Snoshrk | # 161 | 2009-02-23, 23:55 | Report

Hmm...

I thought I tried that...and it said it could only clone from flash?

Although thinking back I might have been trying PBEasy....

I ended up using backup and restore to get switched over.

?

So, for future reference:

Use console tools to partition the card
then run clone (N800 internal to external?)

?


Thanks again for a great set of tools!

penguinbait | # 162 | 2009-02-24, 19:20 | Report

Yes the only caveat being you cannot clone to the card that is booted. Likewise you cannot restore a backup to a card that is booted.

jimbarnes | # 163 | 2009-02-25, 06:30 | Report

Hi PB
Thanks again for the explanation of how things work. I seem to have gotten the system to part the internal mmc 2GB fat32, 256 swap, rest ext3. and I seem to have cloned the system at least thats what the software said and it even installed the boot menu.
Now however when it boots it offers me flash which if i select comes up with something about jffs2 and the system starts as it used to.
The second option is to boot from the external mmc ? which doesnt have an ext3 part on it and the third option is the internal mmc using p6. Neither the internal nor external selections work and when i select these it tells me that the boot failed and then boots from flash but without any message about jffs2, do you have any clue as to what might be going on?

cheers

penguinbait | # 164 | 2009-02-25, 15:03 | Report

Something went goofy, there are still some bugs. I suggest to reinstall bootmenu, if this does not work you may need to reclone and redo the bootmenu.

jimbarnes | # 165 | 2009-02-26, 11:49 | Report

Cheers PB redoing the boot menu worked. One small thing prior to cloning my internal memory was 256mb with 192mb used and 64mb free. Now it is 1.52gb with 433mb used and 1.1gb. I was wondering if there was an explanation for the difference in the used memory. Is it possible that the SSD or whatever that is used as internal memory (not the internal SD card i cloned to) is using some type of compression. Not particularly worried just curious.

Cheers

Jim Barnes

qole | # 166 | 2009-02-26, 22:06 | Report

Yes, the internal flash filesystem uses jffs2, a compressed file system designed for flash memory.

penguinbait | # 167 | 2009-02-26, 23:43 | Report

As Qole stated, jffs2 (flash) is a compressed filesystem. So when you copy it to and ext2 or ext3 partition, it uncompresses along the way.

Eladon | # 168 | 2009-02-28, 07:52 | Report

NEWBIE FAQ:

Really not interested in reading 17 pages of posts? Neither was I... So here's all the stuff I wish I could have just read in one post, compiled from previous posts and some of my own additions for issues I ran into when I flashed my N810 and was setting it up with pbeasy.

Q: I'm worried about using this program, I don't know much linux and I might loose everything.
A: If you're NOT worried about your data, then you don't have anything to worry about. Should you decide you're not happy with the results, you can always follow the instructions to reflash your device, and you'll get it back to factory standard.

If you're worried you might loose your data, really what you're saying is "I don't know if I have a good backup". If that's because you don't do backups, you're nutz. If you only use the Backup\Restore program that came with your device, you probably have reason to be concerned as it only backs up a portion of your device's data. One way or another, you've come to the right place! The "pb" program comes with a far superior Backup utility, which I highly recommend using even if you never do Clone your device.

So before you start with "pbeasy", run the "pb" program. Have a look at the Backup option, read the Help and you'll be good to go. The key here is to make sure you are happy that all your data has been backed up. I would suggest backing up your system to an external memory card, then copying those backup files from the memory card to your desktop computer. If you can open the backup files on your desktop computer and see your precious files nice and safe, you'll have the warm fuzzies and want to try Cloning. (Windows users can install the free 7-Zip program for opening the backup files) Keep in mind if this is your first time, you'll want to back up at least the internal jffs2 drive (/dev/mtdblock4 on mine), and the internal memory card (/dev/mmcblk0p1 on mine) before getting started.

Q: I am clicking the big "CLICK > < HERE" link in the instructions, but all I see is a bunch of text junk!
A: Instead of clicking on it, click and hold your stylus on the link until a menu appears. Choose "Save as..." from the menu. Save the file wherever you like (it defaults to "Documents", that's fine). Once it's done downloading, run the File manager program, locate the folder you saved the file into, double-tap the "console-tools" file and follow the instructions.

Q: When Partitioning, what is the first FAT partition for?
A: This is a FAT partition for general compatibility with what maemo is expecting to see. I would recommend a minimum of 64 MB. This partition becomes /media/mmc2 on my N810. Maemo uses this location for apt temp files, and some software programs store their data files here. On mine its also the place it wants to put virtual memory, so if you choose to use virtual memory instead of a swap partition, you may want to add 128 MB to your total (128 + 64 = 192 MB). Techie note: Don't forget this is a FAT partition, you won't be able to sym link folders out of here. "Maemo expects a FAT partition to be there, so I always put one. If you connect to an USB it could cause you problems. I always keep it. Also application manager uses it and other things. For compatibility sake and to save from troubleshooting, I would keep a small partition, 16-32MB minimum." (penguinbait)
If you use the Wayfinder map program, read this.

Q: When Partitioning, what is the second FAT partition for?
A: This is actually for the swap partition, 256 MB is a reasonable choice. In simple terms, a swap partition gives you more memory, allowing you to run several programs at the same time. The swap partition is in lieu of "virtual memory" (i.e. you will not need to enable virtual memory if you use a swap partition).

Q: I did the Clone, and I now have a text menu appear when it starts up, but it will only boot off the first item (jffs2)
A: Even though the Clone appeared to complete successfully, it didn't. You need to re-run the Clone a second time.

Q: How do I know if the swap partition is working? (this is assuming you have now successfully booted into your newly cloned partition)
A: Run X-Terminal and enter
If the "total" for "Swap" is 0, your swap is NOT working.

Q: How do I fix the swap?
A: You could try and run "pb" from X-Terminal, and choose the "Swap" menu item. But I found this didn't help, it only listed the internal jffs2 partition. If that doesn't work for you either, below is my cheater way to make it work. Just keep in mind, this may not be the same way penguinbait does it, so later on if you want to try the pb > Swap option, you may want to first undo these changes.

Assuming you let pbeasy set up your partitions, in X-Terminal enter:
Make a note of which partition's type is "linux swap" (mine was /dev/mmcblk0p3).

If you have troubles with the sudo commands, you may need to install the "sudser" program first. For the techies who are already root (via ssh or otherwise), make sure you remove the sudo from each command.

For whatever reason, Maemo doesn't pay attention to the fstab file. We can make it pay attention to the swap by adding a reference to the /etc/init.d/rcS file.

First we'll make backups of the files we're going to change, then we'll edit the rcS file. At the X-Term prompt, type:
Once the file is open hit "G" (that's shift-g) to go to the bottom of the document. Move the cursor to the beginning of the "exit 0" line. Type "i", then type:
and hit the Enter key.
If you run into any troubles and want to exit without saving, just hit Escape then ":q!" and hit Enter (note there is an "Esc" button at the bottom of the X-Term window).
The last few lines of the file should now look something like this:
Now hit Escape, and type ":x" and hit Enter. All being well you should be back at the command prompt.

Now edit the fstab file:
Type "Ga" then Enter. That's shift-g, a, then the Enter key. Now type out the following, replacing "mmcblk0p3" with the partition you noted from running sfdisk earlier.
Again hit Escape, type ":x" and hit Enter.
If you'd like to activate the swap immediately, at the command prompt type:
From now on you can add & modify swap partitions from the fstab file as usual. Just remove any reference to the swap partition from the fstab file if you'd like to stop using it.

Q: I shutdown my device, and then when I started it back up again, I didn't get the menu!
A: That can happen when you have your device plugged in for charging. When it's charging it doesn't shut down all the way. Just unplug it, turn it off then back on again, and you should get the proper menu (you can then plug it back in to continue charging).

---

Last edited by Eladon; 2009-03-02 at 06:28.

penguinbait | # 169 | 2009-02-28, 17:01 | Report

Thanks, was this a brithday present? I added the following infomation onto my first post.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Please look at the following information pertaining to bugs and usage.
>> NEWBIE FAQ <<
Provided by Eladon

Eladon | # 170 | 2009-02-28, 20:17 | Report

It was the least I could do! Hopefully it takes the pressure off you a bit, and helps many take advantage of this awesome program. For me, console-tools is the holy grail of apps. My N810 wouldn't be half as useful without it. I'd say there are very few owners of these devices who don't get frustrated with the space limitations. Just installing apps alone, I use up 3 times as much drive space than the stock N810 provides. So happy birthday, you deserve it!