Bug#279370: does not boot: 'CLAIM FAILED' error on IBM 7043-260.

[Alessandro Amici <lists@b-open-solutions.it>]

Jens,

On Wednesday 03 November 2004 14:28, Jens Schmalzing wrote:
> Alessandro Amici writes:
> > Severity: important
>
> [...]
>
> > nice black magic trick:
>
> Well, I'm not sure if a bit of editing the kernel binary qualifies as
> "major effect on the usability" or black magic, but anyway.  As long
> as you don't make it RC.

it took me a couple of days of searching through the net and on irc before i 
found the correct 'bit of editing' ;-) and i could not even start the 
installation process before that. so yes, i stand that it had a "major effect 
on the usability" of the package for me (and other people with chrp).

anyhow, i will not complain if you lower the priority of the bug (at least the 
info on a possible work-around is now in the BTS).

BTW. i filed the bug to kernel-image-2.6.8-power3 as suggested by Sven, but 
the problem is actually found in power3/vmlinuz.initrd, i don't know who is 
really in charge of that file.

> > - with an hexeditor look for the values '00 0c 00 00' and '00 00 40 00'
>
> You mean '00 c0 00 00'. 

you are right, sorry.

> Both values are coming into the compressed 
> kernel from the note file, which is created by mknote, which is built
> from arch/ppc/boot/utils/mknote.c, which is shipped with the upstream
> kernel source and has these values hardcoded.
>
> >   in the first few bytes of the vmlinuz.initrd file and change both them
> > of them to 'ff ff ff ff'.
>
> We could add a patch that hardcodes these values instead, meaning
> real-base and load-base will be unspecified in the kernel, just like
> all the other OF variables.  This affects CHRP only, since it is the
> only subarch that uses the note in the first place, so it would be
> great to hear people who actually have the hardware...

that would certainly help people trying the debian-installer on chrp, even if 
one still needs to manually increase the real-base value from the OF prompt, 
which needs to be documented somewhere.

> > leighbb knows more than me
>
> ... like Leigh and Sven.

cheers,
alessandro