Thanks again! That sounds awesome, any solution is better than nothing. At a glance, the newest stuff doesn't seem to support the 34xx OMAPs. Hopefully I'm wrong about this, since the sgx GPUs are the same?

http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/AM35x-OMAP35x_Graphics_SDK_Getting_Started_Guide

http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Graphics_SDK_Quick_installation_and_user_guide

You can: a) b) c) d)

Okay, I'll try. I'm also short on skills, time, etc but I'd really like this project to work. I can donate some time to build and test -run packages, but not much more at the moment unfortunately. Wish I (or somebody else) could do more to help balance your work load.

I've been trying to test out Android, Debian, and Ubuntu for various reasons too. I'm not sure what would need to be done in order to boot their kernels with Arch yet, or if that would solve anything. Hopefully sometime this week I can try this.

[Skry]

Just a quick update, SGX up and running with TI drm driver.


(II) pvr(0): [DRI2] Setup complete
(II) pvr(0): [DRI2] DRI driver: pvr
(II) EXA(0): Driver allocated offscreen pixmaps
(II) EXA(0): Driver registered support for the following operations:
(II) Solid
(II) Copy
(II) Composite (RENDER acceleration)
(II) UploadToScreen
(==) pvr(0): Backing store disabled
(==) pvr(0): Silken mouse enabled
(==) pvr(0): DPMS enabled
(==) pvr(0): Direct rendering enabled


and the obligatory:


[skry@n900 ~]$ export COGL_DRIVER=gles2
[skry@n900 ~]$ DISPLAY=:0 /usr/share/cogl/examples/cogl-gles2-gears
vertex shader info: Success.
fragment shader info: Success.
info:
1183 frames in 5.0 seconds = 236.557 FPS
1186 frames in 5.0 seconds = 237.076 FPS
1186 frames in 5.0 seconds = 237.009 FPS


Got a few crashes with chromium when pages got complex enough. Otherwise, based on a very quick testing: looks promising.

[Skry]

Possible fix for Xorg 1.14 has just been applied to Arch Linux ARM packaging. Now, let's wait it to hit the repos to see if we have a fix. Meanwhile, I'll continue playing around with the TI stuff.

[Android_808]

re: libhybis
my understanding was it let you use android drivers which usually require bionic to run on glibc systems instead. the demo has it running on mer.

as you have it working now it doesn't matter anyway.

[goodgod261]

Tested last update with
while true; do dmesg; done
in LXTerminal. With previous version it crashed X within 5 seconds. Now it works like a charm!

Actually, just in case I gave it more vram, but I think it would work without it.

[Skry]

I just briefly tested too, works fine with xf86-video-fbdev.

[caveman]

there also comes a weston upgrade with fbdev support :-)

[PWN900]

Hello all. I am currently trying to compile kali linux to the n900. unfortunately their is no documentation on this matter. I am looking for pointers, advice, and would take a facepalm at this point. I would like to use the Arch install template here only applying the kali armel/hf. Any help or direction on the matter would be great!

[nokiabot]

Pwn wHY work on a new system from scrach when there is a ongoing devlopment in process why dont you leverage your skills here and help it shape up to a full fleged distro:)

think again

[misiak]

Pwn wHY work on a new system from scrach when there is a ongoing devlopment in process why dont you leverage your skills here and help it shape up to a full fleged distro:)

think again

Although I generally agree, I also think Kali Linux could be of great use on N900. See Kali Linux: http://www.kali.org/news/kali-linux-whats-new/

Advantages (that I saw after reading their website):

Debian based
Being FHS-compliant
Similar to BackTrack but better (made by people standing behind BackTrack, but concentrated by default exclusively on pentesting)
Being more serious about ARM architecture


For me that's enought to at least try it on desktop and I would love to be able to install it on N900 then.

@PWN900 - maybe try using IRC channels - the one for alternative operating systems on N900 and even the one on maemo cssu - guys like freemangordon or pali seem to have compiled the 3.X kernels on N900 and run them successfully, pali is also a programmer and maintainer of n900's u-boot which now allows to boot up-to-date 3.X kernels if needed; they should be also able to tell you more why 3.X kernels perform worse on N900 then 2.6.28 or 2.6.37 (something related to resources and power managment, but I'm not able to tell you more unfortunately).

[Skry]

I fail to see how something being Debian based would give advantage over anything.

Situation with upstream kernel is complicated, there has been no-one interested in maintaining drivers etc for a stillborn device in quite awhile.

[misiak]

I fail to see how something being Debian based would give advantage over anything.

These are advantages personally for me, not generally for everyone, I could have stated that better. Being Debian-based for me is an advantage, as I have most experience with Debian-based linux systems (it's my personal preference to e.g. like dpkg and apt-get better when comapred to rpm-based systems, etc.).

Thank you for clarifying why the situation with drivers is complicated, I suspected that but wasn't sure.

Anyway, I didn't want to start any flame war about different distributions and didn't want to derail this thread, so I'm just gonna shut up now ;)

[nokiabot]

Carry on investing time on tons of distros..
I was just trying to put more efforts on a existing system to make it full fledged then we could think of something
every distro has its points through

[PWN900]

Thank you all for the info. This is feels like a better starting point for me as far as the kernel and other possible drivers . I believe my real problem is hardware tho. What i really want is a phone the size of a DNA with the power of an alienware that has all the goodies of the N900 keyboard, injection capable wireless chip-set, and LTS for whatever OS (dream idea not what should be feasible). Why is it that we here at maemo don't just break from nokia and use Kickstarter-funded project for the hardware and start using the community to find out what the OS should do out of the box. We could use a base OS like arch or debain and let individual users build from the ground up. Good, bad, go to a different form?

maemo community is the future of communication :D

[Skry]

These are advantages personally for me, not generally for everyone, I could have stated that better.

Precisely. My comment was intended to be merely a neutral statement, but I guess I failed to hide my personal opinion there.

However, there actually is one huge advantage in Debian if we think our cause: the packaging, and the fact that its already done and can be re-used to some extent at least.

Regardless of my personal opinions and preferences, the currently on-going effort on rebasing Fremantle to Debian, is in my book the only sane and serious option, and I really hope that the project succeeds. It is something that should have been started years ago with a full community force, rather than sticking with what Nokia had to offer and trying to keep it running.

I'm just gonna shut up now ;)

No need for such action, I may be blunt sometimes but discussion and different views are something that I wish to see in this thread.

every distro has its points through

Exactly, though I think the actual points appear more in the "major" distributions, and possibly in a few bigger spin-offs.

Why is it that we here at maemo don't just break from nokia and use Kickstarter-funded project for the hardware and start using the community to find out what the OS should do out of the box.

It's a nice idea, if we play with it; something in the form factor of N900, with a slightly bigger screen. Allwinner SoCs are somewhat open and quite well supported on mainline Linux. Good, if not best, OS baseline would without a doubt be Mer. After that it would just be a matter of bringing HD up-to-date with a modern userland. Cordia project already made it run with more recent Clutter.

Unfortunately, I doubt this all would succeed, especially when the community seems to be in a bit fractured state nowadays. And I don't even want to know how proprietary is the hardware required to make it a cell phone too.

[nokiabot]

Precisely. My comment was intended to be merely a neutral statement, but I guess I failed to hide my personal opinion there.

However, there actually is one huge advantage in Debian if we think our cause: the packaging, and the fact that its already done and can be re-used to some extent at least.

Regardless of my personal opinions and preferences, the currently on-going effort on rebasing Fremantle to Debian, is in my book the only sane and serious option, and I really hope that the project succeeds. It is something that should have been started years ago with a full community force, rather than sticking with what Nokia had to offer and trying to keep it running.



No need for such action, I may be blunt sometimes but discussion and different views are something that I wish to see in this thread.



Exactly, though I think the actual points appear more in the "major" distributions, and possibly in a few bigger spin-offs.



It's a nice idea, if we play with it; something in the form factor of N900, with a slightly bigger screen. Allwinner SoCs are somewhat open and quite well supported on mainline Linux. Good, if not best, OS baseline would without a doubt be Mer. After that it would just be a matter of bringing HD up-to-date with a modern userland. Cordia project already made it run with more recent Clutter.

Unfortunately, I doubt this all would succeed, especially when the community seems to be in a bit fractured state nowadays. And I don't even want to know how proprietary is the hardware required to make it a cell phone too.

just thinking on the same we shoud have have our own upmc by now as we all have witnessed the power of the community . We have our own infra solid community funding to run it .insane amount of skilled devlopers a delligent community caring enough

[nokiabot]

Also m sure there are people who are accociated with such kind of things that are capable of governing of thing we require .also the community has lots of delligent people as an ex have a look at the council threads.
At least someone knowledgeble enough makd the thread an wach how far the discusion goes.

Or this trollbot will create the thread

[PWN900]

This most certainly is a project that will take a group effort like none other. What you have to ask your self is how much time and effort you want to put in, no half *** work or lose of steam upon first major problems. Clearly the ability to program and use opensorce is the least of the issues. As i look more into the issues, patients on cell phones is the biggest hurdle.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone_wars#cite_note-11)
No doubt that a patient layer will be needed at some stage of development. Weather or not kickstarter provides those resources, i am unsure at the moment. I don't know about the rest of the community but i am tired of buying the coolest gadget only to have support dropped three to four years latter. Having to deal with what phone to buy because it is market strategy to give certain features on one device and not to others. Its all crap lets stick it to the corporate monster and give it a shot. Pretty sure i am completely off topic now. If no one starts new forum on the subject i will do so in a couple of days.

Don't become alienated from what you love :D

[evujumenuk]

I'm unable to boot into Arch (using the latest u-boot, with an 8gb microsd card formatted as ext3) because I'm getting a KP with the following message:

Kernel Panic-not syncing: No init found

What could be the problem?

[Skry]

What could be the problem?

For more accurate analysis, you need to supply some information. If I need to start guessing, kernel bootarg init=/bin/systemd is missing from your uboot item.

[Boemien]

Hi Guys, in spite of all the effort i did to install and test this OS, i'm still confused about how to install it. I know this is not for beginners, but Please, can someone try to write a step by step guide about how to install this to the Nokia N900 (the first guide sounds too geek for me: for example, how to untar the archive when I plug my sdcard to the card reader under ubuntu, what command do i use to sync in the terminal)
I'M lost. I have an 8GB sdcard, already formated to ext3 with gparted under ubuntu, then i dont know what to do!!! :confused:

[ArchiMark]

Hi Guys, in spite of all the effort i did to install and test this OS, i'm still confused about how to install it. I know this is not for beginners, but Please, can someone try to write a step by step guide about how to install this to the Nokia N900 (the first guide sounds too geek for me: for example, how to untar the archive when I plug my sdcard to the card reader under ubuntu, what command do i use to sync in the terminal)
I'M lost. I have an 8GB sdcard, already formated to ext3 with gparted under ubuntu, then i dont know what to do!!! :confused:

A few pages back was link to this page....check it out....

http://blog.jakgibb.com/2013/03/28/arch-linux-arm-native-install-on-n900/

[Boemien]

A few pages back was link to this page....check it out....

http://blog.jakgibb.com/2013/03/28/arch-linux-arm-native-install-on-n900/

Yay! Thanks, I'll check this guide!!! Thanks a lot!!!!! :D

[Skry]

if such basic operation as extracting an archive is not something one is familiar with, I doubt this is the right distro, and copy-paste install kinda defeats the sole purpose of choosing a distro like Arch. I'm not discouraging but there are some requirements here other than the hardware. It's not knowing how to use tar, it's the ability to find out and understand how to use it. In addition, I don't want any more posts stating there is something wrong because some imaginary GUI wont start at boot and user gets some mysterius login prompt. Yes, there is a post like that in this thread. That said, welcome Boemien, and happy learning.

[Boemien]

Hahahaha!!! Yeap you're right!! I'm not as noob as you think, i mean, i had the N900 for about 2 years before selling it and switched to android for one year without touching any terminal or other stuff related to linux. So I forgot almost all things in using xTerm, even using the N900 browser. I bought another N900 here (on TMO) two weeks ago, and i'm re-learning how to use it the way I did before (learning all xTerm commands, trying to install old apps). In all the cases, Thanks for being there for members! :D

[Copernicus]

I'm not as noob as you think, i mean, i had the N900 for about 2 years before selling it and switched to android for one year without touching any terminal or other stuff related to linux.

Ah, it's not really a question of being a "noob", or of "touching a terminal". :) These days, an operating system is considered "user friendly" by hiding as much of the grungy details of managing hardware and services as possible. Arch works in the opposite manner; the choices that the distribution makes, and the packages it will install, are all made plain to you. You effectively become a partner in the process of constructing your personal distribution.

As such, it's really more comfortable for people who understand and enjoy the underlying workings of Linux and Linux-based software. (And it's not a bad way to learn some of those workings if you haven't played around with them before.)

But yeah, I kinda figure that you'd be better to try out Arch on a PC first, and see how you like it, before trying to use it on the N900. :)

[Boemien]

Yeah, i meant, i would learn more if I had a linux distrib with me (the N900 for example), but thanks for your advices!!! :D

[evujumenuk]

For more accurate analysis, you need to supply some information. If I need to start guessing, kernel bootarg init=/bin/systemd is missing from your uboot item.


No, it's not missing, I'm using the default u-boot config for arch. All files seem to be in the right place. What further infos do you need?
My device is in r&d mode and the watchdogs are disabled.
Here's a screen:
http://i.imgur.com/aKuC2Eu.jpg

[ArchiMark]

Back again..... :)

Have worked a lot on getting Arch installed...used the blog page as a guide...

http://blog.jakgibb.com/2013/03/28/arch-linux-arm-native-install-on-n900/

Installed u-boot-flasher via apt-get....as the versions listed on first page of this thread are not available now...Pali said it's OK to use the version he recently released.....

I created a new u-boot menu entry as follows:


ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM (eMMC)"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext3"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemdomapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"


Then I did


# u-boot-update-bootmenu

Adding entry for: 'Maemo 5 with attached kernel 2.6.28-omap1 (internal Nand)'

Configuration file: /etc/bootmenu/d/20-archlinux.item

Warning: Invalid file - missing kernel or script file - skipping...

Generating u-boot bootmenu script....



Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Skry]

ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemdomapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

That's wrong in the blog post mentioned previously. Now, what did I just say about copy-paste installs etc?

[Alecsandru]

mmcblk0p5? isn't here a way of integrating arch in -home partition mmcblkop2? it should gain more speed , and a have 8 gb home

[ArchiMark]

ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemdomapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

That's wrong in the blog post mentioned previously. Now, what did I just say about copy-paste installs etc?


Thanks for the reference to that line.....

I'm not copy-pasting btw, I'm trying to understand each step as I go along and I type in everything myself, which is why I make a mistake sometimes, ie, a typo....

So, changed line to:

ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

But still get same u-boot-update-bootmenu error message.....

Any suggestion?

[evujumenuk]

ok, I've managed to go a little bit further and am now getting a different error altogeher :D

VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown block(179,9)

I've fsck'ed the file system(everything seems fine) and searched for a solution in similar threads, but to no avail. Formatting the card as ext4 didn't help either.

[Boemien]

Hi Guys, I followed the Guide here:
http://blog.jakgibb.com/2013/03/28/arch-linux-arm-native-install-on-n900/

I formatted my sdcard to EXT4. Then when i untar(ed) the tar.gz file and the files were decompressed on my emmc so I copied them under ubuntu to the sdCard. I followed all the steps and when booting under uboot, i get this

http://imageshack.us/a/img829/9310/img20130428154457.jpg

Is there something wrong and who can help me solve it? Thanks in advance.

[Skry]

What further infos do you need?
My device is in r&d mode and the watchdogs are disabled.

For starters, how about sharing your u-boot menu item, and clearly stating on what partition on which device the rootfs resides?
There is no need for R&D mode or disabling watchdogs.

@ArchiMark
Error you get clearly states that kernel is not found, meaning it's not present in the location where you have set u-boot to look for it.

@Boemien
Kernel can't find init, like it says.

@ whoever
Again, this has been covered many times before now, in this thread and others. If u-boot is (configured, and otherwise) OK, kernel will boot, that has been proven already. If it boots but does not run, rootfs can't be found.

So, there is always the chance that there is some problem that has not been manifested before, and in such case you're very welcome to call me an ***hole and advertise this all as non-working sh*t, but if you guys cant make it work, it's most likely because the simple fact that you have not done your reading and/or don't understand what you are doing. I've already provided all information that is needed for installation, including the suggestion to read about it first, then understand what you're doing and finally performing the simple task of installation.

I don't actually enjoy going over and over the same, off-topic issue, endlessly while I'm on my very limited free time. Would you believe it?

[evujumenuk]

For starters, how about sharing your u-boot menu item, and clearly stating on what partition on which device the rootfs resides?


There you go:


cat /etc/bootmenu.d/50-arch.item

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux"
ITEM_DEVICE="${EXT_CARD}p1"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p1 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"

As the config says, the Arch rootfs is on the first partition of the microsd. Now that I've gotten past the init error, I'm getting the VFS one(which is the sign of a corrupted sd card, even though I've checked a few times already) and I might try to create another partition on the internal emmc, as a last resort.


There is no need for R&D mode or disabling watchdogs.

Actually, I've disabled the watchdogs for other reasons, but thought that it might interfere.

[Skry]

evujumenuk, root=/dev/mmcblk1p1 means first partition of emmc. Devices are swapped in Maemo. This is mentioned, for example, in the first post of this thread.

[evujumenuk]

evujumenuk, root=/dev/mmcblk1p1 means first partition of emmc. Devices are swapped in Maemo. This is mentioned, for example, in the first post of this thread.

Pardon me, didn't see that. Well anyway, with "root=/dev/mmcblk0p1" I get the dreaded "init not found" KP that I've mentioned in my first post. I had swapped the zero with a one and got the VFS error.

[ArchiMark]

@ArchiMark
Error you get clearly states that kernel is not found, meaning it's not present in the location where you have set u-boot to look for it.

Yes, understand that.....

I checked and it's actually in /mnt/boot....but I tried changing u-boot line to that and still got same error message...



@ whoever
Again, this has been covered many times before now, in this thread and others. If u-boot is (configured, and otherwise) OK, kernel will boot, that has been proven already. If it boots but does not run, rootfs can't be found.

So, there is always the chance that there is some problem that has not been manifested before, and in such case you're very welcome to call me an ***hole and advertise this all as non-working sh*t, but if you guys cant make it work, it's most likely because the simple fact that you have not done your reading and/or don't understand what you are doing. I've already provided all information that is needed for installation, including the suggestion to read about it first, then understand what you're doing and finally performing the simple task of installation.

I don't actually enjoy going over and over the same, off-topic issue, endlessly while I'm on my very limited free time. Would you believe it?

Yes, I believe it and again apologize for my posts.....

After posting my first recent post and posted over in the u-boot thread to get help....so, some people there are trying to help...but so far nothing has worked....but will keep trying.....over there...

Thanks.

[nokiabot]

Srky?? ****hole?? Nope its gloryhole:):D
We users are ****hole who keep bugging without debugging
arch is purely diy(do it yourself) distro totally depends upon our abilites to use it that comes from reading understanding and investing some time which goes less day by day as u learn it.
So always double check to ensure what you are asking isint answerd .
On the course you will find your answer also get to learn about it and new things you didnt knew.
This isint for the lazy people.....

[mlwane]

Installed u-boot-flasher via apt-get....as the versions listed on first page of this thread are not available now...Pali said it's OK to use the version he recently released.....

I created a new u-boot menu entry as follows:


ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM (eMMC)"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext3"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemdomapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"


Then I did


# u-boot-update-bootmenu

Adding entry for: 'Maemo 5 with attached kernel 2.6.28-omap1 (internal Nand)'

Configuration file: /etc/bootmenu/d/20-archlinux.item

Warning: Invalid file - missing kernel or script file - skipping...

Generating u-boot bootmenu script....



Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I have a suggestion for you. Try to remove "20-archlinux.item" from "/etc/bootmenu.d/", and then create a new, lets say "21-archlinux.item" file again. Also try to type the configuration manually, not just copy-paste, while paying attention there are no mistakes.

@Skry

Does u-boot really check for a kernel image?
I have Alarm on an Ext4 partition and I'm running stock kernel, so Maemo has no means whatsoever for accessing the partition to check for a kernel image, yet u-boot is able to update and happily creates an entry for Alarm.

[ArchiMark]

I have a suggestion for you. Try to remove "20-archlinux.item" from "/etc/bootmenu.d/", and then create a new, lets say "21-archlinux.item" file again. Also try to type the configuration manually, not just copy-paste, while paying attention there are no mistakes.


Thank you!

Did as you suggested and this time no error messages from u-boot-update-bootmenu!

btw, I did not copy-paste before, so, much have been a typo....

Well, just did reboot and I saw and selected Arch....Yeah!!!

Unfortunately, it does not boot up Arch though....get the following console error messages....


localhost login: [ 4.377685] omap_12c omap_12c.2: controller timed out
[ 4.784729] bcm2048 3-0022: BCM 12C error!
[ 4.786285] bcm2048 3-0022: Is Bluetooth up and running?
[ 5.885070] tpa6130a2 2-0060: Write failed
[ 5.885253] tpa6130a2 2-0060: Failed to initialize chip
[ 5.932525] et8ek8 3-003e: read from offset 0x1263 error -121
[ 5.933380] isp_register_subdev_group: Unable to register subdev et8e8
[ 6.032714] EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p4): unable to read superblock
[ 6.034698] smia-sensor 2-0010: read from offset 0x0 error -121
[ 6.102020] EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p4): unable to read superblock
[ 6.110565] EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p4): unable to read superblock
[ 6.390136] rx51-audio rx51-audio: asoc: failed to init TLV320AIC34: -19
[ 6.390411] asoc: failed to instantiate card RX-51: -19
[ 6.405364] rx-51-audio rx51-audio: snd_soc_register_card failed (-19)


I can take care of the error regarding formatting of mmcblk0p4....forgot about that partition....just formatted mmcblk0p5 to ext3 for Arch install....

Any suggestions now?

Thanks!

[caveman]

I have been running alarm from the emmc for a while now. Yesterday I took the uSD from the N900, and to my surprise arch does not boot without it. The kernel seems to load fine, but it never gets to load systemd, and I suspect rootfs never gets mounted.

If I just put in *any* uSD in the device, then arch boots fine.

I do not rule out some configuration problem in the device, but to the best of my knowledge the config is fine.

If you have arch installed to the emmc, can you try booting without a uSD and report back?

[mlwane]

Thank you!

Did as you suggested and this time no error messages from u-boot-update-bootmenu!

btw, I did not copy-paste before, so, much have been a typo....

Well, just did reboot and I saw and selected Arch....Yeah!!!

Unfortunately, it does not boot up Arch though....get the following console error messages....


localhost login: [ 4.377685] omap_12c omap_12c.2: controller timed out
[ 4.784729] bcm2048 3-0022: BCM 12C error!
[ 4.786285] bcm2048 3-0022: Is Bluetooth up and running?
[ 5.885070] tpa6130a2 2-0060: Write failed
[ 5.885253] tpa6130a2 2-0060: Failed to initialize chip
[ 5.932525] et8ek8 3-003e: read from offset 0x1263 error -121
[ 5.933380] isp_register_subdev_group: Unable to register subdev et8e8
[ 6.032714] EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p4): unable to read superblock
[ 6.034698] smia-sensor 2-0010: read from offset 0x0 error -121
[ 6.102020] EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p4): unable to read superblock
[ 6.110565] EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p4): unable to read superblock
[ 6.390136] rx51-audio rx51-audio: asoc: failed to init TLV320AIC34: -19
[ 6.390411] asoc: failed to instantiate card RX-51: -19
[ 6.405364] rx-51-audio rx51-audio: snd_soc_register_card failed (-19)


I can take care of the error regarding formatting of mmcblk0p4....forgot about that partition....just formatted mmcblk0p5 to ext3 for Arch install....

Any suggestions now?

Thanks!

I believe Arch has booted just fine. Just ignore the messages and type "root" and press return, it should then ask you to enter the password which I believe is "root" as well.

[Skry]

I have been running alarm from the emmc for a while now. Yesterday I took the uSD from the N900, and to my surprise arch does not boot without it.

this is actually pretty easy to explain and a known fact. When you have uSD card inserted, it becomes mmcblk0 and eMMC becomes mmcblk1. However, if there is no uSD card, eMMC (naturally) as an only drive is mmcblk0.

[Boemien]

this is actually pretty easy to explain and a known fact. When you have uSD card inserted, it becomes mmcblk0 and eMMC becomes mmcblk1. However, if there is no uSD card, eMMC (naturally) as an only drive is mmcblk0.

I followed your advice and here is what i have this time:

http://imageshack.us/a/img201/4512/img20130429221916.jpg

[ArchiMark]

I believe Arch has booted just fine. Just ignore the messages and type "root" and press return, it should then ask you to enter the password which I believe is "root" as well.

Great.....so close....but....

Wish I had read your post first....

Thing is that I decided to reformat /dev/mmcblk0p4, due to console error message....

That didn't work and n900 would not boot up to maemo...so reflashed....

Started install process all over and now having issues with rebooting after partitioning /dev/mmcblk0 like before....very odd, now, when I reboot, I see the Nokia text and then after a bit, see it again, and again...obviously, something about writing partition table is not working right.....

Oh well....will keep at it....at least now I know what the install steps are...

:rolleyes:

[caveman]

this is actually pretty easy to explain and a known fact. When you have uSD card inserted, it becomes mmcblk0 and eMMC becomes mmcblk1. However, if there is no uSD card, eMMC (naturally) as an only drive is mmcblk0.

Now that you said, it looks pretty obvious :-) AFAIK, UUIDs and LABELs are only supported with initrd, so this requires kernel+initrd. Here is how to do it.

First find your UUID (in my case rootfs is in 5th partition):
[root@alarm-emmc ~]# blkid|grep p5
/dev/mmcblk1p5: UUID="35bc43d3-a4a9-435e-b19c-759be310aa6c" TYPE="ext4"

Generate an initrd image:

mkinitcpio -g /boot/initramfs.img

Convert to u-boot format:
mkimage -A arm -O linux -T ramdisk -C none -a 0 -e 0 -n initramfs -d /boot/initramfs.img /boot/uInitrd
Edit item file to insert UUID and INITRD:
[root@alarm-emmc ~]# cat /etc/bootmenu.d/arch-initrd.item
ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM + initrd"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_INITRD="/boot/uInitrd"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=UUID=35bc43d3-a4a9-435e-b19c-759be310aa6c rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M verbose"

[irshad2318]

@Sky first of all this is gr8 work
and you told there is a proof of concept Hildon-desktop in arch
do u have links to that site or forum .. from 2 days im googlng "Hildon in arch " no result
thank you

[Boemien]

I followed your advice and here is what i have this time:

http://imageshack.us/a/img201/4512/img20130429221916.jpg

Anyone has an idea of what to do from here???

[Skry]

I followed your advice and here is what i have this time:

http://imageshack.us/a/img201/4512/img20130429221916.jpg

Ok, looks like bootloader stuff is OK. Unfortunately, I cannot directly say why it does not work. Those errors you see on screen are always there so they're not related. Can you add debug loglevel=8 ignore_loglevel verbose=1 to your kernel boot args to see if you get some more info out of it? After that, you can also try adding systemd.unit=emergency.target and see if you can get to login prompt. Remember to update your bootmenu after adding those.

@Sky first of all this is gr8 work
and you told there is a proof of concept Hildon-desktop in arch
do u have links to that site or forum .. from 2 days im googlng "Hildon in arch " no result
thank you

Thanks, you're welcome. My try with HD was more like a proof-of-concept tryout, it's not packaged or publicly available, not yet at least. I'll see if I manage to find the time to get it up-to-date and recompiled. Also, note that it is not the full Hildon Desktop experience you see in Fremantle, it's just the window manager.

[Boemien]

Ok, looks like bootloader stuff is OK. Unfortunately, I cannot directly say why it does not work. Those errors you see on screen are always there so they're not related. Can you add debug loglevel=8 ignore_loglevel verbose=1 to your kernel boot args to see if you get some more info out of it? After that, you can also try adding systemd.unit=emergency.target and see if you can get to login prompt. Remember to update your bootmenu after adding those.



Wow :eek: , it sounds a bit like chinese for me :confused: , but i'll try it by my side and post my feedbacks!!! Thanks for your help!! :)

[Skry]

Wow :eek: , it sounds a bit like chinese for me :confused: , but i'll try it by my side and post my feedbacks!!! Thanks for your help!! :)

Just put those to the same line where you have rootwait omapfb etc stuff, inside the " ", update menu and try to boot.

[irshad2318]

@Sky thank u

if u can .. it will best device forever ..
i fell in love with hildon .. arch + HD real power in hand
thanks to penguin

[Boemien]

Just put those to the same line where you have rootwait omapfb etc stuff, inside the " ", update menu and try to boot.

okay, here is my bootmenu .item:

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM (SD Card)"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${EXT_CARD}p1"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p0 rootwait init=/bin systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

Where do I put those lines ?

[Skry]

@Boemien

I already told you where to put those :) Anyway, hold on with that, you still (probably) have error in your boot args, you are referencing /dev/mmcblk0p0 there, it should be p1 if your rootfs is on the first partition.

[Boemien]

@Boemien

I already told you where to put those :) Anyway, hold on with that, you still (probably) have error in your boot args, you are referencing /dev/mmcblk0p0 there, it should be p1 if your rootfs is on the first partition.

yeah when i change mmcblk0p0 to p1 here is what i have

http://imageshack.us/a/img829/9310/img20130428154457.jpg

anyway i will try to overwrite all the things and start by the beginning. thanks.

[caveman]

ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p0 rootwait
init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"[/CODE]


Besides using mmcblk0p1, please check there is no newline after rootwait. It should be a single line.

[Boemien]

Besides using mmcblk0p1, please check there is no newline after rootwait. It should be a single line.

yep, it's written with a single line but I don't know what's wrong and why it does not work!!! :(

[ArchiMark]

I believe Arch has booted just fine. Just ignore the messages and type "root" and press return, it should then ask you to enter the password which I believe is "root" as well.

Well...............after doing reflash and starting Arch install all over again...

Success!!!

Still got the same error messages as before, but this time I did as you suggested and voila! was able to login....

Now, I see:


[root@localhost ~]#


So, onto next steps.....

:D


Thanks to all who provided guidance along the way, it is greatly appreciated and helped keep me going....

[nokiabot]

Things seem to be stable a lot by now.
So is it time to look in the gsm stack possibly working on gprs edge 3g??
Will it be fesiable to have a thread to share experience . Status . Working apps our usecaces .detailed install guide whats working. Workarounds etc? Or wiki is better

[Keneraali]

The desktop is a matter of taste. Currently I am using e17.

right mouse button emulation: http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...&postcount=299
Option "EmulateThirdButton" "1"
Option "EmulateThirdButtonTimeout" "750"
Option "EmulateThirdButtonThreshold" "30"


Thanks.
I installed e17, but can't get symbol keys to work. Now i only have letters and arrows, no special keys. They work perfectly in terminal before starting e17. Could someone tell me how to get them to work (with fise-keymap)? I've read the thread few times but either I am blind or the mead has softened my brains too much

[Skry]

I've understood that E17 has something of it's own to manage keyboard layouts so can't say anything about that, but package n900-configs has Xorg config that sets full US mapping as default. If E17 does not respect that and sets something else, setxkbmap might help, man-page has all the details.

[ArchiMark]

Trying to get Xorg and LXDE working on n900 now....

First I tried installing xf86-video-fbdev-sgx-git, but that did not work at all for me, just black screen....so, removed it and then installed xf86-video-fbdev....

Have installed and configured both per info on Arch wiki...

But here's what I get now:

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/ArchiMark/P1050533_zpsb22aa633.jpg

Here's error messages from /var/log/Xorg.0.log:


[ 91.675] Current Operating System: Linux localhost 3.5.7.5-n900 #1 PREEMPT Sun Feb 17 05:44:07 EET 2013 armv71
(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
[ 91.900] Initializing built-in extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
[ 91.987] (EE) Failed to load module "modesetting" (module does not exist, 0)
[ 94.342] (II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "TSC2005 touchscreen" (type: TOUCHSCREEN, id 7)
[ 94.347] (EE) evdev: TSC2005 touchscreen: ioctl EVI0CGBIT for bitmask in EvdevOpenMTDev failed: inappropriate ioctl for device
[ 94.347] (EE) TSC2005 touchscreen: Couldn't open mtdev device
[ 94.347] (EE) PreInit returned 2 for "TSC2005 touchscreen"


Any suggestions how to fix?

UPDATE
Got X and LXDE working now!.....had to install some missing Xorg packages....


Other Questions

1. How do you get to all the various symbols that one can get on keyboard in maemo by pressing 'blue arrow' and 'Sym' key?

2. Trying to install packer, but when I do, I get error messages:


$ makepkg PKGBUILD
.....blah blah blah...
WARNING: Using a PKGBUILD without a package () function is deprecated.
.....blah blah blah...
Connecting to github GIT server....
Cloning into packer
error: SSL certificate problem: certificate is not yet valid while accessing https://github.com/keenerd/packer.git/info/refs?service=git-upload-pack
fatal: HTTP request failed
===> ERROR: A failure occurred in build().
Aborting....


Any suggestions?

UPDATE 2 & More Questions

Decided to try yaourt since I was having problem installing packer. Yaourt installed and works OK....

However, want to install firefox and tried installing 'firefox-mod' and got error message that it's not available for 'armv7h architecture'....

3. Anyone know if there's version of firefox that will work?

4. Is AC Charging working properly when using Arch?

I ask as I had N900 plugged into AC Charger while using Arch. Unplugged AC when I left for work this morning. When I got to work, N900 would not come on as before. So, it appears that battery was not charged. Charging battery now....


Thanks!

[Keneraali]

I've understood that E17 has something of it's own to manage keyboard layouts

That's true. With LXDE and Xfce the fise-layout works as well as in Maemo, but with e17 pressing fn+letter does only some accended letters (á, œ, ø and such). My knowledge with setxkbmap had no result. Can someone who uses e17 tell if this is possible, or should I just install some other desktop engine?

[caveman]

Can someone who uses e17 tell if this is possible, or should I just install some other desktop engine?

try to run setxkbmap from a terminal inside e17
you can find the keyboard details in /etc/X11/xorg.d/

[ArchiMark]

First, thought I'd share two photos of N900 running Arch & LXDE....and then my questions....

So far, LXDE is working nicely.....

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/ArchiMark/P1050537_zps7f8c5ffc.jpg (http://s473.photobucket.com/user/ArchiMark/media/P1050537_zps7f8c5ffc.jpg.html)

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/ArchiMark/P1050538_zpsfd0f25cb.jpg (http://s473.photobucket.com/user/ArchiMark/media/P1050538_zpsfd0f25cb.jpg.html)


Questions

1. How do you get to all the various symbols that one can get on keyboard in maemo by pressing 'blue arrow' and 'Sym' key?

For example, how to type '>' or '|', etc....

2. Trying to install packer, but when I do, I get error messages:


$ makepkg PKGBUILD
.....blah blah blah...
WARNING: Using a PKGBUILD without a package () function is deprecated.
.....blah blah blah...
Connecting to github GIT server....
Cloning into packer
error: SSL certificate problem: certificate is not yet valid while accessing https://github.com/keenerd/packer.git/info/refs?service=git-upload-pack
fatal: HTTP request failed
===> ERROR: A failure occurred in build().

Aborting....Any suggestions?


3. Anyone know how to install firefox ?

I tried to install firefox by using yaourt and tried installing 'firefox-mod' that I saw in the list of firefox selections and got error message that it's not available for 'armv7h architecture'....

UPDATE: have tried other builds such as 'firefox-nightly' and no go....

So, installed epiphany and chromium for now....if anyone has any other recommendations, let me know...


4. Is AC Charging working properly when using Arch?

I ask as I had N900 plugged into AC Charger while using Arch.

Unplugged AC when I left for work this morning. When I got to work, N900 would not come on as before. So, it appears that battery was not charged. Charging battery now....

UPDATE: After charging up battery, rebooted and it is working OK. However, I can't tell if AC charging is working or not....any suggestions?


Thanks!

[Skry]

ArchiMark, congrats

1. How do you get to all the various symbols that one can get on keyboard in maemo by pressing 'blue arrow' and 'Sym' key?

From the first post of this thread, under the section about Xorg:

For input device configuration, install n900-configs.
For n900 keymaps, install xkeyboard-config-n900-git.


2. Trying to install packer, but when I do, I get error messages:
error: SSL certificate problem: certificate is not yet valid

Your clock is off. Sometimes it gets reset. Use ntp or similar. A known issue, also mentioned in the first post, if you would have bothered to read it.

3. Anyone know how to install firefox ?
got error message that it's not available for 'armv7h architecture'....

armv7h is not defined in the pkgbuild. You can use --ignorearch, or just add armv7h manually to pkgbuild. I doubt you want to compile firefox with your N900 though..
The build succeeded on ARM v7, compiled with a Trim-Slice. With 8 jobs and distributed cross-compile set up, the build took about 18 hours and peak 2 GB memory.

So, installed epiphany and chromium for now....if anyone has any other recommendations, let me know...

Midori

4. Is AC Charging working properly when using Arch?
Yes. If it's not, source of the issue is the same that screws the clock and breaks the audio. Power off once from Alarm, boot in to it again, and everything should work.

[ArchiMark]

ArchiMark, congrats



From the first post of this thread, under the section about Xorg:





Thanks.....I did go through your first page after getting Arch running and tried to follow our guidance....

Just checked and I did install n900-configs and xkeyboard-config-n900-git...



Your clock is off. Sometimes it gets reset. Use ntp or similar. A known issue, also mentioned in the first post, if you would have bothered to read it.

Actually, I did read it....and I have been re-setting clock periodically....





armv7h is not defined in the pkgbuild. You can use --ignorearch, or just add armv7h manually to pkgbuild. I doubt you want to compile firefox with your N900 though..

OK....thanks....




Midori

Thanks for the suggestion....


Yes. If it's not, source of the issue is the same that screws the clock and breaks the audio. Power off once from Alarm, boot in to it again, and everything should work.

OK, will try that.....

FWIW, same thing happened again this morning....

[Skry]

Actually, I did read it....and I have been re-setting clock periodically....
...
FWIW, same thing happened again this morning....

Good boy!

Now, I, nor anyone else involved, does not know why the hardware initializing sometimes does not work. Some seem to have every boot go wrong, some are rarely experiencing any problems. This issue seems to be present with all newer kernels in some form, at least the ones I've tested, and I've seen others talk about it too.

Clock issue is easily solved by setting up ntp, or chrony. For charging (well, usb since charging fails because usb fails) and audio, errors are visible in dmesg, so in that case you know you need to power off and restart to make them work. For some, simple reboot seems to fix this, for some it needs systemctl poweroff and others may even need to remove battery to get their hardware going. Very annoying, I know.

[hardfalcon]

Sorry, I haven't posted here for a few months because u-boot (the October release) refused to boot my Archlinux and I didn't want to reflash the whole phone because of that.

Anyhow, Arch is working again for since the last u-boot update.

I'm considering to hack up a little daemon in C which would dim the screen after a certain delay (I've already got a working bash script but that's merely a POC because the event loop needed after dimming the screen to fully re-enable the backlight once the screen has been tapped eats quite some CPU whilst the goal is obviously to *save* power.

The daemon will be based upon xssstate (just as is the bashscript I'm using right now):
http://tools.suckless.org/xssstate

I'm also considering working out an improved German keyboard layout offering additional chars like &, |, <, >, `, tabstop, delete, brackets and curly braces.
I had already done one of these, but I can't find it right now, so chances are that I might have to restart from scratch.

Skry: I'm having 2 problems with the kernel right now:

1. I'm using acpid with a custom script to disable the screen, lock the touchscreen and the keyboard, and switch off the keyboard LEDs and the backlight (and to undo all those things when the screenlock trigger is pulled again). However, acpid refuses to start up automatically as a daemon during boot because it can't find /proc/acpi/events (it only works when I start it manually after I've logged into my X11 session). Could you please enable CONFIG_ACPI_PROC_EVENT in the kernel config to fix this?

2. I have added the option "ubi.mtd=rootfs" to the kernel cmdline in the bootmenu item file and I'm using the following line in my /etc/fstab to mount Maemo's rootfs:
#ubi0:rootfs /mnt/maemo ubifs rw,bulk_read,no_chk_data_crc 0 0
I did have to comment it out however, because for some odd reason, the kernel refuses to mount that that file system during boot.
When I remove the # after booting up, and mount it with "mount /mnt/maemo" (as root of course), everything works fine and I can't find any problem (unless I forget commenting out the line again before rebooting). Any ideas what where to look for the culprit?


As far as the crackling audio is concerned, I've found out that for some reason, lxmusic (uses xmms2d) does *never* crackle whilst VLC has garbled audio as soon as you've once had a 100% load peak on the CPU (I use "sha512 /dev/urandom" in a terminal window to trigger the problem).
lxmusic even plays the music without the slightest problem when the cpu is at 100% from my sha512 test above. VLC however has a ridiculously high CPU load to begin with, and often reaches already one of those fatal CPU load peaks when you just try to jump to another position in the same song. If the audio is once garbled, it will stay garbled until you stop the playback of the song (just pausing it isn't enough) and restart it again. The bug seems to occur regardles of whether pulseaudio or plain ALSA is used.
I suspect some bug in VLC or one of the libs VLC is using, but I haven't investigated this thouroughly enough to be sure.

regards
Pascal

[ArchiMark]

Good boy!

Now, I, nor anyone else involved, does not know why the hardware initializing sometimes does not work. Some seem to have every boot go wrong, some are rarely experiencing any problems. This issue seems to be present with all newer kernels in some form, at least the ones I've tested, and I've seen others talk about it too.

Clock issue is easily solved by setting up ntp, or chrony. For charging (well, usb since charging fails because usb fails) and audio, errors are visible in dmesg, so in that case you know you need to power off and restart to make them work. For some, simple reboot seems to fix this, for some it needs systemctl poweroff and others may even need to remove battery to get their hardware going. Very annoying, I know.

Thanks for all the info...

To clarify, I was referring to using the AC charger....I don't use USB for charging...

Also, can you please clarify what key or keys I need to press to type symbols such as '>' or '|', etc ?

Thanks!

[hardfalcon]

Also, can you please clarify what key or keys I need to press to type symbols such as '>' or '|', etc ?


For the US layout, this might help you:
http://static.tecnocino.it/tccellulari/fotogallery/625X0/2525/nokia-n900-rover.jpg

If you need other characters, you may wanna try a virtual keyboard (there are 1 or 2 in the repos or the AUR, and if you want something lightweight, there's also a virtual keyboard in the suckless tools collection:
http://tools.suckless.org/svkbd

Another option might be adapting your existing keymap:
http://wiki.maemo.org/Remapping_keyboard

[Skry]

I'm considering to hack up a little daemon in C which would dim the screen after a certain delay

That will make you a hero.

I'm also considering working out an improved German keyboard layout offering additional chars like &, |, <, >, `, tabstop, delete, brackets and curly braces.

If you feel like it, pull request on github once you've done it would be great.

1. I'm using acpid with a custom script to disable the screen, lock the touchscreen and the keyboard, and switch off the keyboard LEDs and the backlight (and to undo all those things when the screenlock trigger is pulled again). However, acpid refuses to start up automatically as a daemon during boot because it can't find /proc/acpi/events (it only works when I start it manually after I've logged into my X11 session). Could you please enable CONFIG_ACPI_PROC_EVENT in the kernel config to fix this?

I have acpid starting just fine on boot, doing pretty much the same thing as you have it doing. That particular kernel option has been deprecated since, well, 2.6.something. Nevertheless, sure, I can enable it on next update, which is probably when Ubuntu 3.5.7.12 is out.

2. I have added the option "ubi.mtd=rootfs" to the kernel cmdline in the bootmenu item file
...
for some odd reason, the kernel refuses to mount that that file system during boot.
Any ideas what where to look for the culprit?


I have this working, but I've set it up a bit differently. Since the ubi support is there as kernel module, I've setup the following:

In file /etc/modprobe.d/ubi.conf, I have
options ubi mtd=rootfs
softdep ubi pre: omap2

In addition, I have entry in fstab. This should be enough to get required modules loaded on boot, when filesystems in fstab are mounted.

To clarify, I was referring to using the AC charger....I don't use USB for charging...

Well, you are plugging the charger cord to musb port of N900 aren't you?

Also, can you please clarify what key or keys I need to press to type symbols such as '>' or '|', etc ?

https://github.com/archlinuxarm-n900/xkeyboard-config-n900-git#readme

[ArchiMark]

Well, you are plugging the charger cord to musb port of N900 aren't you?


Yes....but thought you meant trying to charge via usb cable to pc....versus the AC charger...


https://github.com/archlinuxarm-n900/xkeyboard-config-n900-git#readme

Perfect....Thanks!!!

[robotanarchy]

To follow up my post from december (http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1298289&postcount=77), here's an update :)

So I've never used the n900 I have before and then tried to install arch. I've used archlinux for quite a few years, but still this isn't as easy as I thought as I know too little about the n900 yet. For now I'll stick with maemo and learn about it. I also need all the GUI stuff to make phone calls, write sms etc. from maemo, but I don't have the time to convert all the Maemo packages to PKGBUILDs (altough that would be a really nice project :) ).

Then I have read about the Thumb2 architecture (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=84829). I think that this would be great for alarm on n900, too, if someone has the time to rebuild all/most alarm packages with that architecture :> Should save lots of RAM, and with arch it is a lot easier to just rebuild packages (ABS and scripts for ABS!) than in debian/maemo imo.

It's also nice that you can just install chromium from the repos with alarm. This is really messed up in maemo.

But with some luck, I can join the alarm-on-n900 users in the future, when I either have more time or more telephone stuff is ported over and the installation guide gets a bit more detailed (what do you recommend for partitioning? it's easy to break maemo when partitioning :-/ )

I hope that this isn't too much offtopic here, just wanted to throw in my experience so far and a few ideas which might be helpful :)

I really like this project, keep going everyone! :D

[Skry]

So I've never used the n900 I have before and then tried to install arch. I've used archlinux for quite a few years, but still this isn't as easy as I thought as I know too little about the n900 yet.
Well, personally I can't agree, as the installation is just a matter of installing a boot loader, partitioning and extracting a tarball.

I also need all the GUI stuff to make phone calls, write sms etc. from maemo, but I don't have the time to convert all the Maemo packages to PKGBUILDs (altough that would be a really nice project :) ).
If it would only be that easy..
There are lots of closed source software in Fremantle. Some components were modified and modifications never got upstreamed. Generally stuff is quite old now and may be somewhat tricky to compile, at least without touching the source. Not saying it's like that with everything in Fremantle, nor that it is impossible, but merely stating it might be more complicated task than one would think of.

Then I have read about the Thumb2 architecture (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=84829). I think that this would be great for alarm on n900, too, if someone has the time to rebuild all/most alarm packages with that architecture :>

I've understood that with modern gcc, thumb2 is enabled by default on targets that support it.

But with some luck, I can join the alarm-on-n900 users in the future, when I either have more time or more telephone stuff is ported over and the installation guide gets a bit more detailed (what do you recommend for partitioning?

Unfortunately, I don't have time (or that much interest anymore) to work with the phone functionality, so unless someone brave enough steps up and does something about it, there will be no progress. Same goes with pretty much everything.

I will not make installation guide any more detailed, every bit of information required is either here, wiki(s), or easily found from Google. Results of copy-paste-without-reading-or-understanding installations can be read throughout this thread. Just do your reading and I'm sure you can do it :)

I hope that this isn't too much offtopic here, just wanted to throw in my experience so far and a few ideas which might be helpful :)

I really like this project, keep going everyone! :D

Not at all offtopic, quite the contrary. I'd be glad to see even more discussion.

[caveman]

This post has focus on graphical environments. It tries to collect a few configuration tips and open questions.

lxde

It just works. I find it too desktop-centric for the n900, though.

awesome

I have never used awesome before, but decided to give it a try based on Skry suggestion.

Out-of-the-box, it comes pre-configured to use Mod4 as its shortcut key, which usually maps to the windows key on the desktop, but is missing on the n900. The easiest fix is to edit .config/awesome/rc.lua and change Mod4 to Mod5, but I find this far from ideal as it makes the keyboard messier.

Please share your awesome tweaks to make it more comfortable in the n900 keyboard.

enlightenment

It fits nicely in the environment; see the screenshot. Out-of-the box, though, the keyboard does not work apart from letters.

Using a terminal, I had to re-apply the keyboard configuration once inside e17:

setxkbmap -model nokiarx51

This can be automated by creating a .desktop file in /etc/xdg/autostart/ with the following contents:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Fix keyboard settings
Exec=setxkbmap -model nokiarx51
Terminal=false
Type=Application

Then add this to the autostart application in the settings menu. With this configuration the keyboard works, with the exeption of ctrl+blue and shift+blue combinations. If someone knows how to improve the keyboard usage under e17, please share your tips.

weston

It loads if invoked as:

weston --backend=fbdev-backend.so

It requires calibration to be usable, and my desktop was upside-down. Moreover, the tablet-shell crashes when I try to load it. The shell works.

In any measure, I have no experience with weston, so please post your tips.

[Skry]

I have never used awesome before, but decided to give it a try based on Skry suggestion.

Out-of-the-box, it comes pre-configured to use Mod4 as its shortcut key, which usually maps to the windows key on the desktop, but is missing on the n900. The easiest fix is to edit .config/awesome/rc.lua and change Mod4 to Mod5, but I find this far from ideal as it makes the keyboard messier.

Due to the keyboard itself, it's pretty much impossible to get a tiling wm to behave easily, though there are few tricks. I'll write about those sometime in more detail, but for now, it is possible to get somewhat usable shortcuts using Fn+key combinations by disabling everything but the most essential ones, and using keys with symbols you don't need. It's also possible to modify keymap so you can move symbols to other keys or delete ones you don't need , "freeing" few buttons for wm. That's not very ideal though. There is also the idea of using camera button as modifier, not sure if it's (easily) possible though.

Currently, pretty much the only thing I tinker with N900 anymore is Awesome configuration aimed for touchscreen usage on devices without or limited hw keyboard. This in mind, I've been thinking of a kind of "command mode", which essentially would activate on one particular fn+key combination, from which you could just press a single key to perform the action wanted. If I ever have time to make any progress with the whole config, and get all of the ideas I have materialized, it'll be.. awesome :)

If someone knows how to improve the keyboard usage under e17, please share your tips.

Try adding more details to setxkbmap in command line, so it essentially is the same as in configuration file. Do you, btw, have the modified xkeyboard-config package installed?

It requires calibration to be usable
...
In any measure, I have no experience with weston, so please post your tips.

Here's udev rule for calibration:
https://github.com/archlinuxarm-n900/n900-udev-rules/blob/master/wayland-tsc2005-calibration.rules

[ashish]

Hey,

Upon startup i receive a bunch of errors. The one I am interested in is:
rx51-audio rx51-audio: asoc: failed to init TLV320AIC34: -19
which leads to further errors.

[EDIT]: This might be because of:
omap_i2c omap_i2c.2: controller timed out

I want to try and solve this bug. How do I go about doing so?

Thanks,
Ashish

[ashish]

Also, besides the fact that I now I have a newer kernel open OS versus an older kernel OS, what would one need Arch Linux on a tablet device for? I mean, people keep asking me the reason to get Arch running on a tablet versus an Android device or something.

What do you guys use Arch on N900 for? Or why did you think of using Arch on N900?

Thanks

[Estel]

Also, besides the fact that I now I have a newer kernel open OS versus an older kernel OS, what would one need Arch Linux on a tablet device for?

Erm, why you need a desktop/notebook real computer with some linux system, as opposed to Nokia 1100 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_1100)? Or, why you need a modern linux on desktop, instead of proprietary DOS, at all?

This question is quite ridiculous, and it's hard to explain it to people even requiring to ask. It would need a few educating sessions, about properly using computers all-together.

/Estel

[Skry]

Upon startup i receive a bunch of errors. The one I am interested in is:
rx51-audio rx51-audio: asoc: failed to init TLV320AIC34: -19
which leads to further errors.

I want to try and solve this bug. How do I go about doing so?

It's because of the "no-one knows why hardware semi-randomly fails to initialize properly" issue talked over a few times, it's usually fixed by systemctl poweroff and booting again, and mostly manifests when you shutdown Maemo and boot to other OS with more recent kernel. No idea where to start looking, the usual suspects being u-boot and kernel.

Also, besides the fact that I now I have a newer kernel open OS versus an older kernel OS, what would one need Arch Linux on a tablet device for? I mean, people keep asking me the reason to get Arch running on a tablet versus an Android device or something.

I guess it counts as a hobby. I like doing stuff with my devices. I do my computing mostly on command line and probably way differently than the average Joe, so my expectations from OS are probably quite different too. There is probably lesser than zero reasons to install anything anywhere unless there is a will and/or reason to do it. In my case reasons probably are enthusiasm, curiosity and personal preference, experimenting. One of the ideals behind Arch Linux itself, is to provide modern, up-to-date, minimal base system from which you can make your system to be (almost) whatever you want it to be.

What do you guys use Arch on N900 for? Or why did you think of using Arch on N900?

I use it as a platform for few of my past time projects, like the awesome configuration mentioned earlier. It's also been a great learning experience about Linux in embedded/mobile devices.

In addition, I sometimes use it at work for few things, like carrying around installation media images, which I can conveniently boot straight from N900 by "exporting" them as usb-cdrom with g_mass_storage, occasional network testing, small stuff like that.

I'm a long time Arch user (though that's probably going to change soonish) and I just wanted to see my N900 run it, that's the main idea behind this.

I also thought it would be nice to provide a working, modern, lightweight and more importantly a real Linux base system for everyone interested in developing with mobile Linux.

Unfortunately it seems there's practically zero interest for such, and the general preference seems to be split in few camps: people trying to keep Fremantle alive with all of it's faults and wrongs, people wanting Ubuntu to run sh*t slow on their devices, and people wanting Android/Tizen/WebOS/Sailfish/Insert-something-new-that-wont-run-on-lower-end-devices-here. So, that leaves this project practically abandoned but at least there's quite a lot of groundwork done, in case someone actually starts doing something productive.

[caveman]

Try adding more details to setxkbmap in command line, so it essentially is the same as in configuration file. Do you, btw, have the modified xkeyboard-config package installed?
Yes

Here's udev rule for calibration:
https://github.com/archlinuxarm-n900/n900-udev-rules/blob/master/wayland-tsc2005-calibration.rules

Thanks, I will try it.

[teddydestodes]

First of all: Thank you, Skry, for all the work you've put in this!

I've always wanted to try somethin non-debianish, and well, i'm quiet impressed how easy it was to put arch on the n900.
It's alot easier and faster than my last try with ubuntu.

2nd (mostly addressed to caveman):
how did you get e17 running?
after i finish the quickstart wizard it segfaults and upon restart it complains about missing modules.
I'm currently trying to build it from AUR maybe this fixes the issues.

[caveman]

2nd (mostly addressed to caveman):
how did you get e17 running?
after i finish the quickstart wizard it segfaults and upon restart it complains about missing modules.
I'm currently trying to build it from AUR maybe this fixes the issues.

It seems that today's upgrade to 0.17.2 broke it. Currently it segfaults on my n900 just after startx. So if you have not upgraded, be warned :-)

In the previous version it always segfaulted by the end of the wizard, but would load fine at the next try. It seems some illume stuff is missing, so I had to go with the desktop profile.

[teddydestodes]

It seems that today's upgrade to 0.17.2 broke it. Currently it segfaults on my n900 just after startx. So if you have not upgraded, be warned :-)

Meh, but i want illume. thats my whole reason to try e17 :/

[caveman]

Meh, but i want illume. thats my whole reason to try e17 :/

There seems to be a problem with illume in the arch build. The raspberry pi running arch has the same issue, but I remember it worked fine in ubuntu.

[Skry]

( 4/66) upgrading systemd ==> The /bin/systemd symlink has been removed. Any references in your
bootloader (or elsewhere) must be updated to /usr/lib/systemd/systemd.

just a heads up

[sAhAck]

This post has focus on graphical environments. It tries to collect a few configuration tips and open questions.

enlightenment

It fits nicely in the environment; see the screenshot. Out-of-the box, though, the keyboard does not work apart from letters.

Using a terminal, I had to re-apply the keyboard configuration once inside e17:


Somehow enlightenment is always crashing here.

I'm using sgx-fbdev for X from the n900 repo....


Only if N900 is powerful enough to compile gentoo on its own.....

[int_ua]

Only if N900 is powerful enough to compile gentoo on its own.....

Maybe durable? How many years would it take?

[Skry]

Somehow enlightenment is always crashing here.

I'm using sgx-fbdev for X from the n900 repo....

Few posts above there was a talk that it's currently broken, not only for us but raspi too.
fbdev-sgx is what it is: an experiment, that is not fully functional.

Only if N900 is powerful enough to compile gentoo on its own.....

Setup distccd with cross compiler, that's all it takes. I doubt that Gentoo fixes anything though.

[sAhAck]

Few posts above there was a talk that it's currently broken, not only for us but raspi too.
fbdev-sgx is what it is: an experiment, that is not fully functional.



Setup distccd with cross compiler, that's all it takes. I doubt that Gentoo fixes anything though.

OK..... Will try e17 some other day.

In fact I think the IO is another major trouble, and the eMMC wearing out. Use a SD and it will be slow, the eMMC and it will wear out.

I have a little question on the system: how did we handle the watchdogs? They seem to be working out of box.

[Skry]

In fact I think the IO is another major trouble, and the eMMC wearing out. Use a SD and it will be slow, the eMMC and it will wear out.

Well, that's true. If only the usb host mode would be functional.. Anyhow, I have one brandless crap uSD reserved for compiling stuff, it's not as slow as one might think and I can't seem to be able to wear it out. I've left N900 out of build hosts so the compiling is happening on distcc hosts completely. Not a perfect solution but gets the job done.

I have a little question on the system: how did we handle the watchdogs? They seem to be working out of box.

Watchdogs should be handled by systemd when present.

[Skry]

OK..... Will try e17 some other day.

I actually would like to have a custom build of E17 and test it's GLESv2 support with latest TI drivers.

I have a few plans with everything that has been done so far, and how to proceed.. I'll be writing about that later to see what people think.

[malfunctioning]

This post has focus on graphical environments. It tries to collect a few configuration tips and open questions.

Thank you for this information. I'm wondering if you gave fluxbox a try. Fluxbox happens to be my favorite window manager. It is also extremely functional, configurable, and lightweight.

I still run fluxbox on pdaXrom in my Zaurus SL-C1000 (an old ARM pda which could be considered a forefather of the N900). It's fluxbox version 1.0, and I compiled it myself. Amazing how fast it runs. I also configured key shortcuts so that I can control everything (including window sizing, moving, closing, etc) from the keyboard. Also, unlimited desktops (if I remember correctly). :)

[caveman]

I'm wondering if you gave fluxbox a try

Not yet. I have basically two use cases I care. The first is the terminal: in this case the plain console had been a good companion.

The second is basic reading without the keyboard. Picture the n900 slider closed. In this case I would like to scroll, click links and have basic navigation between windows. I still don't think I have a nice solution here.

I enjoyed awesome, and I have been using it on the desktop, but is not functional without the keyboard.

I tried e17; currently it fits best my needs. Or it used to, before the last two upgrades :(

Now I am experimenting with window maker. Too soon to have an opinion, but it may have a conceptual best fit with a touch screen.

In conclusion, I am still looking for a solution. Skry's experiments with hildon desktop and e17 may provide a few more options the table, so we may eventually focus on one fair solution.

[Android_808]

Malfunctioning: i remember the zaurus, really wanted one for a long time but the better ones were only available in japan, not uk iirc. i would consider it a forefather of the eee really.

I would say any of the *boxes (flux, black,open...) would provide good performance. just need a decent theme. on a device like this is window sizing really essential, or could everything just run maximised?

[sAhAck]

One more thing, has anyone tried to suspend the system? Suspend to RAM to be particular.

For my configuration, suspending and resuming all works, but it seems that proximity sensor keeps working and will force the kernel to resume if it catches any "input".

I have been googling for a while and didn't seem to find a good solution. No one has mentioned how to tell the kernel to suspend input devices upon suspending to ram, or ignoring some input events that could cause the kernel to wake.

[sojab0on]

i am getting an error at u-boot when trying to boot the Arch Linux menu entry

Reading bootmenu.img.d/uImage
** Unable te read “bootmenu.img.d/uImage” from mmc 1:1 **

Some one who can tell me what the hell is going wrong

i tried every thing step by step and evry thing from the guide did go as it needed to go by the guide but i still get the error

[3clch4pawlakov]

Is there any way to manually lock the screen in X ? Xscreensaver and xlock are just crashing my desktop(LXDE).

[sLumPia]

i am getting an error at u-boot when trying to boot the Arch Linux menu entry
Reading bootmenu.img.d/uImage
** Unable te read “bootmenu.img.d/uImage” from mmc 1:1 **

What is the content of your item file?
Where is your Arch partition reside?
Which guide did you follow?

Let say you have /dev/mmcblk0p5 (formatted as ext3 filesystem) as your Arch partition and you have installed u-boot to boot into Arch.
Then you need to put this on your item file (/etc/bootmenu.d/40-ArchLinuxARM.item):

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext3"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

run u-boot-update-bootmenu (as root) command to add Arch Linux ARM into u-boot menu:

# u-boot-update-bootmenu

Reboot your phone and you shold be able to boot into Arch Linux ARM installed on your phone.

[sojab0on]

i have got exactly the same in the item file as you posted
it wil boot until the point it gives mee alot of tty lines.

EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p4) unable to read superblock.
smia-sensor 2-0010: read from offset 0x0 error -121

and it hangs there wih blinkin cursor

[sLumPia]

If you have EXACTLY the same content in item file, you won't be able to boot to Arch.
You should have this on your item file:

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p4"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p4 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

Then run u-boot-update-bootmenu again.

Anyway, try fsck-ing your Arch partition from Maemo to check any error on your Arch partition:

$ sudo gainroot
# fsck.ext4 -fv /dev/mmcblk0p4

[sojab0on]

ok i will give that a try

it then give back invailid partition 4

why do i need to use partition 4 instead of 5

because when i do the steps of the guide itgive me this config file

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM (eMMC)"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait
init=/bin/systemdomapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"


and later on it lets you untar the root fs to mmcblk0p5
(root) mount /dev/mmcblk0p5 /mnt/ && cd /mnt
(root) wget ftp://bokmal.de/arch-n900/ArchLinuxARM-N900-2013.02-rootfs.tar.gz
(root) tar -zxvf

so someone can give me some guidence for where its gooing wrong

the guide i reverd to is here
http://blog.jakgibb.com/2013/03/28/arch-linux-arm-native-install-on-n900/

[sLumPia]

why do i need to use partition 4 instead of 5

Because on your previous post, you write
EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p4) unable to read superblock

and later on it lets you untar the root fs to mmcblk0p5
(root) mount /dev/mmcblk0p5 /mnt/ && cd /mnt
(root) wget ftp://bokmal.de/arch-n900/ArchLinuxARM-N900-2013.02-rootfs.tar.gz
(root) tar -zxvf


From this information, it seems you want to install Arch on /dev/mmcblk0p5 (5th partition on you Internal MMC). Is it true?
If it is, then you should follow my previous post.
btw have you previously format /dev/mmcblk0p5 with mkfs.ext4?

[sojab0on]

yes thats what the guide on that site also does.

and yes i did that and i did it over agian bofore i worte this post its unpacking the root of to mmcblk0p5 as im writing this.

[sLumPia]

yes thats what the guide on that site also does.

and yes i did that and i did it over agian bofore i worte this post its unpacking the root of to mmcblk0p5 as im writing this.
Could you give the output of this command:
# fdisk -l /dev/mmcblk0

---edit---
btw, in the tutorial, it has:
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemdomapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

when it should be:
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

there is a space between systemd and omapfb

[sojab0on]

Could you give the output of this command:
# fdisk -l /dev/mmcblk0

fdisk -l /dev/mmcblk0

/dev/mmcblk0p1 2 622721 19927040 c W
win95 FAT32 (LBA)

/dev/mmcblk0p2 884866 950401 2097152 83 L
linux

/dev/mmcblk0p3 95402 974977 786432 82 L
linux
/dev/mmcblk0p4 622722 884865 8388608 5 E
extended
/dev/mmcblk0p5 622722 844865 8388600 76 U
unknown

last unknown is because device wasnt reset at moment of giving command

[sojab0on]

arch boor until the moment it wants to initial lize rx51 audio en and achip for bleutooth or something

[sLumPia]

fdisk -l /dev/mmcblk0

/dev/mmcblk0p1 2 622721 19927040 c W
win95 FAT32 (LBA)

/dev/mmcblk0p2 884866 950401 2097152 83 L
linux

/dev/mmcblk0p3 95402 974977 786432 82 L
linux
/dev/mmcblk0p4 622722 884865 8388608 5 E
extended
/dev/mmcblk0p5 622722 844865 8388600 76 U
unknown

last unknown is because device wasnt reset at moment of giving command
Please reboot your phone and try this after reboot:
0. Move your Arch image to safe place, let say /home/user/MyDocs/tmp
1. Make sure /dev/mmcblk0p5 is set to linux partition (code: 83) and then format it

# mkfs.ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p5


2. mount it to /mnt

# modprobe ext4 (in my phone, ext4 module not load automatically)
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p5 /mnt


3. tar Arch image to /mnt

# cd /home/user/MyDocs/tmp
# tar xvf ArchLinuxARM-N900-2013.02-rootfs.tar.gz -C /mnt


4. edit your item file and run u-boot-update-bootmenu

# leafpad /etc/bootmenu.d/20-archlinux.item

put this in it:

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

Explanation of the above config:
ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM" --> just label
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
--> Because you use absolute path, then this line will tell u-boot to look for uImage file on /boot folder in partition define on ITEM_DEVICE.
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5" --> This line to u-boot to use internal card partition 5 as it new root (/) partition
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext4" --> tell u-boot that ITEM_DEVICE use ext4 file system
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1" --> I don't know :p
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

@Pali, please correct me if my above explanation wrong.

Run u-boot-update-bootmenu

# u-boot-update-bootmenu


Make sure there is uImage in your Arch /boot partition:

# ls -l /mnt/boot/uImage

If there is uImage file in /mnt/boot, then you should be able to boot to Arch.

[sLumPia]

arch boor until the moment it wants to initial lize rx51 audio en and achip for bleutooth or something
Which image you're download, official or unofficial?
If you're using official image, don't forget to update & configure your Arch system (see opening post).

[pinsh]

What kernel version does Arch Linux on N900 use? Also, is USB host mode supported like it is on maemo?

I'm trying to connected an "easycap USB TV dongle" to my N900 but the driver (https://code.google.com/p/easycap-somagic-linux/) is designed for Linux 3.6 and newer. Maemo uses 2.6.28, so I could either try to back-port the driver or use a more recent kernel. I like the latter better and I'm using Arch Linux for ARM on my Raspberry Pi, it would be nice to use it on my N900 as well (I'm no longer using it as my primary phone.. but as a device to hack on).

[Skry]

Host mode is not working with 3.5, and probably not with 3.9 either though I'm not sure.

[sojab0on]

the big problem now lays at the point

mkfs.ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p5 /mnt i get error

mkfs.ext4: invailid block count - /mnt

and it even after reformating en new untar to /mnt it hangs at loading bleutooth and that goes on til point of sound and then hangs there

[sLumPia]

mkfs.ext4 /dev/mmcblk0p5 /mnt i get error
mkfs.ext4: invailid block count - /mnt
???
Of course it gives an error.
You know what mkfs.ext4 (http://linux.die.net/man/8/mkfs.ext4) for right? It's a command to format a partition with ext4 filesystem.
You can't format /mnt, because it is not a partition.

[Skry]

At this point, I'd like to point a few words to everyone inexperienced enough: There is probably nothing to see in here for you. This effort is essentially a Linux base system aimed for experienced users. No fancy GUI, or anything you probably expect. For beginners, the only rationale in installing this one, would be learning about Linux, and to be honest, that is something that can be done a lot easier on PC.

[malfunctioning]

Not yet. I have basically two use cases I care. The first is the terminal: in this case the plain console had been a good companion.

The second is basic reading without the keyboard. Picture the n900 slider closed. In this case I would like to scroll, click links and have basic navigation between windows. I still don't think I have a nice solution here.

I enjoyed awesome, and I have been using it on the desktop, but is not functional without the keyboard.

I tried e17; currently it fits best my needs. Or it used to, before the last two upgrades :(

Now I am experimenting with window maker. Too soon to have an opinion, but it may have a conceptual best fit with a touch screen.

In conclusion, I am still looking for a solution. Skry's experiments with hildon desktop and e17 may provide a few more options the table, so we may eventually focus on one fair solution.
I see, thank you.

Notice that I can use Fluxbox completely from the keyboard in the Zaurus. I set it up myself. The one awesome thing about Fluxbox is that you can configure key shortcuts to do pretty much anything.

The other nice thing is unlimited (in theory) desktops. I think fluxbox would easily satisfy your second use case scenario (keyboard closed) via the root (or desktop) menu. You could hold the finger on a desktop, then the menu would come up, and you could navigate from there to any other desktop (window). I suppose you could have 1 application per desktop, and then have application windows in tab groups (another nice feature of fluxbox).

You could assign the Volume rocker buttons to move between desktops (another thought). I set everything up in my Zaurus with the help of xev, and everything ended working really well.

Here is information on Fluxbox key shortcuts. (http://fluxbox-wiki.org/index.php/Keyboard_shortcuts)

[malfunctioning]

Malfunctioning: i remember the zaurus, really wanted one for a long time but the better ones were only available in japan, not uk iirc. i would consider it a forefather of the eee really.

I would say any of the *boxes (flux, black,open...) would provide good performance. just need a decent theme. on a device like this is window sizing really essential, or could everything just run maximised?
Sorry for the OT, everyone! Please move along if you are not interested in hearing about the Zaurus. ;)

Android_808, I completely understand! The clamshell ones were only available in Japan, or through grey market outlets like conics.net in the USA or trisoft.de in Europe (Germany).

Because I got really late to the party (2008) I got my SL-C1000 (the only ones which didn't have internal micro hard drive and instead had just flash memory, and in my mind far preferable), from eBay. I ended buying a number of them because I like them so much, and still have a few.

There were a number of roms for the Zaurii. Somebody named cortez even had Ubuntu running on SD for it, and in theory they also support the latest FreeBSD. Personally I settled for pdaXrom, and compiled Fluxbox 1.0 for it. I love the system to this day (but perhaps part of it is that I like Fluxbox so much, and the idea of running it in a palmtop device is awesome).

I'm going to get rid next month of two of my Zaurus computers (I have 5 right now, and no reason to hold on to them since I'm using the N900 mostly now), so let me know if you are interested. I have 1 SL-C1000, and 1 SL-C3000 (it has a micro hard drive, but I prefer the SL-C1000). The SL-C1000 has my awesome setup with Fluxbox running, and a set of preinstalled applications. :)

[malfunctioning]

I would say any of the *boxes (flux, black,open...) would provide good performance. just need a decent theme. on a device like this is window sizing really essential, or could everything just run maximised?
Sorry, I forgot to reply to this part (I'm so obsessed with fluxbox and the Zaurus LOL).

Yes, performance is unparalelled unless you run something like ratpoison or evilwm I suppose. In my SL-C1000 running at 413Mhz, I think the baseline load with fluxbox running is something like 23% CPU, but on an N900 because of the new architecture I suppose it should be less than half.

Yes, everything should just run maximized! In my Zaurus, I had a set of keys to maximize windows (something like Ctrl Shift F). Ideally, in the N900, you could toggle maximization using the camera button for example. And you could also move from desktop to desktop using the volume rocker buttons. That would be an excellent solution. Oh, and make windows maximized by default (the menu and keys configuration files in fluxbox should have that condition after the launch command for each application).

[pinsh]

I installed Arch on my N900 but I'm getting some errors when trying to boot it. I think one problem is that I installed it in mmcblkp0p5 (not mmcblkp0p4) and even though I adjusted the u-boot menu entry, it does try to mount mmcblkp0p4 as ext4 during boot. Is there a config file where I can change this? I tried adding an entry to fstab but it didn't help. Also, are the other errors "normal"?


When booting Arch I get the following errors:

First screen:
gpmc could not claim irq-22
voltdm_scale: (some error)

Second screen:
omap_i2c: controller timed out
EXT4-fs (mmcblkp0p4): unable to read superblock
..
bcm2048 3-0022: BCM I2C error!
bcm2048 3-0022: Is Bluetooth up and running?

then the boot process stops (device not responsive).


Any help is greatly appreciated.

[pinsh]

No one? I started from scratch again and I'm still having the same problems. Could it be that my N900 has a hardware revision that's not supported or something?

[ArchiMark]

No one? I started from scratch again and I'm still having the same problems. Could it be that my N900 has a hardware revision that's not supported or something?

Not sure how you're trying to do the install, but best advice I can give you, is to try and follow the step-by-step instructions on this blog:

http://blog.jakgibb.com/2013/03/28/arch-linux-arm-native-install-on-n900/

Not perfect, but the best you're going to find I think....

Other choice is to spend lots of time reading through the posts in this thread from about page 25 on.....but I'd recommend doing fresh install following the blog....

As Skry noted earlier, this is not the easiest install and I'd add even if you've installed Arch before on other computers....

Just my 2 ¢..... ;)

[orsoniasty]

@pinsh
These errors are completely normal besides this one:
EXT4-fs (mmcblkp0p4): unable to read superblock

And as you already mentioned - you know why it is shown. To fix it, you need to update your /etc/bootmenu.d/whatever-you-have-for-arch.item, check if both ITEM_DEVICE and ITEM_CMDLINE are correct. Then run "u-boot-update-bootmenu" in Maemo terminal. Check out the steps that were given in the link sent by ArchiMark and note that /dev/mmcblk0p* is the internal memory and /dev/mmcblk1p* is the SD card. And I hope you are sure that you are using ext4?

[pinsh]

Thanks for your reply. I installed Arch in /dev/mmcblk0p5 using ext3 (I first had some problems with ext4 using the stock Maemo kernel).

My bootmenu entry file looks like this:

ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM (eMMC)"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p5"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext3"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"

What's strange about the "EXT4-fs (mmcblkp0p4): unable to read superblock" error is


I'm using mmcblk0p5 not mmcblk0p4 (according to my bootmenu entry)
I'm using ext3 not etx4


This makes me think that Arch gets some other information on how to mount the root fs during boot, but so far I haven't found anything..

[Estel]

(I first had some problems with ext4 using the stock Maemo kernel).


No wonder, as stock Maemo kernel doesn't support ext4 ;)

[orsoniasty]

You may use the newest power-kernel, it supports ext4. Ext3 works (I'm using it right now), but your config file is wrong. I do not know if you installed Arch on internal memory or on SD card, but you mixed them in the config. My Arch resides on SD card, that's my tested .item file:
ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${EXT_CARD}p1"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext3"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"
(of course ITEM_CMDLINE is one line, not splitted like in here)
For internal memory, I would have something similar to:
ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p3"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext3"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p3 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"
And for sure those configs were mentioned many times in this thread and other tutorials.

[Skry]

guys, also remember to fix the init= option to /usr/lib/systemd/systemd before doing pacman -Syu or you'll not be booting.

Edit:
I updated the example item in the first post, sorry for forgetting about it.

[pinsh]

You may use the newest power-kernel, it supports ext4. Ext3 works (I'm using it right now), but your config file is wrong. I do not know if you installed Arch on internal memory or on SD card, but you mixed them in the config. My Arch resides on SD card, that's my tested .item file:
ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${EXT_CARD}p1"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext3"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"
(of course ITEM_CMDLINE is one line, not splitted like in here)
For internal memory, I would have something similar to:
ITEM_NAME="Arch Linux ARM"
ITEM_KERNEL="/boot/uImage"
ITEM_DEVICE="${INT_CARD}p3"
ITEM_FSTYPE="ext3"
ITEM_OMAPATAG="1"
ITEM_CMDLINE="root=/dev/mmcblk1p3 rootwait init=/bin/systemd omapfb.vram=0:3M,1:3M,2:3M quiet"
And for sure those configs were mentioned many times in this thread and other tutorials.

Thanks! I finally got it working using your config and ext4 :)

Another questions, are there newer kernels than 3.5.7 available and are there instructions on how to build the kernel somewhere? I'm trying to build an external kernel module that works with Linux 3.6 and newer.

[phapsubongtoi]

Thanks! I finally got it working using your config and ext4 :)

Another questions, are there newer kernels than 3.5.7 available and are there instructions on how to build the kernel somewhere? I'm trying to build an external kernel module that works with Linux 3.6 and newer.

i got a problem like u : mmcblk0p4..... even using ext4 ?
Can you show me your .item file ?

[orsoniasty]

Another questions, are there newer kernels than 3.5.7 available and are there instructions on how to build the kernel somewhere? I'm trying to build an external kernel module that works with Linux 3.6 and newer.
Here you can find 3.8 & 3.9 kernels:
https://gitorious.org/linux-n900/linux-n900
but they may be missing some hardware support - I do not know the details.

[pinsh]

Actually, I still get the "EXT4-fs (mmcblkp0p4): unable to read superblock" error when booting, but it works. I think I had it working earlier but for some reason the login prompt doesn't show up, which made think it isn't working. Try to press enter to see if you get the login screen.

[Skry]

people seem to get that superblock error quite often. don't know if it is related but ext4 support in maemo does have some issues.

last time I checked, more recent kernels lacked audio and dsp at least. not sure it is the case anymore but either way, there are no good hw support in 3.x kernels. Also, SGX driver Pali is using does not have hardfp libs available AFAIK. Correct me if I'm wrong, not been following that closely lately. Anyway, I've been thinking of taking a step back and going to 2.6.37, if I find it working OK, that will be the future default kernel for whatever this thing is turning out to be once I get some spare time.

[caveman]

Anyone tried the latest filesystem package upgrade?

Ok, I have tried the upgrade following the procedure suggested in the forums:

pacman -Suy --ignore filesystem
pacman -Su


That worked in the raspberry pi, but not in the n900. It resulted in a broken system. So be cautious when you upgrade.

[orsoniasty]

@caveman
Is not it solved in the way Skry mentioned?
guys, also remember to fix the init= option to /usr/lib/systemd/systemd before doing pacman -Syu or you'll not be booting.
Or what do you exactly mean by a broken system?

[caveman]

@caveman
Is not it solved in the way Skry mentioned?

Or what do you exactly mean by a broken system?

The systemd upgrade was fine. But after this last upgrade, the system boots with tons of errors in several services and hangs before getting to the login prompt.

[Skry]

https://www.archlinux.org/news/binaries-move-to-usrbin-requiring-update-intervention/

[Älä hakkaa]

If the update process "terminates early", chroot in and fight it through, like I did! =:-) Lesson learned from that excercise: don't maverick around and stick to the guideline! Anyhow, an updated rootfs would be very nice-to-have for our new recruits. Mine grew a bit 'fat' unfortunately, so if someone has a more virginal one or is willing to prepare such for the good cause, I'll be happy to put it on ftp!

[saponga]

i've just got arch working on my eeepc 701 and i'm in love with it ! t boots within 10 secs or so... i think i'll give a shot on my n900. Thanks a lot for give us the rocks way. :)

[Skry]

I'll try to put up a new rootfs this weekend.

[Älä hakkaa]

i've just got arch working on my eeepc 701 and i'm in love with it ! t boots within 10 secs or so... i think i'll give a shot on my n900. Thanks a lot for give us the rocks way. :)

It's the most complete and free mobile available. Someone should tell Richard Stallman. And it makes for a great Raspberry Pi alternative. I just ordered a second n900!

[Skry]

btw guys, since you've the one using this, what do you think?

- Should we default to 2.6.37 kernel? This way we would have working hardware at least. 3.x kernels could be offered as packages to install separately.

- I'm really, really busy nowadays. I don't have time to maintain additional packages, many of them requiring patching and constant recompiling. So, I can concentrate on the system core, but would there be people ready to maintain extra packages?

- There are many things in both Arch and Arch Linux ARM nowadays that I don't like. One of them is the fact that NEON optimizations are not used anywhere. How about if we take Arch base, rebuild it with optimized settings, and define some baseline which we would maintain together and offer as separate repository, also compiled with optimized settings. In addition to that, we could use Alarm repos but keep it lower on priority. This would pretty much make this an Arch Linux spin. This would make everything easier to maintain, in theory at least, we could do something like monthly rebasing to Arch base with our own repositories, so everything wont blow up when something is updated on official repos. Security updates would be priorized separately ofc.

- Relating to the above, I was thinking about something that focuses on Wayland and Enlightenment. Also, everything neon/thumb compiled for cortex-a8, and EGL/GLES support enabled where available.

- For all this, I would need/want beaglebone black or similar as a distcc master, and possibly people participating as distcc slaves. If someone wants to donate hw, cpu-time or coin for purchasing such, please contact.

- Hey, we would have our own distro to toy and learn with, that could actually be something quite unique, wouldn't that be interesting?

- Your ideas how to continue/proceed, or any thoughts, please?

[Estel]

btw guys, since you've the one using this, what do you think?

- Should we default to 2.6.37 kernel? This way we would have working hardware at least. 3.x kernels could be offered as packages to install separately.

+1. Practical usefulness above everything else ;)

- There are many things in both Arch and Arch Linux ARM nowadays that I don't like. One of them is the fact that NEON optimizations are not used anywhere. How about if we take Arch base, rebuild it with optimized settings, and define some baseline which we would maintain together and offer as separate repository, also compiled with optimized settings. In addition to that, we could use Alarm repos but keep it lower on priority. This would pretty much make this an Arch Linux spin. This would make everything easier to maintain, in theory at least, we could do something like monthly rebasing to Arch base with our own repositories, so everything wont blow up when something is updated on official repos. Security updates would be priorized separately ofc.

- Relating to the above, I was thinking about something that focuses on Wayland and Enlightenment. Also, everything neon/thumb compiled for cortex-a8, and EGL/GLES support enabled where available.

+1, sounds natural.

- Hey, we would have our own distro to toy and learn with, that could actually be something quite unique, wouldn't that be interesting?

Definitely!

- Your ideas how to continue/proceed, or any thoughts, please?

This is only reason why I decided to post, despite having so low amount of things to say :o

/Estel

[Skry]

@Estel

Hey, at least you bothered, thanks! :)

[caveman]

@Skry: you have brought up several interesting points. From my point of view, our most scarce resource is manpower, so I would focus on what we don't have at first, instead of improving what we already have in less-than-ideal form.

So:
* I would go with the mer kernel
* I would stay with some available and maintained base (arch linux or debian or mer comes to mind)
* and put some effort in the wayland/e17 stuff as we currently lack a good graphical touchscreen-enabled environment.

[Skry]

From my point of view, our most scarce resource is manpower, so I would focus on what we don't have at first, instead of improving what we already have in less-than-ideal form.

This is very true, though I personally think a good solid base is needed for anything that builds on it. It is also true, that there are some things that would be needed asap, like the usable touchscreen UI. This however is a difficult task, as long as I'm in this alone.

I would stay with some available and maintained base (arch linux or debian or mer comes to mind)

I've actually thought for a while whether I should move my contribs to that Debian rebase project and/or Mer. Anyway, keeping with Arch ARM means that the packages we want to optimize, need to be separately maintained, with their respective dependencies. Some of these are widely used libraries, some require patching, some need rebuilding against rebuilt libraries etc. This makes maintaining everything a task so tedious, that from my point of view it would be easier to maintain own repository, which would also give us the benefit of _fully_ cortex-a8 optimized system. Using snapshots from a rolling release base would also give a small team time to adapt to changes that would normally break something (like custom packages now).

To name a few packages that would need to be rebuilt and/or separately maintained:

Mesa
Pulseaudio
libpng and similar
zlib and similar
everything with egl/gles disabled, like cogl
pixman, cairo, pango...

and put some effort in the wayland/e17 stuff as we currently lack a good graphical touchscreen-enabled environment.

My thoughts exactly. Concentrating on one (excellent) choice would be beneficial to everyone, even though it might limit the concept of choice. If we go so far that we begin to construct our own UI based on what already exists, that would truly benefit everyone. I think this combination is the best option to go with out of the choices we currently have. Assuming we get it to work :)

[Älä hakkaa]

+1. Practical usefulness above everything else ;)

/Estel

Good point! Best optimized kernel as default. We don't have to support different types of hardware. There's only one n900, so yes to NEON and other such optimizations too.

You know, Arch means anus in German, nevertheless its base repo is a good starting point. But before going into extras, GL-graphics etc., I'd like to cater for early options and alternatives to it like a busybox base, a plan-9 base and statically linked bases. The philosophers have some interesting thoughts about these http://sta.li/

[Skry]

Good point! Best optimized kernel as default. We don't have to support different types of hardware. There's only one n900, so yes to NEON and other such optimizations too.

If we think about the compiler options used, in practice we would be optimizing for cortex-a8 with neon and thumb2. This would be a benefit for other similar devices too.

You know, Arch means anus in German, nevertheless its base repo is a good starting point.

No wonder Arch users are a**holes then.. :)
I don't have any allegiance to Arch Linux anymore, but I want to keep using pacman. Regardless of how I feel about the distro in general nowadays, it's still best there is, out of the similar choices. So, the base would always be 1:1 as much as possible, extras etc would be superseded with our own, and official repos would be left as (from my point of view) unsupported "fallbacks" -> lower on priority.

But before going into extras, GL-graphics etc., I'd like to cater for early options and alternatives to it like a busybox base, a plan-9 base and statically linked bases. The philosophers have some interesting thoughts about these http://sta.li/

I want to avoid busybox as long as possible. For now, mksh is what I've planned on using, ideas and opinions are welcome with this matter too. I've been following starch and been playing around with musl for awhile now, won't go into details yet but if I get anything usable done, it'll be in here.

[don_falcone]

You know, Arch means anus in German

No it doesn't - that would be 'Arsch', which in English also means 'butt'. 'Anus' is the same in both languages. 'Arch' OTOH translates to 'Bogen' or even 'Bogengewölbe' (both in architectural context).
(...na gut, was erwartet man? Leute aus Leipzig sprachen eh schon immer einen Dialekt, noch schlimmer als Chemnitzer, und falsch oft dazu :P ;) )

[nokiabot]

A kernal with working hardwares is preffered:)
as as about the own repo is considerd its 100percent practical approach to unleash the available protential:) but keep in mind that would require additional maintanence:( but would be fine enough as you stated we can also use the official repos so no problems .:) we could have a fair amount of useful packages in our repo that be customised for our devices
overall this project is all about useability and the thoughts by op focus on that:)

[Älä hakkaa]

When Commodore released its VIC-20 they had to rename it VC-20 in german countries. Guess why! You can't twist it. It's a really bad name and a misnomer (http://arschlinux.de). And now back to work, rats! We're not here for philosophers' football.

[Skry]

I did a new rootfs last night, haven't got time to test it out. If someone is willing to do that, give me a shout.

If someone has problems with the filesystem update, move your /usr/sbin to somewhere else, do the filesystem upgrade and move its contents there. I fixed n900-integration for new fs hierarchy, and will do the rest of the packages asap.

[caveman]

If we think about the compiler options used, in practice we would be optimizing for cortex-a8 with neon and thumb2. This would be a benefit for other similar devices too.


From the debian wiki (http://wiki.debian.org/ArmHardFloatPort):
NEON

NEON is an extension of the VFP which allows for very efficient manipulation of matrices, and vector data in general. This is notably useful for processing audio and video data, or for fast memcpy().

Programs usually take advantage of NEON thanks to hand-crafted assembly routines. GCC can automatically vectorize code and generate NEON instructions, however this tends to have limited success. It would seem sensible NOT to require NEON in a new port since some modern ARMv7 SoCs such as Marvell Dove and NVidia Tegra2 don't implement it.

It is also possible to use NEON instructions for regular scalar floating point code, and this can give significant (2-3x) speedup on Cortex-A8 hardware. However GCC does not currently implement this, and it is not always applicable as NEON instructions are not fully IEEE compliant.

[Skry]

http://cdn.meme.li/instances/400x/37774058.jpg

[robotanarchy]

Damn, I wish I had read this thread more often :D

As I said before: Currently I don't really have time at all sadly, but this will change when my exams are over :)

Sadly my N900 got damaged by rain :( Unless a software flash will fix it (because it still shows the NOKIA logo at boot), it is lost. But the good news is, that you can get one for ~70€ at ebay nowadays. My plan is to buy two and use one with maemo daily and have one with arch linux to play with :D So hopefully I'll have enough time then to write pkgbuilds/software/whatever :)

In the meantime, I've also thought of creating an arch linux spin-off just for the N900 with maybe wayland if it works and stuff, and today I read the same ideas in this thread, what the hell :D

I haven't had time to read the whole thread yet, but the following stuff sounds very awesome (these are not my ideas):
- create a spin-off with maximum optimizations and an own repo
- provide both the 2.6.x kernel and the bleeding edge one
- sync the repos monthly or something with the arch repos except for security updates
- first, concentrate on getting a working system with features needed to have a working phone (contacts application, make calls, write SMS at least)

stuff I'd like to see / will focus on when i actually contribute something:
- support for proper encryption - I'd like to see at least home encrypted, but better the whole root device (except if the performance breaks down too much). maemo with encrypted home (and swap) didn't have any speed impact as far as I tested
- support for OTR and PGP in chat / mail programs
- lightweight C programs that don't fill up the RAM and which get the most of the performance, try to avoid python and other script languages in the recommended core packages, except for bash where it makes sense
- maybe replacing systemd with another (more simple, more like the classic arch) init system will have benefits? (its simpler, maybe more speed, maybe less RAM usage)
- provide one interface, that is mostly like the one from maemo (but with less dependencies if possible, has all the key features like phone book, make calls), but from the basic 'installation', make it like arch linux: you just have a terminal and can install whatever you want :) so people could use tiling wms etc
- don't make GUIs for stuff that works file with CLI: file manager, text editor, ...

have you thought about a name for your spin-off? I recommend over900 :)



I really wish I had more time right now / the next weeks to read more, what's going on here. But I hope this post is somewhat useful :)

keep on hacking everyone ;)

[Skry]

@robotanarchy

I like your post, especially the part for lightweight C programs and contributing. I think I'll keep the alarm-n900 name. I'll be concentrating only on core functionality though, so obviously getting some call/sms guis etc require some group effort.

EDIT: Will upload the rootfs tomorrow

[Skry]

alarm-n900-201306-rootfs.tar.gz

Only boot/login tested.

I got some udev/mcbsp error I haven't got before. If someone could test it more thoroughly I'd appreciate it. From the results of that testing, 201307 or 08 will be created, which will probably be the last release before going to the planned new way.

So any thoughts about that are still needed and very welcome from everyone.

[Älä hakkaa]

Another piece of wire: ftp://bokmal.de/alarm-n900/alarm-n900-201306-rootfs.tar.gz

Go get it! Gold is at the end!

[Älä hakkaa]

- lightweight C programs that don't fill up the RAM and which get the most of the performance, try to avoid python and other script languages in the recommended core packages

I'd like to send that in Fraktur to the programmers of the bluetooth stack. Atrocious code that gets worse by every release.

[Älä hakkaa]

While preparing a newly flashed n900 for the june-rootfs, I wish one could spare all the upgrading and updating just in order to get the U-Boot in place. A fiasco image just like the maemo ones, only with alarm inside would make a nice shortcut, wouldn't it?

[caveman]

alarm-n900-201306-rootfs.tar.gz (http://skry.kapsi.fi/alarm-n900/alarm-n900-201306-rootfs.tar.gz)


I used this image on a newly ext4-formated uSD directly on the N900, and used the provided u-boot item file, but could not make it boot. The N900 resets at kernel loading. Anyone else tested this rootfs yet?

[Estel]

While preparing a newly flashed n900 for the june-rootfs, I wish one could spare all the upgrading and updating just in order to get the U-Boot in place. A fiasco image just like the maemo ones, only with alarm inside would make a nice shortcut, wouldn't it?

You don't need to use u-boot combined with alarm kernel flashed into NAND. All you need is latest u-boot *only* flashed there, *once* - then, you don't need any flashing/combining PITA, no matter how many new releases of kernel's you're using comes out. You need to flash *only* if new u-boot get's released.

After all, kernel sits in RAM anyway, so it's 0 difference in performance or anything, when you make u-boot to load kernel from image on /dev/mmcblk0p1 (Maemo naming used, but you know the idea) - as opposed to having kernel combined into u-boot image.

This approach makes using U-boot for such things as alarm a pleasure.

/Estel

[orsoniasty]

I used this image on a newly ext4-formated uSD directly on the N900, and used the provided u-boot item file, but could not make it boot. The N900 resets at kernel loading. Anyone else tested this rootfs yet?

I just tried it out and it works fine for me (at least boot/login). For me it seems that this is the kernel related problem. What is the last message that you can see? Do you use 3.5.7.5?

edit: I just tried wifi-menu and pacman -Syu, both are fine. Seems like the pain of upgrading the system is gone, thanks Skry - people are going to be grateful for that ;)

[caveman]

I just tried it out and it works fine for me (at least boot/login). For me it seems that this is the kernel related problem. What is the last message that you can see? Do you use 3.5.7.5?

Thanks for the info. I just mkfs'd the partition, extracted the rootfs, installed the provided item file and updated u-boot. No packages installed or anything, as I was willing to validade the procedure. I will investigate further.

update: fixed by upgrading u-boot to the version in extras-devel

[Estel]

It also works with older u-boot, as long as you use one from Pali's site, *not* from -devel. It's compiler related problem (one used to compile u-boot - the autobuilder's one is too old). New version of u-boot in -devel goes around it, by uploading binary (already compiled using newer compiler) file of u-boot image, skipping autobuilder's compilation.

I though it was mentioned in first page, first post?

/Estel

[caveman]

I though it was mentioned in first page, first post?
/Estel

It is, indeed. I had this working; I must have upgraded u-boot by mistake.

[saponga]

hi Skry,
sorry for asking in this thread... i know that it's the wrong place :o then, feel free to ignore me and just don't answer me at all :( You already did so much !!!
I'm an Arch newbie and It's been a couple days since i've managed to boot it on my N900. Everything went ok except for the wifi. It's sooo slow even though with good signal and bandwidth. Doesn't matter whether i'm on the the browser (elinks) or syncing pacman database. Seems like it starts well but within a few secs it progressivelly becomes slower and slower until stops. Same thing using 2013.02 and 2013.06 rootfs. Dmesg doesn't show nothing wrong with the link. It's an open network and both my Arch netbook and MicroB are working very well on that. I don't have access to any other AP :( Have you seen something like this ?
Thank you very much for your efforts.
edit: found it! #iwconfig wlan0 power off
but hey who cares about battery when you haave a full native arch on your pocket ?!?! ;):D Thanks !

[int_ua]

Hi, any suggestions on how to make keyboard work in chrooted from Maemo Qt apps?

[nokiabot]

whatsup ? Current status :)

[Alecsandru]

could you chroot arch? someone could do that?

[int_ua]

could you chroot arch? someone could do that?
Do you mean chrooting from Maemo? It works.

[Alecsandru]

could you support that with an image? egl , sound ,wi-fi? all ok ?

[Estel]

As said thousands of times - "wifi" (I assume you mean networking, in general) doesn't have much to do with chroot, as "real" system provides it. If your chroot isn't malfunctioning as per se (i.e. not related to what you're chrooting into), you will have networking OOTB.

What do you expect by "image"? All files are in first post, you can use them to chroot into arch right now. If you're using easy-chroot from qole, you would be interested in using directory based chroot, or partition based one (see EasyDebian thread). Otherwise, you may pack it up into image file - if you don't know how to do it, jsut grab Ed image file, mount it, rm -r it's content, and copy Arch belongings there. Your Ed image will become Arch one.

That said, I don't see much reason for you to do so - I don't mean any offense (seriously!), but if you have questions like in above post, I don't think you need Arch chroot. It's not EasyArch variation of EasyDebian, where everything is (expected) to work out of the box, with full desktop (aka "click this, click that") experience. It *may* get configured this way by user, but it isn't main goal of N900's arch releases.

/Estel

[Estel]

As said thousands of times - "wifi" (I assume you mean networking, in general) doesn't have much to do with chroot, as "real" system provides it. If your chroot isn't malfunctioning as per se (i.e. not related to what you're chrooting into), you will have networking OOTB.

It doesn't matter what kind of networking it is. If maemo can reach network, your chroot will be able too (until it's screwed at the point not related to what you're chrooting into, or you have configured it otherwise on purpose).

[Alecsandru]

estel what gui are you using?
i ha ve changed the user and password, and now i can't find them , if i replace the passwd file with the one povided here wich si default login and passwd? thank you:D incorrect login throws me now

[orsoniasty]

i ha ve changed the user and password, and now i can't find them , if i replace the passwd file with the one povided here wich si default login and passwd? thank you:D incorrect login throws me now
In my opinion the easiest way is to mount the Arch rootfs in Maemo and edit /etc/shadow. Find the line that contains your username (should be sth like that):
user:$6$IF/h5gZo$z0sdsa23ttttdfdasdHsd2cSQWtXAeUrDc4maOkYz0K0 csHThQ0Oj/VyyUzmOAKCsts70C58Yueq3DbaETiL.:15765:0:99999:7:::
and change it to (remove all characters between two first semicolons):
user::15765:0:99999:7:::
et voila - the password is removed.
And for the rootfs provided here, AFAIR login/passwd is root.

[Alecsandru]

after folowing your advice same thing:
localhost login:
Password:
thank you
fixed , thank you i was misstype a line

[orsoniasty]

after folowing your advice same thing:
localhost login:
Password:
thank you
That's very strange, as I did the same thing right now, and there is no asking for password. Are you sure that you have edited /etc/shadow from the Arch rootfs (and not from Maemo)?