No serial output from kernel on Iomega ix2-dl(ng)

Hi, I have a IX2-DL (that's what it said in the front cover) but it also said IX2-ng on the bottom white label. I am confused which one I have but I believe it is the DL as it has the 1GB nand and no spi flash.

How can I get it to work?!

protocold,

> Hi, I have a IX2-DL (that's what it said in the fr
> ont cover) but it also said IX2-ng on the bottom w
> hite label. I am confused which one I have but I b
> elieve it is the DL as it has the 1GB nand and no
> spi flash.
>
> How can I get it to work?!

If the SoC is the same, then it might be possible to modify the ix2-ng DTS to boot your ix2-dl. Memory is easy to adjust. Flash definition is really not needed if you have serial console, ie. you can modify u-boot envs in u-boot to boot the kernel.

So I would get the serial console boot log and post here. And then we compare the log to see if they both use the same SoC. If indeed they are the same, then hopefully other aspects such as GPIO for LEDs, are also the same. But it's hard to say unless you look at the GPL source, or test it after successfully booted into Debian.

-bodhi
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Hi, i can not find the right place to write, but seems like you can help me with my issue. I have Iomega ix2-dl by accident i wiped my u boot from my device (bricked). As i read on this forum it is possible to restore uboot using UART cable and kwboot (maybe it should be aslo modifyed?) I have UART cable and linux machine running debian9 x64. I also know how to connect it to my device etc... As i understand i need to launch kwboot and in sec switch on my ix2-dl to load uboot to memory,then write it to nand. The problem is i can not find correct uboot image for my device. Can you help me with that? And maybe i missed something?
Thanks a lot.

The difference between the ix2-dl and the ix2-ng is that the dl was sold diskless and therefore has 1024MB of NAND Flash, while the ng was sold with a disk which contained most of the firmware and 1MB of serial flash for U-Boot.

sass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi, i can not find the right place to write, but
> seems like you can help me with my issue. I have
> Iomega ix2-dl by accident i wiped my u boot from
> my device (bricked). As i read on this forum it is
> possible to restore uboot using UART cable and
> kwboot (maybe it should be aslo modifyed?) I have
> UART cable and linux machine running debian9 x64.
> I also know how to connect it to my device etc...
> As i understand i need to launch kwboot and in sec
> switch on my ix2-dl to load uboot to memory,then
> write it to nand. The problem is i can not find
> correct uboot image for my device. Can you help me
> with that? And maybe i missed something?
> Thanks a lot.

That's how you recover from corrupted u-boot. Let's wait to see if somebody will upload their backup NAND mtd0, and you can use that to try kwboot.

-bodhi
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Yeah, it would be great if somebody could do that :(

sass Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yeah, it would be great if somebody could do that
> :(

If you could find the receovery FW from the manufacturer, u-boot image should be in there.

Other than that, you should register to the forum and send PM to the users in this thread to see if they have a copy of their mtd0.

-bodhi
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Hi, Hmm very good point. I have original FW from the manufacturer. They sent me somekind imager (exe file to create usb recovery stick). I made this stick now. I investigated files on it and there are lot of different scripts etc. But i can not identify uboot image file. There are zImage file 2,4MB. Maybe i should convert it somehow or extract uimage from it? :S Can you give me a tip how can i identify uImage file there? Thanks a lot.

Tried to create uboot using this command..

Quote
mkimage -A arm -O linux -T kernel -C none -a 0x00008000 -e 0x00008000 -n Linux kernel -d /path/to/zImage uImage

but without luck.. kwboot command

Quote
./kwboot -B 115200 -t /dev/ttyUSB0 -b /path/to/uImage -p

gives - "Invalid image".

:(

sass,

uImage is the kernel image, not u-boot image.

uImage = kernel vmlinuz-xx-.xx.xx + u-boot-header
uInitrd = kernel initrd.img-xx.xx.xx  + u-boot-header

u-boot image is stored in NAND mtd0.

uImage and uInitrs are in the rootfs /boot. These 2 files are loaded by u-boot after it is running.

I don't have new u-boot built for this box. So to find a good u-boot, it must be from someone's backup mtd0 file.

-bodhi
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When you search for the u-boot image inside stock FW, search for file that starts with u-boot.

If you are not sure then get a listing of all files the entire tree in the FW. Pastebin this log and I will take a look.

The file listing should have long format. For example,

ls -lR .

-bodhi
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Hi Sass!

Sorry to hear about the problem with your IX2-dl. Wiped the NAND flash, eh? Yikes!

There is some work for you to do while you await a kind soul to provide the firmware image for U-boot. Yes, the CPU has a built-in ROM that can load and run code from a serial port at cold boot. And, yes, you can use the kwboot utility to do that. The bad news is that only works on UART0 but it is UART1 that is available on the serial port connector on these IX2 devices. You need to find where on the circuit board UART0 is available, if it actually is. There are a couple of other options if UART0 is not available but UART0 is the easiest to use for recovery. Good luck!

Hi sass, you're in luck. (mtd0 backup attached) :)

bodhi and sarcastic.mannequin, thanks for all your great work!
Currently I'm trying to port u-boot to the ix2-dl by somewhat mixing and merging the config files of nsa325 and ix2-200 with the new ix2-ng dts (which is amazing, thanks a bunch for that!). I have never done anything like this before, could you guys point me somewhere to find more info on this? Especially about the kwbimage.cfg which even with the comments look way over my head.
(Sadly I couldn't find the original Marvell u-boot sources for this box, and if I would find those they are in a different format than it is expected now.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!

Hippi-viking!

These CPUs can boot from various devices (UART, SPI, NAND, SATA). The CPU knows how to control these devices because they are built into the CPU but there are still a few things that the CPU needs to know. This would include the type/speed/size of DRAM, the block-size/error-correction/size of NAND and probably other board-specific details.

These Marvell CPUs look for a header at the beginning of the boot image (in this case U-boot). The header contains board-specific information that the CPU needs in order to boot. Before actually running U-boot code, the CPU automatically configures itself based on the contents of the header. The kwbimage.cfg file is an input file to the U-boot build process. It is used to create the Marvell boot header and prepend it to the U-boot code.

Well, that's a (very) loose description of the kwbimage.cfg file. For more info, you can download the reference manual for the CPU from Marvell. Also, I think U-boot source code is available from Lenovo/EMC as part of their GPL compliance.

Be careful fiddling with U-boot! Don't overwrite the stock U-boot until you are sure that you have created a working replacement. I don't think anyone has found the all-important UART0 on the IX2 NAS box. That is required for recovery if something goes horribly wrong.

Just installed Bodhi's awesome kernel.
After fiddling much with the "setenv" variables I still cannot get the ix2-ng to boot.
I've been scouring this forum for days now. I don't know anymore.
It's stuck at "starting kernel" can somebody please tell me what I am doing wrong?

\___/    |____/ \___/ \___/ \__|  ** ix2-spi ** ** uboot_ver:0.0.8 **

 ** MARVELL BOARD: DB-88F6282A-BP LE 

U-Boot 1.1.4 (Oct 28 2011 - 15:18:22) Marvell version: 3.6.1 - EMC

U-Boot code: 00600000 -> 0067FFF0  BSS: -> 006CD5A0

Soc: 88F6282 A1 CPU running @ 1600Mhz L2 running @ 800Mhz
SysClock = 533Mhz , TClock = 200Mhz 

DRAM (DDR3) CAS Latency = 7 tRP = 7 tRAS = 20 tRCD=7
DRAM CS[0] base 0x00000000   size 256MB 
DRAM Total size 256MB  16bit width
Addresses 8M - 0M are saved for the U-Boot usage.
Mem malloc Initialization (8M - 7M): Done
Found ADT7473, program PWM1 ... OK
[1024kB@f8000000] Flash:  1 MB

Marvell Serial ATA Adapter
Integrated Sata device found
[0 1 0]: Enable DMA mode (6)
  Device 1 @ 0 1:
Model: ST2000DM001-9YN164                       Firm: CC4B     Ser#:             Z1E2Z7Y7
            Type: Hard Disk
            Supports 48-bit addressing
            Capacity: 1907729.0 MB = 1863.0 GB (-387938128 x 512)


CPU : Marvell Feroceon (Rev 1)

Streaming disabled 
Write allocate disabled


USB 0: host mode
PEX 0: interface detected no Link.
PEX 1: interface detected no Link.
Net:   egiga0 [PRIME]
Hit any key to stop autoboot:  3  0
Marvell>> printenv

baudrate=115200
loads_echo=0
rootpath=/srv/ubuntu
run_diag=yes
mvNetConfig=mv_net_config=(00:11:88:0f:62:81,0:1:2:3),mtu=1500
yuk_ethaddr=00:00:00:EE:51:81
serial_number=5563Y01001G21000170J0A1
ethaddr=00:D0:B8:1D:AD:A9
bootargs_console=console=ttyS0,115200
bootargs_mtdparts=mtdparts=orion_nand:640k(u-boot)ro,16k(u-boot-env),-(iomega-firmware)ro
memoffset_kernel=0x00800000
bootlinux=bootm ${memoffset_kernel} ${memoffset_initrd}
usb_load_=0x00800000 /boot/uImage
filesize=6E8F80
bootcmd_linux=setenv bootargs $(bootargs_linux); mw.l f1010100 0020c000; usb reset; ext2load usb 0:1 $(loadaddr) /boot/uImage; ext2load usb 0:1 0x01100000 /boot/uInitrd; bootm $(loadaddr) 0x01100000
bootlinuxm=0x00800000=0x01100000
boardtest=1
memoffset_initrd=0x01100000
usb_scan=setenv usb_device 0:1; setenv usb_root sdb1
make_usb_bootargs=setenv bootargs $(console) $(bootargs_mtd) $(bootargs_end) root=/dev/$(usb_root) rootdelay=10 rootfstype=ext3
bootcmd1=ide read 0x40000 0x800 0x1800; ide read 0x900000 0x2000 0x1800; setenv bootargs $(console) $(bootargs_root) $(bootargs_mtd) $(bootargs_end); bootm 0x40000 0x900000;run bootcmd2
rootdelay=4
rootfstype=ext3
load_initrd=ext2load usb 0:1 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd
load_uimage=ext2load usb 0:1 0x800000 /boot/uImage
usb_root=LABEL=rootfs
usb_boot=usb start; run load_uimage; run load_initrd; bootm 0x800000 0x1100000
disL2Prefch=yes
disL2Pref=yes
disL2Cach=no
MALLOC_len=1
ethprime=egiga0
bootargs_end=:::DB88FXX81:eth0:none
image_name=uImage
standalone=fsload 0x2000000 $(image_name);setenv bootargs $(console) root=/dev/mtdblock0 rw ip=$(ipaddr):$(serverip)$(bootargs_end) $(mvPhoneConfig); bootm 0x2000000;
lcd0_enable=0
lcd0_params=640x480-16@60
ethmtu=1500
mvPhoneConfig=mv_phone_config=dev[0]:fxs,dev[1]:fxo
usb0Mode=host
netretry=no
rcvrip=169.254.100.100
loadaddr=0x02000000
autoload=no
image_multi=yes
ethact=egiga0
console=console=ttyS0,115200
kernelimage=zImage
initrdimage=mfginitrd
mfgmodel=ix2
preroot_ver=0.0.2
bootcmd2=ide dev 1;ide read 0x40000 0x800 0x1800; ide read 0x900000 0x2000 0x1800; bootm 0x40000 0x900000;
uboot_ver=0.0.8
modelname=SM10G78635
fw_ver=4.1.102.29716
runintime=10800
ftpserver=192.168.43.4
testfile=100M
mfgtest_state=system_tested_ok
pre_path=IX2/1.1.0/download_runin.sh
pre_path_conf=IX2/1.1.0/download_runin.conf
pre_serverip=192.168.32.4
pre_user=ixxrunin
pre_passwd=123
pre_dirzi=IX2/1.1.0
bootfile=zImage
gatewayip=192.168.1.1
netmask=255.255.255.0
ipaddr=192.168.1.234
serverip=192.168.1.126
arcNumber=11
bootcmd_original=ide reset; ide read 0x40000 0x800 0x1800; ide read 0x900000 0x2000 0x1800; setenv bootargs $(console) $(bootargs_root) $(bootargs_mtd) $(bootargs_end); bootm 0x40000
bootargs_root_original=root=/dev/ram0
bootargs_root=root=/dev/sda3
bootargs_mtd=mtdparts=spi_flash:0x7e000@0(u-boot),0x1000@0x7f000(env),0x1000@0x7e000(env2)
bootcmd=mw.l 0xf1010148 0x80; ide reset; ext2load usb 0:1 0x800000 /boot/uImage; ext2load usb 0:1 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd; setenv bootargs $(console) $(bootargs_root) $(bootargs_end); bootm 0x800000 0x1100000
bootargs=console=ttyS0,115200 root=/dev/sda3 :::DB88FXX81:eth0:none
bootcmd_usb=usb reset; run usb_sca; run make_usb_bootargs; ext2load usb 0:1 0x800000 /boot/uImage; ext2load usb 0:1 0x1100000
stdin=serial
stdout=serial
stderr=serial
mainlineLinux=no
enaMonExt=no
enaCpuStream=no
enaWrAllo=no
pexMode=RC
disL2Cache=no
setL2CacheWT=yes
disL2Prefetch=yes
enaICPref=yes
enaDCPref=yes
sata_dma_mode=yes
netbsd_en=no
vxworks_en=no
bootdelay=3
disaMvPnp=no
enaAutoRecovery=yes
pcieTune=no
pcieTune1=no

Environment size: 3646/4091 bytes
Marvell>> usb start

(Re)start USB...
USB:   scanning bus for devices... 2 USB Device(s) found
Waiting for storage device(s) to settle before scanning...
1 Storage Device(s) found
Marvell>> ext2load usb 0:1 0x800000 /boot/uImage

....
.
......
............
.........................
...................................................
......................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................................

3834683 bytes read

Marvell>> ext2load usb 0:1 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd

....
.
......
............
.........................
...................................................
......................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

7245696 bytes read
Marvell>> bootm 0x800000 0x1100000

## Booting image at 00800000 ...
   Image Name:   Linux-4.12.1-kirkwood-tld-1
   Created:      2017-10-21  23:45:27 UTC
   Image Type:   ARM Linux Kernel Image (uncompressed)
   Data Size:    3834619 Bytes =  3.7 MB
   Load Address: 00008000
   Entry Point:  00008000
   Verifying Checksum ... OK
OK
## Loading Ramdisk Image at 01100000 ...
   Image Name:   initramfs-4.12.1-kirkwood-tld-1
   Created:      2017-07-24   0:18:23 UTC
   Image Type:   ARM Linux RAMDisk Image (gzip compressed)
   Data Size:    7245632 Bytes =  6.9 MB
   Load Address: 00000000
   Entry Point:  00000000
   Verifying Checksum ... OK

Starting kernel ...

-----
Moderator edit: please use code tags when posting log.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2017 12:06AM by bodhi.

Baldmarbles,

Power up, interrupt serial console at count down, and execute:

setenv bootargs_end ':::DB88FXX81:eth0:none earlyprintk=serial'
boot

Please post the entire serial console log again here.

-bodhi
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Baldmarbles!

Did you append kirkwood-lenovo-ix2-ng.dtb file to the kernel before making uImage file? Something like:

cat vmlinuz-3.16.0-4-kirkwood kirkwood-lenovo-ix2-ng.dtb > vmlinuz.fdt
mkimage -A arm -O linux -T kernel -C none -a 0x8000 -e 0x8000 -n "kernel 3.16.0-4-kirkwood" -d vmlinuz.fdt uImage

Read bodhi's instructions about how to prepare the kernel when using older Uboot.

Many thanks for the image, but seems i can not idenrify UART0 interface on the board, so it is not possible to boot up using kwboot from this image using serial console. :(

sarcastic.mannequin: thank you for the details, tips and warnings! I have now got the u-boot source code from Lenovo (they promised to include it in the next GPL code release pack as well). It looks significantly different than the current versions, and I still have to find out which code branch is actually used for the ix2-ng, but it seems like there is hope for a new build! :) ...for someone who is brave enough to flash it straight without being able to try it beforehand in the absence of a known uart0.

sass: no worries. hope you'll find a way to boot your box! have you checked the legs of the cpu as well? (I guess that might be very tricky as probably most of them are underneath it...)

Baldmarbles: did you append the dtb file to your proper kernel image? (the vmlinuz file, not the zimage!) [edit: mixed up files, the rest is not relevant]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/2017 05:11AM by hippi-viking.

I have looked all over the circuit board of a IX2-ng and have not been able to locate UART0, required so we can (re)install U-boot bootloader.

I broke down and contacted Lenovo. They said they have an "Imager Utility" that runs under Windows and creates a bootable USB stick that will reinstall/restore these IX2 devices. The CPU has the ability to boot (all by itself) from UART0 or SATA disk or USB, so this might actually be true. Could this be the missing piece of the puzzle required to restore the bootloader? Maybe someone with a bricked IX2 could get that utility, try it out, and let us know.

Hi,
I am the owner of ix2-dl and still cannot get the serial output for Bodhi's kernel.
As described in the main thread for Debian on Kirkwood I've tried to append DTB from DTS file made by sarcastic.mannequin for ix2-ng. I even made DTS specifically for ix2-dl and compiled it, but still got hang on "Starting kernel ..." without serial output.
Here are the u-boot commands I used:

setenv bootargs_end ':::DB88FXX81:eth0:none earlyprintk=serial'
setenv mtdparts 'mtdparts=nand_mtd:0x80000@0(uboot),0x20000@0xa0000(env),0x20000@0xc0000(env2),0x300000@0x100000(uImage),0x400000@0x400000(initrd),0x3f800000@0x800000(boot),1024m@0x0(flash)'
usb reset
ext2load usb 0:1 0x40000 /boot/uImage
ext2load usb 0:1 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd
bootm 0x40000 0x1100000

I used /proc/cmdline and /proc/mtd from stock firmware as a reference for DTS:

root@storage:/# cat /proc/cmdline 
console=ttyS0,115200 root=/dev/ram0 :::DB88FXX81:eth0:none mtdparts=nand_mtd:0x80000@0(uboot),0x20000@0xa0000(env),0x20000@0xc0000(env2),0x300000@0x100000(uImage),0x400000@0x400000(initrd),0x3f800000@0x800000(boot),1024m@0x0(flash)
root@storage:/# cat /proc/mtd 
dev:    size   erasesize  name
mtd0: 00080000 00020000 "uboot"
mtd1: 00020000 00020000 "env"
mtd2: 00020000 00020000 "env2"
mtd3: 00300000 00020000 "uImage"
mtd4: 00400000 00020000 "initrd"
mtd5: 3f800000 00020000 "boot"
mtd6: 40000000 00020000 "flash"

Is it important to have mtdparts option in cmdline and define it in DTS correctly for NAND-equipped device? As for DTS, I didn't realize if mtd6 has to be defined and how. Nevertheless DTS and DTB which I made are attached. What am I doing wrong?

ar-lex,

> Is it important to have mtdparts option in cmdline
> and define it in DTS correctly for NAND-equipped
> device?

No, mtdparts are really for the purpose of u-boot and changing u-boot envs. It does not affect the kernel booting. You don't even need to specify this in command line or DTS.


> but still got hang on "Starting kernel ..."
> without serial output.

I think your bootargs is wrong. That's probably why you could not see more kernel booting activities.

Power up, interrupt serial console, and enter the u-boot envs you used to boot. But also list the envs before boot:

setenv bootargs_end ':::DB88FXX81:eth0:none earlyprintk=serial'
setenv mtdparts 'mtdparts=nand_mtd:0x80000@0(uboot),0x20000@0xa0000(env),0x20000@0xc0000(env2),0x300000@0x100000(uImage),0x400000@0x400000(initrd),0x3f800000@0x800000(boot),1024m@0x0(flash)'
usb reset
ext2load usb 0:1 0x40000 /boot/uImage
ext2load usb 0:1 0x1100000 /boot/uInitrd
printenv bootargs
printenv
bootm 0x40000 0x1100000

And post the entire serial console log here.

-bodhi
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2018 12:52PM by bodhi.

Right, bootargs wasn't defined at all. Got it from bootcmd, but that didn't help. Attaching serial console log.

ar-lex,

This is the correct bootargs for booting my released Debian rootfs.

setenv bootargs 'console=ttyS0,115200 root=LABEL=rootfs rootdelay=10 mtdparts=orion_nand:0x80000@0(uboot),0x20000@0xa0000(env),0x20000@0xc0000(env2),0x300000@0x100000(uImage),0x400000@0x400000(initrd),0x3f800000@0x800000(boot),1024m@0x0(flash)  earlyprintk=serial'

-bodhi
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@sarcastic.mannequin:
FYI, it probably will not be labled "UART0", via Silkscreen on the PCB. Probably its an unnamed 4-pin header with VCC, RX, TX and GND. If you have a working U-Boot installed, that sends serial output, you can determine which is TX, via a digital oscilloscope. A little creative testing might be required.

There are no other headers on the IX2-ng board (labelled or not) that could be used for UART0 or for JTAG. There are a bunch of test-points sprinkled around but not any grouped together in a logical manner. Pictures of the IX2 circuit board is posted on NAS-central website.

I don't think it would make sense anyway. Imagine a IX2 sent to Lenovo for repair. It might or might not have disks in it. U-boot environment might or might not be intact, even U-boot might not be intact. Lenovo isn't going to bother taking it completely apart for basic testing or firmware reload. Much more likely to have a method to cold-boot from USB without having to disassemble the unit. This is why I think the "imager" utility might be able to revive a IX2 even without a working U-boot. I'm not sure, though.

@sarcastic.mannequin:
The described serial header here ( http://iomega.nas-central.org/wiki/PCB_Photos_(ix2-ng) ) is UART1 then, or what is up with that?

ingmar_k,

Yes, that is UART1. The datasheet says CPU can boot from UART0, says nothing about UART1. I have not been able to get kwboot utility to work with this connector. This connector is accessible from the front of the unit if you remove the disks. To access any other part of the circuit board requires disassembly of the unit. There is an unknown jumper near the connector. It is currently assumed the jumper selects 5v/3.3v for the TTL serial port on the connector - I have not tested that.

Why does no one any thread /forum suggest using ttys1 as console?

This hardware has only a single serial port exposed (pins on the accessible internal connector). What were you thinking of using as ttyS1?