@peterleinchen, can you look what nitdroid installer script doing? And if it is possible to create script which generate uboot bootmenu item file for some default nitdroit installation?
Hey pali,
of course would like to help you. But what is your intention?
There are a few installers flying around. I got it years ago with the autoinstaller from repos (very old nit version 0.0.8?). Installs only on SD. Ammyt made another (in his thread) or better two. Able to install on eMMC (sure: on /home/and, guess: also on dedicated partition), but I never checked that.
Furthermore there needs to be made some tweaks to nit to be able to boot via u-boot (see above forum link). A "default default" install will not work (someone else confirms this, please?)
So it could be possible to check the default locations for nit files and create bootmenu.item. Is that what you think of?
I pushed kp52 to autobuilder, so enable extras-devel and run apt-get update.
After reflash I'm currently at CSSU-testing (installed before servers migration) and kernel-power 51r1.
Enabling extras-devel and running apt-get upgrade wanted to upgrade besides kp52 packages also: file; libmagic1; gstreamer0.10-maemo-xiph. Are they dependencies of kp52(I guess not)? If not, why are they offered to upgrade as HAM shows no upgrades when extras-devel is enabled? Is it safe to upgrade also these packages?
I am using multiboot, and upgraded to Power52 once i saw it in the repos. I however see that it is uboot only. I am no longer running nitdroid, but would like to use power52 (no option shows in multiboot) and the previous kernels do not load. so i ask for resources that may guide me through either removing multiboot and installing uboot, or how to get the current power kernel working. any help is appreciated!
Didn't see a thread on 52, but installed it on my new n900. (First one would not recognize sim card anymore, and used various kernel-power versions with no problem). I noticed the camera would not work, the notification led would not work, nor the keyboard lights. I did an apt-get for the fcam drivers, but no effect.
I installed the original kernel, and the camera and led would work, but not the keyboard.
I tried to install an earlier version of kernel-power, but it would not download.
Installed v52 again, and same result.
Installed the original again, now I am stuck in a reboot loop.
I am also getting this from the flasher: Suitalble USB device not found, waiting
multiboot support was removed in october 2012 and there were testing packages for more months...
Thanks pali for your effort.
Are there any problem for those who use bootmenu with backupmenu?
In general, what I cannot understand is the question about flashing and the necessity to have this strange bootloading system: are there any place where to find a complete tutorial about nolo, bootmenu, multiboot, U-boot and fiasco images, also in relation to kernel power and other OSs?
Are there any problem for those who use bootmenu with backupmenu?
If you mean fanoush bootmenu script modified by me (extras package "bootmenu") then this is OK without any problems. Custom init scripts which are started by this bootmenu are OK too.
In general, what I cannot understand is the question about flashing and the necessity to have this strange bootloading system: are there any place where to find a complete tutorial about nolo, bootmenu, multiboot, U-boot and fiasco images, also in relation to kernel power and other OSs?
Basically, the boot process is as follows:
1. *NOLO* is the boot loader, which loads whatever kernel is installed in the kernel partition.
2. *kernel* loads and runs whatever it's been given as an init parameter. standard (on Maemo) is /sbin/preinit
3. *preinit* intializes various stuff about your N900 and then runs init (upstart)
4. *upstart* starts system services, X11 and the desktop.
*** U-Boot
Now if you install U-Boot it replaces *kernel*, so that NOLO passes control to U-Boot, which itself loads a kernel. If that kernel is a Maemo kernel (stock, power kernel), then that kernel loads preinit, etc.
Meaning: U-Boot replaces step 2, but the kernel loaded by U-Boot normally (if Maemo) jumps to step 3, so all is OK.
*** Bootmenu
Bootmenu is run by preinit, so that it runs between steps 3 and 4, let's call it 3.5. It is thus entirely independent of U-Boot and whatever kernel you have.
*** Backupmenu
Backupmenu is like Bootmenu. It is actually (normally) run from Bootmenu, so it kind of replaces step 4.
*** Multiboot
Multiboot replaces /sbin/preinit (step 3), so that it shows a menu similar to Bootmenu. The trick here is that when you select a kernel, it FLASHES that kernel, so that your selected kernel replaces STEP 2.
If you remember a few lines ago U-Boot ALSO REPLACES THE KERNEL.
If you do the math you'll notice that if you have U-Boot *and* Multiboot the next time you select a kernel in Multiboot it will replace U-Boot, so U-Boot is gone completely from your device. This is a common problem amongst the people who (still) don't know how the N900 and Maemo work.
*** Flashing
Your N900 has various partitions. For all practical matters you have:
disk 1:
partition 1: kernel
partition 2: root file system (/)
(NOLO and other partitions are also there, but you don't care).
disk 2:
partition 1: /home
partition 2: Mydocs
(swap is also there but you don't care)
If you flash the ROOTFS aka FIASCO aka COMBINED image you are basically replacing "disk 1", i.e. you get the stock kernel and a new root file system. Your /home and your Mydocs are not touched.
If you flash the eMMC aka VANILLA you get a new /home and Mydocs.
* NOTE (added after Pali's comment -- Thanks)
/opt is a symlink to /home/opt, meaning that if you flash the eMMC/VANILLA image *only* your /opt folder will be empty, which will likely make Maemo unbootable.
(actually should not happen, unless something actually requires /opt to be there. But yes, knowing Maemo, there is 100% something critical-essential stored in /opt).
*
Note that you can choose to only flash the kernel (i.e. without touching the rootfs). This is a way of e.g. fixing a fvcked up U-boot configuration.
