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Re: running Debian on a Cubieboard



On Sunday 05 May 2013, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton wrote:

> On Sun, May 5, 2013 at 7:49 AM, Jean-Marc <jean-marc@6jf.be> wrote:

> > Hi guys,

> >

> > I bought a Cubieboard some days ago (http://cubieboard.org).

> > I would like to install a Debian Testing on it and some useful services

> > (webserver, wiki, xmpp server, mail server, ...).

> >

> > I took a look at the doc' and found some interesting things here:

> > http://linux-sunxi.org/Cubieboard/

> > http://linux-sunxi.org/Cubieboard/Installing_on_NAND

> >

> > Did somebody already try this ?

>

> there are dozens of people, if not hundreds, who have installed

> debian on A10 devices. they're all pretty much the same.

>

> start from here:

> http://rhombus-tech.net/allwinner_a10/hacking_the_mele_a1000/

>

> then you go here:

> http://rhombus-tech.net/allwinner_a10/hacking_the_mele_a1000/Building_Debi

> an_From_Source_Code_for_Mele/

>

> or here:

> http://rhombus-tech.net/allwinner_a10/hacking_the_mele_a1000/debian_kernel

> /

>

> and here:

> http://linux-sunxi.org/Building_on_Debian

>

> and yes you've found this one already:

> http://linux-sunxi.org/Cubieboard/Installing_on_NAND

>

> and you might also like to get one of the bootable images from here:

> http://linux-sunxi.org/Bootable_OS_images#Debian

>

>

> but if you like, you should be able to use this and adapt it, if you

> prefer not to do any kind of cross-compiling, you can use chroot

> bootstrapping instead - just adapt the sdcard partition setup

> arrangements using bits of the instructions above:

> http://lkcl.net/reports/odroid-u2.html

>

> that report is pretty similar in procedure to the Installing_on_NAND

> one except that it shows how to compile a native kernel and also

> doesn't mean you download a ridiculous 4gb or 8gb image, you use

> debootstrap and save a ton of network bandwidth in the process.

>

> the only thing to watch out for is that many people are not aware of

> the changes to fdisk of the past 18 or so months, where fdisk used to

> default to using cylinders or something but now uses different

> defaults, so many people have been reporting instructions that work on

> e.g. ubuntu but if you use debian/testing those exact same

> instructions completely fail. if i recall correctly you'll need

> "fdisk -u" i.e. use sectors instead of cylinder as a default unit.

>

> > Did youo do it the same way ?

>

> i strongly advise you not to deviate from any of the build

> instructions, at least not initially. bear in mind the following

> things:

>

> * there is no BIOS. AT ALL on ARM devices. you're operating at

> low-level, and you are on your own. deviate one tiny bit and you

> could f*** things up or waste 3 weeks trying to work outside the box.

>

> * luckily with allwinner a10 devices, they're "unbrickable". even if

> you f*** them up there's a way to put them into a mode which allows

> low-level recovery.

>

> > And I have a question: as the Debian installer takes the arch armhf in

> > charge, do you think a standard install' from a netboot image will work

> > ?

>

> this has been on my list for a loooong time. as with *all* debian

> installer images however you are hampered by the fact that there is no

> BIOS - at all - on ARM devices - and therefore it is impossible to

> have a "one size fits all" debian installer.

I wonder if the device tree is the answer here. If the box comes with

a DT or one is available on the web then the installer could read it and

know what to install. That and the armmp kernel should solve the problem.

 

David

>

> in other words you need to customise the debian installer by putting

> in very very specific boot procedures, kernel and initrd that is

> *specifically* tailored to understand that hardware.

>

> nobody has yet tackled this for any allwinner 10 devices, and as this

> is your first a10 device i would advise you not to try messing about

> with debian installer until you have at least prepared a

> debootstrapped image and got a first independent boot.

>

> once you've done that and have an SD Card that you can always go back

> to, *then* you will be in a strong position to explore creating a

> customised version of debian installer.

>

> if you try to create a customised version of debian installer first

> without having ever successfully booted this system up you risk

> getting in *way* over your head and giving up.

>

> small steps first - trust and follow other peoples' instructions first.

>

> l.

 

 


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