Re: Debain arm on a nokia N800
On Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:33:43 -0400, Jason Edgecombe wrote:
> Hendrik Boom wrote:
>> On Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:27:12 -0400, Jason Edgecombe wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Hendrik Boom wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Wed, 09 May 2007 17:55:56 +0200, Detlef Schmicker wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>
>>>>> some months ago I posted on maemo (the platform used for the Nokia
>>>>> N800) mailinglist about my attemps to run DEBIAN-ARM on this
>>>>> platform.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> I'd certainly be interested in informatin about getting armel on my
>>>> m800. There seems to be progress in compiling a kernel and setting p
>>>> a reasonable initial file system, but it's not clear what I have to
>>>> do to enable the n800 to actually boot from it.
>>>>
>>>> I think I'm looking for instructions that are more end-user-friendly
>>>> than the ones in
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> http://maemo.org/pipermail/maemo-developers/2007-
February/008480.html
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> I really don't know how to make my n800 boot differently, nor how to
>>>> get it back the way it was if things go horribly wrong. But having
>>>> Debian instead of maemo will, I suspect, make life easier -- at least
>>>> finding packages to install and using gcc and the like.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> (setup 2 and 3 are of interest here)
>>>>>
>>>>> I had quite low feedback. Maybe on debian-arm mailinglist there is
>>>>> more interest in this "port".
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> It's on the debian-arm mailing list that I found your post, now over
>>>> a year old.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Here is how to boot the Nokia tablets from an SD card:
>>> http://wiki.maemo.org/Booting_from_a_flash_card
>>>
>>>
>> Let me tell you what happened when I started to do this. It may also
>> make it clear what I mean by not end-user-friendly. It's not as if I
>> am the kind of end-user that only knows how to enter entries into
>> spreadsheets, either.
>>
>> First, it refers me to http://wiki.maemo.org/Root_access, where it
>> tells me to first enable extras http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras.
>>
>>
> ...snip...
>> Which one should I use for this? I'm currently running the factory-
>> installed OS2007.
>>
> You're running OS 2007 (bora), most of the instructions assume you're
> running OS2008 (chinook) or OS2008.1 (diablo).
So it looks as if the first thing I have to do is upgrade to OS2008
(chinook) Or to diablo. Is diablo stable enough for an end-user yet?
(Yes, in adition to wanting to get to where I can hack the machine, I
also have to be able to use it as an end-user at any time throuh the
process)
Presumably I'll still have to get to be root first. Unless I can reflash
to OS2008 witout gaining root. I'll still have to back up my contacts,
my calendar, and my sketches first (that's the relevant state I have at
this point), hoping their file formats will be consistent before and
after the upgrade.
What's the recommended way to back all this up so it'll be restorable in
OS2008? My bora-made backups have to be restorable on OS2008. I heard
that at one time, the backup tools provided wouldn't restore properly.
> That may be part of the
> confusion. Maemo/Nokia development is fast-paced. For example, the root
> access utility changed from gainroot in chinook to rootsh in diablo.
> This is further exacerbated by the maemo extras submission process
> change that includes the new autobuilder which is a requirement for all
> packages in maemo extras now. I believe that the extras repository was
> not in the factory install until diablo, or possibly chinook.
>
> To top everything off, you're right. The instructions and procedure are
> not clear. In my various dabbling with my N800, I reflashed multiple
> times to fix a screw-up or upgrade the OS. I finally have an N800 three
> boot options: diablo (internal flash), diablo (SD card), and chinook (SD
> card). From what I remember, I had to improvise a few times during the
> instructions.
So, should I make a wiki page describing my trials, hoping someone who
knows more can edit it into something resembling instructions? I don't
feel confident enough about what's going on to make anything that sounds
definitive, like the existing pages do.
I can't be the only one running bora in the world, can I?
>> * * *
>>
>> When, from the page http://wiki.maemo.org/Extras I attempt to follow
>> the instruction
>>
>> "To enable Extras repository, just open this link on your tablet."
>>
>> I get redirected to a web page http://www.theedge.com/
>>
>> When I attempt to open *this link* I get redirected to a web page
>> advertising The Edge, which seems to be some kind of magazine.
>>
>>
>> Did I screw up somewhere?
>>
> No. That link looks like it should work now. I'm guessing that it was
> wikispam.
>> * * *
>>
>> Nevertheless, I discover I did have an openssh installed. I start an
>> xterm, and type in
>>
>> ssh root@localhost
>>
>> and it says,
>>
>> ssh: connect to host localhost port 22: Connection refused
>>
>> ssh localhost -l root
>>
>> does no different.
>>
>> Evidently I have the wrong ssh -- since I don't remember ever having to
>> choose a password during any installation I've ever done on this
>> system. And I never got to the point of being asked for a password.
>>
>> The ssh I have is listed by the application manager as
>>
>> openssh 1:4.7p1-2.maemo2 8 kB
>> openssh-client 1:4.7p1-2.maemo2 1.1 MB
>> openssh-server 1:4.6p1-5.maemo3 0.4 MB
>>
>>
> I'm not sure how you have openssh-server installed without extras.
Probably from some other evanescent repository, back last January.
Is that still the current version? I'm guessing not. Installing it
certainly didn't ask me to change the root password.
>
> You might be able to get real-time help from the #maemo irc channel on
> freenode.
>
> The rough procedure to boot from an SD card is the following: 1. get
> root (try gainroot, openssh-server, or rootsh from maemo extras) 2.
> partition your sd card using sfdisk (install sfdisk form extras?) 3.
> mke2fs the SD card partitions (get e2fstools from extras) 4. clone the
> root fs to a partition -- I used rsync instead of tar, because tar
> wasn't in extras when I tried.
rsync is pretty good.
> 5. install the bootmenu utility
> 6. configure it and run the bootmenu install script reflash the
> bootloader from the device itself.
>
> The boot menu config is where you can configure alternate kernels and
> root filesystems. Steps 2-6 require root access.
>
> I recommend dabbling with alternative OS's from an SD card. That way,
> you can mount the OS from ITOS and easily tweak things using the normal
> filesystem tools.
That are my long-term plans. At least those were once just my plans, but
now they're starting to look more like long-term plans.
-- hendrik
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