Clean Install On POGO-V4-A1-01 SD Card Stuck At Starting kernel

I installed Debian to boot from an SD card using Qui's post titled Hacking the Pogoplug v4 (Series 4 and Mobile) with Linux (Debian or Arch).

I followed the guide closely, with the only substitution being files that had broken links.
I substituted;
uboot.2014.07-tld-1.pogo_v4.bodhi.tar with uboot.2014.07-tld-2.environment.bodhi.tar
uboot.2014.07-tld-1.environment.img.bodhi.tar with uboot.2014.07-tld-2.environment.bodhi.tar
and Debian-3.14.0-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.tar.bz2 with Debian-3.17.0-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.
tar.bz2.

On Qui's recommendation, I also setup NetConsole which gives me the following output.

U-Boot 2014.07-tld-2 (Sep 19 2014 - 16:13:05)
Pogoplug V4
gcc (Debian 4.6.3-14) 4.6.3
GNU ld (GNU Binutils for Debian) 2.22
Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0

MMC rescan: current device # 0 initialized OK
2822232 bytes read in 1203 ms (2.2 MiB/s)
6114335 bytes read in 1366 ms (4.3 MiB/s)
## Booting kernel from Legacy Image at 00800000 ...
   Image Name:   Linux-3.17.0-kirkwood-tld-1
   Created:      2014-10-25   3:29:23 UTC
   Image Type:   ARM Linux Kernel Image (uncompressed)
   Data Size:    2822168 Bytes = 2.7 MiB


   Load Address: 00008000
   Entry Point:  00008000
   Verifying Checksum ... OK
## Loading init Ramdisk from Legacy Image at 01100000 ...
   Image Name:   initramfs-3.17.0-kirkwood-tld-1
   Created:      2014-10-25   3:29:30 UTC
   Image Type:   ARM Linux RAMDisk Image (gzip compressed)
   Data Size:    6114271 Bytes = 5.8 MiB
   Load Address: 00000000
   Entry Point:  00000000
   Verifying Checksum ... OK


Starting kernel ...

And the NetConsole session hangs there, stuck at "Starting kernel ...". I have used two different SD cards with the same result.

I'm including the installation log below. I would appreciate it if you would point out anything you see that might cause this behavior.

login as: root
root@192.168.1.100's password:
~ # killall hbwd
~ # cd /tmp
/tmp # ls
hbplug.log   resolv.conf  var
/tmp # wget http://192.168.1.9/pf/nanddump
Connecting to 192.168.1.9 (192.168.1.9:80)
/tmp # wget http://192.168.1.9/pf/nandwrite
Connecting to 192.168.1.9 (192.168.1.9:80)
/tmp # wget http://192.168.1.9/pf/flash_erase
Connecting to 192.168.1.9 (192.168.1.9:80)
/tmp # wget http://192.168.1.9/pf/fw_printenv
Connecting to 192.168.1.9 (192.168.1.9:80)
/tmp # chmod +x flash_erase fw_printenv nanddump nandwrite
/tmp # cp fw_printenv fw_setenv
/tmp # mount -o remount,rw /
/tmp # echo "/dev/mtd0 0xc0000 0x20000 0x20000">/etc/fw_env.config
/tmp # wget http://192.168.1.9/pf/uboot.2014.07-tld-2.pogo_v4.bodhi.tar
Connecting to 192.168.1.9 (192.168.1.9:80)
/tmp # tar -xf uboot.2014.07-tld-2.pogo_v4.bodhi.tar
/tmp # /tmp/flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 4
Erase Total 4 Units
Performing Flash Erase of length 131072 at offset 0x60000 done
/tmp # /tmp/nandwrite /dev/mtd0 /tmp/uboot.2014.07-tld-2.pogo_v4.mtd0.kwb
Writing data to block 0 at offset 0x0
Writing data to block 1 at offset 0x20000
Writing data to block 2 at offset 0x40000
Writing data to block 3 at offset 0x60000
/tmp # wget http://192.168.1.9/pf/uboot.2014.07-tld-2.environment.bodhi.tar
Connecting to 192.168.1.9 (192.168.1.9:80)
/tmp # tar -xf uboot.2014.07-tld-2.environment.bodhi.tar
/tmp # /tmp/flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0xc0000 1
Erase Total 1 Units
Performing Flash Erase of length 131072 at offset 0xc0000 done
/tmp # /tmp/nandwrite -s 786432 /dev/mtd0 uboot.2014.07-tld-2.environment.img
Writing data to block 6 at offset 0xc0000
/tmp # /tmp/fw_setenv ethaddr "$(cat /sys/class/net/eth0/address)"
/tmp # /tmp/fw_printenv ethaddr
ethaddr=00:25:31:03:f9:bf
/tmp # /tmp/fw_setenv arcNumber 3960
/tmp # /tmp/fw_setenv machid F78
/tmp # /tmp/fw_setenv usb_rootfstype ext3
/tmp # /tmp/fw_setenv mtdparts 'mtdparts=orion_nand:2M(u-boot),3M(uImage),3M(uIm
age2),8M(failsafe),112M(root)'
/tmp # /tmp/fw_printenv
ipaddr=192.168.0.231
serverip=192.168.0.220
baudrate=115200
bootcmd=run bootcmd_uenv; run bootcmd_usb; run bootcmd_mmc; run bootcmd_sata; reset
bootcmd_mmc=run mmc_init; run set_bootargs_mmc; run mmc_boot
bootcmd_sata=run sata_init; run set_bootargs_sata; run sata_boot;
bootcmd_usb=run usb_init; run set_bootargs_usb; run usb_boot;
bootdelay=10
console=ttyS0,115200
device=0:1
ethact=egiga0
if_netconsole=ping $serverip
led_error=orange blinking
led_exit=green off
led_init=green blinking
mainlineLinux=yes
mmc_boot=mw 0x800000 0 1; run mmc_load_uimage; if run mmc_load_uinitrd; then bootm 0x800000 0x1100000; else bootm 0x800000; fi
mmc_init=mmc rescan
mmc_load_uimage=ext2load mmc $device 0x800000 /boot/uImage
mmc_load_uinitrd=ext2load mmc $device 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd
mmc_root=/dev/mmcblk0p1
mtdids=nand0=orion_nand
partition=nand0,2
preboot_nc=run if_netconsole start_netconsole
rootdelay=10
rootfstype=ext3
sata_boot=mw 0x800000 0 1; run sata_load_uimage; if run sata_load_uinitrd; then bootm 0x800000 0x1100000; else bootm 0x800000; fi
sata_init=ide reset
sata_load_uimage=ext2load ide $device 0x800000 /boot/uImage
sata_load_uinitrd=ext2load ide $device 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd
sata_root=/dev/sda1
set_bootargs_mmc=setenv bootargs console=$console root=$mmc_root rootdelay=$rootdelay rootfstype=$rootfstype $mtdparts
set_bootargs_sata=setenv bootargs console=$console root=$sata_root rootdelay=$rootdelay rootfstype=$rootfstype $mtdparts
set_bootargs_usb=setenv bootargs console=$console root=$usb_root rootdelay=$rootdelay rootfstype=$rootfstype $mtdparts
start_netconsole=setenv ncip $serverip; setenv bootdelay 10; setenv stdin nc; setenv stdout nc; setenv stderr nc; version;
stderr=serial
stdin=serial
stdout=serial
usb_boot=mw 0x800000 0 1; run usb_load_uimage; if run usb_load_uinitrd; then bootm 0x800000 0x1100000; else bootm 0x800000; fi
usb_init=usb start
usb_load_uimage=ext2load usb $device 0x800000 /boot/uImage
usb_load_uinitrd=ext2load usb $device 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd
usb_root=/dev/sda1
bootcmd_uenv=run uenv_load; if test $uenv_loaded -eq 1; then run uenv_import; fi
uenv_import=echo importing envs ...; env import -t 0x810000
uenv_load=usb start; mmc rescan; ide reset; setenv uenv_loaded 0; for devtype in usb mmc ide; do for disknum in 0; do run uenv_read_disk; done; done
uenv_read=echo loading envs from $devtype $disknum ...; if load $devtype $disknum:1 0x810000 /boot/uEnv.txt; then setenv uenv_loaded 1; fi
uenv_read_disk=if test $devtype -eq mmc; then if $devtype part; then run uenv_read;  fi; else if $devtype part $disknum; then run uenv_read; fi;  fi
ethaddr=00:25:31:03:f9:bf
arcNumber=3960
machid=F78
usb_rootfstype=ext3
mtdparts=mtdparts=orion_nand:2M(u-boot),3M(uImage),3M(uImage2),8M(failsafe),112M(root)
/tmp # /tmp/fw_setenv serverip 192.168.1.9
/tmp # /tmp/fw_setenv ipaddr 192.168.1.99
/tmp # /tmp/fw_setenv if_netconsole 'ping $serverip'
/tmp # /tmp/fw_setenv start_netconsole 'setenv ncip $serverip; setenv bootdelay
10; setenv stdin nc; setenv stdout nc; setenv stderr nc; version;'
/tmp # /tmp/fw_setenv preboot 'run if_netconsole start_netconsole'
/tmp # mount -o remount,rw /
/tmp # cd /
/ # wget http://192.168.1.9/pf/uboot.mtd0.dockstar.original.kwb
Connecting to 192.168.1.9 (192.168.1.9:80)
/ # /tmp/fw_setenv bootcmd 'run bootcmd_usb; run bootcmd_mmc; run bootcmd_sata;
run bootcmd_pogo; reset'
/ # /tmp/fw_setenv bootcmd_pogo 'if ubi part root 2048 && ubifsmount ubi:rootfs
&& ubifsload 0x800000 uboot.mtd0.dockstar.original.kwb ; then go 0x800200; fi'
/ # killall hbwd
killall: hbwd: no process killed
/ # mknod /tmp/mmcblk0 b 179 0
/ # /sbin/fdisk /tmp/mmcblk0

The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 1951.
There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024,
and could in certain setups cause problems with:
1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs
   (e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)

Command (m for help): p

Disk /tmp/mmcblk0: 16.0 GB, 16050552832 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1951 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

        Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks  Id System
/tmp/mmcblk0p1               1        1952    15670272   c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)

Command (m for help): d
Selected partition 1

Command (m for help): p

Disk /tmp/mmcblk0: 16.0 GB, 16050552832 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1951 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

        Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks  Id System

Command (m for help): n
Command action
   e   extended
   p   primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 1
First cylinder (1-1951, default 1): Using default value 1
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (1-1951, default 1951): Using default value 1951

Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table
/ # mknod /tmp/mmcblk0p1 b 179 1
/ # cd /tmp
/tmp # wget http://192.168.1.9/pf/mke2fs
Connecting to 192.168.1.9 (192.168.1.9:80)
/tmp # chmod +x mke2fs
/tmp # /tmp/mke2fs -L rootfs -j /tmp/mmcblk0p1
mke2fs 1.41.9 (22-Aug-2009)
Filesystem label=rootfs
OS type: Linux
Block size=4096 (log=2)
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
981120 inodes, 3917844 blocks
195892 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user
First data block=0
Maximum filesystem blocks=4013948928
120 block groups
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
8176 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
        32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208

Writing inode tables: done
Creating journal (32768 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done

This filesystem will be automatically checked every 31 mounts or
180 days, whichever comes first.  Use tune2fs -c or -i to override.
/tmp # mkdir /tmp/mnt
/tmp # mount /tmp/mmcblk0p1 /tmp/mnt
/tmp # cd /tmp/mnt
/tmp/mnt # wget http://192.168.1.9/pf/Debian-3.17.0-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.
Connecting to 192.168.1.9 (192.168.1.9:80)
/tmp/mnt # wget http://192.168.1.9/pf/Debian-3.17.0-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.
tar.bz2
Connecting to 192.168.1.9 (192.168.1.9:80)
/tmp/mnt # tar -xjf Debian-3.17.0-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.tar.bz2
/tmp/mnt # rm Debian-3.17.0-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.tar.bz2
/tmp/mnt # /tmp/fw_setenv bootcmd 'run bootcmd_mmc; run bootcmd_usb; run bootcmd
_sata; run bootcmd_pogo; reset'
/tmp/mnt # sync
/tmp/mnt # cd ..
/tmp # umount /tmp/mnt
/tmp # /sbin/reboot

Thanks in advance.

Kindly,
Brainflurry



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2014 02:41PM by brainflurry.

>> "And the NetConsole session hangs there, stuck at "Starting kernel ...".

That is the normal response from NetConsole as the Linux image takes control.

Check to see if you have an IP asigned from your router. Then ssh root@ip.address pw:root.
If it is booting the Pogo Linux you have to start ssh again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2014 03:59PM by rickgtx.

Hi Rickgtx,

Thanks for the follow-up. I had already consulted the DHCP Clients Table on my router and neither the mac address for the PogoPlug nor any other device (besides those normally on my network) were listed. I also used an IP scanner that did not find any additional devices.

Just out of curiosity, I took the additional step of changing the IP address of another workstation to be within the range from the printenv output I saw earlier on during the install (192.168.0.x) and ran an IP scan that also did not find any additional devices.

I can eject the SD card and boot back to the PogoPlug without issue. The device becomes unreachable when attempting to boot to SD.

As I was going through the guide again to check for anything I may have missed, I read in the comments that the issues with the broken links had been resolved just today. So, I followed the guide again using the links provided therein and it worked like a charm! So, it looks like the more recent uboot.2014.07-tld-2.pogo_v4.bodhi.tar, uboot.2014.07-tld-2.environment.bodhi.tar and Debian-3.17.0-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.tar.bz2 aren't compatible with that guide.

Thanks to Jeff Doozan, @bodhi and Qui Hong for your contributions to this project! I've learned something and find the information very useful.

Kindly,
Brainflurry

My symptoms seem to exactly match Brainflurry's: no network on the final Debian install to a POGO-V4-A1-01 after Starting kernel ... from Netconsole.

Here are the key files I'm using, which his last message (December 29, 2014 07:11PM) suggests work for him.
d4b497dc5239844fd2d45f4ca83132e0 uboot.2014.07-tld-1.pogo_v4.bodhi.tar
c5921e3ea0a07a859878339ffb771088 uboot.2014.07-tld-1.environment.img.bodhi.tar
3c55093a67ea6166b31c9d111d896727 Debian-3.14.0-kirkwood-tld-1-rootfs-bodhi.tar.bz2

The status LEDs are yellow and orange at this point.
I don't have a serial console; that will take more setup. I have a Raspberry Pi in the house that I could possibly press into service as a 3.3V UART. I was hoping to avoid that.

Here's what my SD card looks like to fdisk:

Disk /tmp/mmcblk0: 15.5 GB, 15560867840 bytes
4 heads, 16 sectors/track, 474880 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 64 * 512 = 32768 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/tmp/mmcblk0p1 1 122071 3906264 83 Linux
/tmp/mmcblk0p2 122072 474880 11289888 83 Linux

Of course my install goes to mmcblk0p1, the other partition isn't even formatted.
And here is a subset of my environment:

# /tmp/fw_printenv | grep -E "rootfs|mmc"
bootcmd_mmc=run mmc_init; run set_bootargs_mmc; run mmc_boot
mmc_boot=mw 0x800000 0 1; run mmc_load_uimage; if run mmc_load_uinitrd; then bootm 0x800000 0x1100000; else bootm 0x800000; fi
mmc_init=mmc rescan
mmc_load_uimage=ext2load mmc $device 0x800000 /boot/uImage
mmc_load_uinitrd=ext2load mmc $device 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd
mmc_root=/dev/mmcblk0p1
rootfstype=ext3
set_bootargs_mmc=setenv bootargs console=$console root=$mmc_root rootdelay=$rootdelay rootfstype=$rootfstype $mtdparts
set_bootargs_sata=setenv bootargs console=$console root=$sata_root rootdelay=$rootdelay rootfstype=$rootfstype $mtdparts
set_bootargs_usb=setenv bootargs console=$console root=$usb_root rootdelay=$rootdelay rootfstype=$rootfstype $mtdparts
usb_rootfstype=ext3
bootcmd_pogo=if ubi part root 2048 && ubifsmount ubi:rootfs && ubifsload 0x800000 uboot.mtd0.dockstar.original.kwb ; then go 0x800200; fi
bootcmd=run bootcmd_mmc; run bootcmd_usb; run bootcmd_sata; run bootcmd_pogo; reset

Any hints? It feels like I'm so close, yet ...

ldoolitt,

Sounds like you booting with multiple drives? If true, then see:
http://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,19055,19058#msg-19058

If the above does not work, describe:
- whether you have netconsole or serial console?
- if not, what is the LED behavior from the time you power up until the kernel starting.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2015 11:04PM by bodhi.

> Sounds like you booting with multiple drives?

Well, two partitions on one drive. Is that a problem? I could certainly delete the second partition, at least for now.
Is the config entry mmc_root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 not good enough?

> - whether you have netconsole or serial console?

Netconsole, yes, and the messages match those quoted by Brainflurry at the beginning of this thread.
No serial console, yet. My original message gave the additional detail:
> I don't have a serial console; that will take more setup. I have a Raspberry Pi in the house that I could possibly press into service as a 3.3V UART. I was hoping to avoid that.

> - if not, what is the LED behavior from the time you power up until the kernel starting.

Well, it ends as a weird split of yellow and orange. But I don't have careful notes of how it gets there.
I'll try a couple more things and let you know how it goes.

ldoolitt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Sounds like you booting with multiple drives?
>
> Well, two partitions on one drive. Is that a
> problem? I could certainly delete the second
> partition, at least for now.
> Is the config entry mmc_root=/dev/mmcblk0p1 not
> good enough?
>
> > - whether you have netconsole or serial
> console?
>
> Netconsole, yes, and the messages match those
> quoted by Brainflurry at the beginning of this
> thread.
> No serial console, yet. My original message gave
> the additional detail:
> > I don't have a serial console; that will take
> more setup. I have a Raspberry Pi in the house
> that I could possibly press into service as a 3.3V
> UART. I was hoping to avoid that.
>
> > - if not, what is the LED behavior from the time
> you power up until the kernel starting.
>
> Well, it ends as a weird split of yellow and
> orange. But I don't have careful notes of how it
> gets there.
> I'll try a couple more things and let you know how
> it goes.

Yes, delete 2nd partition. Or use the partition label to force the kernel mounting correct rootfs. Partition letter are unpredictable even on same drive.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

> Yes, delete 2nd partition. Or use the partition label to force the kernel mounting correct rootfs.
> Partition letter are unpredictable even on same drive.
Bizarre. I'll have to understand that someday.

I deleted the extraneous partition, and it gets a little farther. The light(s) turn green shortly after the "Starting kernel ...".
35 seconds after that, I get the start of a DHCP transaction. Output of tcpdump -n -p -e -s 600 -v

06:54:06.024329 00:25:31:05:b4:bf > ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 342: (tos 0x10, ttl 128, id 0, offset 0, flags [none], proto UDP (17), length 328)
    0.0.0.0.68 > 255.255.255.255.67: BOOTP/DHCP, Request from 00:25:31:05:b4:bf, length 300, xid 0x3e585c2d, secs 3, Flags [none]
          Client-Ethernet-Address 00:25:31:05:b4:bf
          Vendor-rfc1048 Extensions
            Magic Cookie 0x63825363
            DHCP-Message Option 53, length 1: Request
            Requested-IP Option 50, length 4: 192.168.19.110
            Hostname Option 12, length 6: "debian"
            Parameter-Request Option 55, length 13:
              Subnet-Mask, BR, Time-Zone, Default-Gateway
              Domain-Name, Domain-Name-Server, Option 119, Hostname
              Netbios-Name-Server, Netbios-Scope, MTU, Classless-Static-Route
              NTP
06:54:06.051165 00:e0:98:55:38:a2 > ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff, ethertype ARP (0x0806), length 60: Ethernet (len 6), IPv4 (len 4), Request who-has 192.168.19.110 tell 192.168.19.1, length 46
06:54:06.271127 00:e0:98:55:38:a2 > ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 590: (tos 0x0, ttl 64, id 18768, offset 0, flags [none], proto UDP (17), length 576)
    192.168.19.1.67 > 255.255.255.255.68: BOOTP/DHCP, Reply, length 548, xid 0x3e585c2d, Flags [none]
          Your-IP 192.168.19.110
          Client-Ethernet-Address 00:25:31:05:b4:bf
          Vendor-rfc1048 Extensions
            Magic Cookie 0x63825363
            DHCP-Message Option 53, length 1: ACK
            Server-ID Option 54, length 4: 192.168.19.1
            Subnet-Mask Option 1, length 4: 255.255.255.0
            Lease-Time Option 51, length 4: 259200
            Default-Gateway Option 3, length 4: 192.168.19.1
            Domain-Name-Server Option 6, length 12: 76.14.0.8,76.14.0.9,76.14.96.14
            MTU Option 26, length 2: 1492

where 00:25:31:05:b4:bf is the pogoplug, 00:e0:98:55:38:a2 and 192.168.19.1 are my router, and the router starts to give 192.168.19.110 to the pogoplug (after trying with a 22ms timeout to find out if anybody thinks they have that address already).

That's the DHCPDISCOVER and DHCPOFFER part of the protocol, but the pogoplog stops there, where I would expect it to continue with a DHCPREQUEST, and then a DHCPACK would put it online.

I'm 100% sure that 00:25:31:05:b4:bf is the pogoplug, because that's the origin of all the UDP packets of Netconsole, that
I didn't cut-and-paste here. I'm also 100% sure the pogoplug is not fully on-line, because ARP requests for 192.168.19.110 go unanswered.

Just for completeness, here's my output of Netconsole

U-Boot 2014.07-tld-1 (Jul 18 2014 - 00:59:45)
Pogoplug V4
gcc (Debian 4.6.3-14) 4.6.3
GNU ld (GNU Binutils for Debian) 2.22
Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0 

MMC rescan: current device # 0 initialized OK
2461416 bytes read in 1226 ms (1.9 MiB/s)
6362802 bytes read in 1524 ms (4 MiB/s)
## Booting kernel from Legacy Image at 00800000 ...
   Image Name:   Linux-3.14.0-kirkwood-tld-1
   Created:      2014-04-06  20:44:27 UTC
   Image Type:   ARM Linux Kernel Image (uncompressed)
   Data Size:    2461352 Bytes = 2.3 MiB
   Load Address: 00008000
   Entry Point:  00008000
   Verifying Checksum ... OK
## Loading init Ramdisk from Legacy Image at 01100000 ...
   Image Name:   initramfs-3.14.0-kirkwood-tld-1
   Created:      2014-04-06  20:44:41 UTC
   Image Type:   ARM Linux RAMDisk Image (gzip compressed)
   Data Size:    6362738 Bytes = 6.1 MiB
   Load Address: 00000000
   Entry Point:  00000000
   Verifying Checksum ... OK


Starting kernel ...

ldoolitt,

Netconsole output always stops at the "Staring Kernel" message. Only with serial console then you can see more console output.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

> Netconsole output always stops at the "Staring Kernel" message. Only with serial console then you can see more console output.

Yes, I got that. The early part of this thread was very helpful in clarifying that.

Since it looked like DHCP was failing, based on my tcpdump trace, I went ahead and gave the pogoplug a static IP address in /etc/network/interfaces. That's easy for me, since I can just power off the pogoplug, pop the SD card out, mount it on my laptop, make edits, umount, and try again on the pogoplug.

Giving it a static IP address worked great! I just finished the apt-get upgrade step.

Two big mysteries I'll have to figure out eventually:
1. Why did DHCP fail?
2. How to boot from mmcblk0p1 in the presence of mmcblk0p2.

Plus I have a pile of pogoplug-independent work to do before this server can actually do some useful work.
But I'm in my comfort zone now, because it's just one more Debian machine on the 'net, that I can ssh into.
I've used Linux exclusively since 1993, and settled on Debian in about 2005.

ldoolitt,

> 2. How to boot from mmcblk0p1 in the presence of
> mmcblk0p2.

This is covered in the link I posted above about using partition label.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > 2. How to boot from mmcblk0p1 in the presence of mmcblk0p2.
> This is covered in the link I posted above about using partition label.

The example is given for USB, not SD, and I have a little trouble following the uboot side of the instructions.

I found another way that worked for me, based on mmc_root=/dev/mmcblk0p1.
That's the configuration that failed the first time, as given in my original January 01, 2015 10:39PM post.
It didn't work then, and I think I now know why: I never set the bootable flag on that partition!

Qui's instructions don't mention setting the bootable flag (done within fdisk), and it doesn't seem to be needed if there is only one partition, but my anecdotal evidence is that it's needed when there's more than one partition.

Debian now boots properly, and fdisk's p command reports

Disk /dev/mmcblk0: 15.6 GB, 15560867840 bytes
4 heads, 16 sectors/track, 474880 cylinders, total 30392320 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00090806

        Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/mmcblk0p1   *          16     7812543     3906264   83  Linux
/dev/mmcblk0p2         7812544    14103999     3145728   83  Linux

The crucial boot environment setup reported by fw_printenv | grep -E "rootfs|mmc" (from Debian, this time) is

bootcmd_mmc=run mmc_init; run set_bootargs_mmc; run mmc_boot
mmc_boot=mw 0x800000 0 1; run mmc_load_uimage; if run mmc_load_uinitrd; then bootm 0x800000 0x1100000; else bootm 0x800000; fi
mmc_init=mmc rescan
mmc_load_uimage=ext2load mmc $device 0x800000 /boot/uImage
mmc_load_uinitrd=ext2load mmc $device 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd
mmc_root=/dev/mmcblk0p1
rootfstype=ext3
set_bootargs_mmc=setenv bootargs console=$console root=$mmc_root rootdelay=$rootdelay rootfstype=$rootfstype $mtdparts
set_bootargs_sata=setenv bootargs console=$console root=$sata_root rootdelay=$rootdelay rootfstype=$rootfstype $mtdparts
set_bootargs_usb=setenv bootargs console=$console root=$usb_root rootdelay=$rootdelay rootfstype=$rootfstype $mtdparts
usb_rootfstype=ext3
bootcmd_pogo=if ubi part root 2048 && ubifsmount ubi:rootfs && ubifsload 0x800000 uboot.mtd0.dockstar.original.kwb ; then go 0x800200; fi
bootcmd=run bootcmd_mmc; run bootcmd_usb; run bootcmd_sata; run bootcmd_pogo; reset

This is letter-for-letter the same firmware environment I showed in my original post.

I know from first-hand experience that mounting partitions based on disk labels can have huge advantages when multiple devices can be present, such as USB or SATA. I'm not convinced a pogoplug with a single SD slot qualifies.

ldoolitt,

> I know from first-hand experience that mounting
> partitions based on disk labels can have huge
> advantages when multiple devices can be present,
> such as USB or SATA. I'm not convinced a pogoplug
> with a single SD slot qualifies.

It does not matter SD, USB, or SATA. See my post in the other thread:
http://forum.doozan.com/read.php?3,19055,19082#msg-19082

However, whatever works for you is good enough :)

PS.

By the way, the bootable flag on a patition is not related in anyway to where the rootfs resides.

-bodhi
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/2015 02:57AM by bodhi.